Boston Flora

Tag: Rice University

  • Tuesday, January 31, 7:00 pm – Future Humans

    Come to a thought provoking talk and book signing on Tuesday, January 31 at 7 pm at Porter Square Books, 25 White Street in Cambridge. Are humans still subject to the forces of evolution? An evolutionary biologist provides surprising insights into the future of Homo sapiens.

    In his intriguing book Future Humans: Inside the Science of Our Continuing Evolution, evolutionary biologist Scott Solomon draws on the explosion of discoveries in recent years to examine the future evolution of our species. Combining knowledge of our past with current trends, Solomon offers convincing evidence that evolutionary forces still affect us today. But how will modernization, including longer lifespans, changing diets, global travel, and widespread use of medicine and contraceptives, affect our evolutionary future?

    Solomon presents an entertaining and accessible review of the latest research on human evolution in modern times, drawing on fields from genomics to medicine and the study of our microbiome. Surprising insights, on topics ranging from the rise of online dating and Cesarean sections to the spread of diseases such as HIV and Ebola, suggest that we are entering a new phase in human evolutionary history one that makes the future less predictable and more interesting than ever before.

    Scott Solomon is an evolutionary biologist and science writer. He teaches ecology, evolutionary biology, and scientific communication at Rice University, where he is a Professor in the Practice in the Department of BioSciences.

  • Thursday, November 12, 10:00 am – From Landscape Gardening to Landscape Urbanism

    The Boston Committee of the Garden Club of America will hold its annual fall membership meeting, lecture and luncheon on Thursday, November 12 beginning at 10 am at The Country Club, 191 Clyde Street in Brookline.  Charles Waldheim will give a talk entitled From Landscape Gardening to Landscape Urbanism.

    Charles Waldheim is the John E. Irving Professor of Landscape Architecture at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design. His lecture will focus on the evolution and current trends in ‘Landscape Urbanism’, a term coined by Waldheim to describe the recent emergence of landscape as a medium of urban order for the contemporary city. Professor Waldheim is a Canadian-American architect, urban theorist, and educator. His research examines the relations between landscape, ecology, and contemporary urbanism. At the same time that urban sprawl has distanced the population from the landscape, environmental literacy among designers and scholars has grown, giving rise to an architectural discourse known as ‘landscape urbanism’. In his lecture Waldheim, who is at the forefront of this movement, explores the origins, the current context and the aspirations of this relatively new field that is inspiring the future of city making. Waldheim is author, editor, or co-editor of numerous books on the subject, and his writing has been published and translated internationally. He has taught at Rice University, University of Toronto, University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Michigan. Charles is also the Ruettgers Consulting Curator of Landscape at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.

    The event is open to members of Garden Clubs affiliated with The Boston Committee and their guests.  Garden Club of the Back Bay members will receive separate invitations and a car pool notice in the mail.  For more information email info@bostoncommittee.org.