In a week that includes long-time New Yorker magazine fact-checker Peter Canby, Columbia refocuses the public debate on the factual: from Russia and cybersecurity to the Affordable Care Act , climate change to incarceration.  Be sure to invite alumni and prospects as guests and share your stories.

REMINDERS

March 2: Book Launch: Governing Global Health: Who Runs the World and Why? (sold out; livestream here)
March 2–5: 2017 Beyond the Bars Conference: Transcending the Punishment Paradigm
March 6: Neuroscience in the Body: Perspectives at the Periphery and Signs, Signals, and Symbols: Suicide, Cyberbullying, and Social Media

PICKS

March 2
5 – 6:30 p.m.
Columbia Entrepreneurship | Collaboratory
Applying Data Science to Real-World Problems
A Booz Allen Hamilton seminar with Dan Liebermann, lead associate, and Ben Arancibia, lead data scientist, will discuss experiences and lessons learned from turning data science theory into reality. RSVP here. Schapiro Hall, Davis Auditorium. (Data and Society)

5:30 – 6:30 p.m.
Mailman | HITLAB Seminar Series
From Repeal and Replace to Repeal and Repair: Separating Fact from Fiction
It has never been more difficult to access quality healthcare at an affordable cost. David Gruber, managing director and director of research at the Alvarez and Marsal Healthcare Industry Group, will discuss several key challenges, opportunities, and risks that the Trump Administration faces in its efforts to repeal and replace Obamacare. Reception to follow. RSVP here. Allan Rosenfield Building, Hess Commons. (Just Societies)

5 –  6:30 p.m.
SIPA | Harriman Institute | Arnold A. Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies
Russia and Cyber: The Way Forward
Keynote remarks by Toomas Ilves ’76CC, former president of Estonia, followed by a panel discussion with Timothy Frye, Marshall D. Shulman Professor of Post-Soviet Foreign Policy; Kimberly Marten, Ann Whitney Olin Professor of Political Science; and Jason Healey, SIPA senior research scholar. Moderated by Dean Merit E. Janow. Registration required here. Italian Academy, Teatro. (Global, Data and Society)

6:30 – 8 p.m.
New York Society for Ethical Culture
Ethics in Action: Climate Change and NYC
University Professor Jeffrey Sachs will discuss the reality and ethical dimensions of climate change—including how New York City can align with the Paris Agreement and decarbonize its energy—with one of the world’s leading climate scientists, James Hansen, former director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies. RSVP here. 2 West 64th Street, New York Society for Ethical Culture. (Climate Response)

March 6
6:30 – 7:30 p.m.
Graduate School of Journalism | Delacorte Lecture
Fact-Checking with Peter Canby from The New Yorker
In an era of “alternative facts,” Peter Canby, senior editor at The New Yorker and long-time chief of its fact-checking department, will discuss the magazine’s fact-checking process, how it’s changed over time, and what challenges it presents to writers, editors, and fact-checkers themselves. Keith Gessen, Delacorte professor, will join the conversation. Pulitzer Hall, Room 607B.

6:30 – 9 p.m.
School of Professional Studies | Office of Student Affairs
Voices From Inside America’s Mass System of Punishment: The Freeing Power of Higher Education
Community Scholars Lecture with Vivian Nixon, executive director of College and Community Fellowship (CCF) and Columbia University Community Scholar. Low Library.  (Just Societies)

March 8
6 – 8 p.m.
School of Professional Studies | Strategic Communication Workshop
The Virtual Reality Revolution – Dawn of a New Medium
What can we learn from the past as we look to the future? How do we escape a lifetime of traditional media consumption and explore a new medium with open minds and minimal preconceptions? Niko Chauls, director of applied technology for the USA Today Network, will explore the nexus of new technologies and storytelling. RSVP here. Faculty House, Skyline Ballroom. (Data and Society)

For RSVP, ticket availability, and other details, follow the links. We always appreciate hearing from you about future events.

Across the board–from understanding Islam to global health, cyberbullying to mind and body–Columbia is “fostering a better conversation.” Be sure to invite alumni and prospects as guests and share your stories.

REMINDERS

February 22: Precision Public Health and Moving Forward: A Discussion of the 2016 Election and What’s Next
February 23: Complex Issues: Triangle of Resistance

PICKS

February 21
6 – 7:15 p.m.
University Programs and Events | Columbia Global Centers
Fostering a Better Conversation and Understanding of Islam: The Vital Role of Media
This World Leaders Forum program features an address by Vuslat Doğan Sabancı ’96SIPA. Sabancı will share her perspectives on the critical role that the media plays in overcoming misconceptions of Islam and advancing better conversations. Followed by a discussion with President Lee C. Bollinger and a Q&A  session with the audience. Registration required here. Low Library, Rotunda. (Just Societies)

