EvoS Seminar Series

EvoS Seminar Series for Spring 2026 –

Every spring semester, the EvoS seminar series brings distinguished speakers and alumni to campus to share their work on all aspects of humanity and the natural world from an evolutionary perspective. 

For undergraduates and graduate students, "Current Topics in Evolutionary Studies" (EVOS451/BIOL451/580S) is a 2-credit course based on the seminar series. Every week, students read scholarly articles and write a commentary to prepare for the seminar. While visiting campus, the speakers meet with faculty and students to share ideas and explore opportunities for collaboration. In many respects, the seminar series is the hub of EvoS and is the capstone of the minor. This course is frequently rated among students' best intellectual experiences at Binghamton.

The seminars are open to the campus and local community. Lectures are typically less than an hour, followed by a brief Q&A by guests, and a longer discussion with students. Most lectures will be in-person in SL-212, with fewer lectures being delivered remotely. All can be viewed live via Zoom.

Mondays, 4:15 pm - 6:15 pm, Science Library - Room 212

Weekly seminars are on Monday, except for Tuesday, April 7.

(Note: seminar details will be added as they become available)

SPRING 2026 SERIES:

Monday, January 26 - Introduction to the Course

Rolf Quam, Binghamton University, Anthropology and Evolutionary Studies

(In-person lecture)

  • Details
    • Monday, January 26
    • In person

Monday, Feb 2 - Darwin Day Film

Title: Monkey Trial, American Experience, PBS Video (1:18 min)

  • Details
    • Monday, Feb 2, 4:15 pm - 5:45 pm
    • Film screening only, no Zoom

    Evolutionary Studies, Anthropology Club and Evolution Club invite you to the

    2026 DARWIN DAY MATINEE

    “Monkey Trial”, a PBS American Experience film

    The Scopes “Monkey Trail” of 1925 was not only about whether Darwin’s theory of evolution could be taught in schools, but is widely considered a bellwether event that showed the division between science and religion in America, a divide that remains pertinent over one hundred years later. This film documents the historic events of that trial and the country at the time.

    This documentary will set the stage for our special guest speaker, Amanda Townley, Executive Director of the National Center for Science Education, who will speak on “A trial without end: Why we are still litigating Scopes a Century Later” on February 9, 4:15 pm, in SL-212.

    ALL ARE WELCOME

    Snacks will be served, please bring your own beverage.

Monday, February 9 - Speaker 1

Speaker: Amanda Townley, National Center for Science Education

Profile: https://ncse.ngo/node/7459

Title: A trial without end: Why we are still litigating Scopes a century later

  • Details

    A trial without end: 

    Why we are still litigating Scopes a century later

    Amanda Townley, PhD, Executive Director, National Center for Science Education

    Science Library 212, in-person and via Zoom* (meeting ID below)

    Monday, February 9, 4:15pm – 5:15pm

    About the seminar

    A century after the 1925 Scopes “Monkey” trail, the tensions between American culture and perceptions of evolutionary science remain a critical fracture in our social fabric. Through legal battles that have shifted from banning, to balancing, to blunting, and now backsliding the underlying conflicts have evolved rather than resolved. This talk examines the legacy of Scopes and the lessons learned since that first battle of society and science, exploring why scientific progress and cultural identities often follow divergent paths. We begin by tracing the origins of the trial from New York City, where the blueprint for the modern culture war was accidentally engineered generations ago. We then explore how the stakes have shifted in the last century, from the debate over what is taught and how to the modern crisis of trust and authority. Through the lens of culture and evolution, where resistance may be viewed as a form of cultural niche construction, we seek to understand how a range of groups, from political to religious, have adapted their rhetoric to survive the changing legal environment. Ultimately, it is not a failure on the part of science that we are still litigating Scopes in the modern age, but rather a predictable outcome of two co-evolving systems – biological facts and the cultural systems that are trying to make sense of them. 

