Wade Davis – National Geographic Explorer, TED Presenter – Comes to UT April 8

Wade Davis, an explorer-in-residence at the National Geographic Society who has been described as “a rare combination of scientist, scholar, poet and passionate defender of all of life’s diversity,” will speak at The University of Tampa on April 8.

The presentation, which is free and open to the public, will be held in the Vaughn Center Crescent Club on campus at 6 p.m.

His lecture, “The Wayfinders: Why Ancient Wisdom Matters in a Modern World,” will explore what it means to be human and alive through a celebration of the wisdom of the world’s indigenous cultures. The lecture will also help rediscover a new appreciation for the diversity of the human spirit, as expressed by culture, which Davis sees as among the central challenges of our time.

Davis, the author of 17 bestselling books and a TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) Conference speaker, works as an anthropologist and botanical explorer and is widely recognized as one of the most compelling storytellers of our time. His journeys have taken him throughout the world from the forests of the Amazon to the mountains of Tibet, from the high Arctic to the deserts of Africa, from Polynesia to the grasslands of Mongolia.

His books include The Serpent and the Rainbow (1986), an international best seller later released by Universal as a motion picture, and his most recent book, River Notes: A Natural and Human History of the Colorado, that was published in 2012.

He has published over 200 scientific and popular articles on subjects ranging from Haitian voodoo and Amazonian myth and religion to the global biodiversity crisis, the traditional use of psychotropic drugs and the ethnobotany of South American Indians.

Davis’ many film credits include Light at the Edge of the World (2009), an eight-hour documentary series produced and written for National Geographic, Grand Canyon Adventure (IMAX 3D) (2008) and Earthguide (1990), a 13-part series on the environment produced and written for Discovery.

As a photographer he has curated several major exhibits including “The Lost Amazon,” at the Museum of Natural History Smithsonian, and “No Strangers: Ancient Wisdom in a Modern World,” at the Annenberg Space for Photography.

Lastly, as a professional speaker for 25 years, Davis has lectured at more than 200 universities and corporations such as Microsoft, Shell, Fidelity, Bayer, Bristol-Myers, Hallmark, Bank of Nova Scotia, MacKenzie Financials and many others. His many TED talks have been seen by millions of viewers.

His presentation is sponsored by UT’s International Programs Office.