Nuclear Infatuation will be the Topic of Guest Lecture at Baylor University

April 9, 2013
Robert R. Johnson, Ph.D.

Robert R. Johnson, Ph.D. photo courtesy of Michigan Tech University

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WACO, Texas (April 9, 2013) - With nuclear development at the forefront of international thought following North Korea's recent actions, Robert R. Johnson, Ph.D., will present a lecture titled "Romancing the Atom: Nuclear Infatuation from the Radium Girls to Fukushima." The lecture will take place at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, April 11, in Room C.105 of the Baylor Sciences Building, 101 Bagby Ave.

Johnson is a professor of rhetoric, composition and technical communication at Michigan Tech University, where he also serves as chair for the department of humanities. He was awarded the 1999 Best Book Award by the National Council of Teachers for English Publications in Technical and Scientific Communication for his first book, User-centered Technology: A Rhetorical Theory for Computers and Other Mundane Artifacts. His second book, by the same name as his lecture, was published in 2012.

"Dr. Johnson is a leading scholar in rhetoric and technical communication, who brings his expertise to bear in this engaging account of our sometimes unthinking 'romance' with atomic development," said Heidi Bostic, Ph.D., professor of French and chair of the department for modern foreign languages in Baylor's College of Arts & Sciences.

"He examines case studies ranging from the infamous Bikini Islands nuclear testing, to a secret uranium processing plant in Oxford, Ohio (where Johnson used to live), to the recent tragedy at Fukushima, Japan, in the wake of the tsunami," she said.

"Above all, readers and audience members will find Johnson's book and presentation informative, fascinating and thought-provoking."

This lecture is free and open to the public. For more information about this lecture, call 254-710-3711.

by Brent Salter, student newswriter, (254) 710-6805

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