The UMD Department of Physics cordially invites you to the

Irving and Renee Milchberg
Endowed Lecture

with

Kathleen Hall Jamieson
University of Pennsylvania

on

"Communicating What Science Knows in a Polarized Time"

Tuesday, April 15, 2025
3 p.m.
John S. Toll Physics Building, Room 1410

Paid parking is available on the roof of Regents Drive Garage. Please visit a pay station before you leave the garage roof. Additionally, the free #104 ShuttleUM bus runs between the College Park Metro Station and Regents Drive at about 15-minute intervals.

Questions? Contact the Department of Physics at physchair-rsvp@umd.edu or 301-405-5944.

About the Talk
The talk will explore ways to reduce resistance to knowledge about topics ranging from arctic sea ice extent to vaccination safety.

About the Speaker
Professor Kathleen Hall Jamieson is the Elizabeth Ware Packard Professor of Communication, Walter and Leonore Annenberg Director, and Program Director of the Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands at the University of Pennsylvania. Her research focuses on the role of communication in elections and governance and she has written on presidential advertising, debates, speechmaking, on the importance of presidential genres of discourse, on the role of the media in activating public cynicism and on the ways in which women in leadership address double binds. She is a member of the American Philosophical Society, the American Academy of Political and Social Science, and the International Communication Association. Professor Jamieson has won multiple teaching awards at all three universities where she taught, and has also received prizes for four of her books on political science and communication. Her book, The Obama Victory: How Media, Money, and Media, Money, and Message Shaped the 2008 Election, won the Rod Hart Outstanding Book Award, NCA Diamond Anniversary Book Award, ICA Outstanding Book Award, and American Publishers Association PROSE Award. She is also co-founder of FactCheck.org, which researches the veracity of claims made by political players. Its SciCheck feature was launched in 2015 to expose the misuse of scientific evidence in political discourse.

About the Lecture
University of Maryland Professor of Physics and Electrical and Computer Engineering Howard Milchberg, his wife Rena, and their three children Moses, Mollie, and Max, established this lecture in memory of Howard's late parents, Renee and Irving Milchberg. Renee and Irving were witnesses to and victims of what can happen to society when ideology and lies are accepted in lieu of facts. Howard's own decision to study physics was motivated by a compelling need for clarity and truth, which grew out of his parents' experiences. The Milchberg family hopes this lectureship will serve to honor the legacy of Renee and Irving by continuing to give voice to facts and evidence, vital for a civilized society.