DeKALB – The Center for Southeast Asian Studies hosted its first lecture in its fall 2025 lecture series Friday in the Peters Campus Life building, co-sponsored by the Department of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment.

The lecture was titled “The Gift of Bamboo: Where the Scientific, Spiritual and Culture Intersect.” This year’s guest speaker was James Wilson, an associate professor in the Department of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment.

Wilson’s research uses geographic tools to explore, describe and model issues within the population and regarding health. Research like this highlights interrelationships of population, behavior and the environment’s effect on human well-being.

Wilson’s work also includes depicting coastal populations that are susceptible to tropical storm surges and other overflow problems. Wilson discussed a variety of topics, including deforestation, education, spiritual traditions and music.

“Various articles, architecture, engineering, sustainability, literature, music, culture, language, they’re all involved in this, right?” Wilson said.

Wilson connected these topics to the core idea of the lecture, bamboo. The lecture focused on all the many ways bamboo can be used in society and just how important of a resource it is.

“This presentation is kind of an overview of a very broad effort to sort of integrate all these different things, centering around the iconic plant of bamboo,” Wilson said. “What can you not make out of bamboo? There’s bamboo bicycles now, right?”

The CSEAS Fall Lecture Series will take place from noon to 1 p.m. every Friday during the fall semester, meeting rooms vary depending on the lecture. The lectures are free and open to the public, with both in-person and online viewing options. Registration is required for online viewing.