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They Contain Depths: What Midwestern Lakes Tell Us About Early Earth and Mars
6:00 PM – Great Hall, Memorial Union - To join the livestream of this lecture, click here.Fall 2023 LAS Dean's LectureNASA’s Curiosity and Perseverance rovers are exploring dried lake beds on Mars, remnants of a wetter climate about three billion years ago. Clues about the environments within these ancient lakes lie in the lake sediments left behind. The ancient martian atmosphere contained little to no oxygen, as it does now, and the lake waters were enriched in iron. These conditions are very similar to Earth and its oceans three billion years ago. To be able to interpret the chemical and mineralogical information left in Mars’ Lake sediments and Earth’s Ocean sediments, scientists need to investigate mineral formation in water bodies that have little oxygen and are enriched in iron.Betsy Swanner's research investigates Midwestern lakes that share common features to ancient martian lakes and Earth’s oceans. She uses a special type of lake that does not undergo seasonal mixing, and always has oxygen-free deep waters. Because there is no oxygen, microbes are the dominant life form. Microbial metabolisms can influence the composition of the minerals that form. Swanner will discuss how some minerals form, and how their presence in ancient Earth sediments or old martian lakebeds can tell us about past microbial life on Earth, or possibly Mars.Betsy Swanner became interested in microbes during her time as a Biochemistry major at Mount Holyoke College. Despite completing pre-med requirements, she decided her interested lied in microbiology and environmental sciences. After college she worked as a river guide before starting her PhD in Geological Sciences at the University of Colorado, Boulder. As a PhD student, she gained expertise in Geomicrobiology and Aqueous Geochemistry. Betsy came to ISU in 2015 after a postdoc at the University of Tübingen in Germany. She is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geological and Atmospheric Sciences. Her work is currently funded by a National Science Foundation CAREER award, as well as other grants from the NSF and NASA.This lecture was recorded and can be viewed on the Available Recordings page. 

Methane Reduction: The Fastest Way to Reduce Global Warming
7:00 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - Marcelo Mena-Carrasco is CEO of the Global Methane Hub, an international alliance for developing and implementing global methane reduction solutions. In 2021, he launched the Global Methane Pledge, with over 110 countries, including the U.S., signing on to reduce methane emissions by more than 30% by 2030. Previously, Mena-Carrasco served as climate change advisor and practice manager for the World Bank, as minister and vice minister for the environment in Chile, and as co-chair for the Climate and Clean Air Coalition.He is a recipient of awards from the United Nations Environment Programme, Oceans Unite, National Geographic Society, and others for his work on promoting renewable energy, air pollution control, carbon taxation, and the creation of over 1 million square kilometers of marine protected areas, and 45,000 square kilometers of national parks in Patagonia. A biochemical engineer by training, Mena-Carrasco received his Ph.D. in environmental engineering from the University of Iowa.Dr. Marcelo Mena-Carrasco's lecture is a part of the Anaerobic Digestion on the Farm -- Optimizing Environmental and Economic Outcomes for Rural Communities and Beyond conference, hosted at Iowa State University, November 6-8. ISU faculty, staff, and students and community members throughout the region are invited to register for the entire conference. Registration is open through October 27, with early-bird registration closing October 6. The conference is hosted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 7, Iowa State University, and the University of Iowa. It will feature presentations, exhibits, and discussion panel sessions covering a variety of anaerobic digestion topics. The conference will also include virtual tours of anaerobic digestion facilities and a poster session. A full conference agenda and registration information are available on EPA’s conference webpage. This lecture was recorded and can be viewed on the Available Recordings page.

Legacies of the All-Volunteer Force, Fifty Years On
6:00 PM – Great Hall, Memorial Union - The 2023 Gold Star Hall Ceremony Lecture 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the end of the American draft, it’s also a historical moment when the military, especially the Army, can’t make its recruiting quotas and the civil-military gap is gaping. With the help of the audience, we will discuss the legacies of the All-Volunteer Force, with a particular eye toward who serves, who doesn’t, and what can be done about it.Amy J. Rutenberg is Associate Professor of History and the author of Rough Draft: Cold War Military Manpower Policy and the Origins of Vietnam-Era Draft Resistance.  She is currently working on a book tentatively titled, In the Service of Peace: The Effects of Peace Activism on America’s All-Volunteer Force.The University Book Store will be onsite selling her book at the event.This lecture was recorded and can be viewed on the Available Recordings page.

