KNOXVILLE — Alan Boyle, award-winning science writer for MSNBC.com, will give the annual Alfred and Julia Hill Lecture at 8 p.m., Tuesday, March 25, in the Shiloh Room of the University Center.

Boyle will speak on “Britney Spears vs. Chimps with Spears: Talking about Science in a Tabloid Culture.” The program is free and open to the public.

Boyle has been with MSNBC since its founding in 1996, holding the position of science editor for MSNBC.com since 1997.

“Alan has been a leader in bringing accurate, interesting science stories to the Internet,” said Mark Littmann, the Hill Professor of Science Writing in UT’s School of Journalism and Electronic Media in the College of Communication and Information.

Boyle’s work has earned him many honors, including the Science Journalism Award of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Science in Society Award of the National Association of Science Writers, and the Almquist Award for Distinguished Service to Journalism from the Society of Professional Journalists.

Prior to joining MSNBC, Boyle was a reporter and editor at daily newspapers in Cincinnati, Seattle and Spokane, Wash. At those papers he served in a variety of reporting roles, covering local news, lifestyle, entertainment and foreign news.

Boyle graduated with highest honors in English, writing, and philosophy from Loras College in Iowa and earned a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University.

The Hill Lecture series brings distinguished science journalists to campus to share their thoughts on science, society and the mass media. The lectures are made possible by an endowment created by Tom Hill and Mary Frances Hill Holton in honor of their parents, Alfred and Julia Hill, founders of The Oak Ridger. The Hill family’s endowment of the lecture series was a gift to the UT School of Journalism and Electronic Media in the College of Communication and Information.

The University Center is at the corner of Cumberland Avenue and Phillip Fulmer Way. Parking is available in the garage on Phillip Fulmer Way next to the University Center. Refreshments will be served before and after the lecture.

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Contact:

Jay Mayfield (865-974-9409, jay.mayfield@tennessee.edu)
Mark Littmann, (865-974-8156, littmann@utk.edu)

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