Friday

Amy Mainzer, Professor of Planetary Science, UCLA Department of Earth, Planetary & Space Sciences, UCLA College

Asteroids and comets have bombarded our planet repeatedly over its roughly 4.5 billion year history, and they continue to do so today. Despite incredible progress in digital imaging and computing for astronomy, the majority of asteroids and comets that come close to Earth – and are large enough to cause severe damage were they to impact – remain undiscovered. In this lecture, Professor Mainzer will discuss efforts to understand the population of near-Earth objects to better constrain the chances that a large impact will occur in our future and to inform potential mitigation options.

Jennifer Chang, Professor, Head of Acting, School of Theater, Film & Television

The pure connection between audience and storyteller is as ancient as humanity and allows for collective dreaming – exercising our imagination, empathy, and hope. Live performance has been scientifically observed to synchronize an audience’s minds and hearts. By collectively imagining future possibilities, we exercise hope, one of our most powerful human emotions. This presentation will show that In an ever-expanding digital landscape, the live arts continues to be a vital response and a connector of humanity.

David Clewett, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Psychology, UCLA College

Why do some moments fade while others last? Often, the events that endure are the ones that carry emotional weight. Intense emotions can reshape an experience as it unfolds, changing what captures our attention and even how quickly time seems to pass. Those momentary changes can linger in memory, influencing how vividly we remember the experience and how long it feels, in retrospect, to have lasted. In this lecture, Professor Clewett will explore how the brain turns the continuous flow of life into distinct memories. He will discuss how the ebb and flow of emotion makes certain moments stand out, stretches or compresses our sense of time, and shapes how experiences are woven together in memory. Drawing on research from psychology and neuroscience, this talk will reveal that memory is not simply a record of what happened. It is an active process that highlights what matters and constructs the stories we carry with us.

Through an innovative approach to career and professional development UCLA actively supports the career needs of all students and alumni at every phase of their journey. During this interactive session, staff will talk about the programs and resources that play an essential role in your Bruin’s lifelong professional success.

Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping how we learn, work, and communicate. Join UCLA Digital & Technology Solutions to explore UCLA’s approach to AI, from expanding access to new tools and opportunities to navigating privacy, security, and responsible use, and what it all means for students in an evolving world.

Nearly one-third of the UCLA undergraduate population are first-generation college students.* Parents and family members of first-generation Bruins are invited to join the First to Go program to hear stories of the successes and challenges of current students and alumni, learn about the resources available to first-gen students and their families, and spend some time mingling and getting to know each other.

*Note: At UCLA, a “first-generation college student” is identified as a student whose parent/guardian have not received a four-year U.S. bachelor’s degree.