Past Luncheon Lectures
Find information on our previous lectures in the drawers below.
Note: If you would like to search for a particular lecture, presenter or topic, click the '+ Expand All' link before using Ctrl+F to find content on this page.
October 14, 2025
FISCAL CRISES
James D. Hamilton, PhD, is the Robert F. Engle Endowed Chair in Economics Professor at UC San Diego. He is the 2025 honoree elected to join the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He has received seven teaching awards from the UCSD Economics Department. In 2020, he received the Best Paper Award from the Journal of Monetary Economics.
There have been more than 250 separate instances of governments defaulting on their debt around the world since 1800. A common trigger is that governments are unable to continue to make interest payments on growing debt loads. This talk reviews three recent case studies from Greece, Ireland, and Italy in 2011-2012, and discusses challenges currently facing the United States.
November 4, 2025
OPTIMIZING CELLULAR ENERGY AND METABOLISM TO PROMOTE HEALTHY AGING
Anthony J. Molina, PhD, is Professor of Medicine; Scientific Director, Stein Institute for Research on Aging & Center for Healthy Aging; and Research Chief, Division of Geriatrics, Gerontology, and Palliative Care at UC San Diego.
Aging research has made tremendous advancements over the past few decades. As scientists continue to improve our understanding of the biological underpinnings of aging, promising strategies for improving healthy longevity have emerged. This talk will focus on how our bodies can optimize energy and metabolism leading to the promotion of healthy aging.
December 9, 2025
WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS FOR UC SAN DIEGO
Elizabeth Simmons, PhD, Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Distinguished Professor of Physics, UC San Diego
EVC Simmons has her finger on the pulse of UC San Diego and she will share information about the most impactful changes being made to the campus and update us on the trolley line, student housing, and other issues important to the campus!
January 13, 2026
THE COST OF “SAVINGS”: WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF CUTS TO US SCIENCE BUDGETS?
Robert T. Schooley, MD, is Distinguished Professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health; Co-Director, Center for Innovative Phage Applications and Therapeutics; and Senior Director, International Initiatives at UC San Diego. He was awarded the Revelle Medal in 2024 for sustained, distinguished and extraordinary service.
The Cost of “Savings”: What are the Implications of Cuts to US Science Budgets? The seminar will focus on the short- and longer-term costs of the current fiscal and political attacks on science in the United States. Since January of 2025, the budgets of agencies supporting science in the US have been under assault. Existing grants and contracts from the NIH, the NSF, the CDC and NOAA (among others) have been rescinded and new grants have been severely restricted and/or redirected in support of the Administration’s priorities. The impact on American technological leadership, on American Universities, on American scientists and on the public will be systematically examined. Suggestions will also be put forward about how the damage might be mitigated as we await a return to longer-term priorities in our country.
February 10, 2026
IS THE RELIGIOUS PUBLIC IN CONFLICT WITH SCIENCE?
John H. Evans, PhD, is Professor of Sociology; Tata Chancellor’s Chair in Social Sciences; Associate Dean of the Social Sciences; and Co- Director of the Institute for Practical Ethics at UC San Diego.
Everyone seems to think that science and religion have been in conflict since Galileo, but historians have shown that to be largely mythical. Moreover, common wisdom has it that contemporary religious people are in conflict with science. But, is that true? In this lecture, John Evans examines the question from a sociological view. The discussion starts with the question: “conflict over what?” Different types of possible conflict are outlined, and then he describes whether and how the largest religious groups in the U.S. are or are not in such conflict.
March 10, 2026
DEEP DISCOVERIES IN THE 2000S: BONE-EATERS, GREEN BOMBERS, RUBY SEADRAGONS AND MORE!
Gregory Rouse, PhD, is Distinguished Professor of Marine Biology at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego. He is also Curator of the Benthic Invertebrate Collection. He specializes in the study of animal biodiversity.
Exploration of our oceans continues to reveal strange new animals. I will review some of the more famous discoveries dating back over the last century and then document some of the more recent amazing discoveries focusing on California and the eastern Pacific Ocean. This will include the bizarre bone-eating worms known as Osedax, the green bomber worm Swima, the enigmatic Xenoturbella, and our work on the extraordinary Ruby Seadragon from Australia.
April 14, 2026
LEADING SCHOOLS IN RAPIDLY SHIFTING TIMES
Amanda Datnow, PhD, is Chancellor’s Associates Endowed Chair and Professor in the Department of Education Studies, and Associate Dean in the School of Social Sciences at UC San Diego. She is a member of the National Academy of Education and a Fellow of the American Educational Research Association. She is the 2025 honoree elected to join the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
This presentation will focus on the complexities of school leadership in rapidly shifting times. The job of the school principal has become increasingly challenging as principals navigate new reform initiatives, manage complex realities outside schools, and attend to the needs of different stakeholders. Gaining insight into the lived experiences of school leaders is essential for understanding the future of K-12 education.
May 12, 2026
THE HOMELESSNESS CRISIS: CHALLENGES, OPPORTUNITIES AND DEBUNKING MYTHS AND STEREOTYPES
Mirle Rabinowitz Bussell, PhD, is Department Chair and Professor of Urban Studies and Planning at UC San Diego. She is a recipient of the Paul D. and Barbara J. Saltman Distinguished Teaching Award.
In this presentation, Dr. Rabinowitz Bussell will talk about the work of Homelessness Hub at UC San Diego, a non-partisan hub for research, education, policy, and action on homelessness that is dedicated to critical, unbiased and data-driven research in order to inform local policy and action aimed at reducing homelessness in the San Diego region. She will draw from current research and data to provide an overview of the unique challenges of homelessness and provide a demographic overview of the populations experiencing homelessness in San Diego. She will conclude by presenting examples of best practices in response to the homelessness crisis.
October 8, 2024
THE HIDDEN COSTS OF PESTICIDES: EXPLORING HEALTH EFFECTS AND THE VALUE OF REDUCING EXPOSURES IN INDIVIDUALS AND COMMUNITIES
José Ricardo Suárez, MD, PhD, MPH, Associate Professor, The Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health & Human Longevity Science, UC San Diego
This presentation delves into the often-overlooked consequences of pesticide exposure on human health, emphasizing the risks faced by individuals and communities alike. Through a detailed examination of recent studies and health data, the talk highlights the various acute and chronic health implications linked to pesticide exposure, with a focus on vulnerable populations such as children and agricultural communities. Moreover, the presentation explores practical strategies and community-driven initiatives aimed at reducing pesticide exposure.
November 12, 2024
MICROBES: THE HIDDEN LINK BETWEEN FOOD AND MOOD
Rob Knight, PhD, Professor of Pediatrics, UC San Diego School of Medicine; Professor, Shu Chien-Gene Lay Department of Bioengineering and Department of Computer Science & Engineering, UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering; Founding Director, UC San Diego Center for Microbiome Innovation; Wolfe Family Endowed Chair in Microbiome Research, Rady Children’s Hospital
We are discovering how the human microbiome impacts many areas of human health and disease, including aging, mood, sleep, memory, and individualized effects of diet. In this talk, I will describe how human microbes provide hidden links between food and mood, and how our research helps build predictive models for many traits related to health from the microbiome.
December 3, 2024
GENERATIVE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN HEALTHCARE DELIVERY: ARE WE THERE YET?
Karandeep, Singh, MD, MMSc, Chief Health AI Officer, UC San Diego Health; Joan and Irwin Jacobs Endowed Chair in Digital Health Innovation, UC San Diego School of Medicine
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to address many use cases within healthcare, ranging from administrative tasks to clinical tasks. The early use cases of generative AI in healthcare centered on the use of OpenAI’s proprietary GPT-3.5 model as accessed through the ChatGPT website, which revealed issues related to hallucinations, inaccurate medical advice, and bias. In this talk, we will talk through the evolution of generative AI uses in healthcare, diving into the performance of open-source models and the art of prompt engineering. We will close with a look into multimodal applications, including in ambient scribing and medical imaging.
January 14, 2025
THE INEXTRICABLE LINKAGE OF OCEAN AND HUMAN HEALTH
William Gerwick, PhD, Distinguished Professor, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego
Human and ocean health are inextricably linked. The ocean is a source of joy and recreation, enhancing physical and mental well-being of humans. For billions of people, the ocean is an essential source of food, micronutrients, livelihoods, and generates more than US $2.0 trillion per year and provides over 30 million formal jobs. Ocean species have provided multiple essential medicines, some of the world’s strongest adhesives, and inspired new visions in architecture and engineering. The ocean is an essential component of the planetary systems that sustain all life on Earth. However, the health of the ocean is increasingly under threat, and the current threats to ocean health are largely of human origin. They range from the growing impacts of climate change (e.g. extreme weather events, ocean warming, melting polar ice, sea level rise, ocean acidification and ocean deoxygenation), to industrial fishing practices that damage ocean ecosystems and deplete fisheries, to oil and gas extraction, deep-sea mining and pollution. Plastic pollution derived from fossil fuels is pervasive and rapidly worsening. Since the Industrial Revolution, the marine environment has experienced a significant decline in biological diversity. Unless humanity takes urgent action to protect the ocean’s biological diversity, more species will be lost, the genetic and biological secrets these organisms hold will be gone forever, and their potential benefits for human health and well-being will never be realized.
