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Remember the Maine! The Spanish-American War 125 Years Later
6:00 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - On 26 September 2022, several mysterious explosions rocked two underwater pipelines in the Baltic Sea built to carry Russian natural gas to Western Europe. Confusion ensued, and the public remain in the dark as to who, if anyone, is responsible for the damage. Similar confusion reigned in the aftermath of arguably the most renowned explosion in U.S. history, which took place on 15 February 1898 when USS Maine blew up in Havana harbor, killing 260 American servicemen. An official U.S. Navy investigation concluded that the explosion was the product of an underwater mine, and within weeks the United States and Spain were at war. February marks the 125th anniversary of this seminal historical event, which in public memory remains the principal cause of the Spanish-American War. Maritime and naval historian Tim Wolters examines this simplistic portrayal, arguing that the causes of the final American war of the nineteenth century were both deeper and more contentious than is generally recognized. ISU Professor Timothy Wolters received his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the history of science and technology and began teaching at Iowa State in 2010. He is an associate professor of history, and his most popular courses include the Global History of Innovation, American Military History, and The World at War. In 2017, he retired from the U.S. Navy Reserve at the rank of captain. He is qualified in submarines, passed the nuclear engineer’s exam, and was a specialist in undersea warfare during his reserve career. Professor Wolters is currently researching and writing a lengthy article on the invention of the nautical chart.

Celebrating Romeo Oriogun: Winner of the Nigerian Prize for Literature
7:00 PM – Gold Room, Memorial Union - Romeo Oriogun is a current postdoc fellow in Iowa State University's Creative Writing and Environment program. He is this year's recipient of the NLNG Nigerian Prize for Literature for his poetry collection Nomad. At this event, we will be celebrating his accomplishments with a reading from Romeo himself, followed by time to meet and mingle.

Cities and Storms: Challenges and Solutions
7:00 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - 2022 Fobes Ronald Lecture in Environmental Conservation Jennifer Cherrier, PhD., is a Professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Brooklyn College-The City University of New York. She is also the President and Founder of Waterway Ecologics, LLC. Her 25+yrs of research expertise are in aquatic carbon and nitrogen biogeochemistry with a more recent focus on water resource sustainability and nature-based approaches for offsetting urban flooding as well as human impacts on marine and freshwater systems.

A Conversation About the 1619 Project with Nikole Hannah-Jones
6:00 PM – Stephens Auditorium - 2022 Manatt-Phelps Lecture in Political Science Q&A will be done by the moderators with pre-submitted questions. If you would like to submit a question for Ms. Hannah-Jones, please email it to lectures@iastate.edu. Questions submitted from ISU students with iastate.edu emails will be given priority, but there is no guarantee that any particular question will be asked. Please indicate if you would like your name included with the question (to be read aloud) or would like to be anonymous. Questions must be submitted by 12pm on Nov. 2 to be considered. This event is free, open to the public, and does not require a ticket for entrance. Doors open at 5pm.The first 11 rows (500 seats) will be reserved for ISU students until 5:40pm; show your ISU student ID at the SE or SW Tower doors to enter. The general public may enter through the North Doors. No bags will be permitted. Small bags for medical supplies and diaper bags will be permitted but will be searched before entry. No picket signs, banners, or other materials that could block views or be used as a weapon will be permitted. Nikole Hannah-Jones is the Pulitzer Prize-winning creator of the 1619 Project and a staff writer at The New York Times Magazine. The book version of The 1619 Project was an instant #1 New York Times bestseller. Hannah-Jones has spent her career investigating racial inequality and injustice, and her reporting has earned her the MacArthur Fellowship, known as the Genius grant, a Peabody Award, two George Polk Awards and the National Magazine Award three times. She also serves as the Knight Chair of Race and Journalism at Howard University, where she is founding the Center for Journalism & Democracy. Hannah-Jones is also the co-founder of the Ida B. Wells Society for Investigative Reporting, which seeks to increase the number of investigative reporters and editors of color, and this year she opened the1619 Freedom School, a free, afterschool literacy program in her hometown of Waterloo, Iowa. Hannah-Jones holds a Master of Arts in Mass Communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and earned her BA in History and African-American studies from the University of Notre Dame. At speaker request, this event will NOT be live streamed or recorded.