Gold Star Hall Ceremony
4:15 PM – Great Hall, Memorial Union - Gold Star Hall is the "memorial" in the Memorial Union. In World War I, when a family had a son or daughter in the service, they displayed a card with a simple blue star in their window. When a life was lost, the card with the blue star was changed to one with a gold star - hence the name, Gold Star Hall. The blue/gold star tradition continues, with military families still displaying these symbols.When the Memorial Union opened in 1928, the names of the Iowa Staters who died in World War I were carved into the walls. In 1969, the names of WWII casualties were mounted on two bronze doors in the zodiac foyer. In 1984, the bronze doors were removed, and the names from World War II, Korea, and Vietnam were engraved into the limestone inside Gold Star Hall. In subsequent years, additional names were engraved for WW I, WW II, Korea, Vietnam and the USS Liberty, as well as Somalia, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Gold Star Hall embodies the memorium that the entire building represents. 2023 HonoreesWWIIThomas Henry DelamoreISU: 1931-1938, Ag EngineeringClare, IA and Ames, IAWWII and KoreaAlfred Hiram AganISU: 1942-1948, architectural engineeringChariton, IAVietnamJames Lee MillerISU: 1961-1962Maquoketa, IA There will be a reception to follow the ceremony. This is a free event open to the public. The ceremony will not be recorded.

Fixing the National Debt: A Non-Partisan Challenge for Gen Z
7:00 PM – Great Hall, Memorial Union - Join two staff members from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget to explore how they are educating and working with Congress and the public in a nonpartisan manner to improve the federal budget process. Gen Z will have to make crucial budget decisions such as whether to keep funding the military at its current level and if they want to keep Social Security how to make solvent beyond 2034.Chris Towner is the Policy Director for the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, where he analyzes budget, tax, health, and retirement policy. Chris manages the day-to-day workflow of the policy team and oversees many of the policy projects the Committee undertakes. He frequently briefs Congressional staff and helps members of the media, educators, and the general public grasp the complex concepts of federal budget policy. John Schuler is the Assistant Director of Research for the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, where he works on the policy team to conduct analysis on a wide variety of budgetary and economic issues.This lecture was recorded and can be found on the Available Recordings page.

Can You Fix the U.S. National Debt?
5:30 PM – 2630 Memorial Union - Can you balance the U.S. budget and fix the national debt? Presented by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, the Debt Fixer tool explores the budget tradeoffs needed to set a sustainable course for our country. Committee policy experts will walk through each section of the federal budget--from Education to Defense to Social Security--as you work to balance the budget, while also funding the programs and choices you believe in. Can you do it? 

Master of the Universe: How Einstein's Theories Transformed Our View of the Cosmos
7:00 PM – 2630 Memorial Union - Fall 2023 Sigma Xi Distinguished LectureAlbert Einstein’s greatest accomplishments, his special and general theories of relativity, opened the door to a new era of astronomy. His ideas revealed the source of a star’s power, led to the discovery of neutron stars and black holes, and allowed theorists to realize that the universe is expanding. Just about anywhere astronomers’ observations take them today, they enter Einstein’s realm, where time is relative, mass and energy are interchangeable, and space can stretch and warp. This lecture will show how modern cosmology was founded on the blueprint that Einstein fashioned.Combining her undergraduate training in journalism with a master’s degree in physics, Marcia Bartusiak has been covering the fields of astronomy and physics for more than four decades. A Professor of the Practice Emeritus in the Graduate Program in Science Writing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Bartusiak is the author of seven books on astrophysics and the history of astronomy, including Black Hole, Einstein’s Unfinished Symphony (winner of the American Institute of Physics Science Communication Award), and The Day We Found the Universe (winner of the History of Science Society's Davis Prize). In 2008 she was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, cited for “exceptionally clear communication of the rich history, the intricate nature, and the modern practice of astronomy to the public at large.”  The University Book Store will be onsite selling the speaker's books at the event.This lecture was recorded and can be viewed on the Available Recordings page.

