Quick Links
  • The Amazing Randi

    Randi gives a sold-out show to both McGill students and the public at the 2010 Pseudoscience Symposium (photo credit: Owen Egan)

  • Marc Weinstein, VP, Development & Alumni Relations

    Marc Weinstein announces the $5.5M grant given to the OSS by Dr. Lorne Trottier (photo credit: Owen Egan)

  • Dr. Lorne Trottier

    Dr. Lorne Trottier

    Dr. Lorne Trottier, founder of the Trottier Public Science Symposium (photo credit: Owen Egan)

  • Dr. Jeffrey Blumberg

    Dr. Jeffrey Blumberg

    Dr. Jeffrey Blumberg discusses "Evidence-based Nutrition: The Problem of Proof" (photo credit: Owen Egan)

  • Dean Martin Grant

    Dean Martin Grant

    Dean of Science, Martin Grant, salutes the evening (photo credit: Owen Egan)

  • Dr. David Gorski

    Dr. David Gorski, 2010 Pseudoscience panelist (photo credit: Owen Egan)

  • Dr. Michael Shermer

    Dr. Michael Shermer, Director of Skeptic Magazine

    Dr. Michael Shermer, 2010 Pseudoscience panelist (photo credit: Owen Egan)

  • Jane Brody

    Jane Brody, Personal Health Columnist, The NY Times

    Jane Brody tells us what to eat and what not to eat by separating the sense from the nonsense (photo credit: Owen Egan)

  • Dr. Ben Goldacre

    Dr. Ben Goldacre tackles Pseudoscience head-on at the 2010 Symposium (photo credit: Owen Egan)

  • Dr. Joe Schwarcz, Director of the Office for Science & Society

    Dr. Joe Schwarcz introduces the annual Lorne Trottier Public Science Symposium (photo credit: Owen Egan)

  • Dr. Bob Park

    Dr. Bob Park, 2011 Alternative Medicine Symposium (photo credit: Owen Egan)

  • Over 700 people in attendance at the 2010 Pseudoscience Symposium (photo credit: Owen Egan)

  • Dr. Walter WIllett

    Dr. Walter Willett, Chair, Harvard School of Public Health

    Dr. Walter Willett presents “Diet and Health: A Progress Report” (photo credit: Owen Egan)

  • Dr. Edzard Ernst

    Dr. Edzard Ernst takes a look at Homeopathy at the 2011 Alternative Medicine Symposium (photo credit: Owen Egan)

  • Dr. Paul Offit

    Dr. Paul Offit, 2011 Alternative Medicine panelist (photo credit: Owen Egan)

  • Dr. Harriet Hall

    Also known as The SkepDoc, Dr. Harriet Hall presents at the 2011 Alternative Medicine Symposium (photo credit: Owen Egan)

  • Harold McGee

    Harold McGee

    Harold McGee, the true expert on the science of food and cooking (photo credit: Owen Egan)

The Lorne Trottier Public Science Symposium

The Lorne Trottier Public Science Symposium is one of McGill University’s premier annual events.  The Symposium features talks by world-class experts on topics of current public interest and attracts a large audience as well as extensive media attention.  Past Symposia have focused on “pseudoscience” and “alternative medicine” with renowned speakers such as pseudoscience and paranormal claims investigator James Randi and vaccine expert Dr. Paul Offit.  The 2012 Trottier Symposium, Food: A Serving of Science, looked at what to eat, what not to eat and what should be done to better the food on our shelves. With invited speakers Dr. Walter Willett of Harvard University, Dr. Jeff Blumberg of Tufts University, Jane Brody of The New York Times and best-selling author on food and cooking, Harold McGee, the two-day event attracted over 1,400 people.


The 2013 symposium, Is That a Fact?, will take place on Monday, October 28 and Tuesday, October 29, with Timothy Caulfield, Professor at the Faculty of Law and School of Public Health, Dr. John Ioannidis, Professor and Chairman at the Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology, University of Ioannina School of Medicine, Dr. Eugenie Scott, Executive Director of the U.S. National Center for Science Education, and Michael Specter, Staff Writer of The New Yorker.


For additional information on this year's Trottier Symposium, please visit the Trottier Public Science Symposium Series website.





Past symposia include: