Dr. Dawn Simon
Assistant Professor of Biology, 308.865.8470
The Darwin Day Roadshow is bringing two presentations to the University of Nebraska at Kearney campus on Thursday, Feb. 10, in celebration of the birth of Charles Darwin.
The presentations, “How to Eat Meat When Your Beak is Built for Sweet” and “Why Giant Squid and Giant Isopods Are the Most Awesome Animals on Earth,” are part of the roadshow, which is produced by the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center (NESCent). Both are free and open to the public.
The first, “How to Eat Meat When Your Beak is Built for Sweet,” will be given at 12:15 p.m. in Room 310 of the Nebraskan Student Union. Dr. Gregor Yanega, a postdoctoral fellow at the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center (NESCent), will base the presentation on his current research on the evolution of feeding in birds. The hummingbird beak will be used as an example in his presentation. The 12:15 p.m. presentation is co-sponsored by “The New York Times” and the American Democracy Project.
The second presentation, “Why Giant Squid and Giant Isopods are the Most Awesome Animals on Earth,” will be given from 5:30-6:30 p.m. at the UNK Alumni House, 2222 Ninth Ave. Dr. Craig McClain, the assistant director of science for NESCent, will be the speaker. Dr. McClain is a deep sea biologist and editor of the blog “Deep Sea News.”
The National Evolutionary Synthesis Center (NESCent), located in Durham, N.C., is a nonprofit science center dedicated to cross-disciplinary research in evolution. NESCent is jointly operated by Duke University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University, and is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.
