“CHEMISTRY AND SOCIETY: ENLIGHTENMENT AND THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE ENLIGHTENED”
Professor Bassam Z. Shakhashiri
The William T. Evjue Distinguished Chair for the Wisconsin Idea
Department of Chemistry
Director, Wisconsin Initiative for Science Literacy
University of Wisconsin-Madison
2011 President-elect, American Chemical Society
We live in the most advanced scientific and technological society in history. New discoveries have led to improvements and benefits in our daily lives, but also to new societal problems. It is through chemistry that we can make major contributions to improve the quality of life in America and to advance the human condition around the globe. Chemistry is the key to eradicating disease and reducing poverty. Chemical research and technology can provide clean water and nutritious food, meet energy demands, and help lead to sustainable development everywhere.
Chemistry brings a wide range of goods and functions to everyone and thus is vital to our democracy. Science literacy is necessary for the democratic process to work. By science literacy I mean an appreciation of science, an understanding of the benefits of technology and the potential rewards and risks associated with advances in both, as well as recognition of what science is capable of achieving and what it cannot accomplish. Science literacy enlightens and enables people to make informed choices; to be skeptical; to reject shams, quackery, and unproven conjecture; and to avoid being bamboozled into making foolish decisions where matters of science and technology are concerned. Science literacy is for everyone—chemists, artists, humanists, all professionals, the general public, youth and adults alike. The level of science literacy in any society is a measure of what it values and its resolve to put these values into practice.
Date: Thursday, September 29, 2011
Time: 6pm Imbibable Chemical Solutions, 7pm Dinner, 8pm Lecture
Place: Deerfield Golf & Tennis Club (formerly the DuPont Golf Course at Louviers)
Location: 507 Thompson Station Road, Newark DE 19711