    About the speaker

     Amanda L. Townley, Ph.D., Executive Director of the National Center for Science Education, is an award-winning researcher and advocate specializing in science teacher education, evolution education research, and science literacy-focused public outreach. Townley is a deeply engaged advocate of science for all, "hands-on, minds-on" teaching and learning, and supporting the accurate and comprehensive teaching of science across levels of study. Prior to joining NCSE, she was an Associate Professor of Middle Grades and Secondary Science Education at Georgia Southern University in Savannah, Georgia. Her research centered on the intersections between science and society, specifically the acceptance and rejection of evolution and climate change, misconceptions and misuse of the nature of science in anti-science movements, and the impact of the perceived conflicts between scientific understandings and culture on science literacy. 

    * Zoom Meeting ID: 962 6967 3100 and Passcode: 908754

Monday, February 16 - Speaker 2

Speaker: Christopher Smith, Fairfield University-Connecticut

Profile: https://www.fairfield.edu/faculty-and-staff/profile/?username=csmith2

Title: What Our Inner Ears Reveal About the Evolution of Human Movement

Monday, February 23 - Speaker 3

Speaker: Carl Lipo, Binghamton University

Profile: https://www.binghamton.edu/anthropology/faculty/profile.html?id=clipo

Title: The Ontong Java Expedition and Archaeology of Oceania

Monday, March 2 - Speaker 4

Instructor: Rolf Quam, Binghamton University

Profile: https://www.binghamton.edu/anthropology/faculty/profile.html?id=rquam

Title: Project Lucy: Reconstructing a Human Ancestor

Monday, March 9 - Speaker 5

Speaker: Quentin Atkinson, University of New Zealand (Remote)

University of New Zealand in Auckland

Profile: https://profiles.auckland.ac.nz/q-atkinson

Title: What language phylogenies can teach us about human cultural diversity

March 16 - NO CLASS (Paleoanthropology and AABA meetings-Denver)

Monday, March 23 - Speaker 6

Speaker: Adriane Lam, Binghamton University (In-Person)

Profile: https://profiles.auckland.ac.nz/q-atkinson

Title: Antarctica Expedition

March 30 - NO CLASS (Spring Break)

April 6  - NO CLASS (Spring Break)

TUESDAY, April 7 - Speaker 7

Speaker: Helene Rougier, California State University Northridge

Profile: https://csun.academia.edu/H%C3%A9l%C3%A8neRougier

Title: Neandertal cannibalism

Monday April 13 - Speaker 8

Speaker: Timothy A. Mousseau, University of South Carolina

Profile: https://sc.edu/study/colleges_schools/artsandsciences/biological_sciences/our_people/directory/mousseau_timothy.php

Title: Chernobyl @40, Fukushima @15: Biological Lessons Learned from Nuclear Accidents

Monday April 20 - Speaker 9

Speaker: Nicholas Hebdon, Baylor University

Profile: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Nicholas-Hebdon

Title: Biology Lego Blocks: Using Simplified Geometries to build Biomechanical Interpretation

Monday, April 27  - Speaker 10

Speaker: Stacy Rosenbaum, University of Michigan

Profile: https://lsa.umich.edu/anthro/people/faculty/biological-faculty/rosenbas.html

Title: The long arm of “childhood:” what can other primates teach us about the early life origins of aging and resiliency?

Monday May 4 - Discussion  

Topic: Evolution: Q & A

Instructor: Rolf Quam

In person lecture

Past seminar series
  • Archived Seminar Series (by semester)

    SPRING 2025 SERIES

    Monday, January 27 - Introduction to the Course

    Speaker: Rolf Quam, Binghamton University, Anthropology & Evolutionary Studies

    In person lecture

    Monday, Feb 3 - Speaker 1

    Speaker:   Andrey Vyshedskiy, remote via Zoom

    Affiliation:   Boston University, Metropolitan College, Department of Biology

    Faculty Profile: https://www.bu.edu/prsocial/profile/andrey-vyshedskiy/(opens in a new window)

    Topic:   Three levels of language comprehension in modern individuals –Implications for language evolution

    Monday, February 10 - Darwin Day Film

    Title: Inherit the Wind; Classic film with Spencer Tracy, Fredric March, Gene Kelly (Stanley Kramer, 1960)

