Spring Program

An Age-Old Question:
Is There a Limit to Human Lifespan?

Featuring Joel E. Cohen, Ph.D., Dr.P.H.
Abby Rockefeller Mauze Professor
Laboratory of Populations

Average human life length has increased steadily during the last century due to many factors, including innovations in disease prevention and treatment. Will this trend continue, or is there a limit to human lifespan that is impervious to human intervention? This question captured the attention of Rockefeller University’s Joel Cohen, recipient of a MacArthur Foundation “genius award,” who develops mathematical tools to study the forces that shape populations. Pursuing an answer in hard numbers, Dr. Cohen recently led an analysis of 6,560 historical life tables from many nations that include statistics collected between 1800 and 2008. At this eye-opening program, he will share his findings on the future of human longevity—work that can inform vital discussions about the impact of increasing life expectancy on human societies.

Dr. Cohen received a B.A. summa cum laude from Harvard University, where he went on to earn a 1970 doctorate in applied mathematics and a 1973 doctorate in population sciences and tropical public health. He taught at Harvard until 1975, when he joined Rockefeller as a professor and head of the Laboratory of Populations. At present, he is also on the faculty at Columbia University, where he is a professor of international and public affairs and a professor of earth and environmental sciences.

A member of the National Academy of Sciences, Dr. Cohen is a fellow of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Philosophical Society, and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. Dr. Cohen shared the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement, the premier international award in its field. He received the first Olivia Schieffelin Nordberg Prize, awarded by the Population Council, for his 1995 book How Many People Can the Earth Support?, which describes complex interactions of demographic, economic, environmental, and cultural factors. He has authored seven other books, including his 2009 publication, International Perspectives on the Goals of Universal Basic and Secondary Education, which explores cultural perspectives regarding the goals of educating children.

For additional information and reservations, please contact
Dustin Gerding at (212) 327-7712 or tegp@rockefeller.edu. You may also register online.