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Faculty Host	Topic	Date
Dr. Ornit Chiba-Falek	From Bench to Bedside in Neurogenomic Basic science discoveries of the underpinning genetic mechanisms in Alzheimer’s-Parkinson’s spectrum disorders has translational implications in precision medicine for the development of both predictive biomarkers and therapeutics targets.	January 22nd, 2020 7:30 p.m.

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Faculty Host	Topic	Date
Dr. Kate Scholberg	Scanning the Sky from Underground Neutrinos are fundamental particles that famously slide right through matter. We can see neutrinos shining in the sky using building sized particle detecotrs located deep underground. These neutrinos may tell us the answers to many questions about the universe.	February 5th, 2020 7:30 p.m.
Dr. Jennifer Lawson	Climate Change and Health: Roles and Responsibilities The impact of climate change on health is broad and far-reaching. The group will discuss multiple areas of impact and consider our roles and responsibilities in this critical issue.	February 25th, 2020 7:30 p.m.

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Faculty Host	Topic	Date
Ryan Shaw	Digital Health and the Future of Healthcare Duke Health like other patient care organizations is changing in the digital age. What are the opportunities this affords to improve health and what are concerns we must address?	March 23rd, 2020 6:00 p.m.
Dr. William Parker	The Link between Acetaminophen and Autism Exploring the link between autism spectrum disorder and acetaminophen exposure after birth.	March 30th, 2020 6:00 p.m.

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Faculty Host	Topic	Date
Dr. Amy Corneli	Community Perspecitves on Biomedical HIV Prevention Photographs and stories that describe collective roles in preventing HIV among young women in the country of Kenya	April 15th, 2020 7:30 p.m.

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Faculty Host	Topic	Date
Dr. Kenneth Rogerson	Technology and Politics This can range from social media to political campaigns to foreign interference in US election: while technology is neutral, anyone can use tech to further their agendas. Thus, President Trump’s tweets matter. But Twitter can also be used to spread anti-Trump information. On the other side, political institutions regularly weigh in on tech regulation, from foreign interference in US elections to the security of your personal information online. How are you using tech in a political way? Have attempts to regulate technology had an impact on your life? Let’s talk.	November 4th, 2019 6:00 p.m.
Professor Steve Nowicki	How Occam’s Razor is Sometimes Dulled A story of birdsong and braininess: “Birdsong is learned and learned features of a male’s song are known to affect female mating preferences. The “developmental stress hypothesis” explains this relationship by suggesting that song serves as an indicator of male quality. This hypothesis has been supported by data from labs around the world. A follow-on hypothesis, one we proposed 20 years ago, is that the benefit females gain by mating with males having well-learned songs is that these males must have higher cognitive capacity in general, given their better-built brains. That is, better singers should be smarter. The simplicity and intuitive appeal of this idea led many researchers to assume it must be true even before it was adequately tested. When we finally completed definitive experiments, however, this elegant hypothesis found itself crushed under the unrelenting weight of contrary data. This proved to be an object lesson in the importance of adequately testing intuitively simply hypotheses and of publishing negative results that undermine favored hypotheses.	November 11th, 2019 7:00 p.m.
Dr. Hayden Bosworth	Population Health Science and Social Influences of Healthcare Population health science involves the study of relationships between health influences and/or health outcomes in large populations. It sits at the intersection of medicine and public health, spanning basic and social sciences, enabling integrated research that encompasses virtually every domain of life and society. A goal of population health science is to close the gap between research discovery and program delivery. The social determinants of health are the economic and social conditions that influence individual and group differences in health status.	November 12th, 2019 7:30 p.m.
Dr. Jory Weintraub	Science Miscommunication How and why corporations spin science to advance their agenda, and what we can do about it. Just as quickly as scientists in the 50s started to uncover links between cigarettes and human disease, tobacco companies started to produce their own version of “science” to counter medical evidence. Their methods for doing this were so successful that corporations, lobbyists and interest groups have continued to employ this play-book to spin science in ways that advance their agenda, right up through today. Let’s explore and discuss how the strategies developed in the 50s continue to be applied in “controversial” areas of current science, such as climate change, vaccines, and even evolution.	November 18th, 2019 7:30 p.m.

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Faculty Host	Topic	Date
Misha Angrist	Miracles Ain’t Cheap: The Daunting Challenge of Paying for Novel Gene Therapies Gene therapies have come a long way since the unfulfilled hype of the 1980s and 1990s. Today they have begun to change the lives of patients with devastating diseases, including spinal muscular atrophy, B-cell cancers, beta thalassemia, and a rare form of primary immunodeficiency; some 800 more are in development. But with price tags ranging from the hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars, how will we afford these transformative therapies?	December 2nd, 2019 7:30 p.m.

