Jane Goodall

Jane Goodall

World-renowned ethologist and activist, Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE, founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and UN Messenger of Peace shared fascinating insights on her evolution from curious young girl to intrepid scientist to global icon, coinciding with the exhibition Becoming Jane: The Evolution of Jane Goodall at the Saint Louis Science Center. She shared inspiring details about her lifetime of advocating for the natural world and how each of us can use her reasons for hope to create a better future for people, animals, and the planet we share.

Drew Shindell 

Drew Shindell 

Shindell discussed the health, labor and agriculture benefits of climate change mitigation in the U.S. An expert on climate science and policy, he has testified on these issues before both houses of Congress, at the request of both parties, and has authored more than 250 peer-reviewed publications.

Peter Wyse Jackson

Peter Wyse Jackson

Peter Wyse Jackson is the president of the Missouri Botanical Garden and George Engelmann Professor of Botany at Washington University in St. Louis, MO. Born in Kilkenny, Ireland, Wyse Jackson obtained a B.A. (Mod.) in botany and an M.A. from Trinity College Dublin, where he subsequently obtained a Ph.D. for work on the taxonomy of Irish Cruciferae.

Jonathan Losos

Jonathan Losos

As founding director of the Living Earth Collaborative, Losos seeks to marshal the might of three world-class organizations – the Missouri Botanical Gardens, the Saint Louis Zoo and Washington University, where he is the William H. Danforth Distinguished University Professor in Biology – into a collaboration that transcends geographic and political boundaries to conserve biodiversity and sustain life on Earth.

Jeffrey Bonner

Jeffrey Bonner

Bonner has been president and CEO of the Saint Louis Zoo since 2002; in 2009 he became the Dana Brown President and Chief Executive Officer.

Bill McKibben

Bill McKibben

On November 1, 2012 at 7 PM in Graham Chapel, prominent environmental author and advocate Bill McKibben talked about “350: The Most Important Number in the World.”

Joel Sartore

Joel Sartore

Joel Sartore is a man on a mission, and he’s running out of time. Like Noah, he’s obsessed with building an ark – the Photo Ark — a groundbreaking effort to document species before they disappear, and to get people to care while there’s still time.

Gautam Yadama with Mark Katzman

Gautam Yadama with Mark Katzman

WU professor of social work Gautam Yadama gave a presentation based on his book, Fires, Fuel and the Fate of 3 Billion,” in Anheuser-Busch Hall, Bryan Cave Moot Courtroom. Joining him in the audience question/answer segment was the book’s photographer, Mark Katzman.

Christian Parenti

Christian Parenti

As a journalist, Parenti has reported extensively from Afghanistan, Iraq, and various parts of Africa, Asia, and Latin America. In addition to The Nation, Parenti’s articles have appeared in Fortune, The Washington Post, The New York Times, Middle East Report, London Review of Books, and Mother Jones.

Ira Flatow, Bronwen Konecky, Gavin Schmidt

Ira Flatow, Bronwen Konecky, Gavin Schmidt

The Compton/Ferguson lecture series, established decades ago with endowed funds to support programs covering topics in science, has ended its hiatus and is reappearing this fall under the title, Science Matters.

Elizabeth Kolbert

Elizabeth Kolbert

The history of life on Earth has been described as long periods of boredom interrupted occasionally by panic. In her talk, “The Fate of the Earth,” Elizabeth Kolbert discussed the current biodiversity crisis in the context of the great mass extinctions of the past. Why do humans pose such a threat to the other species on the planet and what can be done to contain this threat? Elizabeth Kolbert’s Pulitzer Prize-winning “The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History,” is a book about mass extinctions that weaves intellectual and natural history with reporting in the field began as an article in The New Yorker. It was a New York Times 2014 Top Ten Best Book of the Year, is number one on the Guardian’s list of the 100 Best Nonfiction Books of all time, and won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize in the General Nonfiction category. A 10th Anniversary Edition with a new epilogue will be published in spring, 2024.   Her most recent book, “Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future,” is about humanity’s harmful impact on the environment and ideas to rectify that harm. This national bestseller was named one of the best books of the year by the Washington Post, Time, Esquire, Smithsonian Magazine, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, and Library Journal, and recommended by Barack Obama and Bill Gates.   Kolbert has received numerous awards and honors and has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1999. Her essays have appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Vogue, and Mother Jones, and have been anthologized in The Best American Science and Nature Writing and The Best American Political Writing.