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.