Distinguished Speaker Series With A Spicy New Venue

The College of Sciences at the University of Central Florida will be presenting the Distinguished Speaker Series at a brand new venue this year, Cocina214.  This Mexican and Tex Mex kitchen is sure to bring some spice to this series starting in September.

The series brings renowned speakers from across the country to enrich the lives of students, faculty, alumni and the community. Guest speakers will address topics relevant to the natural, computational, social or behavioral sciences and to the societal implication of developments in these fields.

New this year, all six of the talks will be held at Cocina 214, 151 Welbourne Ave. E., in downtown Winter Park. Guests are asked to RSVP online to reserve their place and will receive a voucher for a free margarita with the purchase of an entrée that evening. Guests may arrive beginning at 6 p.m. to mingle with the speaker and the talk will begin promptly at 6:30 p.m. The talk will run for about an hour with a question and answer session at the end.

The first speaker is Dr. James Alan Fox, professor of Criminology at Northeastern University. He will be speaking about “Mass Shooting in America: Myths and Realities.”

On Oct. 15, Dr. Arthur Demarest will be presenting his speech on “The Maya Collapse.” Demarest is an Ingram professor and Director of the Vanderbilt Institute of Mesoamerican Archaeology at Vanderbilt University.

Speaking about “Sports, Politics, and Cultural Transformation” is Dr. Andrei Markovits of the University of Michigan. Dr. Markovits is an Arthur F. Thurnau Professor and Karl W. Deutsch Collegiate Professor of Comparative Politics and German Studies.

Talk four will be hosted by Dr. Tony Heinz on Jan. 14, at 6 p.m. He will be presenting “Wonders in Two Dimensions: Looking at Graphene and Beyond.”

Dr. Dan Canary is set to speak on Feb. 11, about “Managing Conflict Strategically in Personal Relationships.” He is a professor of Communication at the University of Utah.

Last but not least is Barry Fisher speaking on March 18. Fisher is a Senior Forensic Advisor for the U.S. Department of Justice ICITAP and will be speaking about “CSI in Real Liffe: Realities of Modern Forensic Science.”

For more information on each speaker and to RSVP visit our Distinguished Speaker Series website.