Campus Life

Guest lecturer to address 'Big Science, Politics and the Press'

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who has written for the Los Angeles Times for more than three decades will visit University Park to discuss “Big Science, Politics and the Press.”

Michael Hiltzik, a business columnist for the LA Times, will present a free public lecture at 5:30 p.m. April 4 in Foster Auditorium at Paterno Library. Hiltzik has served many roles for the Times — including as a financial and political writer, an investigative reporter, a technology writer and editor, and a foreign correspondent in Africa and Russia.

In addition to his reporting, Hiltzik has authored six books. His most recent book, “Big Science: Ernest Lawrence and the Invention that Launched the Military-Industrial Complex,” was published in 2015.

In 1999, Hiltzik received a Pulitzer Prize for his role in articles about corruption in the entertainment industry. In addition, Hiltzik earned the 2004 Gerald Loeb Award for outstanding business commentary and the Silver Gavel from the American Bar Association for outstanding legal reporting.

Hiltzik’s other books include New York Times best-seller “Colossus: Hoover Dam and the Making of the American Century” (2010), “The New Deal: A Modern History” (2011), “The Plot Against Social Security” (2005), “Dealers of Lightning: Xerox PARC and the Dawn of the Computer Age” (1999), and “A Death in Kenya: The Murder of Julie Ward” (1991).

He earned his bachelor’s degree from Colgate University and a master’s from Columbia University.

The lecture is sponsored by the Norman Eberly Professorship. 

Last Updated June 2, 2021