    Monday, 3:30 – 5:30 PM, Science Library, Rm. 212 (Sorry, no Zoom option)

    Monday, February 17 - Speaker 2

    Speaker:  Dr. Kaeden O’Brien, in person and via Zoom

    Affiliation:  SUNY Oneonta-Department of Anthropology

    Faculty Profile: https://suny.oneonta.edu/anthropology/faculty-staff

    Topic:   Paleoenvironmental Drivers of Human Evolution

    Monday, February 24 - Speaker 3

    Speaker:  Dr. Matthew Emery, in person and via Zoom

    Affiliation:  Binghamton University Department of Anthropology

    Faculty Profile: https://www.binghamton.edu/anthropology/faculty/profile.html?id=memery

    Topic:   Neandertal Genomics - Latest discoveries

    Monday, March 3 - Speaker 4

    Speaker:   Dr. Mercedes Conde Valverde, Remote via Zoom

    Affiliation:   Universidad de Alcala, Madrid, Spain

    Topic:   The Altruistic Primate

    Monday, March 10 - SPRING BREAK

    Monday, March 17 - Speaker 5

    Speaker:   Dr. Mariah Donahue, in person and via Zoom

    Affiliation:   Binghamton University - Department of Biology

    Faculty Profile: https://www.binghamton.edu/biology/people/profile.html?id=mdonohue4

    Topic:   Lemur-Gut Microbiome Co-Evolution on Deep and Shallow Evolutionary Timescales 

    Monday, March 24 - Speaker 6

    Speaker:   Dr. Andrew Gallup, in person and via Zoom

    Affiliation:   Johns Hopkins University

    Faculty Profile:  https://krieger.jhu.edu/behavioralbiology/people/

    Topic:  The Evolution of Yawning 

    Monday, March 31 - Speaker 7

    Speaker:   Dr. Miguel Vilar, in person and via Zoom

    Affiliation:   University of Maryland

    Faculty Profile:  https://anth.umd.edu/facultyprofile/vilar/miguel

    Topic: DNA meets History: Guam and Puerto Rico. Multi-Marker Human DNA Analyses of America's Two Largest Territories, and How it Informs About Settlement, History, and Identity

    Monday, April 7 - Speaker 8

    Speaker:   Matthew Fujita, remote via Zoom

    Affiliation:   University of Texas at Arlington - Department of Biology

    Faculty Profile: https://www.uta.edu/academics/faculty/profile?username=mkfujita

    Topic:   Parthenogenesis in Reptiles and Genome Evolution

    Monday April 28 - Speaker 9

    Speaker:   James Lamsdell, in person and via Zoom

    Affiliation: West Virginia University

    Faculty Profile:  https://www.geo.wvu.edu/faculty-and-staff/james-lamsdell

    Title: A dynamic "living fossil": exploring the evolutionary history of the horseshoe crab

    Monday May 6 - Final Discussion  

    Speaker: Rolf Quam, in person

    Topic: Evolution Q & A

    SPRING 2024

    Monday, January 22 - Introduction to the Course

    Speaker: Rolf Quam, Binghamton University, Anthropology and Evolutionary Studies


    Monday, January 29 - Speaker 1

    Topic: The Enduring Interest and Relevance of the Evolution of Human Skin Pigmentation

    Speaker: Nina Jablonski, Penn State University, Anthropology and Atherton Professor, Evan Pugh Professor Emeritus of Anthropology


    Monday, February 5 - Speaker 2

    Topic: Neanderthals and other extinct humans: tales from the teeth.

