MyLU Insider

Deanna Kolell

Author: Deanna Kolell

McDougal Lecture

Guest Speaker: Marissa Kawehi Loving

Assistant Professor of Mathematics and Nellie Y. McKay Fellow at the University of Wisconsin-Madison

Friday, March 1 | 4:30-5:30 p.m.
Steitz 102

Title: From dimension 2 to 3 and back again

In this talk, Marissa Kawehi Loving will tell us a little bit of Thurston’s beautiful story connecting the dynamics of finite-type surface homeomorphisms with the geometry of 3-manifolds. She will then share some more recent work which connect the dynamics of infinite-type surface homeomorphisms with the geometry of 3-manifolds.

Her aim is for the talk to be accessible to a broad audience with many illustrations to help build intuition without getting too far into the technical weeds.

There will be snacks offered 4-4:30 p.m. in Steitz Atrium.

Mainstage Opera: Cendrillon and Alice Tierney

Thursday, Feb. 29 | 7:30 p.m.
Friday, March 1 | 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 2 | 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, March 3 | 3 p.m.
Stansbury Theatre

Cendrillon & Alice Tierney Event Graphic

Cendrillon (sung in French) music and libretto by Pauline Viardot, is a chamber operetta with dialogue in three acts by Pauline Viardot based on the story of “Cinderella.”

Alice Tierney (sung in English) had its world premiere on January 27th, 2023 at Oberlin Conservatory. The story, developed at Oberlin by composer Melissa Dunphy and librettist Jacqueline Goldfinger, follows four archeologists who unearth clues to the mysterious death of Alice Tierney in Colonial Philadelphia.

  • Copeland Woodruff – Director
  • Kristin Roach – Conductor & Music Director

Tickets

• Adults – $15
• Seniors – $10
• Non-LU student – $8
• Lawrence faculty, staff, and students (with valid ID) – FREE (only available in-person at the Box Office)

Get your tickets online

Guest Recital: Ike Sturm, double bass

Tuesday, Feb. 27 | 8-9:30 p.m.
Harper Hall

This concert is free and open to the public.

Bassist and composer Ike Sturm was raised in a musical home in Wisconsin, learning from his father, renowned composer and arranger, Fred Sturm. Ike has performed with Gene Bertoncini, Theo Bleckmann, Ingrid Jensen, Donny McCaslin, Bobby McFerrin, Ben Monder, Maria Schneider and Kenny Wheeler. He has played on four Downbeat award-winning recordings, as well as several Steve Reich releases on Canteloupe and Nonesuch Records. He has performed with Alarm Will Sound and the International Contemporary Ensemble, along with numerous creative ensembles in New York.

Ike studied jazz and classical bass and composition while earning undergraduate and graduate degrees at the Eastman School of Music. In addition, he studied privately with legendary bassist Dave Holland.

Saint Peter’s Church in Manhattan, where Sturm served as Music Director for the Jazz Ministry from 2004-2021, commissioned him to compose Jazz Mass, a work for voices, strings and soloists that merges diverse musical languages into a powerfully unified aesthetic. The piece was released to critical international acclaim, named one of Downbeat’s “Best Albums of the Year” and has been performed across the U.S., Scandinavia and Europe.

Spoerl Lecture Series

20,000 years in a blink of an eye: The past, present, and future of the Great Lakes

Tuesday, Feb. 27 | 4:30-5:30 p.m.
Steitz 102

Titus Seilheimer ’00 is a fisheries specialists with the Wisconsin Sea Grant. Since graduating from Lawrence in 2000, he has earned a PhD. from McMaster University and worked on many projects relating to fish habitat, aquatic ecology, and water quality all around the Great Lakes region and beyond. As an aquatic ecologist and fisheries scientist, he studies the ecology of streams, rivers, wetlands, and the Great Lakes.

Lawrence University Book Club Presents Sumana Roy

Friday, Feb. 23 | 9-10 p.m.
Warch 204 – Cinema

Join us for a discussion and Q&A with Sumana Roy about her 2017 book How I Became a Tree, which was shortlisted for the Shakiti Bhatt Prize.

This fiction work utilizes first-person narrative to mix memoir, literary history, nature studies, spiritual philosophies, and botanical research to prompt readers to think of their intrinsic connection with the natural world.

Reading the book is not required!

Sumana-Roy-PosterDownload

LU Alternative Spring Break at Björklunden

You can now sign up for the Alternative Spring Break to Björklunden, March 18-22!  

We will depart from Lawrence’s campus on Monday, March 18 at 9:30 a.m.  We will return to Lawrence on Friday, March 22 by 12 p.m. 

The deadline to sign up and pay is March 1, 2024, but space is limited, and priority will be given to students that first sign up and pay their deposit (payment information and instructions below).