February 23
6 – 8 p.m.
NASDAQ Educational Foundation | SIPA
Google Sidewalk Labs: How does Technology Enrich the Public Realm?
Sidewalk Labs is a new type of company founded by Alphabet Inc. and Google that works with cities to build products addressing big urban problems. Features a discussion with Rohit Aggarwala ’93CC ’98GSAS ’00BUS ’02GSAS, adjunct research scholar at SIPA and chief policy officer at Sidewalk Labs; Noelle Francois, CEO of Heat Seek NYC; Miguel Gamiño Jr., CTO of NYC. Morningside Campus, Faculty House. (Data and Society)

March 2
4:30 – 6 p.m.
Mailman | Department of Health Policy and Management
Book Launch: Governing Global Health: Who Runs the World and Why?
A launch for a new book by Chelsea Clinton ’10PH, vice chair of the Clinton Foundation, and Devi Sridhar, professor of global public health at the University of Edinburgh. Lecture followed by a Q&A with the audience and reception. RSVP here. 104 Haven Ave., Roy and Diana Vagelos Education Center, Room 401. (Global)

March 2–5
Center for Justice
2017 Beyond the Bars Conference: Transcending the Punishment Paradigm
What are the root causes of violence within communities? What is needed to makes communities safe? What are the existing narratives about people who have committed violent acts? When violence happens in the community, what are responses that decrease mass criminalization and incarceration and do not rely on the punishment paradigm? Speakers from various fields will be in discussion. Registration will open here on February 17. (Just Societies)

March 6
4:15 – 6:15 p.m.
Seminars in Society and Neuroscience
Neuroscience in the Body: Perspectives at the Periphery
From the perspective of Ayurveda, Chinese medicine, and the science of touch, discussants will consider the physiological environments in which neurons are embedded. Includes Narendra S. Bhatt, adjunct professor at BVDU College of Ayurveda in India; Ellen A. Lumpkin, co-director of the Thompson Family Foundation Initiative in CIPN and sensory neuroscience; and Peter Wayne, associate professor of medicine at the Harvard Clinical and Translational Science Center. Moderated by Lan A. Li, presidential scholar in society and neuroscience. Buell Hall, Maison Française. (Future of Neuroscience)

6:30 – 8 p.m.
School of Social Work
Signs, Signals, and Symbols: Suicide, Cyberbullying, and Social Media
For the 2017 Austin Lecture, Jonathan Singer, founder and host of the award-winning Social Work Podcast, will explore how changes in communications technology have affected how youth articulate their thoughts and feelings. Joined in conversation by Desmond Patton, assistant professor of Social Work, and Elisabeth Counselman-Carpenter, lecturer. Registration required here. Dr. Carol H. Meyer Room 311/312. (Data and Society)

For RSVP, ticket availability, and other details, follow the links. We always appreciate hearing from you about future events.

Intelligent cars and intelligent discussants. Enjoy, and be sure to invite alumni and prospects as guests and share your stories.

REMINDERS

February 13: A Son Confronts His Father’s Death
February 22: Precision Public Health and Moving Forward: A Discussion of the 2016 Election and What’s Next
February 23: Complex Issues: Triangle of Resistance

SNEAK PEAK

March 2 – 5
Center for Justice
2017 Beyond the Bars Conference: Transcending the Punishment Paradigm
What are the root causes of violence within communities? What is needed to makes communities safe? What are the existing narratives about people who have committed violent acts? When violence happens in the community, what are responses that decrease mass criminalization and incarceration and do not rely on the punishment paradigm? Speakers from various fields will be in discussion. Registration will open here on February 17. (Just Societies)

PICKS

February 14
6 – 7 p.m.
Columbia University Libraries
Driverless: Intelligent Cars and the Road Ahead
A book talk with Hod Lipson, professor in mechanical engineering, and technology journalist Melba Kurman. RSVP here. Northwest Corner Building, Science and Engineering Library.

February 15
1 p.m.
GSAPP
The First 100 Days: Day 27
What is the role of architecture as a tool for grassroots mobilization and critical resistance? How are architects and designers engaging and empowering local communities to have a voice in urban design and policy? Speakers will present how design thinking and skills can visualize, represent, and play a critical role in shifting or creating pressure on public policy. Moderated by David Smiley, assistant director of the urban design program. Avery Hall, Ware Lounge. (Just Societies)

February 16
6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
Columbia Space Initiative
Apollo Exploration: To the Moon and Back
Charlie Duke, a former NASA astronaut who was the 10th man to walk on the moon, will give a talk. Teachers College, 147 Horace Mann Hall, Cowin Auditorium.

February 20
6 p.m.
Harriman Institute
Killing Memory: Ethnic Cleansing, Genocide, and the Targeting of Cultural Heritage in the Balkan Wars of the 1990s
András Riedlmayer, director of the Documentation Center of the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at Harvard University, will discuss the nexus between the protection of cultural heritage and human rights in time of armed conflict, and the legal and practical challenges of bringing to justice those responsible for crimes against culture. International Affairs Building, Marshall D. Shulman Seminar Room 1219. (Just Societies, Global Solutions)

March 1
5 – 7 p.m.
School of Professional Studies
Narrative Medicine Rounds: Writing about Extraordinary Psychological States
New Yorker staff writer Rachel Aviv will talk about reporting on extraordinary medical conditions. Aviv often writes about psychiatry and bioethics and has written articles on euthanasia, psychosis, addiction, and crime. Faculty Club of CUMC, P&S, 630 W. 168th St., 4th floor.