    Speaker: Shara Bailey, New York University, Professor and Associate Chair in the Department of Anthropology


    Monday, February 12 - Darwin Day

    Title: Inherit the Wind; Classic film with Spencer Tracy, Fredric March, Gene Kelly (Stanley Kramer, 1960)


    Monday, February 19 - Speaker 3

    Topic: Stone Tool Use of Non-human Primates

    Speaker: Dr. Caroline Jones, Department of Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania


    Monday, February 26 - Speaker 4

    Topic: Market Integration and Transitions in Fertility, Marriage and Kinship Systems: An Evolutionary View

    Speaker: Mary Shenk, Penn State University, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Demography, and Asian Studies


    Monday, March 11 - Speaker 5

    Topic: Mammoths: On the path to de-extinction

    Speaker: Emil Karpinski, Harvard University, Harvard Medical School, Department of Genetics 


    Monday, March 18 - Speaker 6

    Topic: An Engineering—and Evolutionary—Perspective on Prestige: The Case for Maintenance 

    Speaker: Guru Madhavan, Director, National Academy of Engineering

    EvoS Retrospective - David Sloan Wilson, Professor Emeritus, Binghamton University


    Monday, March 25 - Speaker 7

    Topic: Unraveling the evolutionary relationships of ancient echinoderms 

    Speaker: Sarah Sheffield, Binghamton University, Assistant Professor, Geology


    MONDAY, APRIL 8 - SOLAR ECLIPSE - Seminar will begin at 4:00 PM

    Monday, April 8 - Speaker 8

    Topic: Human-Virus Coevolution: Evidence of Virus Microevolution from SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic and Monkeypox Outbreak

    Speaker: Michel Shamoon Pour, Binghamton University


    Monday April 15 - Speaker 9  

    Topic: Human adaptive evolution to starch digestion upon the onset of agriculture

    Speaker: Omer Gokcumen, University at Buffalo, Professor, Biological Sciences


    Monday April 29 - Discussion  

    Topic: Evolution: A discussion and debate

    Speakers: Rolf Quam and Allen MacNeill, Binghamton University

    Spring 2023

    Monday, Jan 23 - Seminar 1: Introduction to EvoS 451
    Rolf Quam, Binghamton University, Anthropology/EvoS
    Topic: Course Introduction, Syllabus Review

    Monday, Jan 30 - Seminar 2
    Allen MacNeill, Binghamton University, EvoS
    Title: Introduction to Tinbergen’s 4 Questions

    Monday, Feb 6 - Seminar 3 
    Speaker: Joseph Brewer, Earth Regenerators
    Title: Cultural Evolution for the Regeneration of Earth

    Monday, Feb 13 - Seminar 4
    Speaker: Nasser Malit, SUNY Potsdam, Anthropology
    Title: Human Evolution in Africa: Evidence from the Central Highlands of Kenya

    Monday, Feb 20 - Seminar 5
    Speaker:  Adriane Lam, Binghamton University, Geology
    Topic: Deep sea core sediments and climate change

    Monday, Feb 27 - Seminar 6
    Speaker: Laure Spake, Binghamton University, Anthropology
    Topic: Alloparenting and Cooperative Breeding in Humans

    Monday, Mar 6 - Seminar 7
    Speaker: Mercedes Conde-Valverde, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares (Spain)
    Title: Sounds of the Past

    Monday, Mar 13 - Seminar 8
    Speaker: Omer Gokcumen, University at Buffalo
    Topic: Balancing selection in the hominin genomes, affecting metabolism and immunity.
    Title: “Ancient trade-offs: A story of archaic ancestors, starvation, and microbes”

    Monday, Mar 20 - Seminar 9            
    Speaker: Leticia Aviles, Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia
    Title: Evolution of Sociality and Multilevel selection (including spiders)

    Monday, Mar 27 - Seminar 10
    Speaker: Richard Lenski, Michigan State University
    Title: Time Travel in Experimental Evolution
    Topic: Long-term evolutionary experiment with E. coli

    Monday, Apr 17 - Seminar 12
    Speaker: David Braun, George Washington University, DC
    Topic: Origins of Technology
    Title: Technological Origins: How Long Have We Depended on Technology?