If you are interested in attending but the fee would present a barrier, or paying the fee before March 1 presents a challenge, please contact Second Year Dean Juan Arguello at juan.arguello@lawrence.edu. 

What will you do during the alternative spring break?  

We have a week full of stewardship and sustainability service projects to give back while also learning and feeling connected to the great outdoors! While you will have plenty of time and opportunities for fun and relaxation, both at Björklunden and in neighboring towns, this alternative spring break focuses on service to help preserve the natural beauty of Door County and make it better than when we arrived!  

Below is a list of some of the activities that you we have planned: 

  • Kick-off event with Door County’s Poet Laureates Tom Davis and Ethel Mortenson. 
  • Explore the Björklunden grounds with guided tours to learn more about all of the unique trails, sustainability projects, and hidden gems! 
  • Support the design and creation of a new trail at Björklunden! 
  • Optional evening events including bonfires, game nights, crafts, and other theme nights. 
  • Visit a Wisconsin state park or nature preserve to take in the natural beauty while working on land stewardship projects. 
  • Experience unparalleled star gazing at a dark sky park (weather permitting). 
  • Enjoy a group outing to the beautiful village of Sister Bay for an evening of food and fun!  

Payment instructions 

Once you sign up, go to Voyager to pay your $75 deposit. Fee waivers are available (If you need a fee waiver, please contact Juan Arguello juan.arguello@lawrence.edu).  The deposit is non-refundable and will be used to pay for the costs of the trip. Please see below for more information about how to pay the deposit.   

  1. Go to Voyager 
  2. Select Student Services 
  3. Select Student Account.  
  4. From there the “button” for paying the deposit is located in your overview page (circled in the image below).  
  5. Click the button and follow the prompts to make the payment.   
  6. Follow the prompts provided to make and complete the payment.
Voyager Screenshot
Alternative Spring Break Flyer

Physics Colloquium

Douglas Martin: How to Build a Microscope

Monday, Feb. 19 | 4:30-5:30 p.m.
Youngchild 115

Optical microscopes were first used to observe single biological cells 350 years ago. Contemporary research microscopes have improved about 100-fold in resolution, field of view, and color sensitivity, yet remain limited to major research projects due to cost and complexity.

This talk presents an open-source microscope my colleagues and I have developed and built from off-the-shelf and 3D printed parts. This OSM is capable of: seeing single molecules and molecular motors; watching living cells divide (and imaging the entire mitotic process); and recreating Einstein’s experiment that demonstrated the existence of atoms. There will even be a live demo!

Spoerl Lecture Series

Ojibwe place based perspectives on air, land, water, and fire – Mike Wiggins Jr.

Thursday, Feb. 22 | 4:30-5:30 p.m.
Steitz 102

Mike Wiggins Jr. was recently appointed the Site Director at the Madeline Island Museum. Previously, he served 12 years as Tribal Chairman/Executive Director of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. He recently ended his last term in November of 2023.

Wiggins is a major advocate for the conservation of natural resources and the protection of water. In his time as Chairman, there were many environmental protection issues that the Tribe proactively stood up for including issues with mining, oil pipelines, CAFO’s and water privatization.

Before becoming the Chairman of the Bad River Band, Wiggins served as a conservation warden for the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission and oversaw a Bad River AODA Prevention Program working with Tribal Youth.

Wiggins got his bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from UW-Superior in 1992, and in 2019 he was honored as an Outstanding Alumni of UW-Superior. In his free time Wiggins enjoys playing guitar and utilizing the hunting, fishing, and gathering Treaty Rights his Ojibwe ancestors reserved around the Lake Superior region.

Guest Recital: Paul Dietrich

Thursday, Feb. 22 | 8-9:30 p.m.
Harper Hall

Paul Dietrich has been described as “an apt bandleader, an exceptional composer, and a superlative performer” (All About Jazz) and “a skilled composer” (JazzTrail) and his music has been praised as “stunningly beautiful” (Audiophile Audition) and “captivating” (Chicago Jazz Magazine).

A composer, trumpet player and educator based in the Midwest, Dietrich has been the leader of the Paul Dietrich Quintet since 2012 and the Paul Dietrich Jazz Ensemble since 2016. The Chicago-based Quintet has released two albums: Focus (2017, ears&eyes) and We Always Get There (2014, Blujazz). The Paul Dietrich Jazz Ensemble’s 2019 album Forward features guest artist and world-renowned drummer Clarence Penn (Dave Douglas, Maria Schneider) alongside many of the Midwest’s best jazz musicians, including Greg Ward, Russ Johnson, Dustin Laurenzi, Matt Gold, and Andy Baker.

This concert is free and open to all!