With venturesome thinking, affordable technologies, great writers, and some last thoughts (for now) on journalism post-Snowden — Columbia’s new year comes to life.

January 13
6:30 p.m.
Columbia Entrepreneurship | Eugene Lang Entrepreneurship Center
An Evening with Steve Blank at the Columbia Startup Lab
Interviewed by Professor Sheena Iyengar, faculty director, Columbia Business School Entrepreneurship Program. Steve Blank is a businessman, conservationist, investor, entrepreneur, and lecturer. Prior to his retirement, he founded or was a part of eight venture-backed companies. Blank moved from being an entrepreneur to teaching entrepreneurship to both undergraduate and graduate students at UC Berkeley, Stanford, Columbia, and UCSD. WeWork Soho West Lobby, 69 Charlton Street at Varick.

January 23
4 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
The Earth Institute
The Convergence of Smart Phones, Data, and Development, featuring Vijay Modi
Vijay Modi is a professor of mechanical engineering at Columbia University and an Earth Institute faculty member. He also led the UN Millennium Project effort on the role of energy and energy services in reaching the Millennium Development Goals. Currently, he is focused on making consumer-scaled versions of technology that is normally super-sized available to developing countries. “These are projects that are not typically driven by large amounts of funding, but they occur in places that are in need of innovation.” International Affairs Building, Room 1512. Please register for this event.

January 24
8 p.m.
School of the Arts | Miller Theatre
Renee Rosnes Quartet
With an improvisation freedom that the New York Times compared to John Coltrane, pianist Renee Rosnes has made a name for herself as an innovative composer, virtuosic player, and band leader. Joined by vibraphonist Steve Nelson, bassist Peter Washington, and Lewis Nash on drums, the Renee Rosnes Quartet’s hard-bop sound pulses with infectious energy, whether they’re playing inventive originals or breathing new life into jazz standards. 2960 Broadway at 116th Street.

Two from the Writing Lives Series:

January 28
7 p.m.
School of the Arts | Heyman Center for the Humanities
The Nonfiction Dialogues: Wayne Koestenbaum
Koestenbaum’s first collection of poetry, Ode to Anna Moffo and Other Poems, was chosen as a Village Voice Literary Supplement’s Favorite Book of 1990. His other books include My 1980s & Other Essays, The Anatomy of Harpo Marx, Blue Stranger With Mosaic Background, Best Selling Jewish Porn Films, Model Homes, The Milk of Inquiry, and Rhapsodies of A Repeat Offender. Koestenbaum is widely known as a cultural critic for his books on Jackie Kennedy and opera. Dodge Hall, Room 501.

February 4
7 p.m.
Creative Writing Lecture Series: Michael Cunningham
Michael Cunningham is the author of the novels The Snow Queen, A Home at the End of the World, Flesh and Blood, The Hours (winner of the Pen/Faulkner Award & Pulitzer Prize), Specimen Days, and By Nightfall, as well as the non-fiction book, Land’s End: A Walk in Provincetown. He lives in New York and is a senior lecturer in English and creative writing at Yale University. Dodge Hall, Room 501.

January 28
4 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Mailman School of Public Health
Grand Rounds on the Future of Public Health, with Dennis Schmuland, chief health strategy officer, Microsoft
What does it take to ensure population health? This year’s Grand Rounds on the Future of Public Health series addresses that question as renowned public health voices in technology, urban health, philanthropy, government, and more challenge our thinking on global challenges and help set the stage for the future of public health. Join Dean Linda P. Fried and Dennis Schmuland in considering and discussing what we must do as a society for the broadest possible manifestation of population health. Alumni Auditorium, 650 West 168th Street.

February 5
4:30 p.m.
Tow Center for Digital Journalism | Columbia Journalism Review
The Closing Event for Journalism After Snowden hosted by Tow Center director Emily Bell will feature the release of a major Pew/Columbia survey, a panel discussion on “Investigative Journalists and Digital Security Practices” with Amy Mitchell (Pew Research Center), David Sanger (the New York Times), Jesselyn Radack (Government Accountability Project), Trevor Timm (Freedom of the Press Foundation) Morgan Marquis-Boire (First Look Media), and a second panel on “National Security Reporting in the Age of Surveillance: A Conversation About Reporting Post-Snowden” with Dean Baquet, executive editor of the New York Times, Mary Baron, executive editor of the Washington Post, and Susan Glasser, editor of Politico, moderated by Steve Coll, Dean of Columbia Journalism School. At the Newseum in Washington D.C.

Highlighted above are (mostly) general interest campus or NYC events across a range of topics of possible high interest to alumni, donors, and prospects. This listing is highly selective by design — regrettably, much more is omitted than featured. For RSVP, ticket availability, and other details, follow the links. As always, I appreciate hearing from you about future events!