Larry Badash Memorial Lecture Series looks toward the future

Donations ensure 5 years of support

UCSB’s Department of History is delighted to announce that a trio of private donors will provide funding to continue the annual Lawrence Badash Memorial Lecture. For the next five years, Nancy Hofbauer, Larry’s life partner, and his two children, Bruce Badash and Lisa Jones, will generously support the annual lecture series. (The photo shows other founding supporters as well.)

Their generous donation recognizes and honors Larry’s long interest in the history of physics, arms control, civil liberties, academic freedom, and the environment. Funds to support the Lawrence Badash Memorial Lecture will be used to bring notable speakers to the University of California, Santa Barbara. These invited speakers give a public lecture on a topic reflecting Prof. Badash’s intellectual, professional, and personal commitment to the intersection of science and technology with broader social issues. They will also have the opportunity to meet with graduate students in the History Department. “This is wonderful news,” said history of science professor W. Patrick McCray, “and I am delighted that UCSB and the Santa Barbara community will be able to continue to hear from an exciting roster of speakers over the coming years.”

The first annual Badash Lecture, held in 2010, honored Gregg Mitman, Director of the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin.

The 2011 address, given on Feb. 18, was by Alice Domurat Dreger, Professor of Clinical Medical Humanities and Bioethics in the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University. It was titled Galileo’s Middle Finger: Struggles of Science and Identity Politics in the Internet Age.

Professor emeritus Larry Badash passed away in 2010 after a 36-year teaching and research career at UCSB. A specialist in the history of physics and nuclear weapons, Larry was the author of seven books and dozens of articles. He was also a popular mentor, avid outdoorsman, and community activist who worked for civil liberties and environmental protection. For a list of Prof. Badash’s most recent publications, see his departmental faculty web page.

Other persons interested in helping support the lecture series are encouraged to contact Leslie Gray, UCSB’s Director of Development for the Humanities and Fine Arts (805) 893-4193.

hm 3/7/11, photo updated 6/5/11; 7/24/11