February 11, 2025
UNDERSTANDING AND ADDRESSING MENTAL HEALTH IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE
Jyothi Mishra, PhD, MBA, Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry; Founder & Director, NEATLabs, UC San Diego
This lecture will provide insights on how climate change affects mental health particularly in the context of climate change accelerated disasters. Dr. Mishra will describe her first ever study showing impacts on human neurobiology. She will also discuss climate resiliency and the benefits of community action and personal action.
March 11, 2025
FROM READING GENOMES TO INTERPRETING GENOMES TO RATIONALLY ENGINEERING GENOMES
Prashant Mali, PhD, Professor, Department of Bioengineering, UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering
My research is in the fields of synthetic biology and regenerative medicine, with a long-term focus on developing tools for enabling gene and cell based human therapeutics. In this regard, I helped pioneer CRISPRs and ADARs as powerful tools for DNA editing and RNA editing, with wide applications in both basic biology and human therapeutics. In this talk I will describe some of our ongoing work towards further developing and refining these platforms with a specific focus on human gene therapeutic applications.
April 8, 2026
IMMIGRATION TO CALIFORNIA
David Scott Fitzgerald, PhD, Professor of Sociology; Theodore E. Gildred Chair in U.S.-Mexican Relations; Co-Director, Center for Comparative Immigration Studies, UC San Diego
If California were its own country, it would have the world’s fifth largest immigrant population. It has the most immigrants in the United States (almost 11 million) and the highest share in its population (27%). The way these newcomers are integrated into the state will shape California’s schools, workforce, businesses, public health, politics, and culture. Understanding the incorporation of immigrants and their descendants and how public policies affect integration is essential for the state’s future well-being.
May 13, 2026
HOW TO STOP GLOBAL WARMING
David G. Victor, PhD, Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering; Cowhey Center on Global Transformation Chair in Innovation and Public Policy, School of Global Policy and Strategy; Director, Laboratory on International Law & Regulation, UC San Diego
Over the last fifteen years the world has started to make progress in controlling the pollution that causes climate change. While it is unlikely that we will stop climate change any time soon, the degree of warming expected over the coming century is likely to be much less than originally feared. Policy, technology and investment in clean energy systems are the key. This talk will discuss California’s role in that encouraging global picture, along with the new roles for the United States in cooperating with other countries.
October 17, 2023
AMERICAN LIFE: HOLLYWOOD FILMS AND SOCIAL IDEAS
Allan Havis, MFA, Professor, Department of Theatre & Dance at UC San Diego
Mr. Havis will discuss the fascinating correlation in American life between Hollywood films and social ideas, highlighting six major movies over the last fifty years which captured an inflection point in our politics: DR. STRANGELOVE, GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER, SILKWOOD, COMING HOME, DO THE RIGHT THING, and ZERO DARK THIRTY.
November 14, 2023
I NEED A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP – HELP!
Sonia Ancoli-Israel, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry and Professor of Research, Department of Psychiatry at UC San Diego School of Medicine
Many believe that older adults sleep less than younger adults, yet most surveys have shown that older adults report sleeping about seven hours a night. Nevertheless, sleep disturbances are very common in the older adult. The sleep disturbances, however, are not a result of aging per se, but rather are almost always related to medical/psychiatric problems, medications, or primary sleep disorders, including insomnia, circadian rhythm disturbances, sleep disordered breathing, REM behavior sleep disorder, restless legs syndrome, and periodic limb movements in sleep. The good news is that there are effective treatments available for these sleep problems.
December 12, 2023
MANDEVILLE ART GALLERY: THE INSTITUTE FOR TRANSFORMATIVE CONTEMPORARY ART
Ceci Moss, PhD, Director and Chief Curator of the Mandeville Art Gallery; Professor of Practice, Department of Visual Arts at UC San Diego
This talk will provide an overview of the newly revitalized Mandeville Art Gallery, a non-collecting institute for transformative contemporary art located on the UC San Diego campus that recently re-opened in March 2023 following a massive renovation led by the San Diego-based studio Studio-E Architects.
The presentation will begin with the impressive history of this highly experimental gallery, spanning from one of the first exhibitions devoted to Fluxus in California in 1969 with “Alison Knowles’ Fluxus: the Big Book” to commissioned projects by numerous celebrated artists such as Mike Kelley, Barbara T. Smith, Betye Saar, Richard Serra, Nancy Spero, and Bruce and Norman Yonemoto – to name but a few of the hundreds of exhibitions hosted at the gallery. The lecture will then turn to the gallery’s focus as a “teaching gallery” for the 21st Century promoting technologically innovative, democratic, accessible, equitable and socially engaged means of artistic production and presentation. Attendees will learn more about the gallery’s current exhibition and educational programs.
January 9, 2024
STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENTS IN THE INDO-PACIFIC: A TOUR OF THE REGION
Stephan Haggard, PhD, Krause Distinguished Professor of Korea-Pacific Studies; Director, Korea-Pacific Program, School of Global Policy and Strategy at UC San Diego
What are the risks of military conflict in the Asia-Pacific? What are the forces – political, military, economic – that might hold such conflict in check? Prof. Haggard provides a strategic tour of the region, from the Korean peninsula and Japan, to Taiwan and the South China Sea, and the important role played by Southeast Asia in the emerging “Indo-Pacific” concept.
February 13, 2024
STEM CELL, AGING, CANCER & LEO
Catriona Jamieson, MD, PhD, Director, Sanford Stem Cell Institute; Director, UC San Diego Health CIRM Alpha Stem Cell Clinic; Professor of Medicine and Chief, Division of Regenerative Medicine; Koman Family Presidential Endowed Chair in Cancer Research at UC San Diego Health
In the last five years, UC San Diego has become a pioneer in performing stem cell research in space, aka low Earth orbit (LEO). One major research focus, led by Dr. Jamieson, uses blood stem cells to study the molecular mechanisms of cancer. Increasing evidence shows that the lack of gravity and exposure to the sun’s radiation in space can accelerate aging in human stem cells and promote their transformation into cancer cells. Given the compressed time frame, Dr. Jamieson and her colleagues are able to look for early predictors of cancer progression, which in turn can lead to novel drugs and stem cell therapies, thus accelerating bench-to-bedside research on Earth.
March 12, 2024
REDEFINING AND REINVENTING ANTIBIOTICS TO CONFRONT THE GLOBAL SUPERBUG CRISIS
Victor Nizet, MD, Distinguished Professor and Vice Chair for Basic Research and Chief of the Division of Host-Microbe Systems & Therapeutics at the UC San Diego School of Medicine; Distinguished Professor at UCSD Skaggs School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences
Antibiotic resistance presents an ever increasing challenge to the public health, with a dearth of new drugs in the development pipeline. A single-minded focus on direct antimicrobial activities overlooks the fact that significant infections are really a disease of the interaction between that pathogen and the patient’s immune system. Indeed, before the patient has even seen a doctor, their infection is already being treated by multiple antimicrobials – namely the cellular and molecular components of the innate immune system. Dr. Nizet and his team see value in exploring potential novel therapeutic approaches for drug-resistant bacteria that aim to tip the host-pathogen interaction back in favor of the host.
This talk will illustrate novel therapeutics that mitigate bacterial virulence, re-sensitize the pathogen to innate immune killing, or directly boost the antibacterial killing capacity of host cells. Current laboratory testing can be misleading, and can overlook potent antibiotic activities that are recognized only in the context of the normal immune system. In this new discovery and treatment framework, drugs used in medicine for other indications, antibiotics otherwise deemed ineffective, or natural host cell membranes, can be “rediscovered” or “repurposed" for treatment of multi-drug resistant pathogens.
April 9, 2024
BRAIN DRAIN OR BRAIN GAIN? MIGRATION FROM INDIA TO THE U.S.
Gaurav Khanna, PhD, Assistant Professor of Economics, School of Global Policy and Strategy at UC San Diego
Migration from India to the U.S. links the two economies in various ways. Most high-skilled immigrants to the U.S. are from India, and this has had an impact not just on the U.S. but also on the Indian economy. In this talk, we will explore how high-skill migration affects the economies, technology sectors, and higher education sectors in both countries. We will begin with the 1990s, trace the trends to recent years, and discuss lessons for the future.
