A circular pattern with alternating dark blue and light blue radial segments, creating a pinwheel or sunburst effect.

Presidential Lectures

Free public talks that spotlight groundbreaking research.

Upcoming Events

Speaker

Shep Doeleman

A man in a checked shirt and dark blazer faces the camera, wearing a pin on his jacket and a pen in his pocket, against a plain background.

Speaker

Sonya Hanson

A portrait photo of Sonya Hanson.

Series Themes

Neuroscience & Autism
Brain and Body: Communication and Connection

This series explores how brain–body signaling shapes function and health. Talks highlight interoceptive pathways and the molecular and circuit mechanisms linking systems from gut and immune pathways to behavior and disease.

See Events

Physics
Black Holes

This series explores black holes across scale—from stellar remnants to supermassive giants. Topics include imaging, gravitational waves, the information paradox, and fluid analogs, showing how black holes illuminate fundamental physics and extreme environments.

See Events

Biology
Folding the Future: The Structural Biology Revolution

This series explores breakthroughs in structural biology—from protein prediction to new imaging tools—and how they’re transforming drug discovery, synthetic biology, and our understanding of cells.

See Events

Math & Computer Science
Randomness

This series explores how chance drives discovery—from random walks and algorithms to Fourier analysis and complex systems—with applications from card shuffling to fair voting.

See Events

Active Series

Join us this year at the 2026 Presidential Lecture Series

We’re spotlighting groundbreaking research across four themes: neuroscience and autism, physics, biology, and mathematics and computer science.

See Events
A diverse group of people sit in blue auditorium seats, attentively watching something off camera, some appearing thoughtful, others neutral or smiling.