Steven Pinker, a best-selling author and scientist, will deliver the 2012 Colgate Darden Lecture on Friday, Sept. 28 at 7 p.m. in the David J. Prior Convocation Center at The University of Virginia’s College at Wise.

He is the Johnston Professor of Psychology at Harvard and has also taught at Stanford and MIT.  One of the world’s leading cognitive scientists, Pinker translates groundbreaking research into writing that is accessible to the general reader.  His most recent book, “The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined,” was named one of the 100 most notable books of 2011 by The New York Times.   His other works include “The Blank Slate” and “How The Mind Works,” both bestsellers and finalists for the Pulitzer Prize.  Pinker’s acclaimed work on language includes “The Language Instinct,” “Words and Rules” and “The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature.“   

A native of Montreal, Pinker was recently named one of TIME magazine’s “100 Most Influential People in the World.”  Known for his verve, wit and profound ideas—many of them explained by referencing pop culture—Pinker helps non-specialists understand the science behind human thought and action.  He is a fellow of the Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.  Pinker has won a number of teaching prizes and was named among Newsweek’s “100 Americans for the Next Century.”  His research on visual cognition and the psychology of language has received numerous awards, including the Troland Award from the National Academy of Sciences.

Pinker graduated from Dawson College in 1971.  He received a Bachelor’s Degree in psychology at McGill University in 1976 and earned a Ph.D. in experimental psychology at Harvard University in 1979.  In 2006, Pinker received the American Humanist Association’s “Humanist of the Year” award for his contribution to public understanding of human evolution.