In Search of Life at Lady Mitchell Hall

Darwin College Lecture Series 2012 Darwin College

Darwin College continues the popular Darwin College lecture series this week on 27 January with Life in Ruins. The annual eight week series held at Lady Mitchell Hall is free to the public and is renowned for its famous speakers and thought-provoking discussions.

’Life’ is the subject for 2012, as all eight lectures will delve into the many aspects of this broad yet compelling topic from various disciplines.  Previous themes in years past include Beauty, Risk, Identity, Conflict, and Survival.

Life as a cell, life in a military field hospital in Afghanistan, and life after death are some of the topics explored in the multi-disciplinary lecture series. The first lecture entitled From Genomes to the Diversity of Life was presented January 20^th by Professor Michael Akam of the University of Cambridge. Subsequent talks will be held by Professor Frances Ashcroft from the University of Oxford, Cambridge’s own Robert Macfarlane, Michael Scott, Mark de Rond, Professor Chris Bishop, and Professor Ron Laskey. University of Southampton’s Professor Clive Gamble concludes the series with his talk: The After Life.

The Darwin College lecture series first began in 1986 and has since proved to be one of the most sought after events in Cambridge ever since. The series marks one of the key events at Darwin College and has run every year from January to March since inception.

The lectures continue from January 27^th and every Friday thereafter at 17:30 at the Lady Mitchell Hall. The annual series is popular as organisers insist that anyone hoping to attend should arrive early to ensure a place. The organisers have also secured an adjacent theatre with live television coverage so that those who are unable to secure a place in the main hall are able to still view the lecture.

The Continuing Schedule is as follows:

27 January, Robert Macfarlane, University of Cambridge Life in Ruins

03 February, Professor Frances Ashcroft, University of Oxford The Spark of Life

10 February, Michael Scott, University of Cambridge Life in the Ancient World

17 February, Mark de Rond, University of Cambridge Life in Conflict

24 February, Professor Ron Laskey, University of Cambridge Life and Death of a Cell

02 March, Professor Chris Bishop, University of Cambridge Artificial Life

09 March, Professor Clive Gamble, University of Southampton The After Life

Past lectures are also available on iTunes, and Darwin College Lecture books are available from the Cambridge University Press.