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Chinese Painting History and Techniques - Visiting Artists Discuss Their Work
5:30 PM – Kocimski Auditorium, 101 College of Design - Five distinguished artists and visiting scholars from Wuhan University in China's western Hubei Province will speak about their work and traditional Chinese painting techniques. They will discuss unique methods and styles of Chinese water color painting, sketch drawing, engraving, photography, ceramic tile painting, and how traditional cultural elements are incorporated into contemporary work. The artists include Professor Guan Jiaqing; Associate Professors Wen Qingwu, Xia Lijun and Zhou Xiumei; and Lecturer Wang Xin. The artists will be in residence at Iowa State February 17-21, and their work will be featured in an exhibition February 12-21 in the College of Design's Gallery 181.

Religious Freedom for All: Living Together with Our Deepest Differences - Os Guinness
7:00 PM – Great Hall, Memorial Union - Os Guinness is an author and social critic who writes frequently about modern American culture. The author or editor of thirty books, he focuses on how the worlds of scholarship and ordinary life overlap, particularly as they touch on issues of faith. His new book, The Global Public Square, champions the freedom of thought, conscience and religion as a way to negotiate differences in public life. Born in China and educated in Britain, Os Guinness now lives in the United States. He is a former BBC reporter; has been a guest scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Studies and at the Brookings Institution; and served as executive director of The Williamsburg Charter Foundation, a bicentennial celebration of the First Amendment. Veritas Forum

Multiple Ways to Love: A Valentine's Day Poetry Reading - Eduardo Corral
4:00 PM – Gallery, Memorial Union - Poet Eduardo C. Corral earned degrees from Arizona State University and the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop. His debut collection of poetry, Slow Lightning, won the Yale Younger Poets Prize, making him the first Latino recipient of the award. His work is recognized for its exploration of Latino identity and gender and sexuality. His other honors include a "Discovery"/The Nation Award, the J. Howard and Barbara M. J. Wood Prize from Poetry, and writing residencies from the MacDowell Colony and Yaddo. He is a CantoMundo fellow and has held writing residencies at Colgate University, Bucknell University and Columbia University.

Evolution and Computation - John Mayfield
7:00 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - John Mayfield is Emeritus Professor of Genetics, Development, and Cell Biology at Iowa State and former associate dean of the Graduate College. His new book, The Engine of Complexity, Evolution as Computation, grew out of his interest in the relationship between computation and biological process. It is a new approach to understanding how evolution works based on information theory and computational science. He will discuss how general concepts of computational evolution can help explain not only how life is possible but also how human technology and the complex outcomes of human society are possible.

How Women Lead and the Difference It Makes - Melissa Harris-Perry
7:00 PM – Great Hall, Memorial Union - Melissa Harris-Perry hosts a weekend MSNBC program and is a professor of political science at Tulane University, where she directs the Anna Julia Cooper Project on Gender, Race, and Politics in the South. The "Melissa Harris-Perry Show," features analysis and guest-driven discussion of political, cultural and community issues. Topics often reflect Perry's academic research interests in the challenges facing contemporary black Americans. Harris-Perry is the author of Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in America as well as Barbershops, Bibles, and BET: Everyday Talk and Black Political Thought. She has a PhD in political science from Duke University. Book signing & reception to follow. Part of the Women and Leadership Series.

Understanding Black Holes and Active Galaxies - Meg Urry
8:00 PM – Dolezal Auditorium, 127 Curtiss Hall - Meg Urry is chair of the Physics Department at Yale University and director of the Yale Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics. She investigates the formation and evolution of the super-massive black holes that astrophysicists believe anchor each galaxy. Prior to joining the faculty at Yale, Urry was a senior scientist at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which runs the Hubble Space Telescope for NASA. The first tenured female physicist at Yale, she is also known for her efforts to increase the number of women in the physical sciences, for which she won the 2010 Women in Space Science Award from the Adler Planetarium. Part of the Women in STEM Series.

Women in Physics and Astronomy: Past, Present, and Future - Panel Discussion
7:30 PM – 3 Physics Hall - Meg Urry, Israel Munson Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Yale University and director of the Yale Center for Astronomy & Astrophysics, will be joined by Iowa State faculty and administrators for a panel discussion and Q&A. Participants include Amy Bix, associate professor, History of Science and Technology; Beate Schmittmann, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and professor of physics; Elizabeth Hoffman, professor of economics; and Lee Anne Willson, University Professor of Physics and Astronomy. A reception will follow in 18 Physics Hall. Women in STEM Series

The Life Code: Changing Lives, Changing Business - Juan Enriquez
8:00 PM – Great Hall, Memorial Union - Juan Enriquez is one of the world's leading authorities on the uses and benefits of genomic research and the impact of the life sciences on business, technology, and society. He co-founded Synthetic Genomics, a company developing genomic-driven solutions to address global energy and environmental challenges. Synthetic Genomics was a partner and major funder of the J. Craig Venter Institute's breakthrough creation of the first synthetic bacterial cell. Juan Enriquez is managing director of Excel Venture Management, former director of the Harvard Business School Life Sciences Project, and author of As the Future Catches You: How Genomics & Other Forces are Changing Your Life, Work, Health & Wealth. He has an MBA from Harvard University, and is a member of the Harvard Medical School Genetics Advisory Council.

Freedom Riders: Documentary and Discussion
7:00 PM – South Ballroom, Memorial Union - From May until November 1961, more than 400 black and white Americans risked their lives for simply traveling together on buses and trains as they journeyed through the Deep South. Deliberately violating Jim Crow laws, the Freedom Riders met with bitter racism and mob violence along the way, testing their belief in nonviolent activism. Based on Raymond Arsenault's book, Freedom Riders tells the story of six months that changed America forever. Brian Behnken, associate professor of history, will lead a discussion immediately following the film. Martin Luther King Jr. Legacy Series.

Comedy with Tig Notaro
11:00 PM – Great Hall, Memorial Union - Comedian Tig Notaro began her set at Largo in Los Angeles the day she was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer with: "Good evening, hello. I have cancer. How are you?" There was nervous laughter, weeping and total silence in the audience. Comedian Louis C. K. tweeted about her performance that night: "In 27 years doing this, I've seen a handful of truly great, masterful standup sets. One was Tig Notaro last night at Largo." After a double mastectomy, the cancer was contained and Notaro is now in remission and feeling well. Her set at Largo, "Tig Notaro: Live," is out on CD. In addition to standup, Notaro has appeared on This American Life and Conan. Notaro was also a writer on the Comedy Central series Inside Amy Schumer and appears in the new film In A World. ISU After Dark