USP Spring Symposium: The Forest for the Trees
Duke University Scholars Program
Spring Symposium 2023
The Forest for the Trees
Saturday, March 4, 9am–1pm
127 Bostock Library (The Edge Workshop)
“The Forest for the Trees,” the USP symposium theme for 2023, prompts us to consider the ways in which we all work at different scales. Why do some researchers seek to understand vast and complicated events that have evolved over time while others hone in on phenomena occurring at a fraction of the scale for a fraction of the time? Why do some advocates and organizers draw attention to issues impacting entire communities while others address matters concerning only a few individuals? How do the goals of those focusing on the macroscopic versus the microscopic complement or compete with each other? How can their methodologies and objectives inform each other? How does this communication affect the histories and hypotheses developed around the divergent scales of different objects of investigation? More simply put, to come back to our theme, when are we in danger of missing the forest for the trees… or the trees for the forest?
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9:30 am |
Welcome and Introduction |
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9:35 am |
Panel 1 – States |
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9:35-9:45 am |
Ceci de la Guardia |
The Impact of the Ukraine War on Germany’s Energy Future |
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9:45-9:55 am |
Maya Lytje |
Leaving No One Behind in the Sustainable Development Goals |
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9:55-10:05 am |
Rukimani PV |
Counter-Surveilling the State: Technological Methodologies to Protect and Empower Communities of Color |
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10:05-10:15 am |
Break |
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10:15 am |
Panel 2 – Societies |
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10:15-10:25 am |
Hannah Kania |
On the Limits of Human Perception: How Can We Grasp Cryptic Biological Diversity? |
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10:25-10:35 am |
Derrick P. Haynes |
A Grain of Sand More than a Ton of Bricks: Generational Wealth & Estate Planning |
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10:35-10:45 am |
Nikki Locklear |
Painting the Tree Black and Red: Indigeneity, Race, and Unfreedom in the Early American and U.S. South, 1670 – 1830 |
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10:45 – 11:25 am |
Brunch | |
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11:25 am |
Panel 3 – Systems |
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11:25-11:35am |
Nadeska Montalvan |
High-Throughput Screening Against RNA Tertiary Structures |
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11:35-11:45 pm |
Sam Hunnicutt |
On Trees, Translation, and Treason: the Meaning of “Raxal-Q’anal” in Maya K’iche’ Poetry |
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11:45-11:55 pm |
Nathan Ostrowski |
ChatGPT, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Transformer Models |
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12:00 – 1:00 pm |
Keynote |
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Dr. Jan Holton, Associate Professor of the Practice of Pastoral Theology and Care |
Learning from Refugees: Navigating Interdisciplinary Research |
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1:00 pm |
Adjourn |
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