New York, NY - Children’s Progress today announced that Professor Eugene Galanter will deliver the 2009 Monsignor Pádraig de Brún Memorial Lecture, entitled Education for the Modern World: Science and Culture on Thursday, October 29, at the National University of Ireland (NUI), Galway.
Professor Galanter is a former director of the Columbia University Psychophysics Laboratory and a co-founder of Children’s Progress, one of the fastest growing* companies in the US. Children’s Progress specializes in developing computer programs for young children that help educators pinpoint how to best challenge and support each child.
Speaking in advance of his lecture, Professor Galanter said: “Building a new, modern architecture for contemporary education requires that we revamp the psychological foundations and much of the philosophy of education. During my lecture, I will introduce the audience to a novel description of mental growth, and a new theory of mental development known as Children’s Progress.”
Professor Galanter has authored more than 150 books and articles on psychophysics, perception, motivation, memory, early learning, and computer-driven pedagogy. His publications on education include The Ideal Teacher, The Mechanization of Teaching, and Two Models of a Student. His book, Plans and the Structure of Behavior, co-authored and published in 1960, is generally held to have sparked the cognitive revolution in the psychological sciences with very significant implications for the development of modern educational technology. It has been cited on more than 2,500 occasions.
NUI Galway President, Dr James J. Browne said: “The Monsignor Pádraig De Brún lecture honours a former University president who was a renowned polymath with keen interest in the arts, the sciences and the culture of his day. Eminent psychologist Professor Galanter will address the topic of Education for a Modern World, focusing on an area of interest shared by Monsignor De Brún.”
The public lecture is organised by the President’s Office, NUI Galway. For further information, contact 091 493 431.
About the Monsignor Pádraig de Brún Memorial Lecture
The Monsignor Pádraig de Brún Memorial Lecture commemorates the former University President Mons Pádraig de Brún who was President of UCG in 1945 - 1959. Upon retirement from UCG, he became Chairman of the Arts Council, a position he held until his death in June 1960.
A polymath and a patron of the arts, Monsignor Pádraig de Brún was a passionate supporter of the importance of the Irish language and active member of the Gaelic League. He translated numerous scientific and literary texts from French, German, Greek and Latin into Irish. His profound scholarship was acknowledged when he was elected first Chairman of the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies in 1940.
The inaugural Monsignor de Brún lecture was delivered in 1963. Among the luminaries who have delivered the address are theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking; poet, Maire Mhac An tSaoi; and environmentalist Richard Leakey. The most recent lecture, in 2007, was by Professor Joanna Haigh on ‘Solar Variability and Climate Change’.
About Children’s Progress
Children’s Progress (www.childrensprogress.com)
*Children’s Progress is a recent recipient of an Inc. 500 award for being one of the fastest-growing companies in the US.
