The following is a republished press release from Cornell University and NOT written by the Ithaca Voice … click here to submit community announcements directly to The Voice, or contact us at tips@ithacavoice.com.
ITHACA, N.Y. — Can science and religion be reconciled? Astronomy professor Jonathan Lunine will offer his thoughts on the subject in a free lecture on Wednesday, July 19 at 7:00 p.m. in Call Auditorium in Cornell’s Kennedy Hall. Open to the public, the lecture is part of the free summer events series sponsored by the School of Continuing Education and Summer Sessions.
Lunine, director of the Cornell Center for Astrophysics and Planetary Science, will look at the case of Georges Lemaitre, a Belgian scientist and Catholic priest who conceived the Big Bang model for the origin of the cosmos. As a man of the cloth, Lemaitre faced unique difficulties in defending the theory that he helped to formulate. In his talk, Lunine will explore two questions raised by this piece of scientific history: who gets credit for what in scientific discoveries, and can a scientist be religious?
Cornell’s free summer events, which run from June 27 to August 4, include Tuesday performances at the Schwartz Center, Wednesday lectures at Call Auditorium, and Friday concerts on the Arts Quad. For more information, visit summer.cornell.edu/events, e-mail cusce@cornell.edu, or call 607.255.4987. If you need accommodations to participate in any of these events, please contact Katy Heine at kah223@cornell.edu.
Featured photo by Joseph Lunine