Second Tuesday Science Cafe is a monthly lunchtime lecture series that is provided by members of the College's science faculty. The talks at these events are geared towards individuals who have no formal science background. The only requirements are curiousity about science and a willingness to learn about new concepts. The September 2013 talk was given by Howard A. Schneiderman Professor Emeritus of Biology Scott Gilbert.

Gilbert is the author of Developmental Biology, now in its tenth edition. The most recent incarnation reflects how molecular, cellular, and anatomical perspectives on development have been integrated. In addition to Developmental Biology, Gilbert has two other books in print: Bioethics and the New Embryology, a volume that counts Emily Zackin '02 and Anna Tyler '03 as its co-authors, which discusses new findings in developmental biology with respect to philosophy and religion, and Ecological Developmental Biology, a textbook co-authored with David Epel which integrates developmental plasticity, epigenetics, and symbiosis into discussions of medicine and evolution.

Gilbert is the recipient of several awards, including the Medal of François I from the Collège de France, the Dwight J. Ingle Memorial Writing Award, the Choice Outstanding Academic Book Award, honorary doctorates from the University of Helsinki and the University of Tartu, and a John Simon Guggenheim Foundation Grant. In 2002, the Society for Developmental Biology awarded him its first Viktor Hamburger Prize for Excellence in Education, and in 2004, he was awarded the Kowalevsky Prize in Evolutionary Developmental Biology. He is also a Finland Distinguished Professor at the University of Helsinki.