Lectures

John McLean, USGS Geologist and Hydrologist, Ret. Tuesday, October 8, 2019, 2:30-3:30 p.m. The Arizona Senior Academy Building Administered by the Bureau of Land Management, the Fort Stanton – Snowy River Cave National Conservation Area (NCA) in east-central New Mexico

Alberto Arenas, College of Education, U. of A. Thursday, October 10, 2019, 2:30-3:30 pm The Arizona Senior Academy Building Many Americans only associate Colombia with the longest continuous war of any country in the Americas. For nearly 60 years,  the

Gail Emrick, Executive Director, SEAHEC Thursday, October 3, 2:00-3:00 (note special time) Arizona Senior Academy Building  Health issues do not recognize geographic boundaries. Dealing with disease and promoting healthy living in the border region of Southeastern Arizona and Mexico requires line-crossing

Michael Cravens, Academy Village Wednesday, October 2, 2019, 2:30-3:30 p.m., The Arizona Senior Academy Building For the past century and a half, literature and popular media have given the bulk of attention to the front-line of law enforcement, from beat

Christine Blevins, Academy Village Wednesday, September 26, 2:30 – 3:30, The Arizona Senior Academy Building Most Americans with adequate medical care benefit from the wonders of modern pharmaceutical science. Many rely upon prescribed drugs to support their wellbeing, but how

Marcia Neugebauer Wednesday, September 25, 2019, 2:30 p.m., The Arizona Senior Academy building Asteroids, comets, meteors, moons – so many objects flying around us, “out there.”  Marcia Neugebauer, Research Associate at the University of Arizona’s Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, plans

Doug Hocking, historical re-enactor Thursday, September 19, 2019, 2:30 – 3:30 p.m., The Arizona Senior Academy Building Doug Hocking, an independent scholar and trained living historian, will present a personification of Colonel William Emory. During the 1846/47 conquest of New

Dr. Matthew Chojnacki, U. of A. Wednesday, September 18, 2019, 2:30-3:30 p.m., The Arizona Senior Academy Building  “Like everyone else, I leave home to go to work.  The only difference is that I work on Mars.’” That is how our speaker

Jim Turner, The Arizona Historical Societ Thursday, September 5, 2:30-3:30 p.m., The Arizona Senior Academy Building From prehistoric mammoth hunters and canal builders to Native Americans, Hispanics, Anglos, Irish, Serbians, and many others, Arizona has always been a land of

Michael Chriss Thursday, August 22, 2:30–4:30 p.m. On August 22, film buff and professional astronomer Michael Chriss will offer an “affectionate look at the way Hollywood has used and misused astronomy and astronomers to amaze, amuse, and frighten us through

Barbara Carrapa, U. of A. Dept. of Geosciences Thursday, August 15, 2019, 2:30-3:30 p.m., The Arizona Senior Academy Building What causes evolution to occur over a large area of the planet?  Barbara Carrapa has plumbed the data of rainfall and

Dr. Bryan Carter, U. of A. Wednesday, July 31, 2019, 2:30 – 3:30 pm Imagine being able to walk around a Buddhist temple in China without leaving your desk. Or observe with the click of a button how African dances

Maria Dobozy, Professor Emerita, University of Utah Wednesday, July 17, 2:30-3:30, Arizona Senior Academy Building Encountering the literature of Europe between 1100-1400 means meeting the ubiquitous minstrels who were essential to literary and cultural life. As professional performers, all minstrels

Christopher A. Scott, Director, Udall Center for Studies on Public Policy, U. of A. Wednesday, July 18, 2019, 2:30-3:30, The Arizona Senior Academy Building It’s not just the Colorado River whose watershed is contested and in need of the cooperation

Susan Swanberg, U.of A. Wednesday, July 24, 2:30-3:30, Arizona Senior Academy Building Disinformation is false information spread deliberately to deceive. History establishes that well before the advent of modern mass communications and digital media, confusing and erroneous messages about science

Dr. Julie Miller, University of Arizona Wednesday, August 28, 2019, 2:30-3:30 p.m., The Arizona Senior Academy Building In this presentation, Dr. Miller will explore her insights into the brain science connections between birdsong and human speech. Birdsong is learned during critical developmental

Marilyn B. Skinner, Ph.D., University of Arizona Thursday, July 11, 2019, 2:30-3:30 p.m., The Arizona Senior Academy Building Ever tried to imagine what life might have been like in the times we now call “Antiquity?” And what about ordinary people—not

Samara Klar, Ph.D., University of Arizona Thursday, June 27, 2019, 2:30-3:30, The Arizona Senior Academy Building Making sense of today’s political world is not easy. Many dismiss political parties as irrelevant. Rigid partisanship in our Congress is contagious, and voters

Alison Bunting, Historian for the Empire Ranch Foundation Wednesday, June 5, 2019, 2:30-3:30 p.m., the Arizona Senior Academy Building Empire Ranch is a working cattle ranch in southeastern Pima County that was added to the National Register of Historic Places

Dr. John Wiens, Professor, Department of Ecology and Evolutional Biology, U. of A. Thursday, June 13, 2019, 2:30-3:30 p.m., The Arizona Senior Academy Building  Professor Wiens approaches the study of reptiles and amphibians from a phylogenic and ecological perspective.  He

Dr. David Frank, Professor and Director, Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research, U. of A. Thursday, June 6, 2019, 2:30-3:30 p.m., The Arizona Senior Academy Building The growth of forest trees all over the world is becoming more water-limited as climate warms.

