University of Wisconsin professor Elizabeth Hennessy to lead next Darwin-Lyell Distinguished Lecture Series
Elizabeth Hennessy, Ph.D., from the University of Wisconsin鈥揗adison will headline the next installment of the Georgia Southern Department of Biology鈥檚 Bill Lovejoy Darwin-Lyell Distinguished Lecture Series. Hennessy will address the delicate balance of tourism and conservation in the Gal谩pagos Islands on April 13 at 7 p.m. in the Nessmith Lane Center in Statesboro.
鈥淭here is a certain tension between this ideal of the pristine natural laboratory and the reality of a modern tourism industry on these islands,鈥� Hennessy said. 鈥淗ow do you square those two things together? In some ways, the islands are a case study in sustainability.鈥�
Hennessy hopes that modern audiences see Darwin as more than a figure from history, but as someone whose legacy still holds lessons for how we approach conservation today.
鈥淚n some ways, Gal谩pagos is a parable for the world at large,鈥� said Hennessy. 鈥淗ow do we find a way to live in our modern economic reality while protecting the nature that is so valuable to us?鈥�
Taking lessons from the work of Charles Darwin, who studied the animal species on the Gal谩pagos, and Sir Charles Lyell, and applying them to current topics is a founding principle of the lecture series. Endowed by Bill Lovejoy, Ph.D., a former professor of biology at Georgia Southern who shared a birthday with Darwin and studied historical figures in biological research, the series is part of Lovejoy鈥檚 legacy of encouraging discussion on nuanced topics.
鈥淗e had great respect for Darwin and Lyell and how their work was discussed by others in the field,鈥� noted Georgia Southern Professor of Biology Steve Vives, Ph.D. 鈥淲e look for topics that hit home with students and faculty so they can start their own conversations in that spirit.鈥�
The exchange of ideas and forming future partnerships to address issues is one part Hennessy is most looking forward to on her first trip to Statesboro.
鈥淚’m really curious to hear more about what the people at Georgia Southern are working on and what parts of my work are most interesting to them,鈥� said Hennessy. 鈥淚t’s always fun to think about potential collaborations in the future and to find common themes in our research.”