Renowned Climatologist to Deliver Keynote Address at North Central College's 24th Annual Rall Symposium for Undergraduate Research

World renowned climate scientist and prize-winning physicist Dr. David W. Keith will deliver the keynote address at North Central College’s 2022 Rall Symposium for Undergraduate Research. The 24th annual event, which showcases scholarly work and presentations from undergraduate researchers of all majors, will take place on April 21, beginning with the keynote address at 8:30 a.m. in the Wentz Concert Hall in Naperville.

Dr. Keith is the Gordon McKay Professor of Applied Physics at Harvard University’s John A. Paulson School of Engineering & Applied Sciences, and professor of public policy at Harvard’s Kennedy School. As one of the world’s foremost authorities on climate science, Dr. Keith led the development of Harvard’s Solar Geoengineering Research Program, an initiative that brings together some of the world’s finest minds to solve the biggest problems facing the environment. He is founder of Carbon Engineering, a company that develops technology to capture CO2 from the air to develop carbon-neutral sources of energy.

Throughout his career, Dr. Keith has worked to conserve and protect the planet at the intersection of climate science, energy technology and public policy. For his work, he has been honored with a medal from Queen Elizabeth II at her 2013 Diamond Jubilee and was named among TIME Magazine’s “Heroes of the Environment.” Dr. Keith’s greatest passion is for teaching, which he has shared with students at Harvard, Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Calgary, and across the globe through his online edX courses.

“We’re honored to welcome Dr. Keith to our campus to share his expertise at one of our most treasured annual events,” said North Central College President Troy D. Hammond, who counts Dr. Keith as a friend and fellow physicist, dating back to their days as graduate students and lab mates at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “Students participating in our Rall Symposium are pushing themselves, making new insights and discoveries, and expanding our collective knowledge. It will be a special opportunity for them—and our broader campus community—to learn from someone like Dr. Keith, who has built his career on expanding the limits of human knowledge and capabilities when it comes to the environment.”

The Rall Symposium was first held in 1998 and is part of the College’s Honors Day. The event is named for Dr. Joseph Rall, M.D., Ph.D., North Central Class of 1940. Dr. Rall played a critical role in attracting Nobel Laureates and other distinguished scholars to speak to Symposium attendees. 

North Central College Honors Day 2022 Schedule of Events

• 8:30 -- 9:30 a.m. | Keynote Address, Wentz Concert Hall (171 E. Chicago Ave., Naperville)
• 9:30 a.m. -- 12:30 p.m. | 24th Annual Rall Symposium for Undergraduate Research, Wentz Science Center (131 S. Loomis St., Naperville)
• 1:30 -- 3:30 p.m. | 46th Annual Honors Convocation, Wentz Concert Hall 
• 3:30 -- 4:30 p.m. | Honors Convocation Reception, Wentz Concert Hall Lobby 
• 4:30 -- 7 p.m. | Student Honor Societies Inductions, Various Locations

This event is free and open to the public. For more information about North Central College’s Honors Day 2022, visit northcentralcollege.edu/honors-day.