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Alumni & Families Weekend

Friday, October 18 - Sunday, October 20, 2024

Best of GW Faculty Lectures

Saturday, September 30, 11am - 1pm | Various Locations

Immerse yourself in the GW classroom experience at our Best of GW lectures. Join our world-renowned faculty for our most engaging, student-favorite lectures. We've got a fantastic lineup of lectures planned! AFW attendees are welcome to attend any lecture, regardless of school affiliation.

 

  • 11:00 AM

  • A Solution to the Access to Justice Crisis: How paralegals are closing the gap (CPS)

    • Featuring Professor Mary Kate Hunter, GW Paralegal Studies Program, College of Professional Studies
    • Saturday, September 30, 11am | University Student Center, Room 309, 800 21st Street, NW
    • The US is experiencing an access to justice crisis that afflicts an astonishing number of low- and middle-income Americans. Professor Mary Kate Hunter of the GW Paralegal Studies program will discuss how licensed paralegals are closing the gap in access to justice and will outline the path to a challenging and rewarding career for those who are up for the challenge.

  • The Uyghur Cultural Genocide: Why the World Should Care (ESIA)

    • Featuring: Dr. Sean R. Roberts, Professor of Practice, Director of International Development Studies, Elliott School of International Affairs
    • Saturday, September 30, 11-11:30am | Harry Harding Auditorium, Room 213, 1957 E Street, NW
    • Professor Roberts will examine the background to what is happening to ethnic Uyghurs inside the People’s Republic of China, a situation that the U.S. government has designated a “genocide.” After acquainting the audience with the facts, he will discuss why this should be important to the world at large. The lecture is based on Dr. Roberts’ research, which is available in the well-received Princeton University Press book, The War on the Uyghurs: China’s Campaign Against a Muslim Minority (2020).

  • Strategies for Effective Virtual Communication in the Digital Age (GWSB)

    • Featuring: Dr. N. Sharon Hill, Professor of Management, School of Business
    • Saturday, September 30, 11am | Kendall Auditorium, Room 151, Duquès Hall, 2201 G Street, NW
    • Communication using technology (e.g., email, phone, video conference) rather than face-to-face has become the mainstay of today’s workplace, and virtual communication will grow even more prevalent with the increase in remote and hybrid work. However, research points to several challenges that can undermine effective virtual communication, with negative consequences such as increased conflict and reduced trust. In this presentation, Dr. Hill will discuss specific strategies based on her research for overcoming the challenges of communicating virtually in the increasingly digital age.

  • Unfair Air (GWSPH)

    • Featuring: Dr. Susan Anenberg, Chair, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Milken Institute School of Public Health
    • Saturday, September 30, 11am | Milken Convening Center, 950 New Hampshire Avenue, NW
    • Please join Dr. Susan Anenberg, Chair of our Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, for an interactive discussion about how big data can be used to address health disparities resulting from air pollution and climate change.

  • Human vs. Machine: AI in Transportation Engineering (SEAS)

    • Featuring: Dr. Samer Hamdar, Associate Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, School of Engineering and Applied Science
    • Saturday, September 30, 11am | Lehman Auditorium, Lower Level, B1220, Science and Engineering Hall, 800 22nd Street, NW
    • With the improvements in sensing, storage, and communication technologies, transportation has become the leading domain application that is associated with big data and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Such applications include roadway traffic detection and control, driver behavior monitoring and vehicle automation. The George Washington University Transportation Engineering Program will offer sample demonstrations of these applications that were developed by our researchers to solve some of the latest problems seen on our roadways.
  • 11:30 AM

  • George Washington's Talents: Reconsidering Our First President for Today (CCAS)

    • Featuring: Dr. Denver Brunsman, Professor of History, History Department Chair, Columbian College of Arts & Sciences
    • Saturday, September 30, 11:30am | Hammer Auditorium, Corcoran School of the Arts, Flagg Building, 500 17th Street, NW
    • In this lecture, Professor Brunsman will use the current cultural moment to reconsider our first president. While Washington’s conduct as an enslaver has rightly diminished his reputation, Professor Brunsman will share a host of other areas, many surprising, in which America’s Father and our university's namesake can still inspire and guide us.

