Philosopher to open spring series of Science Café talks

10:14 a.m., March 16, 2015--Noel Swanson, assistant professor of philosophy who joined the University of Delaware faculty this year, will open the spring semester Science Café series with a presentation at 5:30 p.m., Monday, March 16, at the Deer Park Tavern on Main Street in Newark.

Swanson, whose fields of study include the philosophy of physics, the philosophy of science and logic, will speak on the topic “Physics Meets the Philosophy of Physics; or Ornithology for Birds.”

Events Stories

June 5: Blue Hen 5K

University of Delaware graduates planning to attend Alumni Weekend are encouraged to register for the annual Blue Hen 5K walk and run, which will be held Sunday morning, June 5.

June 6-9: Food and culture series

The 20th annual June Lecture Series at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UD in Wilmington will be held June 6-9. Titled 'June a la Carte,' this year's program focuses on great political documents, feminism, world politics and a Newark cuisine sampler.

• June 6-9: Food and culture series
• Through June 30: 'Saving White Clay Creek'
• July 22: WWE Heatwave Tour
• Through Sept. 16: Women of color in academia

Science Café is sponsored by the Department of Philosophy and Delaware National Science Foundation Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) program. Presentations are free and open to the public, and food and beverages will be served.

"One purpose of these events is to bring together faculty, students, and members of the community to talk about science and technology, and to learn from one another,” said Tom Powers, associate professor and director of UD’s Center for Science, Ethics and Public Policy and organizer of the series.

“The casual setting helps. People seem to feel more comfortable, and often a give-and-take dialogue ensues. Science Café is just one instance of this kind of community dialogue. We could have an Ethics Café, or a Literature Café—you name it. The key is to lower the barriers to participation and contribution, without lowering the level of intellectual content. In fact, from my experience, some of the most important issues in science, technology, and society come out in settings like this one."

The spring series will continue as follows, with all sessions beginning at 5:30 at the Deer Park:

March 25: Tom Kaminski, professor, and Tom Buckley, assistant professor, both of the Department of Kinesiology and Applied Physiology, will address the "Sport-Related Concussion Epidemic in the United States."

April 29: Keith R. Hopper, of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service at UD and an affiliated associate professor of entomology and wildlife ecology, will speak about “The Preferences of Parasitic Wasps.”

May 11: Karen Rosenberg, professor of anthropology, will discuss “Why Is Human Childbirth So Complicated?”

Photo by Ambre Alexander Payne