Precision medicine, finance and carbon, Robinson’s Lila, antibiotics in history, presidential prerogatives, and a neuroscience fair—two weeks to feed and explore your brain.

March 18
2 – 5 p.m.
Zuckerman Institute
Community Brain Expo
Celebrate Brain Awareness Week with the Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute. The public, family, and friends are invited to test, trick, and learn about their brain with demonstrations by scientists. Space is limited. RSVP here. New York State Psychiatric Institute, Main Lobby, 40 Haven Avenue.

March 19
3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Columbia University Medical Center
Genes, Genomes, and the Future of Medicine
Richard P. Lifton, Sterling Professor of Genetics and Internal Medicine and chair of the department of genetics at the Yale School of Medicine, will speak as part of the Distinguished Lectures in Precision Medicine series. Open to Columbia students, faculty, and staff. Reception to follow. CUMC Alumni Auditorium, 650 West 168th Street, 1st Floor.

March 23
5 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Center on Global Energy Policy
The Transition to a Low-Carbon Future: Can it be Financed?
What can we learn from past technological revolutions when state programs and financial speculation combined to mobilize capital at an enormous scale? Are past patterns of investment relevant to the challenge of addressing climate change? William “Bill” Janeway, senior advisor at Warburg Pincus, will lead the discussion, with a panel including Dr. Kristina Johnson, co-founder, chairwoman and CEO of Enduring Hydro. RSVP required. International Affairs Building, Room 1501.

March 30
6 p.m.
Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library
The Antibiotic Era: Reform, Resistance and the Pursuit of a Rational Therapeutics
During the post–World War II “wonder drug” revolution, antibiotics were viewed as a panacea for mastering infectious disease. Physician-historian Scott H. Podolsky will discuss the history of antibiotics, focusing particularly on reform efforts that attempted to fundamentally change how antibiotics are developed and prescribed. Refreshments served at 5:30 p.m. Russ Berrie Pavilion, Room 1.

6:15 p.m.
The Heyman Center
The Writing Lives Series: A Reading and Discussion with Marilynne Robinson
An evening with Pulitzer Prize-winning author Marilynne Robinson, recipient of a 2012 National Humanities Medal awarded by President Obama. Robinson will read from her recent book, Lila, and be in discussion with Unitarian Minister, Robert Hardies. Moderated by Alexander Chee, author of The Queen of the Night. Pulitzer Hall, Room 301.

9 – 11 p.m.
TV Broadcast Pick
Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies
The beginning of a three-part documentary on the PBS channel. Presented by Filmmaker Ken Burns and Producer Barak Goodman (’86JRN). The series is based on the 2010 Pulitzer Prize-winning book The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee, assistant professor of medicine at the Columbia University Medical Center. This bibliographical series features the current status of cancer knowledge and treatment —the dawn of an era in which cancer may become a chronic or curable illness rather than its historic death sentence in some forms.

March 31
6:45 p.m. – 8:15 p.m.
Columbia Business School | Columbia Law School
Debate: The President’s Constitutional Authority
President Obama has launched a sustained, long-term military campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. But did he have constitutional power to do so? This debate will include Gene Healy, vice president of the Cato Institute and author of False Idol; Professor Philip Bobbitt (law); Deborah Pearlstein, assistant professor at Cardozo Law; Jake Sullivan, lecturer at Yale Law; and moderated by John Donovan, author and correspondent for ABC News. Purchase tickets here. Miller Theater. (Reminder)

Picks are campus or NYC events of high general interest to alumni, donors, and prospects. By design, regrettably, much more is omitted than featured. For RSVP, ticket availability, and other details, follow the links. I always appreciate hearing from you about future events!