Dr. Mary J.C. Hendrix, president of Shepherd University, has created this distinguished lecture series—for the campus and community, and it has become part of the Lifelong Learning Program.
Spring 2024
All lectures, which are free and open to the public, take place in the Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education auditorium. These lectures will also be livestreamed on the Shepherd University Youtube channel.
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Restoring the Balance Between AI and Humanity: Can We Work in Harmony?
January 29 | 6:30 p.m.
Art Murray, Ph.D., President of Applied Knowledge Sciences, Inc.
As technology evolution continues to accelerate, it raises the question: “What about us humans?” In this talk, you’ll gain unique insights into two important dimensions that make up our world today, the artificial and the human, and how we can bring them together in new and extraordinary ways. On the artificial side, we’ll examine two key aspects: “Runaway information-flation: The Five V’s”; and “Are you data-centric or knowledge-centric? The dangers of devolving into the primordial ooze of big data.”
On the human side, topics will include why we need a Great Knowledge Reset, starting today; re-energizing human evolution: body, mind, and spirit; and blending human and machine intelligence – it’s not what you think… Finally, the session will wrap up with a call to action – the great University pivot: are you up to the challenge?
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Nobel Prize Topics
February 20 | 6:30 p.m.
Shepherd University Faculty
Shepherd University faculty will discuss the topics of the 2023 Nobel Prize-winning awards:
- The Nobel Prize in Physics 2023 “for experimental methods that generate attosecond pulses of light for the study of electron dynamics in matter” – Dr. Sytil Murphy, associate professor of physics and co-chair of the Department of Natural and Physical Sciences
- The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2023 “for the discovery and synthesis of quantum dots” – Dr. Jacquelyn Cole, associate professor of chemistry and co-chair of the Department of Natural and Physical Sciences
- The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2023 “for their discoveries concerning nucleoside base modifications that enabled the developments of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19” – Dr. Robert Warburton, dean of the College of Science, Technology, Mathematics, and Nursing and professor of biochemistry
- The Nobel Prize in Literature 2023 “for his innovative plays and prose which give voice to the unsayable” – Dr. Rachel Krantz, associate professor of French
- The Nobel Peace Prize 2023 “for her fight against the oppression of women in Iran and her fight to promote human rights and freedom for all” – Dr. Stephanie Slocum-Schaffer, professor of political science
- The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2023 “for having advanced our understanding of women’s labor market outcomes” – Dr. Robert Szarka, assistant professor of economics
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For more information, contact Lucinda Powers, Director of Continuing Education & Lifelong Learning, at lpowers@shepherd.edu or 304-876-5135.