News

On October 28, 2025, the Divinity School hosted the annual Nuveen Lecture, delivered by Daniel Holz, Professor in the Enrico Fermi Institute, Department of Physics, and Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics at the University of Chicago. The Nuveen Lecture series invites distinguished scholars and public figures to engage the ethical and theological questions that shape our contemporary world.

Professor Holz serves as Chair of the Science and Security Board of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, the organization responsible for setting the hands of the iconic Doomsday Clock, a symbol of humanity’s proximity to global catastrophe. In January, the Board announced that the Clock remains at 89 seconds to midnight, reflecting ongoing and intensifying global risks.

In his lecture, Holz examined the scientific and ethical considerations underlying that decision, offering an urgent analysis of the trends that have brought the world closer to the brink. His remarks focused in particular on the enduring and evolving threat of nuclear devastation, situating it within broader discussions of responsibility, technology, and the human future.

"Our technologies advance faster than our collective societal wisdom," Holz told the audience. 

Holz concluded by emphasizing that the Clock’s hands are not fixed. They can move forward or backward depending on humanity’s collective choices. His reflections invited listeners to consider not only how close we stand to midnight, but also what moral courage, cooperation, and imagination are required to turn the hands away from it.