Fargo, N.D. – Neil Shubin, a noted paleontologist and evolutionary biologist, will present “Your Inner Fish: A Journey into the 3.5 Billion-Year History of the Human Body” during the sixth annual NDSU College of Science and Mathematics Community Lectureship. The presentation is scheduled for April 17 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Fargo Theatre and is free and open to the public.

In his research, Shubin, who is a Robert R. Bensley Professor of Organismal Biology and Anatomy and associate dean for Academic Strategy at the University of Chicago, seeks to understand why and how new evolutionary mechanisms arise. One of the three investigators credited for discovering the fossil tetrapodomorph fish Tiktaalik roseae, Shubin has developed expeditionary research programs in the United States, Canada, Africa, Asia and Greenland. His work has led to insights about origins of vertebrates such as mammals, frogs and crocodiles.

“Neil Shubin is an outstanding scientist who addresses ‘big questions,’ such as why we look the way we do and how the human body came to be in its present form after millions of years of evolution. And he answers these questions with fascinating data collected from sites across the world,” said Kevin McCaul, dean of the College of Science and Mathematics at NDSU. “Students and the community will get the opportunity to see and hear a compelling scientific adventure story.”

The purpose of the NDSU College of Science and Mathematics Community Lectureship series is to introduce nationally recognized scientists to the broader community, McCaul said. Through the years, the presenters have explained their science in ways various age groups, from junior high students to older adults engaged in life-long learning, can understand and appreciate.