Ethnobotanist Mark Plotkin, who for much of the past 20 years has worked with and learned from the shamans of Central and South America, will visit Denison University as the 2000/2001 Anderson Lecturer. His topic, "In Search of Nature's Healing Secrets," will explore the healing plants and traditions of the shamans of the tropical rainforests. The lecture is at 8 p.m. on Thursday (Oct. 19) in Swasey Chapel and is free and open to the public.

Recently hailed by Time Magazine as an environmental "Hero for the Planet," Plotkin currently serves as a research associate in the department of botany at the Smithsonian Institution. He also is the executive director of the Amazon Conservation Team, a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting the biological and cultural diversity of the tropical rain forest. Plotkin studied at Harvard, Yale and Tufts. He has served as a research associate in ethnobotanical conservation at the Botanical Museum of Harvard University, director of plant conservation at the World Wildlife Fund and vice president of Conservation International in Washington, D.C.

Plotkin's newest book is "Medicine Quest: In Search of Nature's Haling Secrets," published by Viking - Penguin. Plotkin also is the author of "Tales of a Shaman's Apprentice" (Viking ? Penguin) which is in its 18th printing and has been translated into Dutch, German, Italian, Japanese and Spanish. A children's version, titled "The Shaman's Apprentice ? A Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest," was co-written and illustrated by Lynne Cherry, author of "The Great Kapok Tree." Plotkin also was co-editor of "Sustainable Harvest and Use of Rain Forest Products" (Island Press).

In 1994, Plotkin was awarded the San Diego Zoo Gold Medal for Conservation, one of the top awards in the environmental field (previous winners include Jane Goodale and Sir David Attenborough). Also known as an orator and storyteller, Plotkin's work hit the IMAX screen in the film "Amazon," which was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Short Documentary. He also has been featured in a PBS Nova documentary, in an Emmy-winning Fox TV documentary and on news shows on NBC and CBS.

The Anderson Lecture Series is part of a program for science education at Denison created by J. Reid and Polly Anderson in 1986. The endowment, which exceeds $1 million, also supports the Anderson Science Scholarships and the Anderson Summer Research awards. The late Reid Anderson, a 1938 Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Denison, was founder and former chief executive of Verbatim Corporation. He served on Denison's Board of Trustees from 1983 to 1987. Denison Professor Philip E. Stukus, biology, is director of the Anderson Program.

About Denison:

Denison University, founded in 1831, is an independent, residential liberal arts institution located in Granville, Ohio. A highly selective college enrolling 2,100 full-time undergraduate students from all 50 states and dozens of foreign countries, Denison is a place where innovative faculty and motivated students collaborate in rigorous scholarship, civic engagement and the cultivation of independent thinking.

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