Book Talk by Stephen Rains, Ph.D., U. of A. Professor of Communications Wednesday, June 12, 2:30-3:30 p.m., The Arizona Senior Academy Building.  Today’s array of communication technologies is playing a significant role in communications regarding health and coping with illness. 

Robert Vint, Architect Thursday, May 23, 2019, 2:30-3:30 p.m., The Arizona Senior Academy Building Robert Vint serves as preservation architect for Mission San Xavier del Bac. Dating from 1783, the Mission, the “White Dove of the Desert,” is the most

Brian Moon, Ph.D. Wednesday, May 22, 2019, 2:30-3:30 p.m., The Arizona Senior Academy Building Human beings have always had music.   There is no culture, past or present, that has not had some way of making music, and just as

Richard T. Hanson, Professor Emeritus, U.A.Thursday, May 9, 2019, 2:30-3:30 p.m., The Arizona Senior Academy Building Two of the greatest songwriters of the twentieth century were the gifted duo of Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, who wrote together from the

Feryal Özel, Ph.D. Thursday, May 16, 2:30-3:30, Arizona Senior Academy Building On Wednesday, April 10, 2019, the world learned that a team of over 200 scientists using a network of 8 radio telescopes around the globe produced the first-ever photograph

Allen Dart, Archaeologist with the Old Pueblo Archaeology Center, Tucson Thursday, May 30, 2019, 2:30-3:30 p.m., The Arizona Senior Academy Building If you love pottery and especially if you have some examples of your own, Allen Dart’s presentation is your

Allen Dart, Archaeologist with the Old Pueblo Archaeology Center, Tucson Wednesday, May 15, 2019, 2:30-4:30 p.m., The Arizona Senior Academy Building Who were the Paleoindians? How did they live? When did they transition from hunters and foragers to village life?

Michael Grandner, U.A. Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Psychology and Medicine Wednesday, May 8, 2:30-3:30 p.m., The Arizona Senior Academy Building A nationally recognized expert in the field of sleep disorders, Dr. Michael Grandner will describe findings from his extensive research

Anna Dornhaus, Ph.D. Wednesday May 1, 2019, 2:30–3:30, The Arizona Senior Academy Building Why is science important? What can scientific study of social insects and other animals tell us about how our mind works?  The answers may be surprising and

Academy Village Artists Thursday, April 18, 2:30-4:30 p.m., The Arizona Senior Academy Building The Academy Village is home to many people who exercise their creativity through art. Some do it by taking one or more of the art classes offered

Dr. Donata Vercelli, UA Thursday, 2:30-3:30, Arizona Senior Academy Building According to Donata Vercelli, M.D., we are (fortunately) not alone.  For decades, biologists and physicians have seen microbes as foes and agents of disease that need to be wiped out.

H. Alan Day, Arizona Rancher and Cowboy Wednesday, April 17, 1:00-2:00 p.m.  NOTE TIME CHANGE If anyone alive today can claim to have been born a cowboy, Alan Day is certainly an example. He’s the third generation to grow up

Katalin Gothard, UA Professor of Physiology and Neuroscience in the College of Medicine Wednesday, April 24, 2:30-3:30 p.m., The Arizona Senior Academy Building In the third of this year’s UA College of Sciences series of public lectures, Professor Katalin Gothard

Kevin Koch, Co-owner, Technicians for Sustainability Thursday, 2:30 – 4:30 p.m., The Arizona Senior Academy Building Arizona is one of the sunniest states in the U.S. and Tucson one of the sunniest areas in Arizona. Specifically, Tucson enjoys on average

Wednesday, April 25, 2:30-3:30 p.m., The Arizona Senior Academy Building. Dr. John W. “Jack” Holt, University of Arizona Since NASA’s Viking Orbiters reached Mars in the 1970s, scientists have worked to understand why a waterless and low-atmosphere planet would have

2:30–3:30 pm, The Arizona Senior Academy Building Dr. Howard Haas Based on his experience as a psychiatrist working in a federal prison environment, Dr. Haas is speaking to several issues arising from the closing of public mental hospitals in the

Van Fowers, re-enactor 2:30-3:30 p.m. The Arizona Senior Academy Building Ever wonder what really happened during the shoot-out at the OK Corral just down the road in Tombstone?  Most of us in our salad years have read Zane Grey novels

Thursday, March 21, 2:30-4:30, The Arizona Senior Academy Building Michael Brescia, Curator of Ethnohistory in the Arizona State Museum with faculty affiliations in the Department of History and the James E. Rogers College of Law at the University of Arizona,

Wednesday, March 20, 3:30-4:30, Arizona Senior Academy Building What is Big Data, and why should we care? Joanna Masel, professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Arizona, thinks we need to care about the huge volume of

Wednesday, 3:00 p.m., The Arizona Senior Academy Building Ivar Sanders, Moderator The so-called World Order has changed many times in the past, from the preeminence of Egypt and Greece Before the Common Era, to Britain’s control via sea power from

March 7, 2019, Thursday, 2:30–4:30 PM, The Arizona Senior Academy Building Dr. Michael Brescia, Arizona State Museum and University of Arizona Humanity is reliant upon the physical resources and natural systems of the Earth for the provision of food, energy,

Wednesday 3:30-4:30 p.m., the Arizona Senior Academy Great Room As a replacement for the cancelled Great Decisions discussion on the State Department and Foreign Policy originally scheduled for this date, we will show a series of brief TED talks on the