Each year, the HSPP sponsors a presentation in the Distinguished Women in Science lecture series. As of 2002, the talks are co-sponsored by Barnard's Center for Research on Women. The public lectures are widely advertised, and they usually draw a substantial audience that includes students, faculty, and alumnae from Barnard and Columbia as well as members of the broader community. When issuing the invitation to speakers, we specifically request that they introduce their research topic by briefly discussing their own career trajectories. Each year the talk is followed by a dinner in honor of the speaker as well as the outgoing and incoming Research Interns and their faculty mentors. Beginning with the 2002 visit, we are inviting the speakers to spend two days at Barnard. In addition to delivering the public lecture, they make presentations and lead discussions in classes in their field of specialization and visit informally with students over lunch.

A list of past speakers is provided below with links to abstracts of their talks.