List of previous lectures and recordings
Program
Wednesday April 12, 2023, 7 pm Palestine time
Prof. Nergis Mavalvala (MIT)
Title: The Warped Universe: the quest to discover Einstein’s elusive gravitational waves
Abstract: The first direct detections of gravitational waves in 2015 launched a new era of gravitational wave astrophysics. I will describe the scientific and human story behind these discoveries that provide a window into some of the most violent and warped events in the Universe.
You can register for Prof. Nergis Mavalvala’s webinar by clicking here!
Wednesday May 10, 2023, 7 pm Palestine time
Prof. Ivar Ekeland (Université Paris-Dauphine)
Title: Climate change: transition, bifurcation or catastrophe ?
Abstract: Planet Earth is a complex system, where various worlds (physical, biological, human) and various scales (in time and space) interact. It has been in equilibrium for the past 10,000 years, but in the last 100 years, developed and developing countries have conducted a real-life experiment by injecting in the atmosphere increasing quantities of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. How does a complex system respond to such a continuous change in internal conditions ? It is an old problem, which has been investigated by famous mathematicians, from Leonard Euler (1707-1783) to René Thom (1923-2002). In this talk, I will survey the various possibilities and apply them to climate change
Wednesday September 13, 2023, 7 pm Palestine time
TBA
Wednesday October 11, 2023, 7 pm Palestine time
Prof. Rashid Khalidi (Columbia University)
Wednesday November 8, 2023, 7 pm Palestine time
Prof. David Mumford (Brown and Harvard Universities)
Wednesday December 13, 2023, 7 pm Palestine time
Annemarie Jacir (Filmmaker)
Objectives
In concert with Scientists for Palestine and the Bisan Center for Research and Development, and in keeping with their joint commitment to full integration of Palestine in the global community of learning, the Bisan Lecture Series sponsors discourses on subjects of cultural, scientific, and societal importance by leading research experts and public intellectuals of varied heritage and viewpoint. The interactive webinars are free and open to the public, and recordings of each will be posted soon afterward.
Bisan Center for Research and Development
The Bisan Center is a non-governmental, nonprofit, democratic and progressive Civil Society Organization (CSO) that seeks to enhance Palestinian abilities and potentials for building an active civil and democratic community. The Bisan Center was established in 1989 and officially registered with the Palestinian Ministry of Interior in 2004.
The Bisan Center aligns itself with the poor and marginalized in Palestinian society, as it works to support their struggle in advancing their socioeconomic rights and builds partnerships with other progressive institutions. Among other activities, the Bisan Center regularly produces research reports centered on various problems of development, gender, youth, and social justice. These reports are published (in Arabic) in its annual journal Al-Taqadomi, which is peer-reviewed and focused on issues of development.
Steering Committee
