President’s Colloquia
The colloquia are scheduled 4-6 p.m. during the 2015-16 academic year and include a lecture followed by a reception with wine and hors d'oeuvres at Westwood, the president’s residence.
Past Colloquia
Thursday, Sept. 17, 2015
"The Power of Calcium"
Connie Weaver, Head and Distinguished Professor, Department of Nutrition Science
George McCabe, Professor, Department of Statistics
Drs. Weaver and McCabe discuss some of the major issues related to calcium nutrition and several specific examples where an interdisciplinary approach combining nutrition and statistics has been particularly effective.
Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2015
"Secure Online Interactions: Past, Present and Future"
Mikhail Atallah, Distinguished Professor of Computer Science
Dr. Atallah examines how future online interactions and collaborations will differ from those of the past and present and the implications for organizations and individuals. He’ll explain why many collaborations — which would yield substantial economic, social and scientific benefits — do not take place today because they appear to require information-sharing among participants who either do not trust each other with such sharing or are prohibited from it by legal and regulatory impediments (e.g., privacy laws, antitrust laws).
Monday, Nov. 2, 2015
"Forgetting and Remembering the American Civil War"
Caroline Janney, Assistant Head and Professor, Department of History
Dr. Janney explores the ways Americans — Unionists and Confederates, men and women, black and white — viewed the struggle in 1865 and how this understanding changed in the war’s aftermath. She'll examine these questions: How did the nation heal this great wound, or perhaps more importantly, has it entirely healed 150 years later?
Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2016
"Systems-of-Systems: A Way to Think, and Work, on Grand Challenges in Aero-Space (and Beyond)"
Daniel DeLaurentis, Professor, School of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Dr. DeLaurentis explains how reductionism reigns in today's world, where increasingly powerful tools to observe and analyze systems at smaller and smaller levels produce amazing outcomes. But synthesis remains a challenge, especially beyond the level of the "individual product" (i.e., airplane, drug, interstate bridge) and over the long term. Solutions to most grand challenges will consist of networks of human and technological systems loosely, dynamically (and unintentionally?) woven together for a greater purpose. He'll explore the endeavor to comprehend and corral the massive complexity in these systems-of-systems with examples in aviation and space exploration.
Wednesday, March 30, 2016
"Catalysis for a Sustainable Future"
Fabio Ribeiro, R. Norris and Eleanor Shreve Professor of Chemical Engineering
Mahdi Abu-Omar, R.B. Wetherill Professor of Chemistry—Inorganic Chemistry
Drs. Ribeiro and Abu-Omar describe how catalytic science impacts food and energy production, as well as the environment. They'll discuss specific examples of catalysis research at Purdue where an interdisciplinary approach combining chemistry and chemical engineering is leading to inventions with significant commercialization potential.
Wednesday, April 20, 2016
"The Science and Politics of Setting the Dietary Guidelines for Americans"
Wayne Campbell, Professor of Nutrition Science
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) provide nutrition and diet guidance and information to help people ages two years and older promote lifelong health and to prevent chronic disease.
If you have any questions, please contact Robin D. French at 765-494-9708 or rdfrench@purdue.edu.