In Brief: College of Science Lecture Series, Giving Day record, The Conversation

By Andy Ober, University Communications
Tuesday
A promotional graphic for the 2025 College of Science Lecture Series titled 'Can We Talk? The Science of Communication.' The text is in bold, blue and white lettering against a black background, surrounded by various blue speech bubbles, animals, satellites, microphones, and other symbols representing communication.

This year's University of Arizona College of Science Lecture Series will explore the science behind how we connect. From decoding canine cues to speaking in multiple languages, the series will break down the complexities of communication across species, minds and the vast reaches of space.

From dogs to deep space: Lecture series will explore the boundaries of communication

Communication with animals, aliens and artificial intelligence will be among the topics for the 20th annual College of Science Lecture Series.

The free lecture series – titled "Can We Talk? The Science of Communication" – begins Thursday, March 6, in Centennial Hall and continues every Thursday through March 27. The lectures will be livestreamed on the College of Science YouTube page, where they will be available for future viewing. Doors open to the public each night at 6:15 p.m., with lectures beginning at 7 p.m. and lasting about an hour. Attendees are encouraged to RSVP.

The lineup of lectures is below.

March 6 – "Unleashing the Science of Dog-Human Communication"
Emily Bray, Assistant Professor, College of Veterinary Medicine
Evan MacLean, Associate Professor, College of Veterinary Medicine

Bray and MacLean will explore what dogs really understand about human communication and whether dogs have evolved unusual abilities for success in this domain.

March 13 – "Two Languages, One Mind: What Science Reveals About Bilingual Communication"
Genesis Arizmendi, Assistant Professor, Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences

Arizmendi will explore how being bilingual shapes how we think, communicate, and connect within our communities.

March 20 – "Following Your Heart: Recognizing Emotions in Human-Computer Communication"
Ellen Riloff, Department Head and Professor, Department of Computer Science

Riloff will explain why recognizing human emotions is essential for computational language understanding and why it remains so challenging.

March 27 – "Cosmic Conversations: Communicating With the Unknown"
Daniel Apai, Associate Dean for Research and Professor, College of Science
Chris Impey, University Distinguished Professor of Astronomy

Apai and Impey will explore the potential for communicating with extraterrestrial civilizations.

Giving Day sets a record

The Wildcat community showed its generosity on Giving Day, with donors from 49 states contributing more than $7.2 million to hundreds of university causes, making it the most successful Giving Day yet. About approximately 1,300 gifts received, with 122 participants donating to the university for the first time.

The image features a bold and colorful design for "Giving Day," with large white text reading "GIVING DAY" in a 3D effect. Below it, in a smaller font, it says "FEB 14" inside a heart shape. At the bottom right corner of the heart is a blue banner that reads "FUEL WONDER CAMPAIGN." The background is a rich red with a subtle heart pattern, giving it a lively and festive appearance.

The Wildcat community set a record with more than $7.2 million in gifts on Giving Day.

The first Giving Day was celebrated during Homecoming 2020. The event was moved in 2022 to coincide with Valentine's Day.

"This is the most money raised yet and speaks to the generosity of our alumni, parents, students and friends of the University of Arizona," said Krista Voth, executive director of alumni engagement at the University of Arizona Foundation. "Giving Day also brings all of us together to share what we love about the U of A on Valentine's Day. We saw it in the posts on social media, from our students who participated in the Giving Day carnival, and the donations that helped complete our matching gift challenges."

The gifts included a $2 million commitment from Eugene Jhong, a retired Google software developer turned philanthropist, to create the Thomas G. Bever and Stuart R. Hameroff Chair in Consciousness Studies in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences.

The foundation, which puts more of a focus on participation than donation amount on Giving Day, said 46% of this year's gifts were less than $100.

Those who missed Giving Day but would still like to donate can do so on the Giving Day website. 

See the articles published in February on The Conversation

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Each month, faculty members and researchers from across the University share their expertise on The Conversation, an independent, not-for-profit news source committed to communicating the work of scholars. The Conversation makes all of its articles available at no charge to any news organization that wants to republish them. In addition, The Associated Press distributes The Conversation articles to newsrooms across the U.S.

To recognize University of Arizona scholars who are contributing to The Conversation's goal of informing public debate "with knowledge-based journalism that is responsible, ethical and supported by evidence," the Office of University Communications regularly posts links to the articles that have been published on The Conversation.

Here are the articles published on The Conversation in February.

Feb. 5, 2025

Palestinians have long resisted resettlement – Trump's plan to 'clean out' Gaza won't change that
For almost 80 years, Palestinians in Gaza have resisted proposals to resettle elsewhere.

Maha Nassar, Associate Professor, School of Middle Eastern and North African Studies

Feb. 6, 2025

The hidden truth about migrant deaths at the Canada-U.S. border

Tougher Canadian border measures in response to Donald Trump's threats may make crossings more dangerous for migrants.

Daniel E. Martinez, Distinguished Scholar and Associate Professor, School of Sociology

Feb. 17, 2025

Cutting funding for science can have consequences for the economy, U.S. technological competitiveness

The jury's out on whether the U.S. is still at the top of global science. Proposed cuts to major agencies could mean completely ceding that title.

Chris Impey, University Distinguished Professor of Astronomy 

Read previous Conversation articles written by University of Arizona scholars:

Interested in submitting an article? Go to the sign up link on The Conversation website to create a username and password. Do a keyword search to see what has been written on the topic you have in mind. Fill out an online pitch form. (Scholars who would like to talk through an idea before submitting a pitch can send an email to conversation@arizona.edu.)

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