Not the "Whole Picture": Reimagining Food Systems to Account for What We Don't Know
7:00 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - Beal Distinguished Lecture in Rural Sociology Michael Carolan was born, raised, and educated in Iowa. After living in the state for approximately 30 years, his career took him to Colorado State University where he is now Co-Director of the Food Systems Institute for Research, Engagement and Learning, Professor of Sociology, and an Engagement and Extension Food Systems Specialist.

Please Stop Saving Us: Rebuilding After Western "Interventions" in Africa
7:30 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - For anyone interested in being a "change agent" in a complex world, this talk highlights how even the most harmless-looking social programs can have far-reaching negative consequences for the unwary or unprepared, regardless of how good the intentions may be. Credentialled by the University of Pretoria, the U.S. State Department, John Hopkins University, New England Conservatory of Music, and The International Peace & Security Institute, Eriel Huang is a prize-winning South African violinist and arts leader with experience spanning four continents. She is co-concert master for the KwaZulu Natal Philharmonic Orchestra in Durban, the former Deputy Chair of the Johannesburg Youth Orchestra Company, and Director of Public Relations for the South African Strings Foundation. Ms. Haung she is now director of the Mangaung Strings Programme headquartered in Bloemfontein, a state-wide, public-private music education initiative reaching more than 250 children from systemically excluded communities.

Current Issues in Ag Policy with Bill Northey
3:30 PM – 127 Curtiss - Bill Northey farmed for mover 35 years. Bill served as president of the Iowa and National Cor Growers Association, as Iowa Secretary of Agriculture from 2007-2018, as USDA Under Secretary 2018-2021, and now as CEO of the Agribusiness Association of Iowa.

Andrea Cesalpino (1524-1603): Philosopher, Botanist, and Pharmacist in Renaissance Tuscany
6:30 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - Historians often consider Andrea Cesalpino as the precursor of scientists like Galileo, William Harvey, Spinoza or Linnaeus. Yet today he remains mostly unknown, his impact localized to Renaissance Tuscany. Not only is this oversight an injustice to Cesalpino’s complex work on nature, and especially on plants, but it also disregards his approach to philosophy, nature, and medicine. Fabrizio Baldassarri holds a Marie SkÅ‚odovska-Curie fellowship to conduct research on early modern natural philosophical studies of plants from Andrea Cesalpino to Marcello Malpighi, especially focusing on the intersections between natural philosophy, botany, and medicine.

We Rate Dogs®: A Conversation with Matt Nelson About Entrepreneurship, Philanthropy, and Social Media Fame
6:00 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - WeRateDogs® grew to 17M followers by giving “better-than-perfect” scores to every pup they were sent. Come listen to WeRateDogs® creator Matt Nelson share his story of turning a meme account into a powerful force for good. You’ll hear how Matt came up with the idea, found his voice, built a community, and then harnessed it to start giving back, with the new non-profit foundation, 15/10. Join us to learn how to turn your jokes into a job.

Crop & Climate Adaptation in the Face of the Climate Crisis
12:40 PM – 1001 Troxel Hall - Dr. Cary Fowler is the U.S. Special Envoy for Global Food Security. Dr. Cary Fowler is perhaps best known as the “father” of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, which UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon described as an “inspirational symbol of peace and food security for the entire humanity.” This facility provides ultimate security for more than 1 million unique crop varieties, the biological foundation of agriculture and the raw material for all future plant breeding and crop improvement efforts. Dr. Fowler is the former Executive Director of the Global Crop Diversity Trust, an international organization cosponsored by Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) and the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).