CLINTMM007 - Midweek Medley: From Biodiversity to Creativity

Lydia Beaudrot, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of biosciences and a faculty member in the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology program at Rice University. Her research group uses observational data and statistical modeling to address research questions at the interface of ecological theory and conservation biology, particularly in tropical mammals. She earned her Ph.D. in ecology from the University of California, Davis, and then worked as a postdoctoral associate for the Tropical Ecology Assessment and Monitoring (TEAM) Network based out of the Moore Center for Science and Oceans at Conservation International. Dr. Beaudrot and her research group continue to work closely with TEAM camera-trap data and are very interested in long-term camera-trap monitoring and its applications for conservation.

Anthony Brandt, Ph.D., is a composer and professor of composition and theory at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music. Dr. Brandt is coauthor with neuroscientist Dr. David Eagleman of “The Runaway Species: How Human Creativity Remakes the World” (2017), which has been published in 14 countries. He is also artistic director of the contemporary music ensemble Musiqa, winner of two national Adventurous Programming Awards. He is currently a co-investigator in an NEA Research Lab studying musical creativity. His research has been published in Brain Connectivity, the Creativity Research Journal, Frontiers in Psychology and TechTrends, and by Oxford University Press and Springer. Dr. Brandt has been awarded Rice University’s Phi Beta Kappa and George R. Brown teaching prizes and a Faculty Award for Excellence in Professional Service and Leadership. He holds a master’s degree from the California Institute of the Arts and a doctoral degree from Harvard University.

Debra Dickinson, M.A., was the artist-teacher of opera studies for acting and movement at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music for nearly three decades, directing 25 productions for the Department of Opera Studies. She was a professional singer and actress in New York for 15 years before starting her career as a director. She performed with Richard Burton on Broadway in “Camelot” and as Guenevere opposite Richard Harris in the subsequent national tour. Ms. Dickinson has taught master classes for Houston Grand Opera and Houston Ebony Opera, served as the acting instructor for Glimmerglass Festival, Brevard Opera and Chautauqua Opera, and was the recipient of the Marcus Bailey and Betty Graves Shelfer Eminent Scholar Chair in Music Theatre at Florida State University. Ms. Dickinson holds an undergraduate degree from Northwestern University and a graduate degree from Hunter College in New York City.

Cin-Ty Lee, Ph.D., is the Harry Carothers Wiess Professor of Geology in the Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences at Rice University. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University and his B.A. from the University of California at Berkeley. His research focuses on volcanoes, continent formation and the making of ore deposits. Dr. Lee is also a lifelong naturalist and has written numerous articles on the field identification of birds. He has dedicated his spare time to documenting the flora and fauna of Rice University, recording 228 species of birds and over 500 species of insects since 2002.

Jim Parsons, M.A., puts a lifelong passion for Houston’s history and architecture to work as programs director for Preservation Houston, the Bayou City’s only citywide historic preservation nonprofit. Since joining Preservation Houston’s staff in 2009, Mr. Parsons has worked to broaden the organization’s educational outreach through architectural walking tours, lectures, workshops and digital programs. He has photographed and coauthored four award-winning books on Art Deco architecture in Texas, including “Houston Deco: Modernistic Architecture of the Texas Coast.”

Victor Saenz, Ph.D., is executive director of the Houston Institute and a lecturer in the Rice Department of Philosophy. He completed his Ph.D. in philosophy at Rice in August 2018, where he wrote a dissertation on Aristotle’s account of the moral virtues in the “Nicomachean Ethics.” His research interests include ancient philosophy as well as ethics and bioethics. While at Rice, he served as senior managing editor of the Journal of Medicine and Philosophy and Christian Bioethics; he was also the 2017–19 bioethics fellow at the Paul Ramsey Institute. Dr. Saenz holds a B.A. in philosophy and classics from the University of Notre Dame (2009) and an M.A. in philosophy from Texas A&M (2011). At Rice University he has taught Contemporary Moral Issues, Philosophy as a Way of Life: A Historical Introduction to Philosophy, Ancient Philosophy: Plato’s Ethics, Philosophy of Religion, and Ancient and Medieval Philosophy: Aristotle’s Ethics.

On Campus
This course will be delivered on campus / in person.  Parking and room information will be sent prior to the class start date. 

This special series is offered at a deeply discounted rate. No additional discounts are applicable.