  • The Changing Face of Globalization (ESIA)

    • Featuring: Dr. Maggie Chen, Professor of Economics and International Affairs, Elliott School of International Affairs
    • Saturday, September 30, 11:30am-12pm | Harry Harding Auditorium, Room 213, 1957 E Street, NW
    • Globalization, a pivotal force shaping our interconnected world, is undergoing substantial transformations. While the removal of trade barriers fueled periods of rapid trade growth, the recent surge in protectionism and disruptions poses challenges that threaten to reverse integration. Is globalization winding down, or can it adapt and evolve?

  • Ultrasound Stimulation of Insulin Release as a Potential Treatment for Type 2 Diabetes (SEAS)

    • Featuring: Dr. Vesna Zderic, Professor and Chair, Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering and Applied Science
    • Saturday, September 30, 11:45am - 12:15pm | Lehman Auditorium, Lower Level, B1220, Science and Engineering Hall, 800 22nd Street, NW
    • Type 2 diabetes is a complex metabolic disease that has reached epidemic proportions. Pharmacological management of type 2 diabetes routinely requires complex therapy with multiple medications, and loses its effectiveness over time. New modes of therapy are needed that can target directly the underlying causes of abnormal glucose metabolism. The objective of our research work is to explore a novel, non-pharmacological approach that utilizes the application of ultrasound energy to safely augment insulin release from pancreatic beta cells.
  • 12:00 PM

  • Techquity: Social Justice and Technology for All Backgrounds (SMHS)

    • Featuring: Drs. Rubin Roy and Maranda Ward, Department of Clinical Practice and Leadership, School of Medicine and Health Sciences
    • Saturday, September 30, 12pm | 3rd Floor Amphitheater, University Student Center, 800 21nd Street, NW
    • From self-driving cars to chatbots that seem to "know" more than ever, the power and presence of technology is increasing rapidly. Far-less discussed, but just as important, is that many of these same technologies perpetuate and reinforce systemic inequities that disproportionately affect historically marginalized communities. Join us in this presentation for all backgrounds, where we discuss what the intersection of technology and equity looks like, and what we are doing to ensure that technology is truly built for all of us.

  • U.S. Innovation and Industrial Policy: Continuity and Evolution (ESIA)

    • Featuring: Dr. Nicholas Vonortas, Associate Dean of Research, Professor of Economics and International Affairs, Elliott School of International Affairs
    • Saturday, September 30, 12-12:30pm | Harry Harding Auditorium, Room 213, 1957 E Street, NW
    • In light of the intense geopolitical and economic competition with China, the United States has been willing to violate some long-standing policy principles regarding technological advancement and innovation. Both the Trump and Biden Administrations are guilty of such diversions, which on the one hand may be justifiable and even necessary, but on the other are costly in terms of changing a well-defined system, as well as in terms of lost credibility around the world. This talk will summarize the changes, stressing the challenges facing the policy- making machinery.

  • Help is Coming (GWSPH)

    • Featuring: Dr. Ramin Asgary, Professor of Global Health and Director of the Humanitarian Health MPH Program, Milken Institute School of Public Health
    • Saturday, September 30, 12pm | Milken Convening Center, 950 New Hampshire Avenue, NW
    • Please join Dr. Asgary for an interactive discussion of the opportunities and challenges of providing humanitarian assistance in response to public health crises.

  • 12:30 PM

  • Memristor chips: Inspired by the brain, forged in the nanofab

    • Featuring: Dr. Gina Adam, Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
    • Saturday, September 30, 12:30-1pm | Lehman Auditorium, Lower Level, B1220, Science and Engineering Hall, 800 22nd Street, NW
    • The rise in artificial intelligence and other big-data applications requires exponential amounts of computing capabilities and energy-efficient hardware. Brain-inspired computing chips offer promise as the brain is orders of magnitude more efficient than the computers we have today. New types of nanoscale devices, such as memristors, can help in this quest but challenges remain regarding their design and nanofabrication. In this talk, I will summarize our efforts across the innovation stack, from new types of complex oxides and synaptic memristors to new types of prototyping systems and brain-inspired algorithms.

  • Stay tuned for details on additional lectures.