What do you think of when you hear the word “roots?” Our featured guest, Patricia Princehouse, is the Associate Director of the Institute for the Science of Origins and the Director of Case Western Reserve University's program in evolutionary biology. She knows a thing or two about roots. We allowed Patricia’s talk to guide the direction of this episode, as we take a look at our own roots.
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Patricia Princehouse
is Director of the Program in Evolutionary Biology, and outreach director for the Institute for the Science of Origins. Patricia Princehouse is an evolutionary biologist and historian of science. She earned her masters from Yale and a PhD from Harvard, where she worked with Stephen Jay Gould and Richard Lewontin. She has conducted fieldwork on primate evolution in Africa and North America, and also has research interests in what artificial life and digital organisms can tell us about patterns and processes of evolution. Princehouse grew up on a farm near Dayton, Ohio, and has always had a keen interest in the natural world, especially animals, and is a breeder of top show, performance and working Pyrenean Shepherd dogs, and occasionally sheep, goats and horses. Princehouse has received many teaching awards, and in 2003 was honored by the National Center for Science Education’s “Friend of Darwin” award for helping preserve the integrity of Ohio’s public school science curriculum. She is currently working on a book titled Can Evolution Help You Choose a Puppy?
The Institute for the Science of Origins (ISO) is a collaborative team of faculty members and researchers from diverse scientific disciplines seeking to understand how complex systems emerge and evolve, from the universe to the mind, from microbes to humanity.
Through interdisciplinary teams and cross-departmental programs, the institute works with its partners, fellows, and the university community to create new knowledge, to prepare the scientists of tomorrow and to educate the public about origins research.
The institute was born out of discussions among scientific and administrative leaders at Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Museum of Natural History (CMNH) on how to advance the understanding and appreciation of the science of origins. In spring 2008, emboldened by the inclusion of origins in the university’s new strategic plan, a group of faculty and curators decided to work toward the creation of an Institute for the Science of Origins (ISO), under the leadership of Glenn Starkman, professor of physics and astronomy, who was appointed by Case Western Reserve President Barbara Snyder to be director of the Origins Initiative.
The ISO now encompasses and brings together researchers in multiple disciplines, departments and centers at both Case Western Reserve and the CMNH, and is seeding, supporting and planning research and education across a broad spectrum of origins science. The ISO is pleased to have established a partnership with ideastream, the non-profit media organization that includes Cleveland’s public television and radio stations.
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Lisa Sands
Lisa Sands is a public relations professional by day and an enthusiastic home cook by night. Flanked by her husband and sous chef, Troy, and with two taste-testing dogs underfoot, Lisa enjoys challenging herself with new recipes and creating photo-worthy composed plates. Her hobbies are talking about food, making food, and eating food.
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