Commencement is May 17. See honorary degree recipients, CAA Alumni Medalists, and other honorees here. Below, some Commencement Picks.

With Commencement and the calming of University calendars, we’re taking a bit of a summer break. Remember to wear sunscreen and to keep picking your own Columbia events using the University events calendar and our Jerry’s Picks DIY Sources.

REMINDERS

May 9: Up for Air film screening
May 11: Space, Time, and Reality

SNEAK PEAK

June 2 – August 20
Wallach Art Gallery
Uptown
Inaugurating the first summer exhibition of the Wallach Art Gallery at its new home in the Lenfest Center for the Arts, Uptown presents a survey of contemporary artists who live and work in Harlem, El Barrio, Washington Heights, and all areas in between. Curated by Deborah Cullen, director and chief curator. 615 West 129th Street in Manhattanville.

CLASS DAY PICKS
Events with announced speakers listed below

May 13                                                          
4 – 6 p.m.                                             .
GSAPP
Speaker: Dean Amale Andraos. Tickets required. More information here. Morningside Campus, South Lawn.

May 15                                                    
5 – 7:30 p.m.
Engineering
Speaker: Kai Fu Lee ’83CC, venture capitalist and former president of Google Greater China. Tickets required. More information here. Morningside Campus, South Lawn.

May 16
9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Columbia College
Speaker: Sheena Wright ’90CC ’94LAW, CEO and president of United Way of New York City. Tickets required. More information here. Morningside Campus, South Lawn.

10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Nursing
Speaker: Kenneth A. Forde, Jose M. Ferrer Professor of Surgery Emeritus Columbia University and College of Physicians and Surgeons trustee. RSVP required. More information here. The New Balance Track and Field Center at The Armory, 216 Fort Washington Avenue at West 168th Street.

4 p.m.
Mailman
Speaker: Ertharin Cousin, executive director of the United Nations World Food Programme. Tickets required. More information here. 216 Fort Washington Avenue at West 168th Street, New Balance Track and Field Center at The Armory.

May 17
2 p.m.
College of Physicians and Surgeons
Speaker: University Professor Wafaa El-Sadr, Mathilde Krim-amfAR Chair of Global Health. No tickets required. More information here. The Armory, 216 Fort Washington Avenue at West 168th Street.

May 18
3:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
SIPA
Speaker: David Miliband, president and CEO of the International Rescue Committee. Tickets required. More information here. Morningside campus, South Lawn.

OUR PICKS

May 10
12 – 1:30 p.m.
Columbia Global
Human Slavery and Trafficking in Conflict Zone
A discussion with Lucy Usoyan, president of the Ezidi Relief Fund; Thomas Wheeler, senior policy advisor of development and human rights at the United Kingdom Mission to the United Nations; James Cockayne, head of office at the United Nations University; and facilitated by David L. Phillips, director of program on peace-building and rights. International Affairs Building, 420 W. 118th Street, Room 1302. (Global)

May 10
5:30 – 7:30 p.m.
CUMC | Health Science Library | National Library of Science | Knowledge Center
African Americans in Civil War Medicine
Many histories have been written about medical care during the Civil War, but the participation and contributions of African Americans as nurses, surgeons, and hospital workers has often been overlooked. A lecture by the distinguished historian and professor Margaret Humphreys. 701 W. 168 Street, Hammer Health Sciences Center, Knowledge Center, Lobby level.

May 11
4 – 5:30 p.m.
Data Science Institute
How the New Availability of Urban and Industrial Data are Impacting Our World from Public Safety to Jet Engines
A Data Science Institute-Industry-Innovation Seminar with Peter Marx, vice president of advanced projects and GE digital adjunct professor at USC. Marx will discuss how newly available data from cities and industry, from sensing and activities, and from transactions and services are driving change across our world. Schapiro Hall, Costa Engineering Commons, Room 750. (Data and Society)

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

 

The future is very much present in these semester–ending Picks. Enjoy and remember to share your story.
COMMENCEMENT PREVIEW

Commencement is coming with some great class day speakers! Check here for speaker information as they are announced.

REMINDERS

May 3: Narrative Medicine Rounds: Person Place Thing, A Conversation with Harriet A. Washington and Randy Cohen
May 4: Collaborating for Change: A New Vision of Climate Adaptation
May 9: Up for Air Screening

PICKS

May 2
6 – 7:30 p.m.
Center on Global Energy Policy
New York’s Renewable Energy Future
Jason Bordoff, founding director of the Center on Global Energy Policy, will moderate a conversation with a group of distinguished speakers on the future of renewable energy in New York. Includes Richard Kauffman, chairman of energy and finance for New York, and Vijay Modi, professor of mechanical engineering and director of infrastructure programs at the Millennium Villages Project. Reception to follow. Registration required here. Livestreamed here. Faculty House. (Climate Response)

May 3
1 – 2 p.m.
SIPA
Change and Chaos in the New Digital Age
Jared Cohen, CEO of Jigsaw at Alphabet Inc., will talk about the new digital age, covering everything from global politics to economics to security. Followed by a fireside chat with Dean Merit E. Janow. RSVP here. International Affairs Building, Room 1501. (Data and Society)

5:30 – 8 p.m.
Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma
Telling Hard Stories: 2017 Dart Awards Celebration and Winners’ Roundtable
A reception, awards presentation, and roundtable discussion celebrating the 2017 Dart Award winners. Honorees will illuminate the questions of craft, ethics, and storytelling in their work, and explore innovative best practices in humane reporting on violence and tragedy. Featuring Jay Allison, editor and founder of Transom.org; Samantha Broun, reporter and producer at Transom.org; Erin Alberty, reporter at The Salt Lake Tribune; Rachel Piper, writer and digital editor at The Salt Lake Tribune; and moderated by Bruce Shapiro, executive director of the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma. Pulitzer Hall, World Room. (Global, Just Societies)

May 5
8:30 a.m. – 7 p.m.
SIPA | The Data Science Institute | Columbia Institute for Tele-Information
The 2017 Global Digital Futures Forum: A Fragmented Internet?
This year’s Global Digital Futures Policy Forum will focus on this tension between the internet and globalization. Keynote address by Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of Alphabet Inc. RSVP here.  Italian Academy, Teatro. (Global)

8 – 10 p.m.
Astronomy Department
Public Lecture and Stargazing: Exoplanets Through the Ages
Intelligent life took around 3 billion years to emerge on the Earth, but is this “typical”? Could other intelligent civilizations evolve faster? Ruth Angus, postdoctoral researcher,  will discuss how we measure the ages of stars and what we can learn about the evolution of exoplanets (and life) when we do. Includes a Q&A session, astrophotography slideshows, and an observatory tour, followed by guided stargazing with telescopes (weather permitting). Pupin Hall. (Data and Society)

May 11
7 – 8 p.m.
Nevis Science Center
Space, Time, and Reality
One hundred years ago, Albert Einstein revolutionized our understanding of space and time. Research in our era has pushed this further, even hinting at the quantum threads that may stitch the spacetime fabric together. Brian Greene, professor of physics and mathematics and director of the Columbia Center for Theoretical Physics, will discuss these ideas and visualize them. Reception to follow. RSVP here. Science Center at Nevis Laboratories, Irvington, New York, 136 S. Broadway.

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