Tyler Volk

Tyler Volk is professor of biology and environmental studies at New York University. In his just-released book, Quarks to Culture: How We Came to Be (Columbia University Press, May, 2017) Volk explores a rhythm within what he calls the “grand sequence,” which has progressed as a series of levels of sizes and innovations from elementary quanta to globalized human civilization. Identifying and defining “combogenesis” as the mechanism of creation of levels in the grand sequence, Volk shows how physics and chemistry led to biological evolution, and biological evolution to cultural evolution. His previous books include CO2 Rising: The World’s Greatest Environmental Challenge (2008); Gaia’s Body: Toward a Physiology of Earth (1998); and Metapatterns Across Space, Time, and Mind (1995). Volk is a recipient of the NYU’s Distinguished Teaching Award and Golden Dozen Award.

Participant In These Roundtable Discussions

Sat
May 20th
2017
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Complexity and Emergence II: Visions of Cosmic Order, from Particles to People

This roundtable explores the emergence of complexity and order across scales—from fundamental physical particles to biological systems and human civilization—examining whether recurring principles of combination and integration give rise to distinct levels of organization. It considers how complexity evolves over time, how novel structures and behaviors emerge at different stages of the universe, and what these patterns reveal about the development of matter, life, culture, and consciousness.
Fri
Dec 1st
2017
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Art and Science: The Two Cultures Converging

This series of roundtables brings together artists, scientists, and scholars to explore the intersections of science, art, education, and society through themes of collaboration, interdisciplinary practice, and STEAM education. Across the discussions, participants examine how these fields inform one another, how such collaborations are formed and sustained, and how they may shape future approaches to knowledge, creativity, and learning.