Conversations on Science: The Wisdom of Science and the Power of Words

Award-winning science journalist Carl Zimmer reports from the frontiers of biology, where scientists are expanding our understanding of life. He is a columnist for The New York Times and is an expert on topics ranging from biology and evolution to parasites and viruses. His award-winning blog, "The Loom," is hosted by National Geographic where he has also published numerous popular articles including such topics as: "Bringing Back the Mammoth" which looks at the feasibility of using genetic research to restore extinct species or manage species under threat. He is a lecturer at Yale University, where he teaches writing about science and the environment, and he also lectures at some of the country's leading universities, museums and science conferences. Zimmer is known for enthralling audiences with topics on the cutting edge of science as well as for how easily he talks about the history of the scientific revolution. He is the best selling author of twelve books on science including Soul Made Flesh, a history of neuroscience, which was named one of the top 100 books of the year by The New York Times Book Review, and dubbed a "tour-de-force" by The Sunday Telegraph. Zimmer is, in the words of The New York Times Book Review, "as fine a science essayist as we have." He won the National Academies Communication Award and is a two-time winner of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Journalism Award. He will be speaking about the power of words and the art of connecting people to science through evocative story telling and a commitment to scientific accuracy. Carl Zimmer has been chosen as the California Academy of Sciences' 2014 Osher Fellow for his commitment to communicating science.

Carl Zimmer will be in conversation with Amy Standen from KQED Science, an award-winning multimedia science and environment series. Her work has been recognized by the National Association of Public Radio News Directors and Northern California's Society of Professional Journalists. Standen has been a producer on Pulse of the Planet, editor of Terrain Magazine, an editor at Salon and a roving reporter for KALW's Philosophy Talk.