2020 Zahm Lecture

"From the Big Bang to The Saint John’s Bible : The Role of Astonishment in a Scientist’s Journey to Integrate Faith and Reason"

Presented September 16, 2020

Dr. Gintaras Duda, Catholic cosmologist and Chair of Physics at Creighton University, asks: how can we reconcile science with belief in a personal Christian God? Astonishment and wonder offer one route for this fundamental reconciliation. Dr. Duda stresses the fundamental need for theological and philosophical perspectives on some of the biggest questions in cosmology today. 

Gintaras Duda is a professor and chair of the department of physics at Creighton University. Trained as a particle theorist, his primary disciplinary research interest is the problem of dark matter: composition, detection, and fundamental theories/origins. In addition to astro-particle physics/cosmology, he is also involved heavily in physics education research and is deeply interested in questions of science and religion. He was named the 2013 Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching Outstanding Master’s Universities and Colleges National Professor of the Year.

The annual Zahm Lecture was established in 1999 with a permanently endowed gift to the University’s Defining Moment Campaign by Ray and Milann Siegfried of Oklahoma. The Zahm Lecture, which launches the academic year, addresses important issues surrounding American Catholic education and honors Fr. John Zahm, C.S.C., an eminent Holy Cross priest and scientist of the late 19th and early 20th century.