Mitchell Sustainability Lecture at UMaine Oct. 13
Former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell will be at the University of Maine on Thursday Oct. 13 to participate in a lecture event on communication between scientists and the public. Free and open to the public, it begins at 12 noon at UMaine’s Wells Conference Center. Those interested in attending are asked to reserve a ticket by calling 581-3244.
UMaine’s annual Senator George J. Mitchell Lecture on Sustainability, the talk will feature Carnegie Mellon University Prof. Baruch Fischoff discussing “Helping Science Speak for Itself: Improving Communication Between Scientists and Citizens.” Following that keynote talk, Mitchell will speak about the important role that institutions of higher education can play in helping diverse stakeholders solve sustainability-related problems facing Maine and other regions.
Fischhoff, a cognitive psychologist and professor of social and decision sciences at Carnegie Mellon, is interested in helping the public deal with health, safety and environmental risks. He will discuss his research on communication strategies that can explain science in ways that help people make more informed decisions about complex issues.
Fischhoff’s leadership roles include serving as chair of the FDA’s Risk Communication Advisory Committee and serving on the EPA’s Scientific Advisory Board and chairing its Homeland Security Advisory Committee. He focuses on helping the public understand and respond to health and environmental risks.
The university’s Senator George J. Mitchell Center is home base for Maine’s Sustainability Solutions Initiative (SSI), an ambitious initiative working with Maine communities to strategically address issues related to economic, social and environmental concerns. That initiative is supported, in part, by a $20 million National Science Foundation grant.
The Mitchell Center and SSI are lecture sponsors, along with the National Science Foundation and the Maine EPSCoR Office.
Oct. 6, 2011
Contact: Joe Carr
(207) 581-3571