Experts speak on human evolution, forensic anthropology, fossil preservation, and more. Speakers include Dr. Donald Johanson, the scientist who discovered Lucy in 1974.

"Understanding who we are is not just a matter of idle curiosity. It is a matter of survival for our own species as well as for the millions of other species with whom we share Earth. For without clearer understanding of who we are, we fall far short of the kind of future we would want for ourselves and for our children."– Dr. Donald Johanson

** As of Jan. 12, the Donald Johanson lecture is SOLD OUT. **

Dr. Mark Collard – "From Lucy to Lactose: The Evolution of Human Adaptation"
Thursday, Oct 16, 2008, 7 pm
Pacific Science Center, Eames Auditorium
Tickets – Free to $5.00

Dr. Collard will discuss how humans have evolved and adapted to a changing world from the emergence of the hominid lineage to the present day.

Dr. Collard, Canada Research Chair in Human Evolutionary Studies, Simon Fraser University, is conducting research on a number of topics in evolutionary anthropology. Among these are the identification of species in the hominid fossil record, the reconstruction of fossil hominid and non-human primate relationships, and the estimation of body mass, stature and age from skeletal material.

As a forensic anthropologist with the King County Medical Examiner Office, Dr. Taylor has assisted in thousands of investigations by using the latest technology to decipher clues from human remains. Dr. Taylor will discuss how advancements in the science of forensic anthropology inform the study of ancient hominids.

Drs. Nancy Odegaard and Vicki Cassman – "Travels with Lucy: or how to pack when you’re over 3 million years old"
Thursday, Dec 11, 2008, 7 pm
Pacific Science Center, Eames Auditorium
Tickets – Free to $5.00
Video ~ "Travels with Lucy"

The conservators who advised the Ethiopian government on the preservation and shipping of Lucy’s bones share their insights on the practical and political pitfalls of packing fossils for international travel.

Dr. Nancy Odegaard studied at the Smithsonian's Anthropology Conservation Laboratory and worked at Harvard University prior to joining the faculty of the University in 1983. She currently directs programs for the Conservation laboratory at the Arizona State Museum.

Vicki Cassman graduated from the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation in 1985 and earned her Ph.D. in Anthropology at Arizona State University in 1997. She is Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Art Conservation Department at the University of Delaware.

Dr. Patricia Kramer – "Lucy Walks: functional morphology and the evolution of bipedalism"
Thursday, Jan 8, 2009, 7 pm
Pacific Science Center, Eames Auditorium
Tickets – Free to $5.00

Dr. Kramer will discuss how anthropologists decipher clues from fossils to discover how and why our earliest hominid ancestors walked upright. Dr Kramer is an Anthropologist at the University of Washington, and Adjunct Curator of Archaeology, Burke Museum.

Dr. Donald Johanson – "Lucy’s Legacy"
Thursday, Feb. 5, 2009, 7 pm
Kane Hall 130, University of Washington
Tickets – $5.00 to $15.00

** As of Jan. 12, the Donald Johanson lecture is SOLD OUT. **

The scientist who discovered Lucy in 1974 shares his insights and explores the lessons learned from looking at humanity through the lens of time. Although the 20th century has been peppered with important early-human fossil finds, it was Johanson's discovery of a 3.2-million-year-old fossil in Ethiopia that added a crucial link. Lucy has prompted major revisions in our understanding of the human evolutionary past and continues to serve as an important touchstone for all subsequent discoveries.

Since earning his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1974, Johanson's career has taken him all over the world to undertake field explorations in Ethiopia, Tanzania, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Eritrea, and most recently, Iran. Johanson is currently the director of Arizona State University's Institute of Human Origins, which he founded in 1981. This Institute brings together scientists from diverse disciplines to conduct, interpret and publicize scientific research on human evolution.

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Presented in partnership with Pacific Science Center where Lucy's Legacy: The Hidden Treasures of Ethiopia is on exhibit from Oct. 4, 2008 – March 8, 2009.