WHAT: Parkland College Meet the Pros featuring: Jeff Adams, software developer for Wolfram Research and LetterMPress
WHEN: Wednesday, March 7 @ 12 noon
WHERE: Room C118, Parkland College (see the map here)
A statement from Mr. Adams from the event announcement:
I started in Physics, getting my bachelor’s degree close by at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. However, I realized in my last few years in college that software development might actually be what inspires me the most.
I moved to Champaign to start a PhD in Physics but found a quick way out by joining Wolfram Research and working on Mathematica for a number of years, off and on (and off and on again). Since then, I have worked on other projects locally with Precision Graphics and OJC Technologies (now Pixo), as well as across the country with UBS and Lockheed Martin, among others. I am currently privileged to work with John Bonadies on the development of LetterMpress, an application that recreates the letterpress experience on a Macintosh or iPad.
I have been very lucky to have spent much of my life around artistic people, family, friends and colleagues and have found the most rewarding and successful software projects combine the proper mix of technical and artistic excellence.
WHAT: “Trends in Multi-Source, Multi-Use Water Harvesting and Greywater Harvesting and System Scoping and Design,” John R. Bauer, President, Wahaso: Water Harvesting Solutions, Inc.
WHEN: Tuesday, March 6 @ 12 noon
WHERE: Illinois Sustainable Technology Center, One E. Hazelwood Dr., Champaign
From the event announcement: “The days of limitless, inexpensive municipal water are coming to an end. The cost and availability of fresh water is seen as the next most important crisis in our country after energy. According to Fortune magazine, ‘water promises to be to the 21st century what oil was to the 20th.’ Yet every day commercial properties use billions of gallons of potable water to flush toilets, water landscaping and cool the air. There is growing interest in onsite water reuse systems that capture, treat, store and recycle rainwater, greywater, stormwater and other sources to flush toilets, irrigate landscaping, make-up cooling tower water and other non-potable uses.”
WHAT: “Talking (Back to) Beauty: (How) Can a Feminist Have a Conversation with the Cosmetics Industry?” Professor Alma Gottlieb
WHEN: Wednesday, March 7 @ 4:30 p.m.
WHERE: Spurlock Museum Auditorium, 600 S. Gregory St., Urbana
From the event announcement: “What is beauty? Who gets to define it? Since 1983, UIUC Prof. Alma Gottlieb–a cultural anthropologist–has challenged UIUC students in her classes to consider these questions from critical perspectives. Now she has a chance to take her critiques to the “beauty makers.” Next month in Paris, Prof. Gottlieb will give an invited talk to global executives of L’Oreal, the world’s largest maker of cosmetics. Prof. Gottlieb will use the occasion to urge a feminist, anthropological, and sustainable approach to L’Oreal. Challenging the company to think more broadly about their cultural assumptions about beauty, she hopes to inspire industry executives to use their position to promote products that can sustain environmental, social, and emotional health. Come listen to an early version of her talk, followed by a panel discussion, and give Prof. Gottlieb feedback about how to take her message to L’Oreal!”
WHAT: “In Treatment: Psychiatry and the Archives of Modern Sexuality,” Regina Kunzel, University of Minnesota
WHEN: Thursday, March 8 @ 4 p.m.
WHERE: Knight Auditorium, Spurlock Museum, 600 S. Gregory St., Urbana
Listen Up’s ongoing efforts to increase pageviews continues with links to ever-more provocative events, such as Dr. Kunzel’s, which is rumored to have been banned in Brainerd.
WHAT: “Money, Migration and Work for Peruvian Laborers in South Korea,” Erica Vogel, University of Illinois
WHEN: Thursday, March 8 @ 12 noon
WHERE: 101 International Studies Building, 910 S. Fifth Street, Champaign
You live near a major university and a community college. There are smart people that come here every week to talk to the general public about interesting topics. Perhaps you were not aware of this fact, or were overwhelmed by the sheer number of opportunities for possible enlightenment. If that’s the case, Smile Politely understands and is here to help. Here are several events going on in town this week. Check out one or more of them if you have time. Get your learn on, as they say, and join the cognoscenti. It’s free, you know. Plus, sometimes there’s free food, too!
If you have a community event, speaker, or film event that you’d like to see featured on Listen Up!, send the event information to joelgillespie [at] smilepolitely [dot] com by Friday the week prior to the event. Listen Up! runs on Tuesdays when classes are in session.