May 14, 2024
ADVENTURES IN OUR MICROBIAL WORLD
Jack A. Gilbert, PhD, Professor, Department of Pediatrics and Scripps Institution of Oceanography; Associate Vice Chancellor for Marine Science; Deputy Director for Research; Director of the Microbiome and Metagenomics Center; Director of the Microbiome Core at UC San Diego School of Medicine
The human microbiome is a dynamic part of our physiology that plays a key role in managing health and individual responses to diet and medicine. Explore why changes in the human microbiome substantially influence neurological disorders, metabolic disorders, and a range of complex conditions and diseases. Learn how innovations in precision medicine for facilitating patient care is becoming a reality.
October 11, 2022
LEARNING FROM COVID – ARE WE BETTER PREPARED FOR THE NEXT PANDEMIC?
Robert T. Schooley, MD, Distinguished Professor of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health at the UC San Diego School of Medicine
Dr. Schooley will outline how the University of California responded to the COVID-19 pandemic and will describe how lessons learned from the COVID pandemic will better prepare us for future global infectious disease challenges.
November 8, 2022
MONTHS AND MONTHS OF WAR: THE STRUGGLE FOR UKRAINE, EUROPE AND THE WORLD
Branislav Slantchev, PhD, Professor, Political Science, Department of Political Science at UC San Diego
Professor Slantchev will discuss the origins and meaning of the war in Ukraine, with a focus on its European and global implications for security, as well as the resulting long-term policy shifts for the United States and NATO.
December 13, 2022
THE $6 BILLION UC SAN DIEGO MASTER PLAN
Jeffrey Graham, MBA, Executive Director, Real Estate at UC San Diego
As UC San Diego has escalated to the top of national and global rankings of best public research universities, the University has experienced a rapid increase in the number of student applicants and enrollment. Concurrently, the San Diego region has experienced a significant housing shortage and corresponding increase in housing cost. The University is in the midst of a major capital investment in new facilities and infrastructure that is transforming the campus to achieve its academic and research mission. Mr. Graham will share some of the major projects and initiatives underway as well as the University’s significant efforts to enhance the town and gown relationship.
January 10, 2023
BRAIN PLASTICITY IN HEALTH AND DISEASE
Mark H. Tuszynski, MD, PhD, Distinguished Professor of Neurosciences; Director, Center for Neural Repair; Founding Director, UC San Diego Translational Neuroscience Institute
Dr. Tuszynski will discuss how the normal adult brain exhibits plasticity - or adaptation - during normal learning to form new knowledge in neural circuits. He will then go on to discuss how Alzheimer's disease represents a loss of plasticity, and his team's efforts to restore this capability through gene therapy in humans.
February 14, 2023
WHAT IS EVIDENCE-BASED INTERNET SECURITY?
Geoffrey Voelker, PhD, Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering at UC San Diego
For more than a decade our group has undertaken an "evidence-based" approach to measure, analyze, and undermine various kinds of abuse and cybercrime on the Internet. In this talk Professor Voelker will describe his group’s evidence-based approach and present recent work on email account hacking as a concrete example.
Attackers on underground forums advertise the capability to hack into arbitrary email accounts for money. Working with Google, he interacted with these so-called email account "hack-for-hire" black market services, some of which succeeded in attacking synthetic (though realistic) identities Professor Voelker’s group controlled. He will describe the methodologies that attackers used to gain access to victim accounts and how our results can improve email security. The presentation concludes by opening up the discussion and fielding questions from the audience about online security and topics of interest and concern.March 14, 2023
WHAT HAS SCHOOL FINANCE REFORM ACHIEVED?
Julian Betts, PhD, Professor, Department of Economics; Executive Director of the San Diego Education Research Alliance at UC San Diego
Over the last thirty years, often under court orders, dozens of states have reformed the way they fund public schools. These reforms have typically attempted to reduce inequalities in funding across school districts and to increase spending per pupil. What have these reforms done to boost student achievement and to reduce inequalities in student outcomes?
In this talk, Professor Betts will give a brief overview of the reforms, and then discuss the evidence of the impact of these important reforms on the quality of education that students receive in California and around the nation.April 11, 2023
THE JOB OF A MUSICIAN IS TO LISTEN
Steven Schick, Distinguished Professor of Music and Reed Family Presidential Chair at UC San Diego
In this presentation, we will learn how a contemporary musician uses one’s skills and ears to understand the world.
May 9, 2023
STUART COLLECTION: FROM LANDMARKS TO PATHWAYS
Mathieu Gregoire, former Operations Manager, Stuart Collection at UC San Diego; Continuing Lecturer of Visual Arts at UC San Diego
The Stuart Collection includes 21 large scale, site specific sculptural commissions across the 1000-acre central campus of UCSD.
From the iconic “Sun God” sculpture to the gravity-defying “Fallen Star” atop Jacobs Hall, these public art pieces are intimately tied to the identity and life of the campus. The Collection also reaffirms UCSD’s aspirational public image and branding: experimentation, risk and innovation, “we break things”, “the non-tradition” etc.
In this fascinating overview of the Stuart Collection, Mathieu Gregoire addresses three questions for several of the more renowned commissioned works, and also shares some behind-the-scenes stories of their origin, development and realization:
• How can artists work experimentally in public space?
• How are these works integrated with the campus, and what are their various relationships to site?
• How do the works change over time, and how do they remain interesting?October 12, 2021
PERSPECTIVES ON PUBLIC HEALTH: PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE
Cheryl Anderson, MPH, PhD, Professor and founding Dean of The Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science at UC San Diego
Public health provides essential services to actively promote policies, systems, and overall community conditions that enable optimal health for all. The discipline of public health also seeks to remove systemic and structural barriers to health. Learn of the major accomplishments of public health, along with perspectives on opportunities and challenges to public health in the 21st century. An illustration also will highlight the vision of the new Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science at UC San Diego to create and promote public health innovations to advance equity, justice, and well-being in San Diego and beyond.
November 9, 2021
OUR CHANGING LANGUAGE: HOW WE CAN SPEAK TO EACH OTHER ACROSS GENERATIONS
Seth Lerer, PhD, Distinguished Professor of Literature and Dean of Arts and Humanities from 2009 to 2014 at UC San Diego
Explore the changes in spoken and written American English to chart how popular culture, slang, and digital technology have created an everyday language that seems very different from that of a generation or two ago. By looking at the history of English, we can understand how speech and writing are changing; we can recognize that communicating across generations has been a challenge throughout that history. Learn some techniques of understanding each other and recognizing that language change does not necessarily mean language decay or social discord.
December 14, 2021
SHILEY EYE INSTITUTE: NEW ADVANCES IN EYE CARE
Eric D. Nudleman, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology (Retina) at The Viterbi Family Department of Ophthalmology, Shiley Eye Institute at UC San Diego Health
Derek S. Welsbie, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Ophthalmology (Glaucoma) at The Viterbi Family Department of Ophthalmology, Shiley Eye Institute at UC San Diego Health
Dr. Nudleman discusses “Cutting-edge Treatments and Discoveries in Retina.” Retinal diseases affect millions of adults and children worldwide. Retinal diseases include diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration and retinopathy of prematurity which can be managed by means of surgery or medications. Treating these diseases is crucial to increased quality of life of both the young and old.
Dr. Welsbie discusses “Glaucoma and Aging.” Many neurodegenerative conditions such as Glaucoma are characterized by degeneration or injury to the optic nerve (the direct connection from the eye to the brain). Newly discovered genes, when inhibited, allow optic nerve cells to survive and regenerate for successful vision restoration. This concept may apply to other neurodegenerative diseases.January 11, 2022
PRACTICAL MEDITATION MADE EASY
Tahir Bhatti, MD, Associate Clinical Professor, Departments of Medicine and Psychiatry, UC San Diego School of Medicine; Wellness Physician at UC San Diego Center for Wellness, and UC San Diego (Dean Ornish) Cardiac Rehabilitation & Wellness programs
Meditation has become mainstream in our society and many of us are advised to practice some form of it every day for stress reduction. Yet, even with a daily meditation practice, we often find ourselves in life situations that make us angry, frustrated, or reactive. Whether you are looking to deepen your current meditation practice or are new to meditation, discover a unique framework for understanding the practical value of meditation along with some simple techniques designed to use throughout your day. Learn a 1-minute tool called Real-Time or Practical Meditation to use on a daily basis to lead you toward a more peaceful and less emotionally reactive life.
February 8, 2022
COSTUME DESIGN FOR THEATRE: THE BODY IS PRIMARY
Geoffrey Voelker, PhD, Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering at UC San Diego
Judith Dolan, PhD, MFA, Distinguished Professor of Directing & Design/Costumes and Head of Graduate Design, Theatre & Dance at UC San Diego
Tony Award-winning costume designer and Distinguished Professor of Theatre and Dance, Judith Dolan will share highlights from her career designing for productions from Broadway to London, and with the national theaters of Wales and Romania. On the way, she has worked on musicals, opera, and Shakespeare, as well as film and television. Her talk will focus on the interpersonal collaborations with specific actors as well as directorial perspectives, and how her experiences have impacted her mentorship of emerging designers.
