5- 5:30 p.m: Social time and light refreshments in the Bultman living room

5:30 - 6:30 p.m.: Presentation in the Bultman Student Center auditorium

Please join the Office of the Dean for Natural and Applied Sciences in welcoming Dr. Chris Avery '05 to campus as this year’s Gentile Lectureship speaker. Dr. Avery’s 5:30 p.m. presentation is open to the public and will be preceded by a time of socializing and light refreshments beginning at 5:00pm in the Bultman Student Center living room (lower level). 

Dr. Avery’s presentation will be delivered in the style of a TED Talk and is entitled, “How Do You Make An Informed Decision in a Changing World?” 

Dr. Avery will approach this topic as the Chief of Staff for the National Climate Assessment (NCA) at the US Global Change Research Program (USGCRP). In this role, he manages the development, writing, and publication process of the NCA - the U.S. government’s premier resource for communicating climate change risks, impacts, and solutions - and other ongoing assessments. 

Prior to joining USGCRP, Dr. Avery served as a Senior Advisor for the National Council for Science and the Environment, leading all communications and public facing work for the organization. He also worked in the Department of Energy’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Office, focusing on stakeholder engagement. Prior to DOE, he served as a AAAS Congressional Fellow working for Senator Chris Coons. Dr. Avery was a member of Senator Coons’ energy and environment legislative team, with additional involvement in federal procurement and scientific integrity issues. Before his work as an AAAS Congressional Fellow, Dr. Avery served as a Mirzayan Science & Technology Policy Fellow at the National Academies, working on economic policy.

Dr. Avery earned a Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry, a Graduate Certificate in Science, Technology, and Public Policy, and M.S. in Chemistry at the University of Michigan. He also received a B.S. in Chemistry from Hope College.

The Gentile Interdisciplinary Lectureship at Hope was established in 2005 by faculty colleagues, former students, and friends of Dr. James Gentile. Gentile joined the Hope faculty in 1976 and served as dean for the Natural and Applied Sciences Division from 1988 to 2005, when he became president of Research Corporation, a private foundation in Tucson, Arizona, that supports basic research in the physical sciences. After retiring from Research Corporation, he returned to Hope to serve a two-year appointment as dean from July 2013 through June 2015.

Recent lecturers include:

2023 Dr. Francis Su, Harvey Mudd College

2022 Dr. Michael Guillen

2021 Dr. Sherri Mason, Penn State Behrend

2019 Mr. Ira Flatow, Science Friday

2019 Dr. Valerie Taylor, Argonne National Laboratory

2018 Dr. Peter Agre, Johns Hopkins University

2016 Dr. Andrew Christlieb, Michigan State University

2015 Dr. Cherry Murray, Harvard University

2015 Dr. Jay Demas, St. Olaf College

2015 Dr. Laura Listenberger, St. Olaf College

Dr. Avery’s visit is made possible by a gift to the Gentile Lectureship from the Kavli Foundation of Oxnard, California. The Kavli foundation is dedicated to advancing science for the benefit of humanity, promoting public understanding of scientific research, and supporting scientists and their work.