3096 - Symposia: Mind-Expanding Excursions and Diversions

New Location for Symposia: The venue is Fassett Auditorium, located in the north section of Village Commons accessible from Wesley Chapel Dr. within Croasdaile Village. Entering the building from the large parking lot, the auditorium is to the left.

Guest Speakers Include:

Jan 31. Taewoong Choi, MD.; Plasma Cell Disease & Bone Health. Choi will discuss the spectrum of plasma cell disorders, focusing on the bone destruction that frequently occurs in the malignant form known as multiple myeloma. He will discuss current and evolving treatments of myeloma, with emphasis on those which protect against the devastating effects of bone destruction.

Feb 7. Chuck Flink; NC 2050; Challenges & Opportunities. Chuck will provide a unique insider's view into how North Carolina is handling its explosive growth, given its recognition as a destination for technology, commerce, retirement and quality of living.

Feb 14. Blaine Hall, MHS, PA.; The History and Cultural Context of Gender Variant Persons. Hall will trace the history of the medical and surgical care of gender variant folks in the USA and Europe and discuss how patterns of care evolved. Interacting with individuals who have traversed this challenging path can aid in understanding their situation and calming the intense controversies surrounding the subject.

Feb 21. No Symposia class. Venue unavailable.

Feb 28. Sonia Grego, Ph.D.; A Wealth of Health Data from an Unexpected Place: Your Toilet. Sonia will describe the novel way they have transformed the toilet into an automated device for tracking body physiology.

Mar 7. Ricki White; Urban Nature and Why It’s Vital to Our Well-Being as City Residents. Rickie, executive director of Ellerbe Creek Watershed Association, will define urban nature, tell where you can experience nature in Durham, explain the challenges of maintaining urban natural areas and reveal well-being benefits for those who spend time outdoors in nature each week.

Mar 14. Patrick Duddy; The U.S. and South America: Past, Present and Future. Patrick, director of Duke's Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, a career U.S. diplomat and a former ambassador to Venezuela, will explain what we've learned from past interactions and suggest how future cooperation might go.

Mar 21. Michael Paesler, Ph.D.; The Lost Lessons of Failure for American Youth. Michael, an educator with more than four decades of experience considers practices that exacerbate the problem, including: social promotion, grade inflation, participation trophies, emphasis on graduation rates, student evaluation of teachers, and other policies that deprive our youth of the lessons of failure.

Mar 28. David Stein; Making Sense of Groundbreaking A1 Technologies. Stein will describe the workings of this new technology and provide insights as to the way we might deal with it to our best advantage.

Apr 4. Georgann Eubanks; Saving the Wild South: The Fight for Native Plants on the Brink of Extinction. Georgann will take us on a wondrous trek across six states to search out native plants that are endangered and wavering on the edge of erasure.

Apr 11. Dan McShea, Ph.D.; Goal Directedness and Purpose: The Mystery Explained. How does goal directedness work?  Dan's answer is simpler than — and different from — what you may think.