The process of natural selection may be fueled by life's impermanence, but the legendary naturalist who introduced it to the world left a legacy that has long outlived the man himself.
Though Charles Darwin has been dead now for almost 127 years, his birthday is still marked by celebration and respect. At Brown Thursday, exactly 200 years after Darwin's birth, that homage was paid with carrot cake and giant balls of lab tape.
Students and faculty celebrated Darwin's bicentennial yesterday with a small party in the lobby of Sidney Frank Hall. Inspired by the prospect of bringing art and biology together, the festivities involved displaying scientific artwork - everything from images of chromosomes to a ball of hundreds of pieces of old lab tape - on the walls.
"I thought it would be nice to incorporate science and art together," said Braelyn Weaver, a research assistant in the Department of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry. She organized the celebration along with Aubrey Frank GS.
To publicize the event, the two women posted flyers around campus and solicited artwork submissions from both graduate and undergraduate students. Most of the displays were the work of graduate students - often images taken from their labs - though some undergraduates submitted for the exhibition, Weaver said.
In perhaps a symbolic testament to Homo sapien's drive for nourishment, Weaver and Frank's four home-baked chocolate, lemon and carrot cakes were devoured within the first 15 minutes of the event.
"We did not expect a lot of people," Weaver said. "But it was nice that a lot showed up."
Many attendees, like Ray Enke GS, creator of the lab-tape ball, were graduate students, taking a well-needed break to snack and admire their peers' creations. Now in his sixth year of graduate work, Enke compared the addition of each small piece of tape to "ticking off the days on a deserted island."
Professor of Biology Ken Miller '70 P'02, one of Brown's highest-profile evolution enthusiasts, was unable to attend the event, as he was giving a lecture on the teaching of evolution at the University of Pennsylvania to coincide with the anniversary.
- Brigitta Greene
