The Norman L. Ford Science Literacy Lecture 2026
Document Type
Presentation
Publication Date
3-30-2026
Sponsoring Department(s)
Norman L. Ford Science Literacy Lecture Series
Abstract
The Physics Department welcomes this year's Norman Ford Lecture Series speaker, Dr. Noah Whiteman (SJU alumnus). Dr. Whiteman presented "Most Delicious Poison: The Story of Nature's Toxins - From Spices to Vices".
Dr. Noah Whiteman is an evolutionary biologist and professor at the University of California, Berkeley, as well as a Minnesota native and SJU alumnus. He has received numerous awards for his teaching and scholarship, including a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2020. In this lecture, Dr. Whiteman will use cutting edge science in the fields of evolution, chemistry, and neuroscience to explain the origins of toxins produced by nature, the mechanisms animals evolved to overcome them, and how this co-evolutionary arms race made its way into the human experience. This perpetual chemical war not only drove diversification of life on Earth, but also is intimately tied to our own successes and failures. You will never look at a houseplant, mushroom, fruit, vegetable, or even the past five hundred years of human history the same way again.
Recommended Citation
Whiteman, Noah, "The Norman L. Ford Science Literacy Lecture 2026" (2026). Norman L. Ford Science Literacy Lectures. 4.
https://digitalcommons.csbsju.edu/ford_lectures/4