Since 1973-1974, the Hilldale Lecture Series has showcased distinguished thinkers whose contributions to contemporary culture and science have received international recognition and acclaim. One lecture is funded annually in each division.
Please click on the tabs below to view the Hilldale Lectures scheduled in the four divisions.
Teju Cole
Gore Vidal Professor of the Practice of Creative Writing at Harvard University
Time and location TBD
Lars Chittka, MSc, PhD, Dr habil, FLS, FRES, FRSB
Professor in Sensory and Behavioural Ecology
Queen Mary University of London
Thursday, September 14, 2023
4:30-5:30 PM with reception afterwards
UW Biotechnology Center Auditorium, Rm. 1111
425 Henry Mall
Most of us are aware of the hive mind—the power of bees as an amazing collective. Lars Chittka argues that individual bees have remarkable cognitive abilities, have distinct personalities, can recognize flowers and human faces, exhibit basic emotions, count, use simple tools, solve problems, and learn by observing others. They may even possess consciousness. Chittka illustrates how bee brains are unparalleled in the animal kingdom in terms of how much sophisticated material is packed into their tiny nervous systems. Chittka also examines the ethical dilemmas that arise in conservation and laboratory settings because bees might feel and think.
Gigliola Staffilani
MIT Abby Rockefeller Mauze Professor of Mathematics
A Small Window into Wave Turbulence Theory
Tuesday, October 24, 2023, 4-5 PM
Reception before the lecture: 2:30-4 PM
1310 Sterling Hall
475 N. Charter Street
Professor Staffilani’s proposed Hilldale lecture will be about introducing us to the most recent discoveries in the very hot area of research of wave turbulence theory and has the working title ‘A small window in wave turbulence theory’. The theory has been applied to describe waves in the ocean, nonlinear optics, waves in magnetized fluids such as solar winds, and recently, gravitational waves in the early universe. Despite the wide range of applications, there remain many open questions regarding a rigorous mathematical foundation, and Professor Staffilani is a world leader in this effort.
Eileen Crimmins, PhD
AARP Chair in Gerontology and Director of the Center on Biodemography and
Population Health at the University of Southern California
Healthy Aging: The Interaction of Social and Biological Factors
Monday, October 30, 2023
4:30-5:30 PM Lecture
5:30-6:30 PM Reception
Memorial Union, 800 Langdon Street
Room: Tripp Commons
Morbidity and mortality occur at younger ages for those with low lifetime socioeconomic status, adversity in childhood and adulthood, are members of a minority group, have adverse health behaviors, and those with adverse psychological states. These “Social Hallmarks of Aging” are analogous to the “Geroscience Hallmarks of Aging” in reflecting a set of underlying and interrelated social causes of multiple age-related health outcomes. This lecture presents empirical work incorporating the social hallmarks of aging with the multiple biological hallmarks of aging as well downstream biology to show how these factors interact to influence a range of health outcomes. This analysis shows the relative strength of the associations of social and biological measures with important health outcomes and points to where interventions will make the greatest impact on healthy aging.
Raj Chetty (postponed from 2020-2021)
William A. Ackman Professor of Economics, Harvard University
Time and location TBD