GRANVILLE -- The Denison University Provost Lecture Series will host Denison graduate Fred C. Dyer '77 to discuss "What Can Insects Teach Us About Designing Smarter Robots?" This convocation, set for 7:30 p.m. on Monday (Sept. 20) in Slayter Auditorium, is free and open to the public.

Dyer, chair of the department of zoology at Michigan State University, received both his master's and doctoral degrees from Princeton University in the field of behavior and neurobiology. Dyer's doctoral work focused on the dance language and orientation of honeybees and he is currently researching navigation and learning in honeybees.

Dyer is co-director Michigan State University's Sequential Information Gathering in Machines and Animals (SIGMA) lab, an interdisciplinary lab in cognitive science that investigates rapid, real-time decision making for information gathering using humans, insects and machines as model systems. Recently the SIGMA lab was expanded through funding from the National Science Foundation into a graduate program in cognitive science. The new program focuses on the interdisciplinary study of cognition in humans, animals and intelligent machines with special emphasis on sequential decision-making problems.

As part of the Provost Lecture Series, Dyer will be visiting the campus on both Monday and Tuesday (Sept. 20 and 21). The Provost Lecture Series brings Denison graduates back to campus, emphasizing alumni working in academic fields. Past Provost Lecture Series speakers include theologian Kelly Brown Douglas '79, NASA project scientist John Clarke '74, art historian Susan Rather '78 and actress Jennifer Garner '94.

For press inquiries:

Name

Barbara Stambaugh

Position Title

Director, Media Relations

Primary Email

stambaughb@denison.edu

Business Phone

(740) 587-8575