Piled Higher and Deeper: The PhD Movie
Film Screening & Conversation with Jorge Cham
Tuesday, 27 Sep 2011 at 7:00 pm – Great Hall, Memorial Union
This film adaptation of the popular online comic strip Piled Higher and Deeper by Jorge Cham introduces audiences to the unique and funny culture of academia. Filmed on location at the California Institute of Technology, it follows four graduate students as they struggle to find balance between research, teaching and their personal lives. Jorge Cham, the author of the Piled Higher and Deeper comic strip, has been called the Dilbert of academia. His strip appears in numerous university newspapers and chronicles the struggles and humor of the lives of graduate students and stressed out academics. Cham speaks about his experiences as a doctoral candidate in mechanical engineering at Stanford and as an instructor and researcher in robotics at the Cal Tech. Three books compiling his strips have been released: Life Is Tough and Then You Graduate; Scooped!; and Academic Stimulus Package.A discussion with Jorge Cham will immediately follow the 67-minute film.
This lecture was made possible in part by the generosity of F. Wendell Miller, who left his entire estate jointly to Iowa State University and the University of Iowa. Mr. Miller, who died in 1995 at age 97, was born in Altoona, Illinois, grew up in Rockwell City, graduated from Grinnell College and Harvard Law School and practiced law in Des Moines and Chicago before returning to Rockwell City to manage his family's farm holdings and to practice law. His will helped to establish the F. Wendell Miller Trust, the annual earnings on which, in part, helped to support this activity.
Cosponsored By:
- College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
- College of Engineering
- College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
- College of Veterinary Medicine
- GPSS
- Graduate College
- Latino Heritage Month
- SUB Films
- Committee on Lectures (funded by Student Government)
Stay for the entire event, including the brief question-and-answer session that follows the formal presentation. Most events run 75 minutes.
Sign-ins are after the event concludes. For lectures in the Memorial Union, go to the information desk in the Main Lounge. In other academic buildings, look for signage outside the auditorium.
Lecture Etiquette
- Stay for the entire lecture and the brief audience Q&A. If a student needs to leave early, he or she should sit near the back and exit discreetly.
- Do not bring food or uncovered drinks into the lecture.
- Check with Lectures staff before taking photographs or recording any portion of the event. There are often restrictions. Cell phones, tablets and laptops may be used to take notes or for class assignments.
- Keep questions or comments brief and concise to allow as many as possible.