Ronneberg Lectures

Dr. Conrad E. Ronneberg was a Professor of Chemistry at Denison University.  He endowed the Ronneberg Lectureship in 1981 as a means to bring to campus outstanding scientists to lecture on a diverse range of topics.  Dr. Ronneberg hoped these scientists would have real stature in the intellectual world and that they would increase the students’ appreciation for science.  Historically, the Ronneberg Lectureship has funded a mixture of well-known speakers for a larger audience and more specialized speakers for a smaller audience, often linked to specific science courses.

Procedures for Requesting Ronneberg Funds

Submit a proposal via email to Dr. Jessica Rettig, the coordinator for the Ronneberg Lectureships (rettig@denison.edu), that includes:

1. Speaker’s name & institutional affiliation & anticipated date(s) of the visit.
2. List of any classes or student groups he/she will likely visit.
3. If you plan to have the speaker give a "public" presentation, then list the potential topic and audience for this lecture (the audience can be students).  A "public" event could be a brown bag lunch, an early evening talk, or some other format.
4. Name of faculty/department(s)/program(s) hosting the lecturer.
5. Include a budget with estimated costs for the portions of the visit that Ronneberg is asked to fund.  This might include travel, lodging, and food for the speaker, meal or reception with students or faculty, and an honorarium.  Ronneberg can partner with departments or programs to fund speakers.

2011-2012 Ronneberg Events

• Spring 2012   Dr. Joe Duff, Operation Migration, Inc.  Public lecture on crane migration.
• Dec. 8, 2011  Dr. Don Johanson, Arizona State University.  "Lucy's Legacy:  Our African Origins".  Thursday, Dec 8 in Slayter Auditorium at 7:30 pm.
• Fall 2011  Dr. Spencer Wells,  National Geographic Society.  Opening convocation on human migrations and visits to several classes.  Co-sponsored with the Spectrum Series.
• Fall 2011  Dr. Robert Ballard,  National Geographic Society.  Public lecture on marine exploration & oceanography and visits to several classes.  Co-sponosred with the University Programming Council (UPC).
• Fall 2011   Dr. Ken Lohman, University of North Carolina.  Public lecture on migration in sea turtles and visits to several classes.
• Fall 2011  Dr. Shelie Miller ('00), Michigan State University.  Featured Alumni Presentation and class visits co-sponsored by the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry as part of the Grand Re-Opening Celebration for Ebaugh Labs. 

Past Ronneberg Lecturers & Events

• Spring 2011  Dr. George Spirou ('77), Director of the Center for Nueroscience at University of West Virginia.  Public lecture and class visits.  Cosponsored with the Nueroscience Program.
• Spring 2011  Dr. Colin Orians, Director of Environmental Studies at Tufts University.  Public lecture and class visits on plant-herbivore interactions.
• Fall  2010   Opening Convocation speaker Steven Johnson introduced the 2010-11 "Technology & Community" campus theme.  Johnson is the best-selling author of four books on the intersection of science, technology, society, and personal experience. Co-sponsored with teh Spectrum Series.
• Fall 2010    Tim Palmer, recent author of the Western Rivers Conservancy's "Great Rivers of the West" report, a survey of the natural qualities of rivers in eleven Western states. Co-sponsored with the Environmental Studies Program.
• Fall  2010  Sandra Steingraber - on the links between cancer and the environment and on reforming chemical policy and contamination without consent.  Co-sponsored with the Laura C. Harris Program.
• Spring 2010  "Stars of Swasey"  A multi-event celebration of the 100th anniversary of Swasey Observatory.  Featured colloquia by Jim Kernohan (DU’83, Science Teacher Milton Academy) “Transit Observations of the HAT-P-10 or How a Group of High School Students Were Able to Detect an Extrasolar Planet”; Rachel Berger Connolly (DU’96, Gheens Science Hall and Rauch Planetarium Director, University of Louisville) “How Do You See the Universe? – How Data Visualization Will Change the Way We Teach and Do Science”;  Dr. Tracy Huard (DU’93, University of Maryland) “Windows into Star Formation”; and Dr. John Clarke (DU’74, Boston University) “Following the Water on Mars and Venus – the Goldilocks Problem”.
• Spring 2010   Neuroscience Celebration!   A multi-event celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Neuroscience Program at Denison.   Ronneberg sponsored the Neuroscience Alumni Panel – Discuss current research in neuroscience with Denison almuni Regina Cesaro (DU’08), Dr. Lyric Jorgensen (DU’oo, currently at NIH), and Dr. David Zeigler (DU’99, currently at MIT). 
• Fall 2009  Dr. Warren Abrahamson (Bucknell University) - Speciation in goldenrod gall-flies.  Lecture & class visits.
• Fall 2009  Dr. Holly Menninger (Cornell University), Denison alum '00 - Consequences and management of non-native insect introductions.  Lecture & class visits.
• Fall 2009  Dr. Robert Richards (University of Chicago) - A Defense of Darwinian Evolutionary Ethics.  Co-sponsored by the Department of Philosophy.  Lecture & class visits.
• Spring 2009  Dr. Mark Ward (Purdue University), Denison alum 1999 - An Invitation to Combinatorial Game Theory.  Department seminar & public lecture.
• Spring 2009  Dr. Tim Chartier (Davidson College) - Mime-matics, a combination of mathematics and mime. Department seminar & public lecture.
• Spring 2009  Dr. Cindi Lee Van Dover (Duke Marine Lab) - Ocean mining and deep sea hydrothermal vents.  Lecture & class visits.
• Spring 2009  Dr. Phil Gingerich (University of Michigan) - Evolution of whales.  Co-sponsored by Denison's chapter of Phi Beta Kappa (the national Liberal Arts Honor Society).  Lecture & class visits.

For more information about the Sciences at Denison click here.

For more information on the Ronneberg Lecture Series please contact Dr. Jessica Rettig (rettig@denison.edu).