The NYU Abu Dhabi Institute is pleased to announce an exceptional program of talks and screenings free of charge and open to the public throughout the month of January.
Beginning January 13, the program of events places a special focus on the inclusion of those with disabilities, and covers a wide range of topics such as climate change, cosmology, statistical genetics, evolution, and genomics-based healthcare, among others.
Notable speakers include UAE Minister of State for Public Education Her Excellency Jameela Al Muhairi; UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment His Excellency Dr. Thani Al Zeyoudi; Director of Communications, Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund (DREDF) and founder of #SayTheWord movement Lawrence Carter-Long; and Archaeologist at the Historic Environment Department, Department of Culture and Tourism (DCT) Richard Cuttler, alongside distinguished faculty from local and international universities.
Established in 2008 as a center of advanced research, scholarly, and creative activity in Abu Dhabi, The Institute assembles academics, professionals, and leaders from around the world to its academic conferences and public program to discuss research areas and topics of local and global significance.
Public events throughout the month of January will include:
(1) Education Equity: Leading the Inclusion Revolution
Talk
January 13, 2019
Location: NYUAD Campus, Conference Center
Building an inclusive society where all children learn together and participate equitably hinges on providing inclusion for all. Join us to discuss international trends and best practices in inclusion for children with disabilities. This talk explores relevant theories, supports and strategies of how society can best support children across the full spectrum of learning and emotional needs in the classroom and community.
Speakers
Her Excellency Jameela Al Muhairi, Minister of State for Public Education for the UAE | Lawrence Carter Long, Director of Communications, Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund (DREDF) and Director, Disability & Media Alliance Project | Kristie Patten Koenig, Associate Professor of Occupational Therapy; Department Chair, NYU Steinhardt |
Janet Njelesani, Assistant Professor of Occupational Therapy, NYU Steinhardt | Stephen Shore, Autistic Professor of Special Education, Adelphi University
(2) ARCTIC. LAST FRONTIER™: Forum on Climate Change
Talk
January 14, 2019
Location: NYUAD Campus, Conference Center
This panel discussion on Climate Change brings together world-wide renowned representatives of international Organization as well as international institutions at the helm of research on climate change will debate on one of the most crucial topics of this era: Climate change, sustainability, and the relationship between humans, animals and their territory. The panel is a necessary completion on a scientific basis relating to the exhibition of three outstanding international photographers focused on the Arctic regions, hosted in the NYUAD Institute from 10th of January.
Speakers
Konrad Steffen, Director, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research; Professor of Climate and Cryosphere, ETH Zurich Catia Tomasetti, Partner, BonelliErede, Rome | David Holland, Professor of Mathematics, Center for Atmosphere Ocean Science, Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, NYU; Affiliated Faculty and Principal Investigator for the Center for Sea Level Change, NYUAD | Stefano Pogutz, Tenured Researcher & Professor of Management and Corporate Sustainability, SDA Bocconi School of Management, Bocconi University, Milan
(3) Cosmology Today: Methods, Achievements, and Limits
Talk
January 15, 2019
Location: NYUAD Campus, Conference Center
Scientific cosmology is based on an intricate interplay between theory and observation. There has been an extraordinary flood of data enabled by new technology and a variety of new telescopes that has enabled determination of a remarkable Standard Model of Cosmology that is generally agreed. In that model, there is an intricate interaction of bottom up and top down causation. Local physics everywhere determines the large scale evolution of the universe in a bottom up way; that evolution acts in a top-down way to determine outcomes of local physics, which enable the universe to provide habitats for life such as the Solar System. This talk examines scientific cosmology with respect to scope of the above topics.
Speaker
George Ellis, Emeritus Distinguished Professor of Complex Systems, Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics, University of Cape Town
(4) How to Tame a Fox and Build a Dog
Talk
January 21, 2019
Location: NYUAD Campus, Conference Center
For the last six decades a dedicated team of researchers in Siberia has been domesticating silver foxes to replay the evolution of the dog in real time. Lyudmila Trut has been lead scientist on this work since 1959, and together with biologist and historian of science, Lee Dugatkin, she tells the inside story of the science, politics, adventure and love behind it all. Like a set of Russian nesting dolls, How to Tame a Fox {and Build a Dog} opens up to reveal story after story, each embedded within the one that preceded it.
Speaker
Lee Dugatkin, Distinguished University Scholar and Professor of Biology, University of Louisville; Author of “How to Tame a Fox and Build a Dog” (The University of Chicago Press, 2017)
(5) Genomics Based Healthcare: A New Reality
Talk
January 23, 2019
Location: NYUAD Campus, Conference Center
As the era of precision medicine is upon us and more patients are having genetic sequencing performed, we need to be able to utilize this genomic data to improve health. How can we effectively incorporate this new type of information into a healthcare system to support patient care? This talk addresses the challenges and benefits of integrating genomic information into patient care through discussion of research and innovative care models being developed for genomics at Geisinger Health Systems.
Speaker
Nephi Walton, MD; Assistant Professor of Genomic Medicine, Geisinger Health Systems
(6) The Submerged World of the Arabian Gulf
Talk
January 28, 2019
Location: NYUAD Campus, Conference Center
The seabed around the world has proven to be an archaeological treasure trove, consistently yielding items that are rewriting history books and filling museums. The Arabian Gulf has one of the longest and richest seafaring traditions anywhere in the world. Prior to 8,000 years ago sea levels were considerably lower and the land to the north of the Emirates was an open and potentially fertile landscape. This landscape is an untapped resource, offering the prospect of not only ancient wrecks, but discoveries from the distant prehistoric submerged landscape of Abu Dhabi. This talk delves into the intricacies surrounding the Arabian Gulf as it relates its’ position as an archaeological treasure.
Speaker
Richard Cuttler, Archaeologist, Historic Environment Department, Department of Culture and Tourism (DCT)
(7) Quantum Mechanics and the Nature of Spacetime
Talk
January 30, 2019
The understanding of the universe has taken great leaps in the early 20th century due to the discovery of general relativity and quantum mechanics changing our conception of the very nature of matter, space, and time. Much research has centered on the interesting interplay between the surprising and counter-intuitive features of quantum mechanics and the beautiful geometric interpretation of gravity due to Einstein’s theory of general relativity. This talk discusses a dramatic recent connection between these two descriptions relating the notion of quantum entanglement to that of wormholes bridging distant regions of spacetime.
Speaker
Ahmed Almheiri, Member of the School of Natural Sciences, institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse
