Nominations open for 2023 Geddes W. Simpson Distinguished Lecturer

The University of Maine, in partnership with the University of Maine Foundation, is soliciting nominations for the 2023 Geddes W. Simpson Lecture. 

This endowed lecture series facilitates campus visits and presentations by prominent speakers with expertise at the interface of science and history. The series has hosted a broad range of speakers from varied academic disciplines. Last year’s speaker was Stephen Bocking, professor emeritus from the Trent School of Environment at Trent University, whose research encompassed the historical and contemporary roles of knowledge in environmental affairs.

To nominate a speaker to address the UMaine community in fall 2023, submit a one-page letter of nomination and the curriculum vita of the nominee to sydne.record@maine.edu no later than Friday, April 28.

Simpson was a distinguished faculty member who began his 55-year career at UMaine with the College of Life Sciences and the Maine Agricultural Experiment Station in 1931. His research program, which focused on aphids in potato plants, was renowned. 

Simpson served as the chair of the Entomology Department from 1954 until his retirement in 1974. He was the first recipient of the UMaine Presidential Research Achievement Award. 

Awarded emeritus status upon retirement, he continued to work part-time as an editor with the Agricultural Experiment Station. UMaine Professor emeritus David C. Smith dedicated his history of the Maine Agricultural Experiment Station to Simpson, noting that Simpson was “one of three men whose work I admire.”