Dr. Paul Frommer, the creator of the Na’vi language for James Cameron’s Avatar, will be visiting ISU tomorrow as part of the National Affairs series on Innovation funded by GSB.

Frommer will be speaking at the lecture “Giving the Avatar its Voice: Creating the Na’vi Language”. The lecture will take place at 8 p.m. Thursday in the Great Hall of the Memorial Union. It is free and open to the public.

Frommer created over 1,000 words for the Na’vi language from a mix of Polynesian and African dialects. He also created the translations for the script, songs and video games.

Frommer will be the first speaker for the National Affairs series on Innovation.

Other speakers include:

• Peter Smith — The Next Phase of Martian Exploration: The Search for Life, February 10; 
• Kim Jordan — Business, Innovation, & the Environment, February 22; 
• Jane Lubchenco — Communicating Science, March 1; 
• Jane Smiley — The Man Who Invented the Computer: The Biography of John Atanasoff, Digital Pioneer, March 3;
•  Matthew Crawford — The Case for Working With Your Hands, March 24;  
• Amy Sedaris — Simple Times: Crafts for Poor People, April 11.