When Joseph Tykociner died in 1969, he willed his personal and professional papers to the University of Illinois Archives. He also bequeathed his house to the university with the request that it be used as a center for the study of zetetics or -- barring that -- that it be sold and the proceeds endow the furtherance of zetetics as a formal course of study.

The Tykociner house was located in a residential neighborhood some distance from the main campus. As you might surmise from this photo, the facility wasn't wholly suited to the purpose, so the university elected the second alternative. The funds raised from selling the house were merged with other assets, pending an opportunity to fulfill the sense of the bequest.

The university found a means three years later with the establishing of The Tykociner Memorial Lectures. The plan was simple yet appropriate. Every two years a highly regarded representative of a science or an art would be invited to speak on a topic consistent with the principles of zetetics.

To date there have been eleven lectures in the series. The arithmetic would call for fourteen during that span, but in recent years the imperative for periodicity seems to have relaxed. The university's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering coordinates the event with the assistance of an ad hoc committee for selecting speakers. The speaker chooses the topic. Over the years there has been an inconsistent alignment between Joseph's specific work and the topic chosen, but each presentation in its own manner has illuminated the relationships among the arts and sciences. Because that was Joseph's major theme, I judge he'd have been pleased with the series.

The venue of the lectures has hopped around the university's Urbana campus. Early lectures were in the Lincoln Hall Theater and Gregory Hall. The seventh and later lectures have been held in Foellinger Auditorium, elegantly situated at the far end of the quad. Strolling toward the auditorium in the company of other attendees imparts a sense of the excitement Joseph himself knew in this same setting.

NOTE: In 2002 the biennial schedule of the Tykociner Memorial Lecture series was changed, and its purpose was redefined. It now consists of weekly lectures within the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering as a vehicle for acquainting students with the work of invited speakers. Times change, and I believe that Joseph would have accepted the series' new stature within the curriculum.

Below is the final list of the biennial series' speakers and topics. I'm seeking permission to post the full text of the remarks. Meanwhile I'll be offering summaries. However, a limited number of printed copies may yet be available from the department.

This Tykociner commemorative website is under development. Some of the features are yet to be implemented. Composing the summaries of the lectures is one of the incomplete tasks. If one you want isn't set up as a link yet, please check back occasionally.

Thank you for being visitor to this lecture series page.

This entire website is copyright 1998 - 2003 Paul F. Doering,
except for material used with permission.
Latest revision: April 23, 2003.
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"The most important date in my entire scientific activity.
More important than sound motion pictures, antenna models, etc.
The manuscript for the Outline of Zetetics is complete for publication"
-- Joseph Tykociner's diary entry for March 3, 1959

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