    Monday, May 1 - Seminar 14 
    Speaker:  Katie Hinde, Arizona State University
    Topic: hormones in milk, primarily cortisol, and impacts on infant development

    Spring 2022
    • Yaneer Bar-Yam, New England Complex Systems Institute
      Implications of the Pandemic for Values and the Survival of Humanity
    • Rolf Quam, Binghamton University, Anthropology/EvoS
      Mystery of the Pit of the Bones
    • Allen MacNeill, Binghamton University, EvoS
      On Purpose: The Evolution of Intentionality
    • Jeremy DeSilva, Dartmouth College, Anthropology
      First Steps: How Upright Walking Made Us Human
    • Antonio Lazcano, National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM)
      Origin of Life
    • Steven Brown, McMaster University, NeuroArts Lab
      The Origins of the Vocal Brain in Humans
    • Sage Gibbons, Northeastern University
      Collective Efficacy and Neighborhood Adaptability to COVID-19
    • Wendy Jones, Author and Independent Scholar
      The Attachment System: How and Why We Find Safety in Close Relationships
    • Paul Ewald, University of Louisville, Biology
      The Evolutionary, Historical and Epidemiological Context of COVID
    • David Schaffer, Binghamton University, Visiting Research Professor
      Evolving artificial brains
    • Tyler Murchee, McMaster University, Anthropology
      Ancient DNA and Pleistocene Megafauna Extinctions
    • Cai Caccavari, Binghamton University, Anthropology
      Graduate Student Presentation
    Spring 2021
    • Seminar Title: Humpback whale communication in the Anthropocene \ Speaker: Michelle Fournet, Cornell, Biology
    • Seminar Title: The World Recipes Project and the Biocultural Evolution of Cuisine \ Speaker: Solomon H Katz, University of Pennsylvania
    • Seminar Title: The Cheating Cell: How cancer evolves inside us and how we can keep it under control \ Speaker: Athena Aktipis, Arizona State University, Anthropology
    • Seminar Title: Talking with Neandertals \ Speaker: Rolf J. Quam, Binghamton University, Anthropology
    • Seminar Title: Ecological Adaptation and the Origin and Maintenance of Biodiversity \ Speaker: Thomas Powell, Binghamton University, Biology/EvoS
    • Seminar Title: Self-governance and the unitary veil \ Speaker: Michael Cox, Dartmouth, Environmental Studies
    • Seminar Title: The Evolution of Belief: Meaning-making, belief, and world shaping as core processes in the human niche  \ Speaker: Agustin Fuentes, Princeton, Anthropology
    • Seminar Title: The Cultural Foundations of Cognition \ Speaker: Helen Davis, Harvard, Anthropology
    • Seminar Title: Vertical Polygyny in 20th Century America: Are Americans Monogamous or Polygamous? \ Speaker: Allen MacNeill, Cornell University
    • Seminar Title: The evolutionary ecology of monument construction: a Rapa Nui (Easter Island) case study \ Speaker: Robert “Beau” DiNapoli, Binghamton University, Anthropology
    Spring 2020
    •  Introductory lecture by David Sloan Wilson, Binghamton University
      Tinbergen's four questions and others
    • Introductory lecture by Barrett Brenton, Binghamton University
      Biocultural Evolution of Cuisine
    • Darwin Day Panel discussion with Binghamton faculty
    • Noreen von Cramon-Taubadel, University of Buffalo:
      Modern human cranial variation: An evolutionary morphology approach
    • Daniel T. O’Brien, Northeastern University
      The Urban Commons: How Data, Technology, and Behavioral Science Can Help Us Rebuild Our Cities
    • Glenn Branch, National Center for Science Education (NCSE)
      Twists and Turns in Teaching Evolution over the Years  
    • Rolf Quam, EvoS Director, SUNY Binghamton
      The Evolution of Language: Part 1 
    •  Rolf Quam
      The Evolution of Language: Part 2 
    • David Sloan Wilson
      Nothing about the Coronavirus Pandemic Makes Sense Except In the Light of Evolution
    • Adam van Arsdale, Wellesley College
      Race, Ancestry, and Populations in the Pleistocene and the Present
    • Robert Pennock, Michigan State University
      An Instinct for Truth: Curiosity and the Moral Character of Science
    • Mark Urban, University of Connecticut
      Eco-evolution in communities