BERKELEY -- A free talk on Dr. Omond Solandt, the acclaimed scientist who guided Canada during the early years of the Cold War, will be held at noon Feb. 24 at 223 Moses Hall at UC Berkeley.

The featured speaker is Jason S. Ridler, author of "Strangelove or Spock? Dr. Omond Solandt, Canada's Maestro of Military Science during the Early Cold War, 1945-1956."

Solandt, the first chairman of the Canadian Defence Research Board, "became a venerated voice on military and science affairs just when fears of atomic and then thermonuclear war rose in global consciousness," according to the program announcement. "His experience gave way to a view on war, weapons, and the reality of the atomic age that was considered rational, clear, and rooted in his belief in the power of rational actors to make good on the world."

Solandt's views began to change, however, as the destructive yield of thermonuclear weapons grew and some American counterparts revised their attitudes on the feasibility of full-bore nuclear warfare.

The talk is open to the public. For more details contact Elliott Smith at 510-642-0531 or Canada@Berkeley.edu.

Contact Chris Treadway at 510-262-2784 or ctreadway@bayareanewsgroup.com. Follow him at Twitter.com/christreadway. Stay up-to-date on West Contra Costa news at IBABuzz.com/westcounty.