Public Lecture at Scripps Institution of Oceanography Highlights the History of Marine Sciences
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
University of California, San Diego

The history of marine sciences will be the focus of a free public lecture series presented by Dr. Eric L. Mills, professor of history of science at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The noontime lectures at Scripps Institution of Oceanography will begin in January and continue weekly through March 2003 as part of the yearlong celebration of the Scripps Centennial.

As Scripps commemorates its 100-year history, these lectures will provide the San Diego community a unique opportunity to learn about the rich history of marine science and oceanography at Scripps and beyond. A leader and innovator in oceanography and marine technology for 100 years, Scripps Institution of Oceanography is dedicating its centennial celebration to communicating the importance of ocean science to the global community and to reaching out to friends and colleagues around the world. Throughout the 20th century, Scripps played a key role in defining the new science of oceanography in the United States.

Mills received his doctorate in biology in 1964 from Yale University where he was a NATO Science Scholar. Among his numerous honors and affiliations, Mills is a member of the Society of History of Natural History; president of the Commission of Oceanography, a historical commission of the International Union of the History and Philosophy of Science; and was a scientific member of the Hudson 70 expedition, an 11-month Canadian cruise which accomplished the first circumnavigation of the Americas. He is currently director of the History of Science and Technology Programme, a new joint honors undergraduate degree program at Dalhousie and the University of King's College, where he continues his research and writing in the history of the marine sciences.

The Mills Lecture Series is sponsored by the Scripps Centennial Committee and the Scripps Heritage Committee.

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SCHEDULE: History of Marine Science Lecture Series—Dr. Eric L. Mills

12 noon to 1:30 p.m.
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Hubbs Hall Conference Room

January 9 - The oceans in the ancient world. I - Ionia to Aristotle

January 16 - The oceans in the ancient world. II - The Earth and oceans mapped

January 30 - Luigi Ferdinando Marsigli and the oceans—investigating the sea in the early 18th century

February 6 - De Motu Marium. Developing an early physics of ocean circulation

February 13 - Astronomers and privateers. Circulation of the atmosphere and the ocean in the Newtonian era

February 20 -Wind and temperature. Ocean circulation and the 4 degrees C theory

February 27 - The lifeless deep. Biology, Lightning, Porcupine, and the deep circulation of the oceans

March 11 - Oceanography on the grand scale. The Carpenter-Cross controversy and its outcome

March 13 - An icon for oceanography: the voyage of H.M.S. Challenger

March 20 - Oceanography after Challenger. Fisheries and the origin of international oceanography

*March 27 - Dr. Ritter’s laboratory. Marine sciences in the U.S.A. in the early 20th century

*This special lecture will be given at 3:00 p.m. in Sumner Auditorium, Scripps Institution of Oceanography