2019 Spring Dinner Dialogues

January

Faculty Host	Topic	Date
Dr. Jeremy Kay	Genes, Brain Development, and Disease Genetic research holds promise for understanding and treating the biochemical basis of nervous system disorders. But the interactions between genes, development, and behavior are extremely complex — leading to confusion about what this promising field can offer. What can genes really tell us about brain development and disease?	January 16th, 2019 7:30 p.m.
Dr. Hayden Bosworth	The role of social determinants and the unequal dissemination of scientific and technological progress in our society.	January 17th, 2019 7 p.m.
Dr. Ornit Chiba-Falek	Translating genetic data into precision medicine in age-related diseases Deciphering the genetics factors underlying age-related neurodegenerative diseases in the Alzheimer’s-Parkinson’s spectrum has a translational potential to advance the development of highly informative and precise biomarkers.	January 23rd, 2019 7 p.m.
Dr. John Moses	Medicine and the Vision of Documentary Photography How photography can be used to explore various health topics. I will present some of my own documentary projects as well as examples of student work.	January 30th, 2019 7 p.m.

February

Faculty Host	Topic	Date
Dr. William Parker	Do we really need intestinal worms to be healthy? Several underlying factors cause disturbingly high levels of inflammatory-related disease in Western society. These diseases include allergies, autoimmune conditions, digestive disorders, and a range of neuropsychiatric disorders including migraine headaches, chronic fatigue, anxiety disorders and depression. In a twist on the “hygiene hypothesis”, emerging evidence strongly points toward the loss of intestinal worms as being one of the primary factors underlying these diseases. Video & Readings: Not infection with parasitic worms, but rather colonization with therapeutic helminths – PubMed Evolution of the hygiene hypothesis into biota alteration theory: what are the paradigms and where are the clinical applications? – PubMed Worms inside us: Lecture on therapeutic helminths to the North Carolina Science Museum – YouTube	February 6th, 2019 7 p.m.
Drs. Barak Richman & Laura Richman	How policy can move the needle on health disparities	February 7th, 2019 8 p.m.
Dr. Dori Steinberg	Mobile technologies for tracking behavior – helpful or harmful? We will discuss the ethics of developing health and fitness apps that are not evidence-based, but are being used by millions of Americans. Should these apps be regulated? Should they be required to show effectiveness? Video & Readings: Science Says Fitness Trackers Don’t Work. Wear One Anyway. – WIRED Read This Before You Tap That Mobile Health App – U.S. News	February 11th, 2019 6:00 p.m.
Dr. Ron Grunwald	Invasive Aliens, or Welcome Immigrants? Morality and Conservation Biology Why do environmentalist, who tend to be progressive and fight against anti-immigrant policies in the political arena, suddenly embrace ‘anti-immigrant’ policies and vilify the ‘foreigner’ when it comes to animals and plants, so-called “invasive species”? Can you be a progressive and anti-racist, and at the same time be a genetic purist when it comes to the conservation of ‘natural’ populations? Video & Readings: Conceptualizing and Evaluating Non-Native Species – Nature We don’t need to save endangered species. Extinction is part of evolution. – Washington Post The Pyron Lab – GWU	February 12th, 2019 7 p.m.
Prof. Dan Ariely	Predictably Irrational In this session we will talk about how to use social science and behavioral economics to design products that take into account human decision-making to help people make better decisions. Videos: Are we in control of our own decisions? – TED Beware conflicts of interest – TED	February 18th, 2019 6:30 p.m.
Dr. Kevin LaBar	The Feasibility and Ethics of Emotional Mind Reading Explore how recent advances in machine learning and neuroimaging can benefit society by advancing a neurobiological understanding of mental health disorders. And discuss the numerous ethical considerations raised by such emotional ‘mind-reading’ data.	February 19th, 2019 7 p.m.
Dr. Sara Haravifard	A Journey to the Dark Side of Quantum Mechanics In this session we will discuss the bizarre world of quantum mechanics and its applications, from theories of multi-universe to discoveries of exotic properties in materials and their technological applications. Videos & Readings: Schrödinger’s Cat – Minute Physics on YouTube What can Schrödinger’s cat teach us about quantum mechanics? – TEDed, with Josh Samani What in the world is topological quantum matter? – TEDed, with Fan Zhang	February 27th, 2019 7 p.m.
Prof. Jonathan Wiener	Going to Mars: Risks and Rewards Several commercial ventures are currently planning to take humans to Mars in the near future. What are the risks and rewards of such ventures, and how should we design public policies to promote the best outcomes? Who should make these decisions? Videos & Readings: Elon Musk says SpaceX is on track to launch people to Mars within 6 years — here’s the full timeline of his plans to populate the red planet – Business Insider Mars – SpaceX	February 28th, 2019 7:30 p.m.

