Columns:: Noted scientist presents fall Charter Lecture

since 12/15/98

Columns::November 12, 2001

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Noted scientist presents fall Charter Lecture

By Larry B. Dendy
ldendy@uga.edu

Lynn Margulis

When she was small, Lynn Margulis always said she wanted to be an explorer and writer when she grew up.
As an adult, she pursued her ambition with ground-breaking research on cell biology and microbial evolution, and major contributions to one of the more intriguing scientific theories of the last half of the 20th century: the Gaia hypothesis.
And though she is now an internationally acclaimed scientist and recipient of some of her profession’s most prestigious honors, Margulis--who will deliver the fall Charter Lecture Nov. 19--still considers herself an explorer and writer.
“Nearly incessantly, I explore with passion the inner workings of living cells to reveal their evolutionary history,” says Margulis, winner of the 1999 National Medal of Science. “And as soon as I learn something new about bacteria or insect symbionts that helps explain the history of life on the earth’s surface, I write about it.”
Margulis, who has given more than 200 lectures in more than 20 countries, will present the Charter Lecture at 4 p.m. in the Chapel. Her talk, titled “The Face of Gaia: Earth’s Microcosm,” is open free to the public.
In research conducted in seven countries over nearly 40 years, Margulis helped revolutionize understanding of the origin and evolution of cells. Building on ideas that already existed, she developed startling hypotheses about the symbiotic relationship of cell components, known as endosymbiosis. Her theories, once described as so controversial “they could not be discussed at respectable scientific meetings,” are today widely accepted as the probable explanation for how many forms of life, including humans and plants, began and evolved on earth.
Since 1988, Margulis has been at the University of Massachusetts, where she is Distinguished University Professor in Geosciences.

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