2022
South Side Science Festival
11:00 am–6:00 pm UChicago Sciences Quad
The University of Chicago invites you to explore the fascinating world of science at the first annual South Side Science Festival, held on Saturday, September 17, 2022, from 11:00am until 6:00pm, at the UChicago Science Quads. This free festival will feature an afternoon and evening of fun science, inspiring exchanges, live experiments and demonstrations, food, and music! All ages are welcome!
2022 Convocation
All day
The 2022 University of Chicago Convocation will be held on Saturday, June 4. The University wide ceremony will be held on the Main Quadrangle at 9:15 a.m. CDT. The Physical Sciences Division will host two in-person diploma ceremonies: Ph.D. Graduate Diploma and Hooding Ceremony from 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. at the Logan Center for the Arts and the Master’s Graduate Diploma Ceremony from 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. at David Rubenstein Forum.
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Virtual Harper Lecture: Beyond Our Sun
7:00–8:00 pm Virtual
In December, NASA launched the James Webb Space Telescope, the most powerful telescope ever to be sent into space. It is currently being commissioned in preparation for science operations, which are expected to begin in July 2022. Join Jacob L. Bean to learn about the telescope; its launch, deployment, and current status; and the fascinating extrasolar planet science that is to come.
Origins of Life Speaker Series: John Sutherland
3:45 pm Kent 120 or Zoom
Origins of the RNA-Protein World – Lost in Translation?
The RNA-protein double act at the heart of biology raises several intriguing origins questions that can be addressed by prebiotic chemistry. Beyond the obvious ‘which came first?’, one can also wonder about the extent to which chemistry shaped the process of translation according to the genetic code. In this lecture I will describe some mixed hydrogen cyanide-hydrogen sulfide chemistry that produces nucleotides and amino acids. Some degree of control is necessary for this ‘cyanosulfidic’ chemistry to proceed most efficiently and ways in which environmental factors could exercise this control will be suggested. Synergies in the assembly of nucleotide and amino acid building blocks into higher order structures will then be discussed as will experimental hints of a previously proposed second genetic code. Finally, it will be shown how the strength of codon-anticodon binding likely influenced the partial initial assignment of the primary genetic code.
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Brinson Lecture with Carlos Frenck
6:00–7:00 pm Eckhardt Research Complex
Prof. Carlos Frenk of the University of Durham will deliver the annual Brinson Lecture on May 17 at 6 PM: “How our universe was made: all from nothing”
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Inaugural Data Science Institute Summit
2:00–5:00 pm Friedman Hall
The inaugural Data Science Institute Summit will feature the UChicago vision for data science and sessions on DSI research programs, such as AI + Science, Internet Access and Equity, and Data and Democracy, as well as education and outreach partnerships with the City Colleges of Chicago, minority-serving institutions, and the 11th Hour Project.
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Harper Lectures: The Ethical and Societal Impact of AI, Data, and Computing: A Conversation with CS Faculty
5:30–8:00 pm Rubenstein Forum
The Ethical and Societal Impact of AI, Data, and Computing: A Conversation with Computer Science Faculty members Marshini Chetty, Aloni Cohen, Michael Franklin, Blase Ur, and Heather Zheng
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Dean's Salon Series: Speech and the Soul with Sanjay Krishnan, Computer Science
6:00–7:30 pm online
Speech and the Soul: Language, Artificial Intelligence, and the Mind. Join Dean Anne Walters Robertson for a conversation with Allyson Ettinger, Sanjay Krishnan, David Schloen, and Malte Willer about what artificial intelligence can and cannot tell us about what it is to be human.
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HLX Group: A Day in the Life with Angela Olinto
12:00–1:00 pm Online
The UChicago Hispanic LatinX (HLX) Resource Group is hosting “A Day in the Life” — a lunchtime conversation with PSD Dean Angela Olinto, who is from Brazil.
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Symposium for Teaching with Technology
Through April 21, 2022 online
From 1-5:30 PM each day, view presentations and discussions by faculty and instructors about the ways in which they are integrating technology into their teaching. They will share how they are engaging with students in new ways both online and in the classroom.