For RSVP, ticket availability, and other details, follow the links. We always appreciate hearing from you about future events.

A snow-day special: two events, one rescheduled, the other just remarkable enough to highlight. Dig out and enjoy! Invite your alumni and prospect guests, and remember to submit events, and share your event stories here.

PICKS

February 10
(rescheduled from February 9)
4 – 6 p.m.
Women Creating Change | Center for the Study of Social Difference
Refugees and Gender Violence: Vulnerability and Resistance
Part of the Reframing Gendered Violence series, a two­-year initiative bringing together scholars, artists, and activists to examine broadly what constitutes gendered violence. View location here. (Just Societies)

February 12
7 – 9 p.m.
Columbia Law School | Broadway Advocacy Coalition
The Invitation: The People v. Hate
What makes us hate? How does volatile and divisive rhetoric influence a nation and the actions of its people? Can fear mongering drive a person to commit an act of hate? Panelists discuss these questions in a monthly series promoting civic education, community outreach, self-care, social equality, unity, and social change. Features Tony Award-winning playwright and SoA faculty David Henry Hwang and Bernard Harcourt, Isidor and Seville Sulzbacher Professor of Law. Register here. International Affairs Building, Altschul Auditorium, Room 417. (Just Societies)

For RSVP, ticket availability, and other details, follow the links. We always appreciate hearing from you about future events.

Art, health, politics, race, ethics, and finance—justice in every sphere is on the agenda—in America, and at Columbia. Invite your alumni and prospect guests, and remember to submit events, and share your event stories here.

REMINDERS

February 8: 13th – Film Screening and Discussion
February 9: Precision Medicine, Privacy, and Family Relations
February 9 – 12: 7th Annual Athena Film Festival: A Celebration of Women and Leadership
February 11: Saturday Science: Meet the Brain
February 16: Science-on-Hudson: Extreme Weather and Climate Change (please note date change)

PICKS

February 9
4:15 – 6 p.m.
Women Creating Change | Center for the Study of Social Difference
Refugees and Gender Violence: Vulnerability and Resistance
Part of the Reframing Gendered Violence series, a two­-year initiative bringing together scholars, artists, and activists to examine broadly what constitutes gendered violence. Butler Library, Room 523. (Just Societies)

6 – 8 p.m.
CUMC Black History Month Program
Medical Apartheid
A lecture with Harriet A. Washington ’13JRN medical ethicist and author of Infectious Madness:The Surprising Science of How We “Catch” Mental Illness and Medical Apartheid:The Dark History of Experimentation from Colonial Times to the Present. 50 Haven Avenue, Bard Hall, Lounge, 1st floor. (Just Societies)

6:30 – 8 p.m.
New York Society for Ethical Culture
Ethics in Action: Ethics and Wall Street
Has Wall Street learned its lesson following the 2008 financial crisis? University Professor Jeffrey Sachs, author of the new book Building the New American Economy, will lead a panel of financial and legal experts. Includes Ari Melber, MSNBC chief legal correspondent; Sheelah Kolhatkar, New Yorker writer; Jed Rakoff, US district judge for the Southern District of New York and adjunct professor at Columbia Law School; Bob Ivry, staff reporter for Bloomberg News. RSVP here. 2 West 64th Street, New York Society for Ethical Culture.

February 22
4 – 5:30 p.m.
Mailman | Office of the Dean
Precision Public Health
A Dean’s Grand Rounds with Andrea Baccarelli, chair and Leon Hess Professor of Environmental Health Sciences, and Susan Desmond-Hellman, CEO of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Livestreamed here. Alumni Auditorium, Physicians & Surgeons, 630 West 168th St. (Precision Medicine)

5 – 7 p.m.
Institute for Research in African-American Studies | Office of Vice Provost for Faculty Diversity and Inclusion
Moving Forward: A Discussion of the 2016 Election and What’s Next
A discussion of race and rights featuring Ta-Nehisi Coates, national correspondent for The Atlantic; Jelani Cobb, J-school professor and New Yorker writer; Nikole Hannah Jones, investigative journalist at The New York Times; Patricia J. Williams, James L. Dohr Professor of Law; and moderated by Samuel Kelton Roberts, director of the Institute for Research in African-American Studies. RSVP here. Miller Theatre. (Just Societies)

February 23
1 p.m.
Complex Issues | School of the Arts
Triangle of Resistance
Miya Masaoka, MFA sound arts director, will discuss her acclaimed album Triangle of Resistance, influenced by the experience of her family during WWII in the Japanese-American internment camps. Masaoka will be joined in conversation by Tom Kalin, SoA film program professor. The Complex Issues series explores difference, visibility, and representation through recent work by Columbia faculty. RSVP here. Dodge Hall, the LeRoy Neiman Gallery. (Just Societies)

For RSVP, ticket availability, and other details, follow the links. We always appreciate hearing from you about future events.