John Kress Distinguished Scientist & Curator of Botany, Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History Dr. W. John Kress is Distinguished Scientist and Curator of Botany at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. He formerly served as the Interim Under Secretary for Science at the Smithsonian and Director of Science in the Grand Challenges Consortia. Dr. Kress received his education at Harvard University (B.A., 1975) and Duke University (Ph.D., 1981) where he studied tropical biology, ethnobotany, evolution, and ecology. He is a taxonomic specialist on the tropical Zingiberales and his current research is focused on biodiversity genomics, conservation, and the Anthropocene. Among his 200 scientific and popular papers are his books Plant Conservation – A Natural History Approach, The Weeping Goldsmith, and The Ornaments of Life – Coevolution and Conservation in the Tropics. His most recent book is Living in the Anthropocene – Earth in the Age of Humans about climate change and society. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and is currently Visiting Scholar at Dartmouth College and the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University. Participant In: Living in the Anthropocene 2:30pm on Saturday, April 27th, 2019 Past Event Watch the video » What underlying conceptual questions prompted this new characterization of our planet’s present era? What does this imply for the distinctions we have become accustomed to: between human subjects (however varied) and the non-human realm, between nature and artifice, between agency and objectivity? These conceptual questions are not simply academic; they are asked with a view… read more »
Living in the Anthropocene 2:30pm on Saturday, April 27th, 2019 Past Event Watch the video » What underlying conceptual questions prompted this new characterization of our planet’s present era? What does this imply for the distinctions we have become accustomed to: between human subjects (however varied) and the non-human realm, between nature and artifice, between agency and objectivity? These conceptual questions are not simply academic; they are asked with a view… read more »