Mark your calendars. The spring 2012 lectures lineup features a first for Iowa State: a Nobel Laureate lecture from an ISU faculty member. ISU professor of materials science and engineering Dan Shechtman, who won the 2011 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, will lecture on quasi-periodic crystals Feb. 20 (7 p.m., Memorial Union Great Hall).
Other noteworthy topics this spring include events honoring Martin Luther King Jr., environmental pollution, American foreign policy in Iraq and Afghanistan, and a musical celebration of the First Amendment. To find something that interests you, check out the lectures schedule online. In the meantime, here's a look at some of the highlights. All lectures are free and open to the public.
Black American Gothic: Planting Urban Roots in Iowa
Carla Wilson, Jan. 26 (7 p.m., Memorial Union Great Hall)
Black American Gothic, a 60-minute documentary about the urban migration from Chicago to Iowa City, takes a look at racial politics in Iowa City after the demise of public housing in Chicago. Iowa City residents –- black and white, old and new –- tell the story through their experiences. The film addresses how changing demographics in the community have affected low-income housing, public schools and law enforcement. A discussion with independent filmmaker Carla Wilson will follow the presentation.
Who's Afraid of Post-Blackness?
Touré, Feb. 2 (8 p.m., MU Great Hall)
Touré is an NBC correspondent and the author of Who's Afraid of Post-Blackness, a look at what it means to be black today and how blackness has changed over the decades. He also has been a contributing editor at Rolling Stone for more than 15 years and hosts two shows on the Fuse network.
Patenting Life?
A Symposium, Feb. 16-17 (all day, both days, MU South Ballroom)
This symposium addresses the issues of intellectual property protection specific to plant and life sciences. Symposium participants include David Resnik, author of Owning the Genome: A Moral Analysis of DNA Patenting and chair of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Institutional Review Board; Margo Bagley, a professor of patent law at the University of Virginia School of Law who previously worked in products research and development for Coca-Cola and Procter & Gamble; Edmund Sease, a trial lawyer who teaches at Drake University Law School; and Shontavia Johnson, an assistant professor of law at Drake University Law School.
The Discovery of Quasi-Periodic Crystals
Nobel Laureate Dan Shechtman, Feb. 20 (7 p.m. lecture; reception follows, MU Great Hall)
Dan Shechtman, professor of materials science and engineering and research scientist for the U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory, won the 2011 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. The honor was awarded for his discovery of quasicrystals, crystalline materials with a periodic atomic structure once considered impossible in modern crystallography. Initially controversial, Shechtman's findings have changed long-held definitions and ideas about matter and atomic arrangement. He also is the Philip Tobias Professor of Materials Science at the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology. He joined Iowa State and the Ames Laboratory in 2004.
Energy Sustainability in a Changing World
Ellen Williams, Feb. 27 (8 p.m., MU Great Hall)
Ellen Williams is chief scientist at British/Beyond Petroleum (BP), the third largest oil company and the fifth largest corporation in the world. As BP's chief scientist, Williams determines how developments in science and technology can contribute to sustainable, secure and environmentally responsible energy. She will discuss specific examples of carbon capture and storage, and biofuels. Williams is on leave from the University of Maryland, where she is Distinguished University Professor of Physics and director of the Materials Research Science and Engineering Center.
Sustainapalooza: Celebrating our Cardinal, Gold and Green
Feb. 28 (4 p.m., MU Great Hall)
Celebrate the accomplishments of Iowa State’s Live Green! initiative through interactive displays and presentations about sustainability efforts on campus. The event will include a poster session, "empowering" stations and an opportunity to walk down the "green carpet." Speakers include Merry Rankin, director of sustainability, and leaders from the Council on Sustainability. Students Chandra Peterson and Matt Santee, co-presidents of the Green Umbrella, will host the event. Attendees will receive refreshments, pictures and a unique appreciation gift.
Environmental Pollution, Climate Change and Our Health
Sandra Steingraber, March 4 (7 p.m., MU Sun Room)
Sandra Steingraber is a biologist, cancer survivor and author of several books, including Living Downstream: An Ecologist’s Personal Investigation of Cancer and the Environment and Having Faith: An Ecologist’s Journey to Motherhood, a memoir of her own pregnancy with her daughter and an investigation of fetal toxicology. Her latest book is Raising Elijah: Protecting Children in an Age of Environmental Crisis. She will speak both as a scientist and a mother about the joys of bringing up her son while searching for ways to shield him -- and all children -- in a world facing climate change and increased environmental pollution. Steingraber is a scholar-in-residence in the department of environmental studies and sciences at Ithaca College, New York.
American Foreign Policy After Iraq and Afghanistan
Lee Hamilton, March 27 (8 p.m., MU Great Hall)
Former Indiana Congressman Lee Hamilton directs the Center on Congress, a nonpartisan educational institution he established in 1999 at Indiana University, Bloomington, to improve the public's understanding of Congress -- its strengths and weaknesses, its role in the U.S. government and its impact on the lives of ordinary people. Hamilton served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1965 to 1999. He served as vice chairman of the 9/11 Commission, co-chaired the Iraq Study Group with former Secretary of State James Baker and was president of the Woodrow Wilson Center. Hamilton's books include How Congress Works and Why You Should Care, A Creative Tension: The Foreign Policy Roles of the President and Congress and Without Precedent: The Inside Story of the 9/11 Commission.
Freedom Sings: A Musical Celebration of the First Amendment
April 12 (7 p.m., MU Great Hall)
Freedom Sings' multimedia presentation is part concert, part conversation and features music that has been banned, censored or called for social change. A program of the First Amendment Center, Freedom Sings features live music, video and narration, and showcases hit songwriters, performers and Grammy Award winners. It looks at some of the most controversial songs in American history, recognizing the full spectrum of political views. Ken Paulson, former editor of USA TODAY and president of the American Society of Newspaper Editors, will host the event. Participating musicians will be announced later.
