A Message to EPICureans!
Next Tuesday, March 20, we are in for a treat when Professor Emeritus Dickson Despommier will talk to us about vertical farming in urban environments. I know it will be a treat for two reasons. First, Dickson is a great teacher, always very popular with students. Many of his ideas on vertical farms began with a course he developed on medical ecology.
You can read more about it in a recent New Yorker article
Second, vertical farming is a creative approach to “urban renewal, sustainable production of a safe and varied food supply (year-round crop production), and the eventual repair of ecosystems that have been sacrificed for horizontal farming.” Five copies of Dickson’s book will be given away as door prizes.
If you weren’t in Pulitzer Hall on March 6 or livestreaming the event,
it’s not too late to watch
the very successful open of our EPIC Conversation series. Professor Emeritus Victor Navasky, journalist, eminent author, teacher, and long-time editor of
The
Nation,
was in conversation with Professor Emeritus and EPIC Steering Committee member Michael Rosenthal. Pulitzer Hall was an appropriate place for an event so well done that it was like watching a PBS broadcast live. Kudos to all and special thanks to Michael for all the work he put in to making this happen.
EPIC yoga, led by Professor Emerita Ginny Papaioannou, continues on Thursday mornings with two session options, mat at 10 AM or “gentle”/beginner chair format at 11:15.
Have a good day.
Jeanne Mager Stellman, President, EPIC
Professor Emerita & Special Lecturer
Mailman School of Public Health
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Tuesday, March 20: "The Vertical Farm: Feeding the World in the 21st Century"
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For twenty-seven years, Professor Despommier, a microbiologist and an ecologist, conducted research on cellular and molecular parasitism and held lectures and courses on parasitic disease, medical ecology, and ecology. From one of these courses, in 1999, he founded the root for his idea of raising crops in tall buildings, vertical farming. In 2010, he published his widely received book
The Vertical Farm: Feeding the World in the 21st Century
(St. Martin's Press). Not long ago vertical farms were regarded as utopian, but prototypes have now been built, including a three-story farm in Suwon, South Korea, over 50 plant factories that qualify as vertical farms in Japan, a commercial vertical farm in Singapore that opened in 2012, and another in Chicago that was built in an old industrial building. Vertical farms have many advantages: food is organically farmed, urban space is saved, it is possible to farm all year round and in any place, and use of agrochemicals is eliminated. Professor Despommier's idea was regarded as visionary several years ago, but today it has become a beacon for all countries where food imports are high.
Copies of
The Vertical Farm will be given as door prizes.
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The Sky Greens, Singapore Photo: Edgar Su/Reuters
12:00 - 1:30 p.m.
Faculty House
Garden Room 2
Guests welcome!
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Tuesday, March 27: Mobile Technology and Social Media Workshop
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Atill trying to figure out what a #hashtag means or how to read one? Wondering why you can't twitter, when it obviously doesn't take a lot of talent to do it? Then bring your
mobile phone and learn how to make it work better for you. Connor Norris, a senior IT major at New Jersey Institute of Technology, will show you how to find and cleverly use your phone's flashlight, camera, voice commands, and more to help with to-do lists, driving directions, and other daily tasks. Connor will also introduce Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
Lunch provided. Guests welcome!
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12:00 - 1:30 p.m.
Faculty House
Seminar Room 1
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EPIC Yoga Spring Schedule
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Professor Emerita Virginia Papaioannou, a registered teacher with the Yoga Alliance, continues to lead EPIC Yoga Thursdays in Faculty House in the Spring 2018 semester.
No prior experience is required to join. Yoga can benefit people at all levels of physical training and health, but it is always wise to consult with a physician before undertaking any new exercise regime. Modifications will be offered to any participants with specific limitations arising from recovery from injury, arthritis, limited movement, or other causes.
Two one-hour classes are offered each week.
The 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. class practices breathing techniques and moves through some basic yoga poses, concentrating on alignment, balance, and flexibility. Those with experience move more deeply into the poses.
From 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., we practice gentle/chair yoga, which is ideal for those of more limited mobility or flexibility. Classes include breathing, stretching, and yoga poses, done either seated in a chair or standing. No yoga mats are required for this class.
Please see the EPIC events calendar for schedule details.
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Morningside Gardens Speaker Series
Continues April 18
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Spring 2018 Program
February 21, 7:00 p.m.
“Yoking Up Yoga” Where does Yoga come from and where is it going? Is Yoga an important part of Hinduism? Some answers to these questions may surprise you. You don't need to be a yogi to find this talk interesting!
Speaker: Frances Pritchett, Professor Emerita of Modern Indic Languages, Department of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies, Columbia University
March 14, 7:00 p.m.
“Rethinking Rural Healthcare Delivery: A Nigerian Diaspora-Town Union Partnership."
Dr. Ferdinand Ofodile will share experience and insights from the Nnobi USA Diaspora Health Group, a path breaking medical mission project in Nnobi, the Nigerian village where he was born. The free health fairs and screening offered by the group in 2016 and 2017 have benefited over 2500 people, hundreds of whom were treated on the spot for malaria, hypertension, and diabetes. The Nnobi project is not only providing much needed health screening, but also developing a model for further Diaspora-Town Union efforts to improve and sustain health in Nigeria, which remains near the bottom of World Health Organization indices.
Speaker: Ferdinand Ofodile, M.D., Clinical Professor Emeritus of Surgery, Columbia University Medical Center
April 18, 7:00 p.m.
“Eve and Adam in the Gardens” For millennia, readers have interpreted the story of Adam and Eve by pandering to him and blaming her for their expulsion from the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2-3). But there are more excellent ways to understand the story. This talk will undercut the traditional reading by exploring anew the story of Eve and Adam as they enter the Gardens of Morningside.
Speaker: Phyllis Trible, Baldwin Professor Emerita of Sacred Literature, Union Theological Seminary
May 16, 7:00 p.m.
“Columbia University on Morningside Heights: The Early Years in Postcard Views” As the title implies, Mr. Susi takes us on a tour of Morningside Heights using vintage postcards he began collecting more than 20 years ago.
Speaker: Michael V. Susi, Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs, Columbia University; local historian and postcard collector
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Tuesday Talks
April 24
Professor Sunil K. Agrawal
Lecture and Tour: Robotics and Rehabilitation (RoAR) Lab, Columbia University
First Thursday Graduate Scholar Talks
April 5
Michelle Van Tieghem, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Psychology:
"Neurobehavioral Predictors of Risk and Resilience following Early Adversity"
Annual Reception
May 8
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