Wittenberg University is excited to welcome Sean B. Carroll, an award-winning evolutionary biologist, writer, educator and executive film producer, as the keynote speaker for the annual Wittenberg Series-sponsored IBM Endowed Lecture in the Sciences at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 21, in Bayley Auditorium of the Barbara Deer Kuss Science Center.

Carroll currently serves as vice president for science education at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the Allan Wilson Professor of Molecular Biology and Genetics at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in Madison, Wis. He will speak on “The Serengeti Rules."

Internationally known, Carroll has conducted extensive laboratory research focused on the genes that control animal body patterns and that play major roles in the evolution of animal diversity. In recognition of his scientific contributions, he received the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Sciences, was elected to the National Academy of Sciences and the American Philosophical Society and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He was also elected an associate member of the European Molecular Biology Organization.

A prominent science communicator in print, on radio and on television, Carroll is the author of many books including Serengeti Rules: The Quest to Discover How Life Works and Why It Matters, Endless Forms Most Beautiful, Brave Genius and Remarkable Creatures: Epic Adventures in the Search for the Origins of Species, which was a finalist for the National Book Award for nonfiction. His knack for communicating complex ideas to the public in an entertaining and understandable manner is reflected in his monthly column in The New York Times and his service as a consulting producer for the PBS television program NOVA.

For his educational contributions, Carroll has received the Stephen Jay Gould Prize for the advancement of the public understanding of evolution from the Society for the Study of Evolution, the Distinguished Service Award of the National Association of Biology Teachers, and the Viktor Hamburger Outstanding Educator Award from the Society for Developmental Biology.

Carroll earned his B.A. in biology from Washington University in St. Louis and his Ph.D. in immunology at Tufts Medical School. His completed his postdoctoral research at the University of Colorado-Boulder. Carroll lives in Chevy Chase, Md., with his wife, Jamie.

During his visit to Wittenberg, Carroll will also participate in a colloquium at 4 p.m. in Bayley Auditorium.

Now in its 35th year, the Wittenberg Series brings distinguished lecturers and performing artists of national and international prominence to the Wittenberg campus and Springfield community. To make special arrangements, request a Series poster, or become a friend of the Wittenberg Series, contact Lisa Watson at WatsonL4@wittenberg.edu. All Wittenberg Series events are free and open to the public.

Additional 2017-2018 Wittenberg Series Events:

• Monday, March 26, 2018: William A. Kinnison Endowed Lecture in History, 7:30 p.m., Weaver Chapel, featuring Annette Gordon-Reed, Charles Warren Professor of American Legal History at Harvard University and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family.

For more information on the Wittenberg Series, click here.