Honors Academy to host upcoming talk and conference Quiz Bowl

The Radford University Honors Academy will host two events on campus.

Latif Nasser, director of research at Radiolab, a show about curiosity, science, philosophy and the human experience, will present a talk on Tuesday, Feb. 21 at 4 p.m. in the Bonnie Auditorium.

Nasser has a unique academic background combining a degree in theater from Dartmouth and a Ph.D. in the history of science from Harvard. Nasser is a regular contributor to Radiolab, a show heard on more than 500 public radio stations across the country.  Nasser’s presentation about the origin of the camel has also been featured on TED Talks.

Nasser’s talk is free and open to the public.

On Saturday, Feb. 25, the academic pride of the Big South Conference will assemble on Radford’s campus for the conference Quiz Bowl Championship.

The day-long event is a team based-academic tournament for the Big South Conference, of which Radford is a charter member. Radford will compete academically with teams from Liberty, Longwood, Gardner-Webb and High Point against whom they regularly compete on the courts and on the field athletically.

“It is exciting to be host to this unique competition,” said Honors Academy Director Niels Christensen. “We look forward to a fierce, but fun, day.”
Quiz Bowl has been called the "varsity sport of the mind."

Teams play games consisting of two 10-minute halves by answering a variety of questions on literature, history, geography, government, the sciences, math, art, popular culture and sports.

At the conference tournament, Radford will be represented by:

• Sean Anderson, a freshman majoring in mathematics
• Barkari Brown, a senior majoring in social work
• Jason Morris, a sophomore majoring in economics
• Chase Thompson, a senior majoring in exercise, sports and health education
• Robyn Toran, a sophomore majoring athletic training
  
  For more information on both events, contact the Honors Academy at 831-6125.