Freeman J. Dyson

Freeman J. Dyson to Deliver the Jerry March Memorial Lecture at Adelphi University on October 21, 2009

Garden City, NY
August 26, 2009

Freeman J. Dyson, professor emeritus of physics at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton University, will deliver “Heretical Thoughts About Science and Society,” for Adelphi University’s annual Jerry March Memorial Lecture on Wednesday, October 21, 2009, at 7:00 p.m. in Adelphi’s Thomas Dixon Lovely Ballroom in the Ruth S. Harley University Center, 1 South Avenue, Garden City, NY. The event is free and open to the public.

Mr. Dyson taught physics at Princeton’s Institute for Advanced Study from 1953 until his retirement in 1994, upon which he became a professor emeritus of the University. His fondness for scientific debate and inquiry is well known and appreciated at Princeton and elsewhere, earning him an astounding 21 honorary degrees from various institutions ranging from Georgetown to Oxford University. He has also been awarded the 1988 Phi Beta Kappa Award in Science for his book, Infinite in All Directions (Harper and Row, New York and London, 1988), the Enrico Fermi Award from the U.S. Department of Energy in 1995, the Lewis Thomas Prize from Rockefeller University in 1996, and many others.

Penning numerous works, Mr. Dyson has had articles featured in Scientific American and the New Yorker, and authored books such as Disturbing the Universe (Harper and Row, New York and London, 1979), Weapons and Hope (Harper and Row, New York and London, 1984), and Origins of Life (Cambridge University Press, 1986). From 2001 to 2003, Mr. Dyson served as a member of the NASA Advisory Council, and from 2004 to 2005 he was a member of the National Academy of Sciences committee on Next Generation Biowarfare Threats.

Mr. Dyson received his bachelor’s of mathematics from the University of Cambridge in 1945.

The Jerry March Memorial Lecture is an endowed lectureship established by the March family to honor the memory of Dr. Jerry March, who served Adelphi as a professor of chemistry for more than forty years. His contributions to education are numerous and include authoring the reference “Advanced Organic Chemistry: Reactions, Mechanisms, and Structure,” which remains a staple text in graduate-level organic chemistry. For the last decade of his life, Dr. March volunteered his time reading books for Recordings for the Blind. This December marks the 10th anniversary of his passing.

For more information about this and other events on campus, please visit www.adelphi.edu, or call the Cultural Events Hotline at (516) 877-4555.

About Adelphi University: Adelphi University, chartered in 1896, was the first institution of higher education for the liberal arts and sciences on Long Island. Through its schools and programs—The College of Arts and Sciences, Derner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies, Honors College, Ruth S. Ammon School of Education, University College, and the Schools of Business, Nursing, and Social Work—the co-educational university offers undergraduate and graduate degrees as well as professional and educational programs for adults. Adelphi University currently enrolls nearly 8,500 students from 41 states and 63 foreign countries. With its main campus in Garden City and centers in Manhattan, Hauppauge, and Poughkeepsie, the University maintains a commitment to liberal studies in tandem with rigorous professional preparation and active citizenship.


Media Contact
For additional information, please contact:

Kali Chan Media Relations Director p - 516.877.4040 f - 516.877.3266 e - chan@adelphi.edu