Dalton Lecture Series
Creatureliness and Marine Conservation: Is a manatee really my neighbor?
Dr. Robert D. Sluka
Lead Scientist, A Rocha Marine Conservation Program
October 22, 2026 - 7:30 p.m.
The ÄÛ²ÝÊÓƵ Fox University Biology and Biochemistry Program presents the 15th Annual Dalton Lecture.
Dr. Sluka will discuss how hope for the ocean through what Christians often call creation care has focused on stewardship and sustainability. Yet with important exceptions, the ocean continues to diminish rather than flourish. Acknowledging ourselves as fellow creatures, part of the community of creation, receives much less emphasis, but has the potential to be transformative in our relations with and actions towards God’s world. Examples from around the world ranging from sharks in Kenya, estuaries and beaches in Florida, and penguins in New Zealand serve as hopeful examples of effective marine conservation. How does the Biblical concept of creatureliness facilitate ocean flourishing by our species acting as a good neighbor?
The public is welcome and admission is free.
Additional Lecture
Science Lecture on Hope for the Ocean: Marine conservation in action around the world
Thursday, October 22, 2026 at 3:00 p.m.
Bauman Auditorium
Speaker Information
Dr. Robert D. Sluka is a curious explorer who applies hopeful solutions to all that is ailing the ocean. He writes on the interface between Christian faith and marine conservation. Robert’s research focuses on marine biodiversity conservation, plastic pollution, and fisheries, particularly marine protected areas. He has lived for extended periods in Australia, India, Great Britain, and his native USA where he currently resides. His adventures across the globe are chronicled in his book Connected By Water. He leads A Rocha’s Marine Conservation Programme which has projects on most continents protecting and restoring species and habitats and working with churches to actively engage in conservation.
About the Dalton Lecture Series
The Dalton Lecture Series is sponsored by the ÄÛ²ÝÊÓƵ Fox University Department of Biology and Biochemistry. These annual lectures feature eminent scientists who are Christian. The Dalton Lecture Series was born out of a desire to not only present world-renowned scientists to ÄÛ²ÝÊÓƵ Fox students and the local community, but to show how these scientists integrate their Christianity. Contrary to all-too-common thought, it is possible for a scientist to be intellectually engaged and be a Christian!
John Dalton (1766-1844) was a Quaker scientist best known for his pioneering work in the development of modern atomic theory. He remained a faithful Quaker and educator his entire life.
The Dalton Lecture is open to the public and free of charge. The Dalton Lecture is followed by a reception and a ÄÛ²ÝÊÓƵ Fox University research student poster session.
2025
Speaker: Dr. Thomas Rizzo, Professor of Chemistry (Emeritus), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
Title: The Broken Mirror: Molecular Asymmetry and the Enigma of Life’s Origins
Speaker: Julia Wattacheril, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Medicine
Title: Engineering Trustworthiness: How Understanding Brokenness Helps Us Move Towards Wholeness
2024
Speaker: Dr. Praveen Sethupathy, Chair, Department of Biomedical Sciences at Cornell University
Title: Stardust & Wonder
2023
Speaker: Dr. Deborah Haarsma, President of Biologos
Title: Should We Trust Science?
2020
Speaker: Ian H. Hutchinson, Professor of Nuclear Science and Engineering Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Title: The True Story of Science and Faith
2019
Speaker: Dr. Richard L. Lindroth, Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor of Ecology
Title: Climate Change and the Pursuit of Truth in a Post-truth World
2018
Speaker: Dr. Simon Conway Morris, Professor of Evolutionary Palaeobiology University of Cambridge
Title: Inevitable Humans in a Lonely Universe?
2017
Speaker: Dr. Jennifer Wiseman, Astrophysicist
Title: Universe of Wonder: Galaxies, Stars, Planets, and Life
2016
Speaker: Dr. James Tour T. T. and W. F. Chao Professor of Chemistry, Professor of Computer Science, Professor of Materials Science and NanoEngineering at Rice University Smalley Institute of Nanoscience and Technology
Title: Jesus Christ and Nanotechnology: The impact of faith on the life of a scientist
2015
Speaker: Dr. William Phillips, 1997 Nobel Prize in Physics
Fellow and group leader of the Joint Quantum Institute of the University of Maryland and the National Institute of Standards and Technology
Title: Ordinary Faith, Ordinary Science
2014
Speaker: Dr. Bill Newsome, Harman Family Provostial Professor, Director of Bio-X NeuroVentures and Professor of Neurobiology at Stanford University
Title: Brain, Mind and Free Will: Did My Neurons Make Me Do It?
2013
Speaker: Dr. Henry F. Schaefer III, Graham Perdue Professor of Chemistry Director, Center for Computational Quantum Chemistry at University of Georgia
Title: The Big Bang, Stephen Hawking and God
2012
Speaker: Dr. Gerald Gabrielse, Leverett Professor of Physics, Harvard University
Title: God of Antimatter
2011
Speaker: Dr. Kent Thornburg, M. Lowell Edwards Chair, Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine, and Director of the Heart Research Center, Oregon Health & Sciences University
Title: New Science Wrestles An Old Problem: The Roots of Human Disease