A Land Abroad: Why America Should Care About Russia’s Ongoing Invasion of Ukraine
5:30 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been devastating. As the war enters its nineteenth month, one-fourth of the country’s total population is displaced, hundreds of thousands have died, and several cities and villages have been destroyed. To date, the United States has sent nearly $60 billion in aid. But why should America, a country thousands of miles away, be concerned about the war? In this lecture series, Mr. Temnycky will discuss Russia’s brutal war in Ukraine, the ramifications it has across Europe, and why the United States should continue to support this country.Mark Temnycky is a Ukrainian-American who is a nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center, and an accredited freelance journalist who has been covering Eurasian affairs and European energy security matters for over seven years. He has been published by The New York Times, Forbes, the Daily Mail, The Hill, EUobserver, Kyiv Post, Euromaidan Press, Atlantic Council, and several other American and European news outlets and think tanks. He earned a Master’s Degree in Public Administration and a Master of Arts Degree in International Relations from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University; a Bachelor of Arts in History, with departmental honors from Le Moyne College; and a Certificate in International Relations from Georgetown University.This lecture was recorded and is available on the Available Recordings page.

Population Health in Rural America: Contemporary Trends, Causes, and Complexities
7:00 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - George M. Beal Distinguished Lectureship in Rural SociologyThis event is also offered via livestream. To watch the livestream, click here.The U.S. rural mortality penalty is wide and growing. This talk will present an overview of trends in rural and urban mortality rates since 1990, identify where rates have increased the most, discuss the major causes of death that have contributed to the increasing rural mortality penalty, and discuss some potential explanations for these trends. With this longer-term context in mind, the presentation will move into a discussion of two contemporary population health crises – the drug overdose crisis and COVID-19 – and discuss their differential impacts across the U.S. rural-urban continuum.Shannon Monnat is the Lerner Chair in Public Health Promotion and Population Health, Director of the Center for Policy Research, and Professor of Sociology in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. Monnat is a demographer and population health scholar whose research examines trends and geographic differences in health and mortality, with a special interest in rural health and health disparities. She is a leading national expert on structural and spatial determinants of drug overdose. Her most recent research has focused on geographic differences in COVID-19 experiences and outcomes. She has authored over 60 peer-reviewed journal articles and numerous book chapters and policy briefs. Her research has been featured in several media outlets, including CNN, NPR, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and the Atlantic. Monnat has been the PI or Co-Investigator on projects totaling over $10 million in external research funding, including from the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Justice, United States Department of Agriculture, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and Institute for New Economic Thinking. She currently leads an NIH-funded project to examine the effects of state’s COVID-19 mitigation policies on working-age adult psychological wellbeing, drug overdose, and suicide.This lecture was recorded and can be viewwed on the Available Recordings page.

City Bird, Country Bird: How Human Activity Affects Predator-Prey Interactions
7:00 PM – Great Hall, Memorial Union - 2023 Paul L. Errington Memorial LectureAmanda D. Rodewald is the Garvin Professor and Senior Director of the Center for Avian Population Studies at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment at Cornell University. Prior to joining Cornell in 2013, she spent 13 years as a professor at Ohio State University. Dr. Rodewald received a B.S. in Wildlife Biology from University of Montana, a M.S. in Zoology from University of Arkansas, and a PhD in Ecology from Pennsylvania State University. Her interdisciplinary research integrates population, community, and landscape ecology with conservation biology and sustainability science, and uses community science, big data, and computational modeling to understand and address conservation challenges in temperate and tropical landscapes. Dr. Rodewald also serves on the Science Advisory Board of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Dr. Paul L. Errington, quoted by Animal Ecology Today as one of the "four great pioneers of animal ecology", was a professor of wildlife biology at Iowa State University from July, 1932 until his retirement. Dr. Errington's love and understanding of nature is shown in four popular books: Of Men and Marshes, The Red Gods Call, Of Predation and Life, and A Question of Values. A Question of Values is a collection of essays published posthumously in 1987. Paul L. Errington passed along a priceless heritage of conservation wisdom and insight to those who have the opportunity to read what he wrote, who benefit from his skills, and who must continue to question and enlarge upon his findings. On the occasion of the annual Paul L. Errington Memorial Lecture, we recognize and pay tribute to his special qualities as a person and as a scientist.This lecture was recorded and can be viewed on the Available Recordings page.