Professorial Lectures
Collaborative Creation: From Commission to Fruition
Stacy Maugans, D.M. (Department of Music)
Thursday 19 September — 4:00 p.m.
How does a new work of music come to life? How do performers and composers interact while collaborating on a new musical composition? We will explore the genesis and development of two compositions: “Sacred Spaces” for alto saxophone solo with wind band by Kirk O’Riordan and “Luminous Blue Variables” for two alto saxophones by Benjamin Krause. These unique pieces are representative of my work in commissioning and premiering repertoire for the saxophone over the past 25 years.
Nuclear and Particle Physics at Colliders
Adam Gibson-Even, Ph.D. (Department of Physics)
Thursday 3 October — 4:00 p.m.
For more than 50 years, enormous particle colliders have addressed fundamental questions in particle and nuclear physics: What are the fundamental constituents of matter? What laws govern it? I will take you on a tour of four colliders where I have worked over the last 30 years and discuss topics ranging from the heaviest fundamental particles, to the inner workings of the proton, to the ways that Valpo faculty and students continue to be involved in this research. I’ll do my best to speak to a general audience of non-scientists.
Underpaid, Overperforming: The Untold Story of Women in Executive Roles
Jiangxia (Renee) Liu, Ph.D. (College of Business)
Thursday 7 November — 4:00 p.m.
Women hold a small percentage of top executive roles and earn significantly less than men, yet they often outperform their male counterparts. While part of the pay gap can be attributed to factors such as position and tenure, a portion remains unexplained. This research aims to uncover the reasons behind this paradox.
Protecting Our Drinking Water Sources
Zuhdi Aljobeh, Ph.D., P.E. (Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering)
Thursday 21 November — 4:00 p.m.
Protecting our drinking water sources is a critical component of environmental sustainability and public health. In my presentation, I will focus on the implementation of stormwater best management practices (BMPs), advanced lake modeling techniques, and assessing the impact of invasive plant species on groundwater quality. Together, these approaches, along with regulatory measures, watershed management practices, pollution control efforts, and community involvement, form a comprehensive strategy for protecting a community’s drinking water sources.
Protecting Our Drinking Water Sources
Sara Gundersen, Ph.D. (Department of Economics)
Thursday 5 December — 4:00 p.m
Recent econometric innovations have enabled economists to show causality, resulting in a widespread shift to small, answerable questions. In this talk, I argue for the return to big questions using correlational studies and demonstrate how this guides my research as it relates to religion, gender, and education in Africa.