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How Obama Really Won the Election - Nate Silver
8:00 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - Nate Silver was already celebrated among baseball fans for developing PECOTA, now recognized as the most accurate system for forecasting how athletes and teams will perform in the future. The University of Chicago economics graduate, sold his system to Baseball Prospectus, staying on as a writer and consultant. In 2007, turning to politics, he fed a database with every poll available, along with state demographics and election results from 1952 forward, adjusting for a variety of factors. The model he built simulated elections and outperformed every established pollster in the primary season, and so he launched the political web site FiveThirty Eight.com. By the end of election night, he had predicted the popular vote within one percentage point, predicted 49 of 50 states’ results correctly, and predicted all of the resolved Senate races correctly. In addition to running the political-prediction Web site FiveThirtyEight.com and being an analyst and writer for Baseball Prospectus, he writes an Esquire column called "The Data."

VEISHEA Comedy with Bill Burr
9:00 PM – Stephens Auditorium - ADMISSION FREE -doors open at 8 p.m. - Bill Burr first gained notoriety for his recurring role on the second season of Chappelle's Show, but has gone on to become a regular performer on the Late Show with David Letterman and to have his own HBO Half Hour Special. His most recent project was the hour-long Comedy Central special Why Do I Do This? He also co-hosts his own XM radio show, Uninformed, with fellow comedian Joe DeRosa.

VEISHEA Opening Ceremony - Paul Rhoads
12:00 PM – Central Campus - Paul Rhoads, successful defensive coordinator at both Pitt and Auburn and a former Cyclone assistant coach, returned home to become head football coach at Iowa State University. Rain location: Carver 101

Zen Buddhism and Creativity - Thomas Kasulis
8:00 PM – Gallery, Memorial Union - Thomas P. Kasulis is Professor of Comparative Studies in Humanities; former chair of East Asian Languages and Literatures; former chair of the Division of Comparative Studies; and Founding Director of the Institute for Collaborative Research and Public Humanities at Ohio State University. His books include Zen Action/Zen Person; Intimacy or Integrity: Philosophy and Cultural Difference; and Shinto: The Way Home.

Energy and Its Relationship to Agriculture and Food Production - Eldon Boes
7:00 PM – Alliant Energy-Lee Liu Auditorium, Howe Hall - Eldon Boes has over thirty years of experience working on energy issues with an emphasis on renewable energy technology research and development. He is currently working with the Senate Committee on Agriculture, led by Senator Tom Harkin, on the energy title of the 2008 farm bill. Boes began his career at Sandia National Laboratories, where he worked in solar technology for sixteen years. He later directed the National Renewable Energy Laboratorys Energy Analysis Program, which focused on the economic, environmental, and energy security impacts of present and future energy technologies in different market and policy contexts. He has also served as a congressional fellow. Boes received his Ph.D. in mathematics from Purdue University. He taught mathematics for six years at New Mexico State University before joining Sandia. The discussion will be moderated by Pat Boddy, executive director of Polk County Conservation. Part of the Engineering Thematic Year on Energy and Sustainability.

Spreading the Gospel of the First Amendment - Odell McGhee
7:00 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - Judge Odell McGhee is with the Polk County District Court and was recently elected president of the statewide Iowa Judges Association. He is a member of the Iowa National Bar Association, the state affiliate of the oldest and largest national association of predominately African American lawyers and judges, for which he served as president for over ten years. He is active in the groups efforts to make Des Moines "The First Amendment City, which includes raising funds to build a speaker's platform along the river in downtown Des Moines. Judge McGhee is licensed to practice law in the local, state and federal courts. A graduate of Drake Law School, he was previously with the Polk County Attorney's Office. The First Amendment Day Celebration Keynote Speaker.

The Freedom to Know: Freedom of Information and Open Government in the 21st Century
2:30 PM – 305 Carver Hall - Panelists include Clark Kauffman, Perry Beeman, Lisa Rood and Tom Barton of the Des Moines Register as well as Lauris Olson of Ames365.com. Part of the First Amendment Day Celebration.

Feast on the First Amendment
12:00 PM – Central Campus - Free food, music, drama, soap box debates and exhibits mark this annual event. Dione Somerville, ISU Dean of Students, will introduce the event, and Barbara Mack, associate professor in the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication, will kick off the soapbox debates. Part of the First Amendment Day Celebration.

Intimate Beauty - Beej Nierengarten Smith
7:00 PM – Christian Petersen Art Museum, Morrill Hall - Beej Nierengarten-Smith is a contemporary printmaker and multimedia artist, specializing in photolithography, Japanese woodcuts, digital images and etching. Her subject matter includes geographic icons, political and social commentary as well as fantasy and humor. Nierengarten-Smith will provide a first-hand account of an artist’s journey through the worlds of printmaking, subject matter, and interpretation, and will give her audience a unique look into the life and creative process of an artist.

Unfinished Business! Mark Engelbrecht
7:00 PM – Kocimski Auditorium, College of Design - After fifteen years as Dean of the College of Design, Mark Engelbrecht will step down from his post in June 2009. He will reflect on his fifty-year relationship with Iowa State University - beginning when he was a student in the 1960s and continuing through his years as a faculty member and his recent service as dean. He will point out changes and progress made in design education during that time and offer some thoughts on his future and the future of the college. Engelbrecht earned his bachelor of architecture degree from Iowa State in 1963.