Science Under Siege: A Conversation With Dr. Peter Hotez & Dr. Michael Mann

From pandemics to climate change, the world faces deeply interconnected and critical challenges. Yet efforts to confront these crises are increasingly obstructed by a powerful, organized force: rising opposition to science, often driven by political and ideological agendas. This erosion of trust in scientific expertise not only threatens effective policymaking but also undermines democratic discourse and public health.

Michael E. Mann, a leading climate scientist, and Peter J. Hotez, a renowned vaccine researcher and physician-scientist, have spent decades working at the intersection of science, policy, and public communication. Both have worked to advance evidence-based responses amid a rise in disinformation and denialism, navigating an environment where scientific consensus is increasingly politicized.

This event is a collaboration between the Baker Institute Director’s Lecture Series and the Science and Tech Policy Program‘s Civic Scientist Lecture Series, sponsored by Dr. Virginia Clark, with additional support from Benjamin and Winifer Cheng, Rice University’s George R. Brown School of Engineering, and Weiss School of Natural Sciences. It is free and open to the public. Lunch will be provided.

Moderator

Neal Lane, Ph.D.
Senior Fellow, Science and Technology Policy, Baker Institute for Public Policy; Professor, Physics and Astronomy Emeritus, Rice University; Former Presidential Science Advisor, OSTP (1998-2001)

Featured Speakers

Peter J. Hotez, M.D., Ph.D., is the Baker Institute fellow in disease and poverty. He is dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine, professor of pediatrics and molecular virology and microbiology and co-director of Texas Children’s Center for Vaccine Development at Baylor College of Medicine where he also holds the Texas Children’s Hospital Endowed Chair of Tropical Pediatrics. Dr. Hotez is an internationally recognized physician-scientist with expertise in neglected tropical diseases and vaccine development, and the author of four books with Johns Hopkins University Press. In 2015-16 he served as U.S. Science Envoy in the State Department and for the White House. He holds several honorary doctorates and is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine and American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and has been recognized by the American Medical Association (AMA), Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), American College of Physicians (ACP), and American Medical Writers Association (AMWA).

Michael E. Mann is Presidential Distinguished Professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Science at the University of Pennsylvania, with a secondary appointment in the Annenberg School for Communication. He also serves as vice provost for climate science, policy, and action and director of the Penn Center for Science, Sustainability, and the Media. He has received numerous honors, including NOAA’s Outstanding Publication Award and recognition by Scientific American as one of 50 leading visionaries in science and technology.  He was a contributing author to the award of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.

Mann has received major accolades for science communication and leadership, including the 2018 AAAS Award for Public Engagement with Science, the 2019 Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement, and election to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in 2020. In 2024, he was elected a foreign member of the Royal Society. He is the author of more than 300 peer-reviewed publications and seven books, including “The New Climate War” (PublicAffairs, 2021) and “Our Fragile Moment” (PublicAffairs, 2023).