Nov 17 2014
For Cameron Smith, the final frontier has become the next frontier. The anthropologist and adventurer will discuss, during a live webcast public lecture at Perimeter Institute on Dec. 3, the challenges that await future generations as they leave our earthly home for the stars.
Dr. Cameron Smith
An intrepid explorer who has crossed the Vatnajokull ice cap in Iceland, sailed a log raft off South America, and designed his own spacesuit for an upper-atmosphere excursion, Smith views space colonization as the next giant leap in human history. He’ll discuss the evolutionary challenges – both biological and cultural – that humankind will face on multi-generational journeys off our home planet.
The free talk and live webcast, part of the Perimeter Institute Public Lecture Series presented by Sun Life Financial, is titled “Interstellar Voyaging: An Evolutionary Transition.” Smith hopes to give the audience a sense of both the sheer magnitude and the exciting possibilities of off-planet exploration.
“Making an interstellar voyage to one of the exoplanets we have begun to detect will require a very good understanding of how both human culture and human biology adapt over time,” says Smith. “Something as extraordinary as an interstellar voyage for tens of thousands of people over multiple generations is a very tall order.”
A faculty member at Portland State University, Smith’s academic pursuits are focused on human evolution, a subject on which he has written numerous books, and provided commentary for media including PBS, the History Channel, and the National Geographic Channel. He earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees in Africa, England, the US and Canada, and has conducted pre-history investigations worldwide since 1984.
“My career so far has involved examination of the human past – the origins of humanity in Africa, and our dispersal globally as a species. So I have a good idea of where we have been as a species,” says Smith. “But now I’m just interested in where we are going.”
Smith’s public lecture will be webcast live on Wednesday Dec. 3, 2014 at 7 pm EST. Online viewers can pose questions to Smith by tweeting to @Perimeter and using the hashtag #piLIVE. Click here to sign up to receive an email reminder about the live webcast.
View past PI Public Lectures and events, and find further details about PI’s research, training, and outreach activities at http://www.perimeterinstitute.ca.
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Source: http://www.perimeterinstitute.ca