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Past Events

Friday, 13 Nov 2009

The Superstition Bash - Performance and Interactive Displays
7:00 PM – Memorial Union - Nathan Allen, the Maniac of Magic, will open the evening with a performance that is part magic, part comedy, and totally dysfunctional. NO rabbits, NO tuxedos, and NO sparkly boxes, just a combination of a twisted sense of humor, sleight-of-hand magic skills, and hilarious audience participation. During the reception following the performance, audience members will have an opportunity to interact with displays about common superstitions and enjoy appetizers, desserts, and hot cider and cocoa. Part of the Atheist and Agnostic Society 10th Anniversary Celebration.

Thursday, 12 Nov 2009

DEAR JACK: A Screening with Corey Moss
8:00 PM – Great Hall, Memorial Union - Corey Moss codirected, wrote and produced this 78-minute feature documentary Dear Jack about the Jack's Mannequin/Something Corporate singer Andrew McMahon and his bout with leukemia at the age of 22. Moss is an executive producer at Yahoo! Originals, where he created "Primetime in No Time," the highest-rated show on the Web. He has also written and directed short films starring Jackie Chan, Brett Ratner and Jamie Kennedy. He graduated from Iowa State with a journalism degree.

Mississippi River Water Quality: Policy, Farm Landscapes and Hypoxia - R. Eugene Turner
8:00 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - R. Eugene Turner is a Distinguished Research Master in the Coastal Ecology Institute and Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences at Louisiana State University. A hybrid oceanographer and wetland ecologist, he is active in the scientific aspects of coastal environmental management. In particular, his work addresses hypoxic zones, or Dead Zones, in which water oxygen levels are reduced to a level that can no longer support living aquatic organisms. Turner works regularly with The Land Institute and the Green Lands, Blue Waters Project on land use issues within the Mississippi River watershed. A reception will precede the lecture in the South Ballroom at 7:00 pm. The Dennis Keeney Distinguished Lecture.

Cooking, Fishing and Jogging through Phase Space: A Practical Guide to Discovering and Understanding New Materials - Paul Canfield
8:00 PM – Alliant Energy-Lee Liu Auditorium, Howe Hall - Paul Canfield, Distinguished Professor in Liberal Arts and Sciences and the Robert Allen Wright Chair in Physics, has spent over has spent over a score of years in condensed matter physics, earning an international reputation for discovering and developing new materials. His work combines physics, chemistry, and metallurgy and is specifically focused on the properties of conducting and magnetic materials. In this lecture he will outline the basic philosophy and techniques needed to search for novel materials. These include a combination of intuition, experience, compulsive optimism and a desire to share discovery. The lecture will be general and include side comments, mildly slanderous asides and references to philosophers living and dead. Sigma Xi Lecture.

My Hollywood Career - Corey Moss
7:00 PM – Great Hall, Memorial Union - Corey Moss codirected, wrote and produced a 78-minute feature documentary Dear Jack about the Jack's Mannequin/Something Corporate singer Andrew McMahon and his bout with leukemia at the age of 22. He is an executive producer at Yahoo! Originals, where he created "Primetime in No Time," the highest-rated show on the Web. He has also written and directed short films starring Jackie Chan, Brett Ratner and Jamie Kennedy. debuted in front of the cameras on MTV and was their resident American Idol expert for several year. He later appeared on Fuse's "Videos that Rocked the World," "10 Great Reasons" and "Live Through This." Moss, who graduated from Iowa State with a journalism degree, is also an entertainment journalist who has been published in Spin, Rolling Stone and Vibe. A screening of DEAR JACK will follow at 8 p.m.

