Gaming careers. Toxic water. Dinosaurs. These are only a few of the diverse topics the university's lecture series will explore this semester. A sampling of programs is highlighted below. To find out more about these and other upcoming lectures, access the lectures schedule online. All lectures are free and open to the public.
"Kiev, Ukraine: From the Collapse of Socialism to the Mass Uprising of 2013-14," Roman Cybriwsky
Feb. 9 (8 p.m., Great Hall, Memorial Union)
In his new book with the same title, Cybriwsky discusses the recent unrest and violence in Ukraine, and how the mismanagement, corruption and inequality of its capital, Kiev, helped create a civic revolt that led to the collapse of a national government. Cybriwsky is a professor in the geography and urban studies department at Temple University, Philadelphia. In 2010, he was a Fulbright Scholar at the National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy, Kiev.
"Breaking Into and Surviving a Career in Game Development," Keith Fuller
Feb. 17 (8 p.m., MU Sun Room)
Fuller has more than 15 years of experience in the game-design industry as a developer, project manager, producer and consultant. He will discuss what it's like to be a professional game developer, along with its perks and pitfalls. Games he has worked on include Call of Duty: Black Ops, Wolfenstein, X-Men Legends and Star Trek: Voyager-Elite Force. Fuller also has written Beyond Critical, a collection of research, observations and recommendations to improve leadership in the gaming field.
"What Was in the Water? Toxic Dumping in Toms River," Dan Fagin
March 3 (7 p.m., MU Great Hall)
Fagin is an investigative reporter, prize-winning science journalist and author of Toms River: A Story of Science and Salvation, which won the 2014 Pulitzer for General Nonfiction and the National Academies Science Book Award. In his book, Fagin combines science and statistical analysis with investigative reporting to tell the story of Toms River, New Jersey, which experienced industrial pollution, a subsequent cancer epidemic and a decades-long fight for answers. Fagin is a professor of journalism at New York University and director of the graduate program in science, health and environmental reporting.
"Surviving Your Stupid, Stupid Decision to Go to Grad School," Adam Ruben
April 2 (7 p.m., MU Great Hall)
A comedian and molecular biologist, Ruben is the author of a book of the same title, which discusses the "sadistic and often hypocritical world of post-baccalaureate education through grad students' own bloodshot eyes." Ruben holds a Ph.D. in molecular biology from Johns Hopkins University, where he also teaches an undergraduate stand-up comedy class. He writes the humor column "Experimental Error" in the journal Science and blogs for the Journal of Visualized Experiments. He co-hosts Outrageous Acts of Science on the Science Channel and has appeared on the Food Network's Food Detectives, the Science Channel's Head Rush and National Public Radio's All Things Considered.
"Dinosaurs in the Digital Age," Timothy Rowe
April 23 (7 p.m., MU Great Hall)
Rowe is a paleontologist whose research focuses on the evolution and development of vertebrates. He is the director of the Vertebrate Paleontology Laboratory at the University of Texas, Austin, which holds one of the largest research collections of vertebrate fossils in America. Also co-founder and director of the university's High-Resolution X-ray Computed Tomography Facility, Rowe is developing digital technologies to analyze and visualize the skeleton and its adjoining soft tissues.
