2025 Darwin Festival

Salem State's annual Darwin Festival is a weeklong event that celebrates the work of Charles Darwin, with sessions from leading researchers celebrating the field of biology and its impact on today's world.

All in-person talks will be held in Vets Hall, Ellison Campus Center, North Campus. A number of the talks are webinar only. Events are free and open to the public.

Students and guests who anticipate needing accommodations due to a disability or who have questions about access may contact the Center for Accessible Academic Resources at [email protected] or Ryan Fisher for more information.

Founders Lecture - Roger Hanlon, Marine Biological Laboratory

“The Octopus as Tech: Exploring the Science, Art, and Technological Potential of Nature's Most Spectacular Color Change Artist”

Octopus, squid and cuttlefish have mastered the optical illusions that enable them to achieve dynamic and adaptive camouflage and communication. This sophisticated system evolved in some of the most complex ecosystems on earth (e.g. coral reefs) and it has developed into the fastest color change known, due to direct neural control of skin color, pattern, and 3-D texture.

If Darwin had been a diver, perhaps he could have helped answer the why and how of this unique system. In particular, what is the need for speed? I will briefly review the sensory capabilities of cephalopods, then focus first on visual perception of natural backgrounds by cuttlefish to guide dynamic camouflage, which can be implemented in less than one second even in complex visual environments like coral reefs. I will briefly describe how the brain transcribes visual sensory input into motor output that produces appropriate body patterns for camouflage and communication. I will present new field data showing how the fastest color change is used by cephalopods. Then, emphasis will be on neurophysiology of skin chromatophores and iridophores. To better understand camouflage pattern design, we regularly collaborate with art faculty and students. Finally, I will show recent progress in the development of bio-inspired materials and engineering that produce rapid color pattern change for a variety of applications.

Sponsored by the Salem State University Biology Department and ThermoFisher Scientific.