Campus event highlights, Jan. 15 to Jan. 24

(All events are free unless otherwise noted.)

Monday, Jan. 18: Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Kickoff Event
Monday, Jan. 18: “Detecting change-point in the mean function of functional observations”
Tuesday, Jan. 19: Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation
Wednesday, Jan. 20: “Functionalization of Fine Particles”
Thursday, Jan. 21: Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Interfaith Breakfast
Thursday, Jan. 21: “Sparse estimation of high-dimensional covariance matrices”
Thursday, Jan. 21: “Scientific and Engineering Careers in the Space Industry” and “Active Multi-Hyperspectral Imaging and Sensing with Ultra Short-Pulse Laser Continuums”
Thursday, Jan. 21: “What Are We Doing Here?”
Friday, Jan. 22: “Telling Tales with Testate Amoebae”
Friday, Jan. 22: “I Dream to Be”—Lehigh’s First Annual Oratorical Contest

Monday, Jan. 18: Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Kickoff Event

Members of the Lehigh community will gather around the flagpole in front of the University Center to honor the memory of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the U.S. civil rights leader who was assassinated in 1968. University President Alice Gast will give a brief address. The event begins at noon.

Monday, Jan. 18: “Detecting change-point in the mean function of functional observations”

The colloquium series of the department of mathematics presents an address by Robertas Gabrys, a Ph.D. candidate, research assistant and instructor at the University of Utah. The event begins at 4 p.m. in Room 107 of Christmas-Saucon Hall.

Tuesday, Jan. 19: The Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation

Carmen T. Ambar, president of Cedar Crest College, will give the keynote address at Lehigh’s annual tribute to the slain civil rights leader. Faculty, staff, students and community leaders will be honored for service to the Lehigh community. The event, sponsored by the dean of students and the Office of Multicultural Affairs, begins at 4 p.m. in Packard Auditorium.

Wednesday, Jan. 20: “Functionalization of Fine Particles by Atomic/Molecular Layer Disposition”

The colloquium series of the department of chemical engineering presents an address by Alan W. Weimer, the H.T. Sears Memorial Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of Colorado. The event begins at 2:30 p.m. in Room B-013 of Iacocca Hall.

Thursday, Jan. 21: Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Interfaith Breakfast

Members of the Lehigh community will gather to share their thoughts on the legacy and vision of the slain civil rights leader. The event is open on a first-come, first-served basis. To RSVP, e-mail in-oma@lehigh.edu by Tuesday, Jan. 20, at 5 p.m. The event, which is sponsored by the dean of students and the Office of Multicultural Affairs, begins at 7:30 a.m. in the University Center’s Asa Packer Dining Room.

Thursday, Jan. 21: “Sparse estimation of high-dimensional covariance matrices”

The colloquium series of the department of mathematics presents an address by Adam Rothman, a Ph.D. candidate in the department of statistics at the University of Michigan. The event begins at 4 p.m. in Room 107 of Christmas-Saucon Hall.

Thursday, Jan. 21: “Scientific and Engineering Careers in the Space Industry” and “Active Multi-Hyperspectral Imaging and Sensing with Ultra Short-Pulse Laser Continuums”

The 2010 Scientific and Diversity Leadership Lecture Series, co-hosted by the department of physics and the department of academic outreach, presents two lectures by Keith Blanks, principal scientist for the Space Protection Program with Aerospace Corp. in Colorado. Blanks earned a B.S. in engineering physics and an M.S. and Ph.D., both in physics, from Lehigh in 1987, 1990 and 1995. The event is also sponsored by the office of admissions, the office of the dean in the College of Arts and Sciences, the office of student affairs, and the Council for Equity and Community. It begins at 4:15 p.m. in Room 270 of Lewis Lab.
Thursday, Jan. 21: “What Are We Doing Here?”

This documentary film explores the charity given to Africa over the last five decades and concludes that it has been largely ineffective and often harmful. The film follows Brandon, Nicholas, Daniel and Tim Klein as they travel across Africa in an attempt to understand poverty. Director Tim Klein will answers questions after the film is shown.

The event begins at 7 p.m. in Room 102 of Maginnes Hall. It is sponsored by the Global Union and co-sponsored by the Office of Multicultural Affairs, Arts-Lehigh, the Africana Studies Program, the Globalization and Social Change Initiative, and the Comparative and International Education Program.

Friday, Jan. 22: “Telling Tales with Testate Amoebae: Microscopic Indicataors of Environmental and Climate Change”

The seminar series of the department of earth and environmental sciences presents an address by Prof. Dan Charman of the School of Geography at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom. The event begins at noon in Room 100 of Williams Hall.

Friday, Jan. 22: “I Dream to Be”—Lehigh’s First Annual Oratorical Contest

Finalists in the competition will reflect on the goals, objectives and accomplishments of Martin Luther King Jr. The event, which is sponsored by the dean of students and the Office of Multicultural Affairs, begins at 6 p.m. in the Great Room of Lamberton Hall.