In 1885, the Hitchcock Endowment Fund was established from a bequest made by Dr. Charles M. Hitchcock to institute a professorship at the University of California for free lectures upon scientific and practical subjects. Dr. Hitchcock, whose longstanding interest in education inspired his contribution, was a physician and served as medical director of the Pacific Coast in the United States Army Medical Corps. The Hitchcock Foundation Lectures began in 1909 and were later expanded and retitled the Charles M. and Martha Hitchcock Lectures in 1932, thanks to a generous bequest from Dr. Hitchcock's daughter, Lillie Hitchcock Coit.

TitleLecturerYear
Creating Equality of Opportunity: New Insights from Big Data Raj Chetty2023
Time, Einstein, and the Coolest Stuff in the Universe William D. Phillips2022
A New Measure: The Revolutionary, Quantum Reform of the Modern Metric System William D. Phillips2022
21st Century Global Health Priorities Christopher J.L. Murray2022
Metrics in Action: Lessons Learned from 30 Years of the Global Burden of Disease Study Christopher J.L. Murray2022
The Assault on Empathy: The Promise of a Friction-Free Life Sherry Turkle2019
The Assault on Empathy: The Promise of Artificial Intimacy Sherry Turkle2019
Evolution and Creationism as Science and Myth Eugenie C. Scott2018
Why Do People Reject Good Science? Eugenie C. Scott2018
The Real ‘Skin in the Game’: The History of Naked, Sweaty, and Colorful Skin in the Human Lineage Nina Jablonski2017
The Cost of Color: The Health and Social Consequences of Skin Color for People Today Nina Jablonski2017
The Language of Friendship: The Role of Talk in an Understudied Relationship Deborah Tannen2017
Conversations on the Small Screen: Talking over Social Media Deborah Tannen2017
Contemporary Climate Change as Seen Through Measurements Ralph J. Cicerone2016
Why We Have Effective Agreements to Protect the Ozone Layer But Not to Stabilize Climate Ralph J. Cicerone2016
The Creative City Paul Goldberger2015
The Generic City Paul Goldberger2015
Imagine America without Los Angeles: Applying science to understand the vulnerability of modern society to natural disasters Lucy Jones2015
The Challenges of Science Communication: Lucy Jones2015
How Can Telomeres Cause Age-Related Disease? Carol Greider2014
The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined Steven Pinker2014
Telomeres and Telomerase: Past, Present and Future Carol Greider2014
The Elephant in the Room: The Psychology of Innuendo & Euphemism Steven Pinker2014
Intelligence and the Brain: Recent Advances in Understanding How the Brain Works Jeff Hawkins2012
Intelligence and Machines: Creating Intellligent Machines by Modeling the Brain Jeff Hawkins2012
Roving Mars: Spirit, Opportunity, and the Exploration of the Red Planet Steven Squyres2011
The Future of Planetary Exploration Steven Squyres2011
Mission Blue: Protecting the Blue Heart of the Planet Sylvia Earle2011
Exploring the Deep Frontier Sylvia Earle2011
Entering the RNA World Sidney Altman2010
Ribonuclease P: A Small Step in the RNA World Sidney Altman2010
Studying Economic Behavior in Unusual Places: From Deal or No Deal to the National Football League Richard H. Thaler2010
Rethinking Regulation after the Financial Crisis and the Oil Spill: A Behavioral Approach Richard H. Thaler2010
The Great Transitions in Evolution: Finding Fossils, Studying Genes, and Bridging Gaps Neil Shubin2009
Wings, Legs, and Fins: How Do New Organs Arise in Evolution Neil Shubin2009
Emerging Infectious Diseases and Global Health Lucy Shapiro2009
The Systems Architecture of a Bacterial Cell Cycle Lucy Shapiro2009
A Scientist Addresses Science Education Leon Lederman2009
A Sense of Wonder Leon Lederman2009
Calcium, Proteins, Energy, and Life Chikashi Toyoshima2008
A Molecular Machine at Work: The Case of the Calcium Pump Protein Chikashi Toyoshima2008
Physics and History: Links Between Two Cultures – Forged in the Baroque John Heilbron2007
Physics and History: Links Between Two Cultures – Fractured in Modernity John Heilbron2007
Explorations of the Mind-Intuition: The Marvels and the Flaws Daniel Kahneman2007
Explorations of the Mind-Happiness Daniel Kahneman2007
What Is Our Universe Like in the Large, and How Did It Get That Way? – Exploring the Large-Scale Nature of the Universe P. James E. Peebles2006
