Webinars

A brilliant and charismatic physicist, J. Robert Oppenheimer became one of America's best-known scientists for leading the effort to create the atomic bomb at Los Alamos. Oppenheimer soon became a highly controversial figure, caught up in the politics of nuclear weapons policy in the 1940s and 50s. This talk will discuss the career and personality of this fascinating but flawed individual, changes in his reputation over time, and the recent film about Oppenheimer.

PRESENTER
Dan Sherman is a retired economist who has taught many courses to adult learning groups on a broad range of topics, including film, theatre, music, and mathematics.

Zero Waste – is that even possible in a world designed for disposability? While our forefathers and mothers produced mostly biodegradable or recyclable waste, in the last century, we’ve figured out countless ingenious ways to make stuff that is designed to be used for a very short period of time – but that lasts more or less FOREVER.

PRESENTER
Come join Carol Davis, the Sustainability Manager for the Town of Blacksburg, who will walk participants through her personal journey: investigating the most common contributors to her own trash (and recycling) streams and how she found low- or zero-waste alternatives for those items. While her zero-waste journey is never finished, she has achieved a massive reduction in her overall waste profile - making her happier and healthier along the way!

In a few short years, NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) has transformed college athletics. To date, 450,000 athletes have made money from their personal brand. More than $1 billion is projected to be spent on NIL in 2023-24. Institutions are expected to keep these activities and payments at arm’s length – NIL deals cannot be used as an incentive for recruitment, for example. Everyone is trying to figure this out. But we already know that the money is big, and NIL is here to stay.

PRESENTER
Join us for a talk by Derek Gwinn, compliance officer for the Virginia Tech Hokies, as he walks us through this complicated, shifting, and highly competitive NIL landscape. He’ll help us understand the basics – what is NIL? How does it work? How much is a typical NIL contract and what do students typically agree to do? How do coaches and institutions feel about this tectonic shift? What have been the risks and benefits during these first few years of implementation? What is Virginia Tech doing to educate athletes and to connect NIL opportunities to important institutional values?

Join us for a conversation with the preeminent filmmaker, literary scholar, journalist, cultural critic, and institution builder, Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Professor Gates has published numerous books and produced and hosted an array of documentary films. The Black Church (PBS) and Frederick Douglass: In Five Speeches (HBO), which he executive produced; each received Emmy nominations. His latest project with Andrew Curran explored the “invention of race” in the 18th century. Who’s Black and Why? publishes essays from the 1739 Bordeaux Royal Academy of Sciences for the first time, shedding light on the theories, inventions, and fantasies that led to categorization of people into racial groups. Finding Your Roots, Gates’s groundbreaking series on genealogy and genetics, returned for its tenth season in January.

If you had one question to ask this very special guest, what would it be? We’ll gather your questions and spend a lively hour and a half in a wide-ranging conversation.

PRESENTER
Henry Louis Gates Jr. is the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and Director of the Hutching Center for African and African American Research at Harvard University.

The Mongol Derby has been touted as the longest and hardest horse race in the world. A 1,000 km (621 mile) race on semi-feral ponies across the Mongolian steppe, the Derby is not for the faint of heart. Our speaker shares her compelling personal story, reflecting on her decision to ride in the race, the lengthy preparation it took to get there, and the unbelievable outcome for her. She will also talk about the beauty of Mongolia, its people, and their relationship to the animals that live on the steppe.

PRESENTER
Rebecca Hester is an associate professor in the Department of Science, Technology and Society and the Associate Director of Education at the Center for Refugee, Migrant and Displacement Studies at Virginia Tech. She has been riding (and falling off) horses since she was five.