Dr. Nicole Muszynski, Hastings College assistant professor of psychology, will give an Invited Faculty Lecture titled “Science as a Candle in the Dark” on Wednesday, April 9, at 1:30 p.m. in French Memorial Chapel. This lecture is free and open to the public.
Muszynski will share her experience on how a book about the importance of scientific literacy and critical thinking in our technology-driven world changed her life.
While in graduate school at the University of Hawaii, she read a book by Carl Sagan titled “The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark.” When reading this book, it inspired her to be a skeptic, a critical thinker, a better scientist and a more knowledgeable consumer of information.
Muszynski’s presentation is part of the Invited Faculty Lectures series.
Each spring, Hastings College students select two faculty members to present campus-wide lectures on the professors’ topics of choice during the next academic year. This prestigious honor for the faculty, which is a tradition that dates back to 1967, is sponsored by the Hastings College Lecture Series.
Biography for Dr. Nicole Muszynski
Dr. Nicole Muszynski is an assistant professor of psychology who joined the Hastings College faculty in 2020. She is particularly interested in anything that intersects animals, such as vertebrates and invertebrates, as well as the brain, learning and cognition.
Muszynski is a part of the Department of Psychology and Sociology and teaches courses on animal cognition, behavioral neuroscience, research methods, and learning and memory.
Muszynski graduated from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and began teaching as an adjunct in Hawaii at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, Kapiolani Community, and Honolulu Community College. She went on to teach at Wabash College in Indiana as a visiting assistant professor, before coming to Hastings College.
Muszynski has lots of hobbies, her favorites include: reading, buying books to read, playing video games, and working on jigsaw puzzles. Although her area of speciality is in animal cognition and learning and memory, Muszynski is very passionate about reading about pseudoscience and science advocacy material.
Hastings College is a four-year residential college that focuses on student academic and extracurricular achievement. Discover more at hastings.edu.
