In celebration of graduate student appreciation week, students are invited to hear Sam Kean,听New York Times best-selling author of听Caesar鈥檚 Last Breath,听The Dueling Neurosurgeons,听The Disappearing Spoon 补苍诲听The Violinist鈥檚 Thumb, speak about his books, his career path and the challenges authors face.听
Kean turns complex scientific facts and research into nonfiction stories that are not just understandable, but are also engaging and fun. Kean, who grew up wanting to be a scientist, had never planned to become a writer. When the realization hit that he didn鈥檛 want a science career, he was concerned he was too far down that path to turn around.听听
鈥淚 decided to change paths completely,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t would have been helpful for me to know that鈥檚 fairly common and happens to a lot of people in college. But I didn鈥檛 know that at the time. I was convinced that since I鈥檇 started in science, I had to continue with science when that actually wasn鈥檛 the case. I had more freedom to choose and change than I originally assumed.鈥�
Kean had been focused on being a scientist for so long that it felt like he suddenly didn鈥檛 know who he was anymore. If he wasn鈥檛 a scientist, who was he? Was it too late to change his mind?
Not wanting to give up science completely, Kean merged it with his interest in storytelling. He kept his physics major and added a major in English literature at the University of Minnesota, later earning a master鈥檚 degree in library science from Catholic University of America.
With science as the common thread throughout his stories, Kean weaves in politics, lust, revenge, money, art, war and poison into his articles and books.听
If you go
奥丑辞:听Open to all
奥丑补迟:听Sam Kean听talk and reception
When: Tuesday,听April 2,听4 p.m.听
Where: Center for Academic Success and Engagement (CASE)
Kean鈥檚 first book,听The Disappearing Spoon, integrated quirky facts and anecdotes about the periodic table, such as why Gandhi hated iodine and how radium nearly ruined Marie Curie鈥檚 reputation. The premise was to find a funny, strange or unusual story about every element on the periodic table and to present what could be dry scientific facts as entertaining, readable stories about human life.听His new book, The Bastard Brigade, comes out this summer.
鈥淚f you look at it in the right way, science has something to say about all aspects of human life,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t makes learning about science easier. I try to illustrate different aspects of science history and to humanize science.鈥�
His stories have appeared in听The New Yorker,听The Best American Science and Nature Writing, The Atlantic,听The New York Times Magazine,听The New Scientist 补苍诲听Psychology Today, among others. His work has been featured on NPR鈥檚听Radiolab,听Science Friday 补苍诲听All Things Considered.
鈥淪tories are a good way to learn about science because that鈥檚 the way humans remember information the best, Kean said. 鈥淎 story with characters we care about and villains we don鈥檛, conflict and drama and all those things that make a good story, help us to remember information better in that form.鈥�
Kean will speak at 4 p.m. April 2听in the Center for Academic Success and Engagement. Reception to follow. For more information, go to .听Please RSVP to jeffery.willett@colorado.edu.