March 8, 2022
A PERSPECTIVE OF ROBOTS IN OUR DAILY LIVES
Henrik Christensen, PhD, Qualcomm Chancellor's Chair of Robot Systems, Distinguished Professor of Computer Science, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Director of the Contextual Robotics Institute at UC San Diego
Through a confluence of computing, sensor systems, and artificial intelligence it has become possible to build robots that can provide assistance with many aspects of daily life. We have robots for household chores, driver assistance, washing windows, monitoring weather or fire storms. Robots are here to stay, and we will see a proliferation of robot systems for many aspects of our daily activities. What is the potential impact robots will have on our life in a five to ten-year perspective? Also, the introduction of sensor-rich systems into our homes and offices offers a number of concerns about recording and storing information about our daily activities. What are the data and ethical issues around use of robot systems and artificial intelligence in our homes?
April 12, 2022
DRAWN INTO FILM
Amy Adler, MFA, Professor, Department of Visual Arts at UC San Diego, 2021 Guggenheim Fellow for Creative Arts, U.S. and Canada
Drawing is commonly discussed in relation to painting and until recently most often referred to as a secondary figure in the history of art. What about drawing and film? Drawing and film share a long, complex, and compelling history. Drawing can be embedded into a cinematic narrative and performed in live action, like James Cameron’s famous sequence of Jack drawing Rose in Titanic; or take place off screen as in hand-drawn animation, like Disney’s Fantasia. Or a combination of both as in the groundbreaking jump into the sidewalk chalk drawing in Mary Poppins. These strategies have long inspired artists, including faculty at UC San Diego, who consider these complex negotiations in their own work.
May 10, 2022
EVOLVING IMMIGRATION POLICIES FROM TRUMP TO BIDEN
Tom Wong, PhD, Associate Professor of Political Science and Founding Director of U.S. Immigration Policy Center (USIPC) at UC San Diego
Immigration policies often change from one administration to another. Professor Wong, an advisor to the Obama administration, will discuss the differences between the Trump and Biden immigration policies and the implications for the future. Learn how changing demographics are affecting contemporary politics and the American national identity.
October 13, 2020
COVID CRISIS: IS INTERNATIONALISM OR PROTECTIONISM THE RIGHT RESPONSE?
Peter Gourevitch, PhD, Founding Dean, UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy (formerly International Relations and Pacific Studies); Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Political Science
Are we better off cooperating with other countries in dealing with our problems, or going alone? After WWII, there was a strong consensus on cooperation which is now being challenged. The COVID 19 crisis gives reasons—along with trade, climate, security, culture, and equality concerns—for engaging in the world, while at the same time making strong efforts domestically to ensure that the benefits and the costs of engagement are widely shared, as there can be considerable turbulence in this process.
November 10, 2020
THE IMMUNE SYSTEM IS TELLING US HOW TO CURE CANCER. ARE WE READY TO LISTEN?
Ezra Cohen, MD, FRCPSC, FASCO, Chief, Division of Hematology‐Oncology at UC San Diego; Co‐Director, San Diego Center for Precision Immunotherapy; Associate Director, Translational Science and leader of the Solid Tumor Therapeutics research program at Moores Cancer Center; Professor of Medicine
We have entered a new era in oncology with immunotherapy showing dramatic effects. We are learning from these patients, who have prolonged benefit, that sustained disease remission is possible, and the mechanisms that are necessary to achieve it. These discoveries have led to initiation of an individualized neoantigen vaccine clinical trial that specifically stimulates a patient’s immune system to eliminate their cancer.
December 8, 2020
PRETENDING FOR REAL: ACTING FOR THE 21ST CENTURY
Richard Robichaux, MFA, Head of Graduate Acting at UC San Diego; Arthur and Molli Wagner Endowed Chair in Acting for the Department of Theatre and Dance
As a working actor and university professor it is vital to help bridge the gap between a student's ambitions and their opportunities. How does Professor Robichaux’s work at the highest levels of film and television inform how he teaches student-artists at the beginning of their careers? Through the ‘Chair’ exercise, see how students overcome obstacles on their way to achieving their personal vision of success in one of the toughest industries in the country: showbiz.
January 12, 2021
"MEDIATIZATION" OF HEALTH AND MEDICINE: MEDIA COVERAGE OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
Daniel Hallin, PhD, Distinguished Professor, UC San Diego Department of Communication
Looking back at previous epidemics, including the H1N1, “swine flu,” and Ebola, the “mediatization” of health and the relations among science, politics, and the media today during the COVID-19 pandemic, Professor Hallin will discuss the high degree of politicization that characterized the COVID pandemic in the U.S. He also will share some grand theories of social and cultural change that come together in an interesting way during a pandemic, including the theory of biomedicalization, which argues that culture and society are more and more influenced by the perspectives of biomedical science, and the theory mediatization, which argues that other social institutions—including biomedicine—are increasingly subject to the influence of media. On the surface the two theories seem contradictory—but in an epidemic we can see them both at work.
February 9, 2021
BREAKING AND REPAIRING MOVEMENT: A VIEW FROM BENCH TO BEDSIDE
Sharona Ben-Haim, MD, Director of Surgical Epilepsy at UC San Diego; Neurosurgeon, Assistant Professor of Surgery
Eiman Azim, PhD, Salk Institute Assistant Professor, Molecular Neurobiology Laboratory; William Scandling Developmental Chair
Actions that may seem routine to us, like reaching out for our mug to take a sip of coffee, are truly quite remarkable. To move our arms, hands, and fingers, our nervous system needs to coordinate the activity of dozens of muscles with staggering speed and precision. Given the central role that these skillful movements play in everyday life, impairment of these functions by injury or disease is especially debilitating, reinforcing the need for a better understanding of how the brain controls the body. Dr. Eiman Azim will give us a glimpse into recent discoveries that allow us to begin to understand how our nervous system coordinates movement of the body. Dr. Sharona Ben-Haim will then discuss what happens when these circuits stop functioning optimally, along with the type of cutting-edge therapies we can use to restore function.
March 9, 2021
FEDERAL VS. STATE POWERS: THE UNSETTLED DEBATE OF AMERICAN GOVERNMENT
Thad Kousser, PhD, Department Chair and Professor of Political Science at UC San Diego
Exactly where does the scope of federal power end and the authority of state governments begin? Or should we reverse the order of that question in our union of states? Throughout America's history, this fight has raged in courtrooms and on the battlefields, yet it remains unresolved. How does this constitutional tension affect policies ranging from sanctuary states to health care to marijuana legalization? How does it play out in the way elections are run and how votes are counted? How has it impacted our response to the COVID-19 pandemic?
April 13, 2021
NEUROSCIENCE IN THE DATA SCIENCE AGE
Bradley Voytek, PhD, Vice Chair, Halıcıoğlu Data Science Institute at UC San Diego; Alfred P. Sloan Neuroscience Research Fellow and National Academies Kavli Fellow; Associate Professor in the Department of Cognitive Science and the Neurosciences Graduate Program
The brain is often likened to a symphony, where 86 billion neurons are coordinating in an unfathomably complex electrochemical orchestra. Even though this symphony is without a conductor (there is no leader orchestrating those 86 billion neurons!) for many of us, this just works. To understand how it all works—and when, how, and why it breaks down—we leverage a data science approach that allows us to turn many massive, disconnected databases of information into models for making predictions about the future and turning those data into human-level understanding.
We combine textual data from millions of peer-reviewed neuroscience publications with brain imaging data, demographic and genetics, and electrical recordings from neurons to show how we can mine across datasets to find missing links and gaps in our knowledge. This approach allows us to algorithmically generate plausible hypotheses for better understanding human brain development, aging, and disease.May 11, 2021
BRAIN WAVES AND FUNCTIONAL DOMAINS: NEW TECHNOLOGIES FOR BRAIN & SPINE MAPPING AND THERAPY
Shadi Dayeh, PhD, Director, Integrated Electronics and Bio-interfaces Laboratory at UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering; Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Electrical waves generated in the brain form the basis of our cognitive and unconscious brain activity and are clinically assessed at centimeter-length scales. UC San Diego developed the world’s most advanced human brain and spine bidirectional record/stimulate technology that revealed the microscopic brain wave patterns and functional boundaries in speech and motor function. Why do we need brain and spine implants? How can they be used? What is the new scientific and therapeutic potential of UC San Diego’s neurotechnology testing?
October 8, 2019
WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS FOR UC SAN DIEGO
Elizabeth Simmons, PhD, Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Distinguished Professor of Physics, UC San Diego
EVC Simmons has her finger on the pulse of UC San Diego and she will share information about the most impactful changes being made to the campus and update us on the trolley line, student housing, and other issues important to the campus!
