Fall 2011 Honors Colloquium

Tuesday evenings, 7:30 p.m.
September – December 2011
Edwards Auditorium, URI Kingston Campus

Join us! The public is invited to attend this series of free events in person or online.

Watch Live

Overview: The Future from 10,000 Feet

September 13 Inventor and futurist Ray Kurzweil on exponential growth and its consequences. Cosponsored by the Harrington School of Communication and Media.Student Produced Trailer

September 20 Author and futurist Peter Schwartz on the interplay of geopolitics and technology in the future.

September 27 Three-time Hugo award-winning science fiction author Vernor Vinge on what sci-fi writers know about the future.

The Technologies

October 4 Director of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine and urologistAnthony Atala on making new organs, now and in the future.Student Produced Trailer

October 11 Bioengineer and MacArthur Fellow Jim Collins on Synthetic Biology: Life Redesigned.

October 18 URI professor and nanotechnologist Jason Dwyer on current and future trends in nanotechnology. Cosponsored by the College of Arts and Sciences.Student Produced Trailer

October 25 Technologist James Bellingham, hurricane researcher Joseph Cione and roboticist Chris Roman - a panel discussion on the use of drones and robots to study the ocean, the atmosphere and their coupling.

November 1 Biological engineer and brain and cognitive scientist Ed Boyden on enhancing the brain - past, present and future.Student Produced Trailer

Societal Consequences

November 8 Cognitive scientist Deb Roy and media researcher Johanna Blakley in a panel on social media. Cosponsored by the Harrington School of Communication and Media.

November 15 Cyber security expert Richard Clarke on cyberwarfare. Cosponsored by the Office of the Vice President for Administration and Finance.Student Produced Trailer

November 22 Thanksgiving week, no lecture.

November 29 Director of the Center for Bioethics, Science and Society at Northwestern University Laurie Zoloth on ethics and genetics. Cosponsored by the College of Arts and Sciences.

Final Presentation: We are the Future

December 6 A presentation by the Honors Colloquium students on their envisioned future as informed by the 2011 Honors Colloquium course and lectures.