What Is Our Universe Like in the Large, and How Did It Get That Way? – Triumphs and Challenges for Modern Cosmology P. James E. Peebles2006
From Egg to Adult and Back Again – How Does an Egg Make an Organism? Some General Principles Sir John Gurdon2006
From Egg to Adult and Back Again – Cloning, Stem Cells, and Cell Replacement Sir John Gurdon2006
Intimate Encounters with Molecules – Taming Molecular Wildness Dudley Herschbach2005
Intimate Encounters with Molecules – Breaking and Making Chemical Bonds Dudley Herschbach2005
Identity and Violence – The Violence of Illusion Amartya Sen2005
Identity and Violence – Making Sense of Identity Amartya Sen2005
Changes in the Process of Aging during the Twentieth Century – Disparities in Chronic Diseases during the Course of the Twentieth Century Robert W. Fogel2004
Changes in the Process of Aging during the Twentieth Century – Common Analytical Errors in Explanations for Improvements in Health and Longevity Robert W. Fogel2004
Holding on to Atoms and Molecules with Lasers – Laser Cooling: From Atomic Clocks to Watching Biomolecules Move Steven Chu2004
Holding on to Atoms and Molecules with Lasers – What Can Physics Say about Life? Steven Chu2004
Gene, Organism, and Environment: Bad Metaphors and Good Biology Richard C. Lewontin2003
The Concept of Race – The Confusion of Social and Biological Reality Richard C. Lewontin2003
Atomic and Molecular Astrophysics – The Synthesis of Molecules in the Universe Alexander Dalgarno2003
Atomic and Molecular Astrophysics – Comets and the Solar Wind Alexander Dalgarno2003
The Mathematical Way of Understanding the World – Clocks and Chaos Dr. David Mumford2002
The Mathematical Way of Understanding the World – Models of Thought Dr. David Mumford2002
Language and Mind Revisited – The Biolinguistic Turn Noam Chomsky2002
Language and Mind Revisited – Language and the Rest of the World Noam Chomsky2002
Sequencing the Human Genome – Prokaryotes J. Craig Venter2002
Sequencing the Human Genome – Eukaryotes J. Craig Venter2002
Inequalities in Health – Life and Death on the Social Gradient Sir. Michael Marmot2001
Inequalities in Health – There is Such a Thing as Society Sir. Michael Marmot2001
Modern Alchemy: Stars, Chemistry and Cosmology E. Margaret Burbidge2001
The Riddle of the Redshift: The Universe We Don’t Understand E. Margaret Burbidge2001
The Gene’s Eye View of Creation – The Genetic Book of the Dead Richard Dawkins2001
The Gene’s Eye View of Creation: The Selfish Cooperator Richard Dawkins2001
Deciphering the Maya Script Michael D. Coe2000
More Than a Drink: Chocolate in the Pre-Columbian World Michael D. Coe2000
Parallel Civilizations: Ancient Angkor and the Ancient Maya Michael D. Coe2000
How Many People Can the Earth Support? Joel E. Cohen2000
Human Carrying Capacity: Concepts, Methods and Models Joel E. Cohen2000
Special Presentation: Films and Discussion of Population Issues Joel E. Cohen2000
Cities in Civilization: Culture, Innovation and Urban Order Sir Peter Hall2000
The End of the City? ‘The report of my death was an exaggeration’ Sir Peter Hall2000
Perception, Imagination and Science Roger N. Shepard1999
The Grounds of Science and of Ethics Roger N. Shepard1999
How the Ears’ Works Work: Auditory Sensory Transduction A. James Hudspeth1999
Getting in Tune: Auditory Frequency Selectivity A. James Hudspeth1999
Environment, Population, Consumption, and Sustainable Development – The Great Challenges of Our Time Norman Myers1998
Tropical Forests: Their Future and Our Future Norman Myers1998
Science, a Round Peg in a Square World Harold Kroto1998
C60: Buckminsterfullerene, Not Just a Pretty Molecule Harold Kroto1998
Failed Visions and Unexpected Adaptations – Reflections on the Interaction of Society and Communications Technology Robert Lucky1998
How Will We Connect? – Rethinking the World’s Communications in the Age of the Internet Robert Lucky1998
Archaeology, Genetics and Linguistic Diversity: Towards a New Synthesis Colin Renfrew1997
The Sapiens Paradox, Or Why Did People Get Smart So Late? Colin Renfrew1997
Chicken Little Was Right: The Sky Is Falling Eugene Shoemaker1997
Things That Went Bump in the Night (and Shook the Earth) Eugene Shoemaker1997
Tangles, Bangles and Knots John Horton Conway1996
Fractran: A Ridiculous Logical Language John Horton Conway1996
Two Russian Revolutions Yegor Gaidar1996
Five Years of the Democratic Experiment in Russia Yegor Gaidar1996
Our Universe and Others Martin Rees1995