November 12, 2019
OUR CHANGING OCEAN AND THE WAY IT IS AFFECTING OUR LIVES
Margaret Leinen, PhD, Vice Chancellor of Marine Sciences, Director of Scripps Institute of Oceanography, and Dean of the School of Marine Sciences, UC San Diego
We are changing our ocean in many ways — overfishing, pollution, and the effects of fossil fuel use. Each of these is affecting the ocean and its ability to provide resources, stabilize our climate, and protect us from hazards. How we adapt and change will have big impacts on our quality of life for the future.
December 10, 2019
THE NASA TWIN ASTRONAUT STUDY: WHAT WE KNOW AND CAN PREDICT ABOUT LONG-TERM SPACE TRAVEL
Brinda Rana, PhD, Associate Professor, Psychiatry, UC San Diego Health Sciences
The NASA twin study demonstrated the robustness of the human body and how it can adapt to the spaceflight environment which includes microgravity, radiation, circadian disruption, elevated carbon dioxide levels, and isolation from family and dietary limitations.
January 14, 2020
A BRAIN IN A JAR: RECONSTRUCTING THE HUMAN BRAIN FROM SCRATCH
Alysson Muotri, PhD, Professor, Cellular and Molecular Medicine, UC San Diego Health Sciences
Can we reconstruct the human brain in the lab? Brain organoids, aka “mini-brains,” are self-assembled neural structures made from stem cells that mimic the human brain. Dr. Muotri will explain how these “mini-brains” are helping us understand neurological disorders and what makes us truly human.
February 11, 2020
ARE E-CIGARETTES A SOLUTION TO TOBACCO OR SIMPLY A TOBACCO IN SOLUTION?
Laura Crotty Alexander, MD, Associate Professor, Pulmonology Critical Care & Sleep, UC San Diego Health Sciences, and Staff Physician, VA San Diego Healthcare
E-Cigarette use has risen to epidemic proportions worldwide, especially in adolescents and teenagers. We had great success in battling conventional tobacco use, but are now reliving history through the latest version of tobacco products. Dr. Crotty Alexander will explain why these drug delivery devices are so popular and what the (major) health consequences of them will be!
March 10, 2020
ARE WE READY TO EDIT OUR CHILDREN’S GENES?
Evan Snyder, MD, PhD, FAAP, Associate Physician, Pediatrics, Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program, UC San Diego Health Sciences; Professor and Director, Center for Stem Cells & Regenerative Medicine, Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute
What are the latest developments and possible applications of Stem Cell research and what are the limits of what we realistically can do to edit our children’s genes to create disease free futures for them?
April 14, 2020: CANCELED DUE TO COVID-19
THE FUTURE FOR EYE CARE AND THE PREVENTION AND TREATMENT OF BLINDNESS
Derek Welsbie, MD, PhD, Glaucoma Specialist and Assistant Professor, Ophthalmology, Shiley Eye Institute, UC San Diego Health Sciences
When it comes to eye care, the future is bright. Dr. Welsbie is a researcher in addition to being a clinician specializing in the treatment of glaucoma. His research has focused on identifying the genes responsible for nerve cell death and the development of new treatment strategies for glaucoma patients. He will enlighten us as to the exciting research and innovation that is currently happening at UC San Diego’s Shiley Eye Institute!
May 12, 2020: CANCELED DUE TO COVID-19
TREATMENT FOR RESISTANT EPILEPSY, UNIQUE FACIAL PAIN SYNDROMES AND MOVEMENT DISORDERS WITH SPECIALIZED SURGICAL TECHNIQUES
Sharona Ben-Haim, MD, Neurosurgeon, Assistant Professor, Surgery, UC San Diego Health Sciences
Is there any treatment available for people with epilepsy, unrelenting facial pain, and spasticity or movement disorders? Dr. Ben-Haim is an expert in leading-edge surgical treatments for these conditions and she frequently uses novel tools that allow for very minimally invasive techniques.
October 9, 2018
PERSONALIZED CANCER MEDICINE: THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS AT UC SAN DIEGO
Razelle Kurzrock, M.D., Senior Deputy Center Director, Center for Personalized Cancer Therapy, UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center
Recognized internationally for her work in translational science, Dr. Kurzrock’s research and clinical care are focused on precision medicine, using the most innovative genomically targeted drugs and/or agents that arm the immune system. Dr. Kurzrock also trains tomorrow’s cancer leaders as Chief of the Hematology & Oncology Division in the UC San Diego School of Medicine.
November 6, 2018 (note: first Tuesday)
THE SCIENCE OF SWEARING: HOW THE MIND MAKES MEANING OF WHY AND HOW WE CURSE
Benjamin Bergen, PhD, Director of the Language & Cognition Lab; Professor in Department of Cognitive Science, UC San Diego
Why do we swear? Why do we swear the way we do? Do members of all cultures around the world, swear? Dr. Bergen is the author of several books on language, cognition, and why and how people curse around the world. He will share what his research reveals about our language, our brains and ourselves
December 11, 2018
STAKES AND MISTAKES: CONSIDERING THE MEANING OF INCENTIVES IN CREATING PAY PROGRAMS THAT IMPACT EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION AND EFFECTIVENESS
Uri Gneezy, PhD, Epstein/Atkinson Endowed Chair in Behavioral Economics and Professor of Economics & Strategy at The Rady School of Management, UC San Diego
What is the importance of an incentive to an employee and how can job satisfaction be factored by employers wishing to construct efficient pay programs? Dr. Gneezy will share his research in behavioral economics to demonstrate how small differences in the structure of such pay programs can change the entire salary discussion.
January 8, 2019
“IRAQIBACTER AND THE PHAGE WHISPERER”: THE SURPRISING TREATMENT OF RESISTANT BACTERIA THAT LED TO A NEW PHAGE CENTER AT UC SAN DIEGO GLOBAL HEALTH INSTITUTE
Steffanie Strathdee, PhD, Associate Dean of Global Health Sciences, Director of UC San Diego Global Health Institute
On a journey through Egypt in 2014, Dr. Strathdee explored deep caves and pyramids with her husband, Tom Patterson, who became violently ill with a super-bacterium that was resistant to every known antibiotic. Dr. Strathdee, an infectious disease epidemiologist who has spent the last two decades working with underserved populations in developed and developing countries, will tell the story of personalized bacteriophage-based therapeutics, how they saved her husband and led to the creation of a phage center at UC San Diego. Tom Patterson will join us for the luncheon.
February 12, 2019 (originally scheduled for March 12)
OUR DYNAMIC MICROBIOMES AND GUT HEALTH: WHAT THE AMERICAN GUT PROJECT HAS TAUGHT US
Rob Knight, PhD, Founding Director of the Center for Microbiome Innovation and Co-Founder of the American Gut Project and the Earth Microbiome Project
Microbes are the most diverse and abundant entities on the planet, and Dr. Knight has been studying the complex microbial ecosystems of the human body in people of all ages, from the healthiest to the sickest, to learn the role diet plays on our microbiomes and thus our health. Dr. Knight will describe the prospect of a system for the real-time analysis of our microbiomes to guide our daily decisions and optimize our quest for life-long wellness.
March 12, 2019
THE STAGE IS MY LAB: A PLACE WHERE ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE
Robert Brill, Professor of Scenic Design for UC San Diego’s Department of Theater & Dance
Professor Brill first arrived at UC San Diego more than three decades ago as an undergraduate. Now, as a Professor and Head of Scenic Design for UC San Diego’s Department of Theater and Dance, he shapes the next generation of artists at one of the top professional training programs in the country. Professor Brill’s designs for theatre, opera, dance, and themed entertainment have been seen internationally and in every major city throughout the United States, and he has collaborated with prominent visionary artists at many of the world’s leading artistic institutions.
He will share his journey through some of the most challenging projects in the entertainment industry!
April 9, 2019
NEW PLANETS: HOW OUR SEARCH FOR LIFE BEYOND EARTH HAS CHANGED WITH THE DISCOVERY OF AN EXOPLANETARY SYSTEM CALLED TRAPPIST-1
Adam Burgasser, PhD, Astro-Physics, Fulbright Scholar, UC San Diego Professor of Physics, and TRAPPIST team member
In February, 2017, NASA announced the discovery of seven earth-sized planets around a very low-mass star, only 39 light years away from our sun. Three of these planets have the potential to have liquid water on their surfaces, raising the possibility of the existence of life! Dr. Burgasser, a member of the TRAPPIST team, will tell us what has been learned about the evolution of these planets and their habitability.
