The Collegium Institute at the University of Pennsylvania is sponsoring a “Magi Project Lecture” on Tuesday, October 29, at 7:45pm at the Penn Newman Center (111 S 38th St, Philadelphia, PA 19104).  The lecture will be given by Fr. Nicanor Austriaco, O.P. and will be entitled “Defining Death in a Technological Age: The Scientific, Moral, and Philosophical Debate about the Legal End of Life.”  

Rev. Fr. Nicanor Austriaco, O.P. is a Professor of Biological Sciences & Professor of Sacred Theology at the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines. One of the leading Catholic public intellectuals from our own university community, Fr. Austriaco received his BSE in Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania in 1989. He holds multiple doctorates, including a PhD in Biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a SThD from the University of Fribourg in Switzerland. Fr. Austriaco taught at Providence College from 2005 to 2022 before moving to the Philippines where his UST lab is developing a yeast delivery platform for vaccines. His first book, Biomedicine and Beatitude: An Introduction to Catholic Bioethics, was recognized as a 2012 Choice outstanding academic title by the Association of College and Research Libraries. He has served as a founding board member of the Society for Catholic Scientists and as the Director of ThomisticEvolution.org.