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Our Divided Political Heart: Campaign 2016 - E. J. Dionne
8:00 PM – Great Hall, Memorial Union - E. J. Dionne, who writes a twice-weekly syndicated column on politics for the Washington Post and PostPartisan blog, will provide analysis of the 2016 presidential candidates, political parties, and the road to the White House. Widely admired for his insights into the polarization of our national politics, Dionne is a frequent commentator on ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos, MSNBC, and National Public Radio. He is the author of five books, including Our Divided Political Heart: The Battle for the American Idea in an Age of Discontent and, most recently, Why the Right Went Wrong: Conservatism from Goldwater to the Tea Party and Beyond. Dionne is a senior fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution and a government professor at Georgetown University. Manatt-Phelps Lecture in Political Science

The Future of Healthy Families - Carolyn and Philip Cowan
4:00 PM – 2019 Morrill Hall - Carolyn Cowan is Adjunct Professor Emerita in the Department of Psychology at the University of California, Berkeley. Philip A. Cowan is Professor of the Graduate School in the Department of Psychology at the University of California, Berkeley. Together their research focuses on couples' transition to parenthood and children's transition to elementary and high school. They designed couples group interventions to strengthen family relationships. Helen LeBaron Hilton Endowed Chair Lectures Series

The History of Yoga - Documentary & Discussion with Filmmakers Ramji OM & Deepika Kothari
7:00 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - Yoga has established itself as an effective alternative therapy across the world, yet few people know of it's philosophical and historical origins. The History of Yoga takes you through a 6,000 year developmental history of yoga, from the times of Harappa Civilization to the Medieval Ages to the 19th century, when modern science shed new light on the potential of yoga. The film crew traveled 35,000 km - across India, Nepal, Europe and North America – consulting distinguished scholars, archaeological sites, museum and library collections and temples & shrines. Their research is woven together with breathtaking photography, meditative songs and music. A discussion with the filmmakers will immediately follow the 45-minute film and focus on both the continuity of and changes in Yoga and its relationship to Indian culture and civilization.

The Power of Procrastination - Jorge Cham
6:00 PM – Great Hall, Memorial Union - Jorge Cham is the creator of PHD Comics, including Piled Higher and Deeper, a comic strip about life (or the lack thereof) in Academia. The strip chronicles the struggles and humor of the lives of graduate students, the majority of whom admit to feeling overwhelmed and often depressed. Cham speaks about his experiences bringing humor into the lives of stressed out academics, examines the source of their anxieties and explores the guilt, the myth and the power of procrastination. The strips have been compiled into five collections, including Life Is Tough and Then You Graduate and Adventures in Thesisland. He is also the cofounder of PHDtv, an offshoot of the strip used to communicate the ideas, stories and personalities of researchers, scientists and scholars worldwide in creative, compelling and truthful ways. Cham earned his Ph.D. in Robotics from Stanford University and was previously an instructor and research associate at the California Institute of Technology. Part of the Graduate & Professional Student Senate Research Conference

From Iowa Kid to NAS Member: Where the Study of Economics Has Taken Me - Catherine Kling
12:00 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - Catherine Kling is the Charles F. Curtiss Distinguished Professor of Agriculture and Life Sciences, professor of economics and the director of the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development at Iowa State. She was elected to the National Academy of Sciences last year for her achievements in original research. Kling has made numerous contributions to natural resource and environmental economics, conducting innovative research throughout her career that melds environmental science with classical economics. She pioneered research on integrated water quality and economic models to help guide the design and implementation of conservation policies in the Midwest. Graduate & Professional Student Senate Research Conference Keynote This event is free and open to the public - no registration required. Conference registration is required to attend the preceding 11:00am luncheon and other sessions.

We Are Worthy: Empowering Transgender Lives - Angelica Ross
8:00 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - Angelica Ross is a leader in the movement for trans and racial equality. Named "1st Foot Soldier of the Year" in 2015 by Melissa Harris Perry, Ross is the founder of TransTech Social Enterprises, a company that empowers trans and gender-nonconforming people through on-the-job training in leadership and workplace skills. She has toured nationally, speaking her powerful mission into action with business leaders, educators and the President of the United States. Since studying theater at Florida Atlantic University, Angelica Ross has been featured in film, television, and live theatre. She is the breakout star of the upcoming series Her Story, which explores the lives and loves of two transwomen in LA. Pride Week Keynote

Bugs and Bodies: The Role of Insects in Crime Scene Investigations - Richard W. Merritt
8:00 PM – Dolezal Auditorium, 127 Curtiss Hall - Richard W. Merritt is involved in the field of forensic entomology and assists police departments in crime scene investigations involving insects. He is a University Distinguished Professor at Michigan State University with a joint appointment in the Departments of Entomology and Fisheries and Wildlife. While much of Merritt's research has been on aquatic insects, in particular, black fly and mosquito larval ecology, he is also a Fellow of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. He is coeditor of Black Flies: Ecology, Population Management, and Annotated World List and four editions of the textbook An Introduction to the Aquatic Insects of North America. This presentation is not for the squeamish!

The PhD Movie 2: Still in Grad School | Piled Higher and Deeper - Film Screening & Conversation with Jorge Cham
7:00 PM – Great Hall, Memorial Union - The PhD Move 2: Still in Grad School is the sequel to the film adaptation of the popular comic strip "Piled Higher and Deeper" by Jorge Cham. Like the comics and the first movie, the film takes a smart and humorous look at the world of Academia through the eyes of four grad students, and features real academics - including a Nobel Prize winner! - in many of the roles. The PHD Movie 2 was filmed on location at the California Institute of Technology and was produced as part of a continued collaboration between PHD Comics and the Institute for Quantum Information and Matter at Caltech. Part of the Graduate and Professional Student Senate Research Conference A Q&A discussion with Jorge Cham will immediately follow the 80-minute film.

Trans Entrepreneurship and Creating Trans-Inclusive Workplaces - Angelica Ross
2:15 PM – 2019 Morrill Hall - Angelica Ross is the founder of TransTech Social Enterprises, a company that empowers trans and gender-nonconforming people through on-the-job training in leadership and workplace skills. A leader in the movement for trans and racial equality, She has toured nationally, speaking her powerful mission into action with business leaders, educators and the President of the United States. Since studying theater at Florida Atlantic University, Angelica Ross has been featured in film, television, and live theatre. She is the breakout star of the upcoming series Her Story, which explores the lives and loves of two transwomen in LA.

Murmurs at Every Turn: The Natural and Human Migrations of Northern Greece - Julian Hoffman
7:00 PM – Gallery, Memorial Union - Julian Hoffman's book The Small Heart of Things: Being at Home in a Beckoning World was awarded the 2012 AWP Award in Creative Nonfiction and the National Outdoor Book Award for Natural History Literature. Hoffman lives beside the Prespa Lakes in northwestern Greece, the first transboundary park in the Balkans. Shared with Albania and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the lake basin is home to a rich range of people and languages, mammals and birds, wild flowers and habitats. It is a place of great diversity. Hoffman earns his living monitoring vulnerable, upland bird species where wind farms have been built or proposed. Pearl Hogrefe Visiting Writers Series