Distinguished University Professor Sean Carroll Gives CMNS Dean's Distinguished Lecture

The University of Maryland's CMNS Dean's Distinguished Lecture on March 8, 2021 was given by Sean B. Carroll, Distinguished University Professor & Balo-Simon Endowed Chair in the Department of Biology. His talk was titled "A Series of Fortunate Events: Chance and the Making of the Planet, Life, and You."

Why is the planet the way it is? How did we get here? Does everything happen for a reason or are some things left to chance? Philosophers and theologians have pondered these questions for millennia, but over the past half-century, startling scientific discoveries have revealed that we live in a world driven by chance. Sean Carroll told the stories of the mother of all accidents, the accident of all mothers, and much more in an entertaining and awe-inspiring tale of the surprising power of chance in our lives and the world.