May 14, 2019
NEGLECTED TROPICAL DISEASES AND THE GLOBAL IMPORTANCE OF FINDING TREATMENT: UC SAN DIEGO’S NEW CENTER FOR ANTI-PARASITIC DRUG DISCOVERY AND DEVELOPMENT
James McKerrow, PhD. M.D., Dean, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Associate Vice Chancellor for Health Sciences and Distinguished Professor of Pathology
When the Zika virus flared up in tropical communities, the world was not prepared for the global ripple effect, and the results of the outbreak will be felt for years to come. Dr. McKerrow leads a consortium of academic and industry scientists who are dedicated to the discovery and development of new drugs to combat similarly “neglected” tropical diseases, such as hookworm, Filariasis, Chagas Disease and others that affect millions of people worldwide.
October 10, 2017
THE SUPERBUG CRISIS: REDEFINING AND REINVENTING ANTIBIOTICS
Victor Nizet, Professor & Vice Chair for Basic Research, Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine; Professor & Chief, Division of Host-Microbe Systems & Therapeutics; Skaggs School of Pharmacy
Born of Darwinian evolution, shortsighted over-prescription, and economic disincentive, antibiotic resistance poses one of the greatest threats to global public health and the practice of modern medicine. How can we lift ourselves out of the hole we have dug? By changing the very definition of antibiotics to better collaborate with our own immune systems and maintain the integrity of our healthy microbiome.
November 14, 2017
GLOBALIZATION AND THE AMERICAN WORKER: LEARNING FROM THE PAST, OPTIONS FOR THE FUTURE
Gordon Hanson, Acting Dean and Pacific Economic Cooperation Chair in International Economic Relations, School of Global Policy & Strategy; Director, Center on Global Transformation; Professor, Department of Economics
Technological progress and expanding global trade have brought tremendous benefits to America. At the same time, they have created challenges for the workers and regions that have endured the loss of jobs, and thereby contributed to the polarization of American political life. Professor Hanson will discuss how globalization has transformed the US labor market and review options that we have for achieving a brighter economic future.
December 12, 2017
HACKING THE HACKERS: FIGHTING CYBERCRIME BY UNDERSTANDING THE ECONOMICS
Stefan Savage, Irwin and Joan Jacobs Chair in Information and Computer Science and Co-Director, Center for Networked Strategies, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Jacobs School of Engineering; affiliated faculty, School of Global Policy & Strategy.
Computer security is a field that is fundamentally “co-dependent” — security experts react to the actions of cybercriminals and vice versa. However, while most of the work on cybersecurity focuses on the technical aspects of this conflict, the underlying motivations (typically economic) are every bit as important. Professor Savage will explore this issue through the lens of email spam, describing the complexities of the criminal value chain and how this understanding has provided effective new tools for fighting cybercrime.
January 9, 2018
FIRST HUMANS IN THE NEW WORLD? ICE AGE DISCOVERIES DEEP BENEATH THE YUCATAN
Dominique Rissolo, Special Projects Coordinator for the Center of Interdisciplinary Science for Art, Architecture, and Archaeology (CISA3), Jacobs School of Engineering
The underwater caves of Quintana Roo, Mexico, have long kept hidden the remains of extinct Pleistocene fauna as well as evidence of the earliest human inhabitants of the New World. As part of the Cultural Heritage Engineering Initiative at UC San Diego, Dr. Rissolo is bringing these remarkable discoveries to light.
February 13, 2018
PREDICTING PSYCHOSIS: PROMISING RESEARCH IN EARLY IDENTIFICATION, INTERVENTION & PREVENTION
Kristin Cadenhead, Professor of Psychiatry and attending physician, and Director, Cognitive Assessment and Risk Evaluation (CARE) Program, UC San Diego School of Medicine
Dr. Cadenhead will discuss current research aimed at developing a Psychosis Risk Prediction Calculator to better identify individuals at highest risk of developing a psychotic illness. This work includes the development of biomarkers that can be used not only to predict psychosis risk but also to help illuminate the mechanism by which psychosis emerges. Dr. Cadenhead will discuss promising treatments that may help to delay or prevent the development of psychotic illness and improve outcomes.
March 13, 2018
OUR WORLD CULTURAL HERITAGE: HOW FUTURISTIC ROBOTS ARE HELPING TO PRESERVE OUR PAST
Falko Kuester, Kinsella Heritage Engineering Director, CISA3 Cultural Heritage Engineering Initiative (CHEI); Calit2 Professor for Visualization and Virtual Reality; Professor, Department of Structural Engineering; Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Jacobs School of Engineering
Recent events yet again demonstrate the fragile state of our world cultural heritage and built infrastructure in the face of natural and man-made disasters. These disasters, in addition to the ravages of time, pollution, theft, fatigue, overexposure, mismanagement, and the unintended consequences of efforts to preserve our cultural patrimony, have all taken a major toll on monuments, structures, sculptures, paintings, archaeological and other artifacts that constitute cultural heritage. Science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics offer the best hope for improving stewardship of these cultural assets and reversing decades or even centuries of damage. This talk will explore robotic technology in the service of cultural heritage diagnostics and preservation and introduce some of the rich digital records as well as visualization and virtual reality techniques that the Cultural Heritage Engineering Initiative (CHEI) is creating at UC San Diego to enable data-driven world-heritage stewardship and preservation.
April 10, 2018
SCHOOLING SCHOLARS: UC SAN DIEGO’S STUDENT-CENTERED APPROACHES TO TEACHING AND LEARNING
Gabriele Wienhausen, Director, Teaching + Learning Commons at UC San Diego
Students admitted to UC San Diego have robust academic credentials, but differ widely in their personal backgrounds and classroom experiences. Teaching effectively in the face of this variation is challenging. In 2015, Professor Wienhausen became the founding director of the Teaching + Learning Commons. She will discuss the innovative strategies the Commons is using to provide faculty with innovative, research-based resources to enhance teaching and assessment, and to provide students with tools that enable them to get the most out of their UC San Diego education and maximize their potential for academic and career success.
May 8, 2018
BEAUTY AND BIODIVERSITY: HOW PHOTOGRAPHY AND SCIENCE ARE ADVANCING THE CAUSE OF OCEAN HEALTH
Octavio Aburto, Assistant Professor, Division of Marine Biology Research, Scripps Institute of Oceanography; Professional Photographer Associate, International League of Conservation Photographers
Dr. Aburto will share his award-winning underwater photography as he describes his research on marine and coastal ecosystems, demonstrating that maintaining the health of these ecosystems has economic as well as scientific benefits.
October 11, 2016
NEGOTIATING A SETTLEMENT: WHAT, IF ANYTHING, CAN THE UNITED STATES DO TO HELP BRING ABOUT PEACE IN IRAQ AND SYRIA?
Barbara Walter, PhD, Professor of Political Science, School of Global Policy & Strategy; Adjunct Professor, Department of Political Science
The Obama administration is increasingly interested in pursuing negotiated settlements to the civil wars in Iraq and Syria. Professor Walter is an authority on internal wars, unconventional violence and bargaining and conflict who has been consulted by the US Central Command for her insights, will discuss the conditions that are necessary for such negotiations to have any chance of success. She will also discuss whether these conditions currently exist in Iraq or Syria, and the role that the United States can realistically play in effective discussions about a more stable future.
November 8, 2016
REVOLUTIONARY DNA EDITING TOOLS: WILL “ACTIVE GENETICS” TRANSFORM THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT?
Ethan Bier, PhD, Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology
The development of new gene editing technology referred to as CRISPR, which allows scientists to modify genetic material with an unprecedented degree of precision, was named by the journal Science as "breakthrough of the year" in 2015. Professor Bier's lab is a leader in the application of CRISPR, having created a technique known as gene-drive that rapidly propels altered genes to an organism's offspring and potentially throughout a species. Dr. Bier will share his discoveries and discuss the implications of this new form of "active genetics," its applications and the associated ethical and biosafety considerations. The Bier lab's work, says the San Diego Union-Tribune, "has turned an academic discussion about the growing power of genetic editing into a real-life, immediate issue. Since then, the question isn't whether or when humans will gain the power to alter species around the planet at will, but how that power would be used."
December 13, 2016
THE NEW CARDIAC EXAM: USING EXQUISITELY PRECISE IMAGES AND PERSONALIZED MEDICINE TO PREVENT HEART ATTACKS & STROKE
Elliot McVeigh, PhD, Professor of Bioengineering, Department of Engineering and UC San Diego School of Medicine
A new generation of CT and MRI scanners currently in development in the McVeigh lab will allow physicians to discover heart disease well before symptoms arise. How can this early detection be used on an individual, personalized basis in order to avoid a heart attack or stroke? Professor McVeigh is a distinguished heart researcher recently recruited to UC San Diego from Johns Hopkins University, where he chaired its top-ranked bioengineering department. He will discuss his much-heralded new techniques for helping doctors to spot, treat and prevent heart disease through the use of highly detailed medical images.
January 10, 2017
FLYING THROUGH THE CLOUDS: HOW DOES MOTHER NATURE CONTROL CLOUDS, CLIMATE AND WEATHER?
