You are warmly invited to attend the Symposium in memory of Björn Kurtén on his 100th birthday, which will take place on November 19th from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the House of Science and Letters (Kirkkokatu 6) in Helsinki.

The symposium will be conducted in English. We kindly ask you to register for the seminar by no later than November 11, 2024, using this registration form.

The Finnish paleontologist Björn Kurtén (1924–1988) was a world-famous expert on fossil mammals, especially bears and other carnivores. He was also a skillful science communicator and an author of novels depicting Ice Age life. To commemorate the centenary of his birth, we wish to celebrate Kurtén’s life by showing how his scientific legacy lives on, both in Finland and beyond.

Programme:

09.00–09.05       Henry Pihlström & Mats Gyllenberg: Opening words

09.05–09.20       Lars Werdelin: Introducing Björn Kurtén

09.20–09.45       Jukka Jernvall: Kurten’s contributions to evodevo

09.45–10.10       Christine Janis: A horse walks into a bar: an explanation for the long face

10.10–10.30       COFFEE BREAK

10.30–10.55       Indrė Žliobaitė: How many indricotheres could have lived in Helsinki?

10.55–11.20       Jouko Rikkinen: Interactions between insects and plants/fungi in amber

11.20–11.45       Mar Cabeza: TBA (Environmental change in Africa)

11.45–13.00       LUNCH (not provided by the organizers)

13.00–13.25       Maija Karala: Palaeoart – the long dance of art and science

13.25–13.50       Miikka Tallavaara: The Evolution of Human Niche in East Asia over the Pleistocene

13.50–14.15       Kristiina Mannermaa: Prehistoric bovids from Karelia and neighbouring areas

14.15–14.40      Björn Kröger: TBA (Finnish fossils)

14.40–15.40      COFFEE BREAK (poster session)

15.40–15.55       Howie Firth: Flowers for the Tiger: Kurtén’s palaeofiction

15.55–16.20       Adrian Lister: Kurténian bivariate analysis and the radiation of Mediterranean island deer

16.20–16.45       David Polly: Scaling Kurtén: the evolution of paleontology in the 20th and 21st centuries

16.45–16.55       Mikael Fortelius: Björn Kurtén’s legacy

16.55–17.00       Martin Lodenius: Björn Kurtén Prize announcement

Organizers: Björn Kurtén Centenary Symposium Planning Group, Nordenskiöld-samfundet i Finland, Suomen paleontologinen seura BKK and The Finnish Society of Sciences and Letters. Partially supported by The Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland.

Photo: The archives of Svenska Litteratursällskapet i Finland, SLSA927 009. Rolf Österblad.