Luncheons
All events will be held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre unless otherwise noted
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Featured Speaker::AAPG Distinguished Lecturer::Exhibitor Sponsored
Featured Speaker Luncheon
The Four-Billion-Year Existence of Life—Africa’s Role in Understanding this Remarkable Story
- Date:
- Monday, 27 October
- Time:
- 12:00 – 13:45
- Speaker:
- Bruce Rubidge, Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
- Fee:
- $45
Bruce Rubridge
It is not possible to write a textbook on the evolution of life on earth without extensively referring to the fossil record of Africa. Because of the antiquity of its rock record, South Africa in particular is the only country in the world which has: the oldest evidence of life on earth, the oldest multicellular animals, the most primitive land-living plants, the most distant ancestors of dinosaurs, the most complete record of the more than 80 million year ancestry of mammals and a remarkable record of human origins and cultural development.
Scientific understanding of the fossil story is intertwined with the passion of generations of individuals that led to the discovery and description of long-dead species and ultimately broadening this to the application of the fossil record for reconstruction of ancient continents, past environments, biodiversity of past communities and their use in understanding the current biodiversity crisis. The storyline of ancestors and changing biodiversity, developed through years of patient research by many individuals, has been utilized in establishing world heritage sites and a growing paleotourism industry.
Bruce Rubidge was born in the South African Karoo town of Graaff-Reinet in 1956 and grew up on the family farm in the district. From an early age he became interested in fossils, collecting his first worthwhile fossil, a gorgonopsian skull, at the age of 5. He attended the University of Stellenbosch where he achieved his B.S.; B.S. (Hons) cum laude in zoology and geology; M.S. cum laude in paleontology and then went on to the University of Port Elizabeth to complete a Ph.D. in sedimentology. In 1980 Rubidge was appointed to the Palaeontology Department of the National Museum, Bloemfontein, becoming Head of the Department in 1981. In 1990 he was appointed Director of the Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research at the University of the Witwatersrand. He has published more than 85 articles in national and international scientific journals on vertebrate paleontology as well as bio- and litho stratigraphy and sedimentology of Permian-Triassic rocks of southern Africa. He serves on several national and international geoscience-related committees and is passionate about popularizing southern Africa’s rich and diverse fossil heritage.
AAPG Distinguished Lecturer Luncheon
Dilemmas in Trust
- Date:
- Tuesday, 28 October
- Time:
- 12:00 – 13:45
- Speaker:
- Judge Lynn N. Hughes, United States District Judge, Houston, Texas
- Fee:
- $40
Judge Lynn N. Hughes
Judge Lynn N. Hughes has been a federal judge for over two decades. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and American Anthropological Association. He is an advisory director to the Law & Economics Center at George Mason University. He has been an advisor on constitutional law and privatization to the European Community and six eastern European countries.
Mixing principles and examples with economics and anthropology, a thoughtful and practical perspective on integrity is developed. Often in ethics – as in science – identifying the problem is harder than knowing the solution, making recognition the critical first step in ethical analysis.
Good things, like cooperation, can become negative when they are not tethered to an external reality and the larger society. Also, because our ideology and psychology can blind us to the nature of our choices, we need balance, feed-back, and thought to resolve the ethical aspects of the ordinary and unfamiliar.
Exhibitor Sponsored Luncheon
- Date:
- Wednesday, 29 October
- Time:
- 12:00 – 13:45
- Fee:
- Included with conference registration
AAPG and GSSA wish to thank the exhibitors for their generous sponsorship of this event. Complimentary lunch for all attendees and registered guests will be available throughout the Exhibition Hall on Wednesday. Take advantage of this opportunity to converse with exhibitors in a relaxed atmosphere, while enjoying an informal lunch.