Kimberly Prather, PhD, Distinguished Chair in Atmospheric Chemistry, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry and Scripps Institution of Oceanography
You'll never look at clouds the same way again! Dr. Prather will describe how UC San Diego scientists fly through clouds to gain insights into the factors controlling our rain and snowfall over California, and the surprises they've found. Her presentation will focus on research being conducted at UC San Diego aimed at improving our understanding of how humans are changing our atmosphere, climate and weather, and the studies that use a unique ocean-atmosphere wave channel to study how marine biology controls the composition of sea spray that ultimately seeds our clouds.
February 14, 2017
HYPATIA OF ALEXANDRIA: THE MOST INFLUENTIAL GREEK PHILOSOPHER YOU'VE PROBABLY NEVER HEARD OF (PERHAPS BECAUSE SHE WAS A WOMAN)
Edward Watts, PhD, Professor of History, Alkiviadis Vassiliadis Endowed Chair in Byzantine Greek History
The philosopher Hypatia (355-415 AD) was one of the fourth century's most influential thinkers. A Greek, she founded her own school of philosophy in the great Egyptian city of Alexandria and taught many male students philosophy, mathematics and astronomy. Although she was a pagan living in a majority Christian city, Hypatia had such personal integrity that she became an advisor to the Christian Roman governors of Egypt. Despite her stellar reputation, Hypatia was killed by a mob of Christian zealots, a murder so shocking that the achievements in her life were overshadowed by the violence of her death. For the past 1,600 years Hypatia has been recognized as a martyr whose death marked the end of the age of classical Greek and Roman reason. Professor Watts will explain why her life's work matters as much as the events that led to her death, the subject of his forthcoming book to be published in 2017 by Oxford University Press.
March 14, 2017
THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE OF U.S. INCOME INEQUALITY: THE ROLES OF GLOBALIZATION, TECNOLOGICAL PROGRESS AND EDUCATION
Valerie Ramey, PhD, Professor of Economics; Research Associate, National Bureau of Economic Research
Returning for her second Town & Gown presentation, Professor Ramey will discuss the special circumstances that led to a Golden Age for the average US worker in the 1950s and 1960s, and the economic changes that subsequently led to rising income inequality. Her talk will touch on the roles of globalization, technological progress and educational trends in the slowdown of the growth of median living standards and how those forces might shape the lifestyles of our children and grandchildren.
April 11, 2017
DRAWING, MAKING AND DOING: HOW HUMAN-CENTERED DESIGN AIMS TO ENHANCE OUR LIVES IN A BIG WAY
Don Norman, PhD, Director, The Design Lab at UC San Diego; Professor Emeritus and Founding Chair, Department of Cognitive Science; Professor Emeritus of Psychology
Professor Norman, founding director of the newly created UC San Diego Design Lab located within CalIT2 (California Institute of Telecommunication and Information Technology), will describe the human-centered design philosophy that has guided his illustrious career and informs the work of the Design Lab. At UC San Diego design is a way of thinking driven by trying to understand underlying problems and to create design solutions that have big effects - thinking by drawing, making, doing. The Design Lab expands this approach to all disciplines by working with the deans of engineering, social sciences, art and humanities, global policy and strategy, management and medicine to address design problems specific to them. Professor Norman has been referred to as "the acknowledged guru in the field of usability engineering and cognitive science" and is putting UC San Diego on the map among top design centers at American universities.
May 9, 2017
FROM ME TO WE: DISCOVERING THE TRILLIONS OF MICROORGANISMS THAT ARE A PART OF US, AND HOW THE INFORMATION THEY PROVIDE IS CHANGING MEDICINE
Larry Smarr, PhD, Harry E. Gruber Professor, Department of Computer Science & Engineering, Jacobs School of Engineering; Founding Director, California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology
To truly understand the state of the human body in health or disease, we now realize that we must consider a much more complex system than medical science considered before. This is because we now know that the human body is host to trillions of microorganisms on our skin and throughout our GI tract. The microbial component of our "superorganism" is comprised of hundreds of species with immense biodiversity. Exponential decrease in the cost of genetic sequencing has enabled scientists to finally "read out" the nature of the changes in the microbial ecology in people in health and with disease. To put a more personal face on the patient of the future, Professor Smarr has been collecting massive amounts of data from his own body over the last five years, which reveal detailed examples of the evolution of this human-microbe system. As similar techniques become more widely applied, we can look forward to revolutionary changes in medical practice over the next decade.
October 6, 2015
CHANGE IS GOOD: HOW YOUR BRAIN RESPONDS TO CHANGE, AND HOW SAN DIEGO IS LEADING SUCH DISCOVERIES
Nicholas C. Spitzer, PhD, Distinguished Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, Neurobiology Section; Director of UC San Diego Kavli Institute for Brain and Mind
November 3, 2015
THE ART AND THE SCIENCE: THE FUTURE OF FILM-GOING DEFINED BY UC SAN DIEGO
Rebecca Webb, BFA, ArtPower Film Curator; Founder of the Filmatic Festival; Fine Art Photographer
December 1, 2015
LOCATION MATTERS: BESTSELLING AFRICAN NOVELS, AND THE COSMOPOLITAN WRITERS WHO CREATED THEM
Robert Cancel, PhD, Professor of African and Comparative Literature
January 12, 2016
SCIENCE AND LITERATURE: TWO ROADS, ONE LIFE. MY JOURNEY DOWN THE RIVER OF DOUBT
Marc Andre Meyers, PhD, Distinguished Professor of Materials Science, Departments of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and Nanoengineering
February 2, 2016
YOUR GENES AND YOUR HEALTH: WHAT THE GENOME CAN (AND CANNOT) TELL YOU
Lisa Madlensky, PhD, CGC, Director, Moores Cancer Center Family Cancer Genetics Program; Associate Professor and Genetics Counselor
March 1, 2016
OF MICE AND MEN: HOW WE WILL TURN TODAY’S DISCOVERIES INTO TOMORROW’S CURES
Gary S. Firestein, MD, Office of the Dean and Associate Vice Chancellor for Translational Medicine; Director, Clinical and Translational Research Institute
April 5, 2016
SELFLESSNESS VERSUS SELF-REALIZATION: MOTHERHOOD DEBATES IN 20TH-CENTURY AMERICA
Rebecca Jo Plant, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of History
May 3, 2016
ERA OF ABUNDANCE: A WORLD VISION MADE POSSIBLE BY TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES IN ENGINEERING
Albert P. Pisano, Dean, Jacobs School of Engineering; Walter J. Zable Chair in Engineering; Distinguished Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering
October 7, 2014
GOING TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH TO STUDY THE BEGINNINGS OF TIME
Brian Keating, PhD, Associate Professor of Physics, Center for Astrophysics and Space Sciences
November 4, 2014
GENDER AND HEALTH: ADVANCING UNDERSTANDING AND ADDRESSING DISCREPANCIES ACROSS THE GLOBE
Anita Raj, PhD, Professor, Division of Global Public Health, Department of Medicine; Director, Center on Gender Equity and Health
December 2, 2014
SPIRITUALITY AND SURVIVAL: THE ENDURING POWER OF GOSPEL MUSIC
Ken Anderson, Lecturer, Department of Music; Director, UCSD Gospel Choir
January 13, 2015
GATEKEEPERS OF CHRISTENDOM? RELIGIOUS POLITICS AND THE CHALLENGE OF ISLAM IN EASTERN EUROPE
Patrick Hyder Patterson, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of History
February 3, 2015
FROM GORBACHEV TO PUTIN: RUSSIA AND ITS NEIGHBORS SINCE 1991
Philip G. Roeder, PhD, Professor and Department Chair, Department of Political Science
March 3, 2015
YOUR GENES, YOUR CANCER, YOUR PERSONALIZED TREATMENTS
Scott M. Lippman, MD, Professor of Medicine; Senior Associate Dean and Associate Vice Chancellor for Cancer Research and Care, Chugai Pharmaceutical Chair in Cancer
April 7, 2015
THE FACE(BOOK) OF AMERICA: WHAT SOCIAL MEDIA IS DOING TO US
Babak Rahimi, PhD, Associate Professor of Communication, Culture and Religious Studies, Department of Literature; Director of Third World Studies, Program for the Study of Religion
May 5, 2015
REALIZING THE FUTURE: AN UPDATE ON THE SANFORD STEM CELL CLINICAL CENTER
Lawrence S. Goldstein, PhD, Distinguished Professor, UCSD School of Medicine; Director, UC San Diego Stem Cell Program; Scientific Director, Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine; Director, Sanford Stem Cell Clinical Center
October 1, 2013
NANO-NEURO-TECHNOLOGIES: TINY ELECTRONICS FOR MONITORING BRAIN ACTIVITY AND MORE
Todd Coleman, PhD, Director of the Neural Interaction Laboratory, Associate Professor of Bioengineering
November 5, 2013
BRINGING DEMOCRACY: HOW UCSD INNOVATIONS PREVENT ELECTION FRAUD IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
Clark C. Gibson, PhD, Director, International Studies Program; Professor of Political Science
December 3, 2013
MAPPING THE BRAIN: THE BOLD INITIATIVE TO ADVANCE OUR UNDERSTANDING
Ralph Greenspan, PhD, Director, Center for Brain Activity Mapping; Adjunct Professor, Molecular Biology
January 14, 2014
MONUMENTS, MONUMENTALITY AND HISTORICAL MEMORY: THE ACROPOLIS OF ATHENS
Thomas W. Gallant, PhD, Nicholas Family Endowed Chair; Professor of Modern Greek History and Archaeology
February 4, 2014
FEEDING AND FUELING NINE BILLION PEOPLE IN THE 21ST CENTURY
Stephen Mayfield, PhD, Director, San Diego Center for Algae Biotechnology; John Dove Isaacs Chair of Natural Philosophy; Professor, Molecular Biology
March 4, 2014
TARGETING TINY BLOOD VESSELS: BREAKTHROUGHS FOR CANCER AND MACULAR DEGENERATION
Napoleone Ferrara, MD, Senior Deputy Director for Basic Science; Distinguished Professor of Pathology
April 1, 2014
DO WE NEED MUSIC? WHAT ROLE DOES IT PLAY IN OUR LIVES?
