Darwin Celebrations Include Poster and Book Displays

02/09/2015

ESF will highlight research in evolutionary biology to celebrate the legacy of biological evolution's co-discoverers: Alfred Russel Wallace and Charles Darwin.

Students taking Evolution (EFB 311) have created mini-posters highlighting some of the most compelling research in evolutionary biology from 2014 and 2015. The posters will be on display in Moon Library on the ESF campus until late February.

Between 12:45 and 1: 40 p.m. (known on campus as the weekly "college hour") Wednesday, Feb. 11 — the day before Darwin's birthday, and a month and three days after Wallace's — Moon Library will give away a permanent book plate in honor of the occasion. The library will also feature a display of books by and about Darwin and Wallace. Members of the campus community are invited to stop by to admire the posters and enjoy a snack.

Around the world, people celebrate Darwin Day to honor Darwin's contributions to our understanding of the life sciences. This year, ESF added the lesser-known, but notably intrepid, naturalist Wallace to the billing in recognition of the fact that a pivotal moment in our modern understanding of biology was a joint presentation by Darwin and Wallace of their 1858 paper: "On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties; and on the Perpetuation of Varieties and Species by Natural Means of Selection."