Second Annual Open Dialogue to Include Christian and Atheist Perspectives

Ivana Nikolic Hughes, Ph.D.

Where did everything come from? Hear differing opinions on the matter at the University of Findlay’s second annual open dialogue, featuring Christian and atheist world views about the origins of the universe and the existence of God, at 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 21 in the Winebrenner Building’s TLB Auditorium. The event is free and open to the public.

Hosted by Campus Ministries, the open dialogue discussion will include Ivana Nikolic Hughes, Ph.D., from Columbia University, representing the atheist perspective; and Robert DiSilvestro, Ph.D., from The Ohio State University, reflecting on Christian beliefs.

Robert DiSilvestro, Ph.D.

Hughes is a senior lecturer in discipline in Columbia’s University’s Department of Chemistry, and the director of Frontiers of Science, a course required of all first-year students at Columbia. She graduated with honors from Caltech University in 1999 with a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering, and earned her Ph.D. from Stanford University in 2005, working in the Department of Biochemistry as an American Heart Association Fellow. Hughes speaks widely about nuclear weapons, climate change, and other science-related topics.

DiSilvestro is professor emeritus in The Ohio State University’s Department of Human Sciences. He retired in 2018 as professor of human nutrition, but remains involved at OSU in research and product commercialization. He received a Bachelor of Science in biochemistry from Purdue University, and a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Texas A&M University. DiSilvestro currently runs three startup companies that are developing products based on his research. He has also given talks and written on the relationship between science and theology.