Evil Genes: Why Rome Fell, Hitler Rose, Enron Failed, and My Sister Stole My Mother’s Boyfriend
Wednesday, February 13, 2008, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm
Women's City Club, 254 E. Fulton, Grand Rapids, MI, View Map
Presented by Barbara Oakley, Ph.D., P.E., Associate Professor of Engineering, Oakland University
Description
Barbara will be speaking on her new Book entitled "Evil Genes: Why Rome Fell, Hilter Rose, Enron Failed, and My Sister Stole My Mother’s Boyfriend." In this presentation, Oakley will explore human evil from a scientific perspective. She recounts experiences that led her to research the topic, including episodes from her sister’s life, and from her travels. She details recent advances in brain imaging and genetics that have implications for traditional views of evil, and discusses why a scientific understanding of evil is important.
About the Speaker
Barbara Oakley is an associate professor of engineering at Oakland University in Michigan. Her work focuses on the complex relationship between neurocircuitry and social behavior. Among her varied experiences, she has worked for several years as a Russian translator on Soviet trawlers in the Bering Sea during the height of the Cold War; she met her husband while working as a radio operator at the South Pole station in Antarctica; and she has gone from private to regular Army Captain in the U.S. military. Oakley is a recent vice president of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, the world’s largest bioengineering society, as well as a fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering. Her books include Hair of the Dog: Tales from Aboard a Russian Trawler (WSU Press, 1996), Evil Genes: Why Rome Fell, Hitler Rose, Enron Failed, and My Sister Stole My Mother’s Boyfriend (Prometheus Books, 2007), Career Development in Bioengineering and Biotechnology (co-edited, Springer, 2008), and the forthcoming Cold-Blooded Kindness (Prometheus Books, March, 2011).
Additional Details
Meetings are open to the Public
After the meeting, join us at Vitale’s Restaurant, 834 Leonard NE, Grand Rapids, MI to socialize. View Map
Learn about Parking, Accessibility, Child Care and more.
Cost: $6.00 Suggested Donation or free for Friends of the Center.
Contact: Jennifer Beahan, , 616-698-2342
