Stony Brook University is hosting “Africa: The Human Cradle: An International Conference Paying Tribute to Richard E. Leakey.” In partnership with the National Geographic Society, the conference will be held at the campus’ Charles B. Wang Center from June 5-9.
Known for his fossil-finding and conservation work in his native Kenya, Leakey was on faculty at Stony Brook, considered to be his “academic home” for the last 20 years of his life, according to the university. He died at age 77 in 2022.
“Richard Leakey’s discovery of fossil sediments at Koobi Fora has probably been responsible for producing close to half of the world’s evidence for human evolution,” Lawrence Martin, director of the Turkana Basin Institute at Stony Brook, said in a statement.
“He influenced so much in so many different ways including the impactful careers he pursued,” Martin added. “Scientists and researchers were inspired by him to enter this field of study. That he chose to spend the last 20 years of his academic career affiliated with Stony Brook University is such an honor and we want to celebrate his legacy, vision and venerate the extraordinary life he led.”
The upcoming Stony Brook conference will feature more than 40 scientists from seven nations who will present papers on such topics as interpreting the fossil, archaeological and palaeoecological records to recent advances in geology, geochronology, and genomic research.
Leakey is credited with the discovery in the Omo Valley of Ethiopia of Homo sapiens skulls that helped demonstrate that East Africa is the birthplace of modern humans. Leakey made many paleontological discoveries of lasting significance and brought animal poaching to the world’s attention. His fossil finds at Koobi Fora at Lake Turkana, Kenya, transformed the world’s understanding of the diversity of human ancestors. He directed Kenya’s national museum, reorganized the country’s wildlife services and headed Kenya’s civil service. He made huge strides in conservation by empowering organizations and constantly questioning and confronting the status quo. Through the years, he mentored young scholars, conservationists and artists, both in Kenya and at Stony Brook, who are now leaders in their fields.
After joining the Stony Brook faculty part time in September 2002, Leakey later cofounded the Turkana Basin Institute in Nairobi, Kenya, in an academic partnership with Stony Brook in 2005, where he was an anthropology professor. The institute provides permanent infrastructure at two field campuses on the East and West shores of Lake Turkana to enable year-round research in the remote area of sub-Saharan Africa.
Leakey served as the chair of the Turkana Basin Institute until his death in January of 2022. Leakey also worked from the Stony Brook campus on Long Island in the Department of Anthropology, where his wife, Meave Leakey and daughter Louise Leakey are both professors.
Louise Leakey will be among the dozens of speakers at the conference. She will discuss “Six Decades – The Search for Fossils at Lake Turkana,” which will touch on the discoveries and expeditions of the Koobi Fora Research Project in the Turkana Basin. The free lecture that is open to the public is on Monday, June 5 at 5 p.m. at the university’s Staller Center.
“It is a privilege for Stony Brook to host this conference honoring the life and achievements of Richard Leakey,” the university’s president, Maurie McInnis, said in a statement.
“I cannot think of a scholar more reverent of life, dedicated as he was both to the understanding of the origins of humans and the conservation of wildlife,” she added. “To bring together this caliber of scientists at this conference will give us innumerable insights into the origins and evolution of humanity. We celebrate this transformational scholar — a man who changed the way we think about ourselves and, for us, contributed so much to Stony Brook University. Richard’s impact as a mentor—and inspiration to the next generation of paleontologists and anthropologists—can be felt across our campus, and across the world.”
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Adina Genn
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