Lecture Preview
Title: Drue Heinz Lecture Series — Nathaniel Philbrick
The Basics: Author Nathaniel Philbrick will discuss his work. Philbrick has dedicated his writing career to researching the history of the sea. He is the author of In the Heart of the Sea (Viking Penguin, 2000), which won the 2001 National Book Award for nonfiction, and Mayflower: A Story of Community, Courage and War (Viking Penguin, 2006), which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Philbrick attended Taylor Allderdice High School in Squirrel Hill.
When: Today at 7:30 p.m.
Where: Carnegie Music Hall
Title: School of Art Lecture Series — Osman Khan
The Basics: Osman Khan, an artist known for exploring the intersection between technology and identity, communication, and public space, will discuss his work. Khan has exhibited his work in venues on the West Coast and abroad. Khan, a visiting assistant professor in the School of Art, holds a B.S. in mechanical engineering from Columbia University and an M.F.A. in design from UCLA.
When: Tuesday at 5 p.m.
Where: Kresge Recital Hall, College of Fine Arts
Title: “One Journal, Many Voices: Racism and Race Relations in Contemporary Cuba and Beyond”
The Basics: Cuban scholar Juan Antonio Alvarado Ramos will discuss his work. Ramos is the editor-in-chief of ISLAS, the publication of the Afro-Cuban Alliance Inc., a nonprofit organization based in Florida that works to bring together African-Americans and black Cubans. Ramos also led the creation of the digital Ethnographic Atlas of Cuba, and was the principal investigator of a national project to study contemporary racism in Cuba.
The lecture is sponsored by the international relations program.
When: Monday, Nov. 26 at 6:45 p.m.
Where: Adamson Wing (Baker Hall 136A)
Subject: Nicholas P. Sullivan
The Basics: Nicholas P. Sullivan, author of You Can Hear Me Now: How Microloans and Cell Phones are Connecting the World’s Poor To the Global Economy, will discuss the role that cell phones and microloans are playing in economic transformations in developing countries. He will explain how information and communication technology in poor, rural areas, such as the GrameenPhone in Bangladesh, CelTel in Africa and Smart Communications in the Philippines, is creating new indigenous entrepreneurs and driving national economic growth.
The lecture is sponsored by the Institute for Social Innovation at the Heinz School.
When: Tuesday, Nov. 27 at 4:30 p.m.
Where: Margaret Morrison Carnegie Hall A14
Title: University Lecture Series — “Alan Turing’s Computers and Our Computers”
The Basics: Martin Davis, professor of computer science and mathematics at New York University, will relate the story and ideas of Alan Turing, one of the earliest developers of the computer. In a technical paper published in 1936, Turing introduced the mathematical abstractions he developed that introduced the theory that a machine could be programmed to perform arbitrary computations.
Davis has been on the faculty of NYU’s Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, home of the departments of mathematics and computer science, since 1965.
The lecture is co-sponsored by The Humanities Center.
When: Thursday, Nov. 29 at 4:30 p.m.
Where: Adamson Wing (Baker Hall 136A)