ORONO — Stephen Bocking, professor emeritus from the Trent School of Environment at Trent University, will deliver the 2022 Geddes W. Simpson Lecture, titled “How the Arctic Became Global,” at 1 p.m. Oct. 13 in the McIntire Room at the University of Maine Buchanan Alumni House.
Bocking taught at the Trent School of the Environment from 1994–2022, and also served as its chair and director for a time. Originally trained in biology and science history, his research encompassed the historical and contemporary roles of knowledge in environmental affairs. He has authored about 60 articles and book chapters, and wrote and edited a few books.
The Geddes W. Simpson Lecture is an annual event supported by the Geddes W. Simpson Lecture Fund, which was endowed by his family in 2001 to support a series that highlights speakers who have provided significant insight into the area where science and history intersect.
Simpson was a distinguished faculty member who began his 55-year career at UMaine with the College of Life Sciences and the Maine Agricultural Experiment Station in 1931. His research program, which focused on aphids in potato plants, was renowned. He served as the chair of the Entomology Department from 1954 until his retirement in 1974. Awarded emeritus status upon retirement, he continued to work part-time as an editor with the station. UMaine professor emeritus David C. Smith dedicated his history of the station to Simpson, noting that Simpson was “one of three men whose work I admire.”