Dear campus community,
Following is this week’s schedule for “Berkeley Conversations: COVID-19,” a series of live, online events featuring faculty experts from across the UC Berkeley campus who are sharing what they know, and what they are learning about the pandemic. New events are being added regularly. If you miss the live presentations; everything is being recorded and made available for viewing at any time on the Berkeley Conversations website.
COVID-19 in the global south: economic impacts and recovery
Live webcast: Wednesday, June 10 9–10:15 a.m. (Pacific)
COVID-19 is threatening the health and economic security of communities around the world, with dire implications for those living in poverty. As the pandemic unfolds, the Center for Effective Global Action (CEGA) is committed to sharing practical insights that can support evidence-based responses in the Global South. This event will focus on existing and completed research that sheds light on the economic toll of the pandemic, as well as the optimal design and targeting of cash transfer programs. We hope these insights will help to inform government and NGO decision-making in the face of what could quickly become a protracted crisis.
While registration for this event is not required, the organizers invite you to fill out this short survey before the event. You will be able to propose questions in advance through the survey and in real time through Facebook and Youtube.
Panelists include:
Ted Miguel, Oxfam Professor of Environmental and Resource Economics in the Department of Economics at UC Berkeley and Faculty co-Director of the Center for Effective Global Action (CEGA).
Supreet Kaur, Assistant Professor of Economics at UC Berkeley and CEGA affiliate.
Paul Niehaus, Associate Professor of Economics at UC San Diego, co-founder of the nonprofit GiveDirectly, co-founder of the emerging market fintech companies Segovia and Taptap Send, and CEGA affiliate.
Josh Blumenstock, Assistant Professor at UC Berkeley’s School of Information, Director of the Data-Intensive Development Lab, and CEGA faculty co-Director.
Carson Christiano, CEGA Executive Director, will moderate the panel.
This event is sponsored by the Center of Evaluation for Global Action.
Of Virulent Viruses and Reservoir Hosts
Live webcast: Friday, June 12 12–1 P.M. (Pacific)
Bats are thought to harbor hundreds of coronaviruses, as well as many other types of viruses that are highly pathogenic in humans. Dr. Cara Brook and Professor Britt Glaunsinger will provide insight into what allows bats to exist with such an array of potentially lethal viruses, how pathogens like the coronavirus jump into the human population and how the coronavirus is able to hijack a human cell to amplify itself and evade the immune system. They will also discuss the coordinated efforts across UC Berkeley to track the virus, discover exactly how it works and develop new therapies.
Speakers are:
Britt Glaunsinger, Professor, Department of Plant & Microbial Biology & Class of 1963 Endowed Chair, HHMI Investigator
Cara Brook, Miller Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Integrative Biology
This Berkeley Conversation is sponsored by the Rausser College of Natural Resources. It represents the first in a series of special talks and events that celebrate the College’s Plant & Microbial Biology (PMB) Department, which turns thirty this year.
We also want to provide you with information about additional online events taking place this week featuring Berkeley faculty in conversation about the issues that have been painfully brought to light over the past several days:
Berkeley Law will hold this webcast on race and policing on Monday, June 8, from 12:50 to 2 p.m.
The Othering and Belonging Institute will hold an online event (YouTube and Facebook Live) on Monday, June 8, from 2-3:30 p.m., featuring organizers on the frontlines in Minneapolis, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, along with our own Professor john a. powell, and Rev. Michael McBride (Live Free USA and Faith in Action). Speakers will examine the history of police violence and inequality on the Black community, the current context of white supremacy and Black resistance, and the possibilities and strategies for a racial justice future. Visit the Othering and Belonging website and Berkeley News on Monday for more information.
The Berkeley Osher Lifelong Learning Institute will hold a series of events under the title, “America’s Unfinished Work,” taken from a line in Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. The first in the series will feature Lawrence Rosenthal, founder and chair of the Berkeley Center for Right-Wing Studies, on Tuesday, June 9, at 3:30 p.m. who will speak about the role of white supremacist groups in the current crisis, and the global rise of far-right and nationalist regimes. Join the event via Zoom at this link: https://berkeley.zoom.us/j/95881505320
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