Upcoming Events

Westbrook Free Lectureship

Dr. Richard B. Westbrook, Trustee of the Institute from 1884 until his death in 1899, established the Westbrook Free Lectureship as a means to encourage open discourse on scientific subjects, especially "disputed questions in science and the theories of Evolution."  Since 1912 when the series began, Westbrook lecturers have included some of the most distinguished scientists and scholars of the past 100 years, among them John Dewey, George Gaylord Simpson, and Margaret Mead.

Westbrook Lecture 2012

SATURDAY, MARCH 31 Lecture at 1:00 PM Museum is open 12:00 to 4:00 PM The Sky is Falling: White-Nose Syndrome in Bats Dr. Hazel Barton University of Akron

'Little Brown Bat' from De Kay, James E. Zoology of New York, or the New-York Fauna. Albany : 1842.

In the last five years an epidemic called White-Nose Syndrome has killed more than one million bats in the northeast United States. It is said to be more virulent than any other disease known in the history of mammals and threatens some of North America’s most abundant bat species with extinction. Dr. Barton, an expert on microbial life within caves and an avid spelunker, is uniquely suited to understand White-Nose Syndrome. Join us to hear about her latest research -- she may be our best hope in the race to find a cure to save the bats.

Dr. Hazel Barton is an Associate Professor of Biology at the University of Akron, Ohio. Her award-winning research, published in over 30 peer-reviewed articles, focuses on understanding microbial processes in cave environments. She has appeared in numerous publications, TV shows, and in the documentary “Journey Into Amazing Caves.” She is currently a Fellow of the National Speleological Society and the recipient of a National Science Foundation CAREER Award.