Susan Narucki, Professor and Associate Chair, Department of Music
May 6, 2014
CONDEMNATION TO REHABILITATION: THE HISTORIC AUDREY GEISEL UNIVERSITY HOUSE
Ione R. Stiegler, FAIA, NCARB, Principal Architect, IS Architecture
October 2, 2012
CANCER CARE FOR THE WHOLE PATIENT: TREATING THE PERSON AROUND THE TUMOR
Wayne A. Bardwell, PhD, Director, Patient and Family Support Service, UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center; Associate Professor of Psychiatry; President, American Psychosocial Society
November 6, 2012
TIME IS BRAIN
Thilo Hoelscher, MD, Director, Brain Ultrasound Research Laboratory; Associate Professor of Radiology and Neurosciences
December 4, 2012
PUBLIC CONVERSATIONS: WHY DO SCIENTISTS NEED TO HEAR FROM US, AND HOW?
Michael W. Kalichman, PhD, Director, Research Ethics Program; Adjunct Professor of Pathology
January 8, 2013
WHAT I THINK ABOUT WHEN I THINK ABOUT MUSIC
Steven Schick, Music Director, La Jolla Symphony & Chorus; Distinguished Professor of Music
February 5, 2013
THE BIRTH OF THE NETWORKED AMERICAN SELF
Steven Cassedy, PhD, Associate Dean of Graduate Studies; Professor, Slavic and Comparative Literature
March 5, 2013
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, 1868-2018: TELLING OUR OWN STORY
Henry C. (Harry) Powell, MD, Department of Cognitive Science; Professor of Pathology
April 2, 2013
NEW ADVANCES IN AUTISM RESEARCH
Eric Courchesne, PhD, Director, UC San Diego Autism Center; Professor of Neurosciences
May 7, 2013
FROM GUTENBERG TO GOOGLE: READING AND WRITING IN THE DIGITAL AGE
Seth Lerer, PhD, Dean of Arts and Humanities; Distinguished Professor of Literature
October 5, 2010
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF WELL BEING AND HAPPINESS
David Schkade, PhD, Professor of Management and Strategy, Jerome Katzin Endowed Chair, Rady School of Management
November 9, 2010
THE 4-1-1 ON ENGINEERING 9-1-1: DEFENDING AGAINST EARTHQUAKES AND TERRORISM
Frieder Seible, PhD, Dean, Jacobs School of Engineering
December 7, 2010
ART ON CAMPUS: AN UPDATE ON THE STUART COLLECTION
Mary Beebe, Director, The Stuart Collection
January 11, 2011
CHANGING MEDIA, CHANGING CHINA
Susan Shirk, PhD, Professor and Director, the University of California-wide Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation
February 8, 2011
A CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS: WHERE CALIFORNIA IS HEADING
Thad Kousser, PhD, Associate Professor, Political Science
March 8, 2011
PARADISE PLUNDERED: FISCAL CRISIS AND GOVERNANCE CHALLENGES IN SAN DIEGO
Steve Erie, PhD, Professor, Political Science
April 5, 2011
UNRAVELING ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE AT UC SAN DIEGO
Michael Rafii, MD, PhD, Co-Director, UC San Diego Memory Disorders Clinic
May 3, 2011
UC SAN DIEGO'S LEADERSHIP IN SUSTAINABILITY-FROM LOCAL TO GLOBAL
Byron Washom, Director, UC San Diego Strategic Energy Initiatives
October 6, 2009
TEHRAN SUMMER: A CLOSE-UP VIEW OF THE 2009 IRANIAN ELECTIONS
Babak Rahimi, PhD, Assistant Professor, Literature
November 10, 2009
EFFECTING SOCIAL CHANGE: FROM THE IVORY TOWER TO AN AFRICAN VILLAGE
Gerald Mackie, PhD, Associate Professor, Political Science
December 8, 2009
DOING HISTORY, MAKING NEWS: UNCOVERING THE 'REAL' BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
Alan Houston, PhD, Professor, Political Science
January 12, 2010
EAST MEETS WEST IN ISTANBUL: THE EARLY CENTURIES OF CHRISTENDOM
Reverend Father Jon Braun
February 9, 2010
A NEW ERA IN STEM CELL RESEARCH
Larry Goldstein, PhD, Professor, Cellular Molecular Medicine
March 9, 2010
NEGOTIATING THE FUTURE OF PLANET EARTH: THE 2009 U.N. CLIMATE TALKS IN COPENHAGEN
Richard Somerville, PhD, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Scripps Institution of Oceanography
April 6, 2010
DOES THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE HAVE A FUTURE?
Seth Lerer, PhD, Dean, Arts and Humanities
May 4, 2010
MEMORIES OF THE EARLY DAYS AND MY TRANSITION FROM FACULTY TO ENTREPRENEUR
Irwin Jacobs, PhD
October 7, 2008
ART, LOVE, AND THE BUSINESS OF BROADWAY
Judith Dolan, PhD, Associate Dean, Arts and Humanities
November 4, 2008
THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY: THE ECONOMIC SITUATION OUR NEXT PRESIDENT WILL FACE
Valerie Ramey, PhD, Professor, Economics
December 9, 2008
MINIATURE MUSIC, PRECIOUS TREASURES, LOST EARLY SAN DIEGO MANUSCRIPTS
Lynda Claassen, MLS, Director, Mandeville Special Collections
January 6, 2009
UNEASY DREAMS: THE SONGS AND ASPIRATIONS OF A GENERATION AS SEEN THROUGH THE MUSIC OF THE BEATLES
Steven Schick, Professor, Music
February 10, 2009
THE SCIENCE OF HEALTHY AGING
Colin Depp, PhD, Assistant Clinical Professor, Psychiatry, Sam and Rose Stein Institute for Research on Aging
March 10, 2009
ROGUE GENIUS: ROGER REVELLE FROM START TO FINISH. WELL, SOMETIMES NOT FINISH
Judith and Neil Morgan, Journalists
April 7, 2009
AT WHAT COST, HEALTH CARE REFORM: CAN WE SUCCEED THE SECOND TIME AROUND?
Frank Papatheofanis, MD, Professor, Radiology
May 5, 2009
THE FUTURE
Craig Venter, PhD, J. Craig Venter Institute
October 9, 2007
PUTTING THE ‘GOWN’ IN TOWN AND GOWN: MEDIEVAL ORIGINS OF THE UNIVERSITY
Stanley Chodorow, PhD, Professor Emeritus, History
November 6, 2007
THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS: ILLUMINATION AND INSIGHTS
Michael Hager, PhD, president and CEO, San Diego Natural History Museum
December 4, 2007
THE PREUSS SCHOOL: LESSONS IN EXCELLENCE
Cecil Lytle, Professor, Music, Co-founder of the Preuss School
January 8, 2008
THE CREATIVE IMPULSE: IT’S ALL ABOUT LISTENING
Steven Schick, Professor, Music and Music Director, La Jolla Symphony and Chorus
February 5, 2008
THE WORLD ACCORDING TO MARK
Mark Thiemens, PhD, Dean, Division of Physical Sciences
March 4, 2008
ELECTIONS 2008: THE NEXT ROUND
Sam Popkin, PhD, Professor, Political Science
April 8, 2008
STROKE PREVENTION AND CURRENT RESEARCH
Pat Lyden, MD, Director, UCSD/VA Stroke Center and Neurology Service chief, UCSD Medical Center
May 6, 2008
SEEING CANCER THROUGH A NEW LENS
Catriona Jamieson, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Hematologic Malignancies Program
