Wednesday, February 15, 2012

The human brain: It warns us against danger… facilitates how we choose a mate… allows us to process large amounts of data to make a decision… and imprints our experiences into memories. As the emotional and analytical center of human intelligence, the brain is complex, logical, intuitive, creative and often unpredictable. How does it function? How do those functions change depending on the issue or topic at hand?

Join faculty members from the University of North Carolina Wilmington's College of Arts and Sciences for "Romancing the Brain," an evening of discussion about the brain and perspectives on it from faculty members in the humanities, fine arts, social sciences and sciences. The event, which is free and open to the public, will take place at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 21 in Kenan Hall Room 1111 on the UNCW campus.

As part of a new initiative, the College of Arts and Sciences plans to sponsor two public forums a year on various topics, with panelists made up of UNCW faculty members, each of whom will address the topic from the perspective of his or her specific academic discipline.

"We want to provide an opportunity for community members to interact with our faculty on topics that are of broad interest," said Associate Dean Kathleen Berkeley, who is coordinating the seminars. "There are so many aspects to the study of a topic like the brain, and it will be fascinating to hear our faculty discuss brain research from each of their areas of study.

For "Romancing the Brain," Rick Olsen, chair of UNCW's communication studies department, will serve as event host. Faculty panelists include:  Aaron Wilcox, art and art History; Julian Keith, psychology; Lynn Mollenauer, history; Matthew Eshleman, philosophy and religion; Robert Hancock, chemistry; and Sonja Pyott, biology and marine biology.

Parking for the event will be available in Lot B. Accommodations for disabilities may be requested by calling 910.962.3111 at least three days prior to the event.

Media contact:
Dana Fischetti, media relations manager, 910.508.3127 or fischettid@uncw.edu
Joy Davis, UNCW media relations, 910.632.3903 or davisjc@uncw.edu