Renowned geoscientist Iain Stewart to speak at UK on communicating science to the public

A Scottish geoscientist with international recognition as the host of television science and nature documentaries is coming to the University of Kentucky to speak on the evening of Wednesday, Jan. 17. Iain Stewart, director of the Sustainable Earth Institute at Plymouth University in England, will speak on “Between a Rock and a Head Place: Communicating Contested Geoscience to the Public.” The event is free and open to the public.

Stewart, a professor of geoscience communication, has been involved with interdisciplinary research into geologic hazards such as earthquakes, volcanism, and abrupt environmental change. He worked with BBC Science to host a number of television documentaries, including “Hot Rocks,” “Journeys Into the Ring of Fire,” “Earth: The Power of the Planet,” and “Earth: The Climate Wars.” In the U.S., the National Geographic and Discovery channels have broadcast some of his documentaries. Stewart has been recognized for his work by the American Geosciences Institute, the European Federation of Geologists, the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and other scientific organizations.

The Kentucky Geological Survey arranged for his January 17 talk, which begins at 6:30 p.m. in the UK Athletics Association Auditorium in the W.T. Young Library on the UK campus. It is part of the Geological Society of America’s James B. Thompson Jr. Distinguished International Lecture tour, in which Stewart is giving talks across North America. The UK event is also a part of the Donald C. Haney Lecture Series, named for the former state geologist and director of KGS from 1978 to 1999, who died in 2014.

Free parking for the lecture will be available in lots along Columbia Avenue next to the Library and UK Parking Structure 2 on Hilltop Avenue. For more information, contact Mike Lynch at (859) 323-0561, or mike.lynch@uky.edu.