Tuesday, 10 Nov 2009

Engineering In The Coming Era of Insufficient Plenty - John Voeller
6:00 PM – Alliant Energy-Lee Liu Auditorium, Howe Hall - John Voeller, a member of the corporate management team at Black & Veatch, is a ASME White House Fellow in the Office of Science and Technology Policy. He is the principal architect of POWRTRAK, the automated engineering system of Black & Veatch that was used to build over 500 power facilities around the world. Voeller also serves as CEO and president of Data Discovery, Inc., which sells his recursive, search technology; CEO and president of General Integration Corp., specializing in highly collaborative environments; and CEO and president of Nuhands Corp., a firm specializing in products for aiding senior citizens and the handicapped. He holds a bachelor of science in mechanical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Part of the Engineering Thematic Year on Sustainable Infrastructure and the Globalization, Technology, and Culture Series.

Monday, 9 Nov 2009

American Intelligence and the Continuing Threat from al-Qaeda: Strategic and Ethical Implications - Tom Twetten
8:00 PM – Great Hall, Memorial Union - Tom Twetten served thirty-four years in clandestine services for the Central Intelligence Agency before retiring in 1995. He worked under diplomatic cover in such locations as Libya, Ghana, India, and Jordan, and was Chief of the CIA's Near East and South Asia Division during the Soviet war in Afghanistan. He served nearly six years as the CIA's Deputy Director for Operations, commanding the agency's worldwide clandestine network. During this time he directed intelligence resources in support of new democracies in Eastern Europe, supported a coalition of allied forces in the Gulf War following Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait, and placed new emphasis on fighting international narcotics trafficking, terrorism, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Twetten received his bachelor's degree from Iowa State, a master's degree in international affairs from Columbia University, and served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army. Part of the World Affairs Series

Wednesday, 4 Nov 2009

Surviving the Rwandan Genocide: Immaculee's Story of Faith, Hope and Forgiveness - Immaculee Ilibagiza
8:00 PM – Great Hall, Memorial Union - Immaculee Ilibagiza is a survivor of the 1994 Rwandan genocide and author of Left to Tell: Discovering God amidst the Rwandan Holocaust. She and seven other women spent 91 days huddled together silently in the bathroom of a local pastor's house - a trauma from which she emerged half-starved and to find her entire family had been brutally murdered. Immaculee used her time in hiding to teach herself English with only the Bible and a dictionary; once freed she was able to secure a job with the United Nations. In 1998 she immigrated to the United States, where she continued her work with the UN. Her story has been made into a documentary titled The Diary of Immaculee. She recently hosted a documentary titled Ready to Forgive, An African Story of Grace, broadcast on NBC and the Hallmark Channel. She is also the author of Led By Faith: Rising from the Ashes of the Rwandan Genocide. Msgr. James A. Supple Lecture and part of the World Affairs Series.

Tuesday, 3 Nov 2009

Global Climate Change - A Faculty Forum
8:00 PM – Great Hall, Memorial Union - Gene Takle, professor in the Departments of Agronomy and Geological and Atmospheric Sciences, will lead a discussion with other members of Iowa State's Climate Science Initiative team that was established in response to the public concern over global climate change and its impact on every segment of society. Faculty participants include agricultural economics professor John Miranowski, professor of economics and member of the National Academies Panel on Alternative Liquid Transportation Fuels; William Gutowski, professor of geological and atmospheric sciences; and Ray Arritt, professor of agronomy. A reception and student poster display will precede the lecture from 7 to 8 p.m. in the Oak Room, Memorial Union. Part of the Faculty Forum Series, the Live Green! Sustainability Series, and the World Affairs Series.

The Sky Begins at Your Feet: A Reading and Discussion of Bioregionalism - Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg
7:00 PM – Pioneer Room, Memorial Union - Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg, Kansas Poet Laureate and one of the founders of the Bioregional Congress, will read from her book The Sky Begins at Your Feet: A Memoir on Cancer, Community, and Coming Home to the Body. Mirriam-Goldgerg is an instructor at Goddard College, where she teaches transformative language arts. Her books include four collections of poetry, the writing guide Write Where You Are, and the anthology The Power of Words. Part of the Eco-Voices Series.