March

Faculty Host	Topic	Date
Professor Greg Appelbaum	Neurodoping: Brain stimulation as a Performance-enhancing Technique in Competitive Sports (and Everywhere Else) Noninvasive brain stimulation techniques have been shown to effectively modulate brain function, accelerate learning, and improve recovery. This Dinner Dialogue will address the pragmatic and ethical considerations of neurostimulation to gain a competitive advantage. Video & Readings: Halo Neuroscience x United States Ski Team – YouTube Performance Enhancement by Brain Stimulation – Journal of Sports Medicine Neuro-doping: The rise of another loophole to get around anti-doping policies – Cogent, Social Sciences	March 5th, 2019 7 p.m.
Dr. Brian Murray	Exploring a Climate-driven Energy Transition Video & Readings: Global Energy Transformation, A Roadmap to 2050 – International Renewable Energy Association As Congress Tackles Climate, Markets Are The Engine But Policies Set The Direction – Forbes The Green New Deal: Here’s What’s Actually in the Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Energy Plan</	March 19th, 2019 7 p.m.
Dr. Gavin Yamey	The Future of Global Health Cooperation: Opportunities & Roadblocks Spurred on by the adoption of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the global health community has achieved dramatic gains in recent decades. How well is the world equipped to take on this next generation of challenges? Video & Readings: A Grand Convergence in Global Health – YouTube	March 20th, 2019 6 p.m.
Dr. Don Fox	Fighting Disease and Food Supply Sustainability With Genetically Modified Insects With the advent of precision genetic engineering to produce Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO), new strategies to potentially control insect populations are becoming easier to implement. We will discuss how insects can be genetically modified, examples of such modifications in disease control and agriculture, differences in perception of GMO by scientists and the public, and the challenges going forward. Video & Readings: Scientists Release Controversial Genetically Modified Mosquitoes In High-Security Lab – NPR Five Things to Know about Genetically Modified (GM) Insects for Vector Control What Is Stopping the Use of Genetically Modified Insects for Disease Control?	March 26th, 2019 7 p.m.
Dr. Beth Sullivan	Junk DNA, Health, and the Completion of the Human Genome In 2003, the human genome was announced as completed. However, in reality, up to 20% of the genome remains incomplete and is excluded from the human genome assembly. We will discuss what regions were excluded, why they were considered “junk DNA”, what implications they might have for human health and disease. Video & Readings: Genomics Researchers Say ‘Junk’ DNA Key to Advancing Medicine – R&D Mag The Y Chromosome’s Still-Uncharted Regions – the Atlantic Variations in “Junk” DNA Leads to Trouble – Duke Today The Predictive Power Of The Junk In Your Genome – 88.5 WFDD	March 27th, 2019 7 p.m.

April

Faculty Host	Topic	Date
Dr. Jennifer Lawson	Health as an Ecosystem We will explore discussion around imagining what “health as an ecosystem” might mean. How might such a lens influence perspectives? And what might be the impact? Readings Health is Membership – Wendell Berry The Imperative for Climate Action to Protect Health – New England Journal of Medicine Climate Change — A Health Emergency – New England Journal of Medicine An ecosystem framework for understanding and treating disease – Foundation for Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health	April 3rd, 2019 7 p.m.
Dr. Kevin Weinfurt	Understanding In Informed Consent for Research There is currently debate about the role of research participants’ understanding in the context of informed consent for research. Do they NEED to know anything? If so, what? And at what level of detail? How does the type of study influence our answers to these questions? Video & Readings: Humanities in Medicine – Video A Hybrid Theory of Claim-Rights – Gopal Sreenivasan Exploring Understanding of “Understanding”: The Paradigm Case of Biobank Consent Comprehension – Laura M. Beskow, MPH, PhD; Kevin P. Weinfurt, PhD Exploring Understanding of “Understanding”: The Paradigm Case of Biobank Consent Comprehension – Appendices – Laura M. Beskow, MPH, PhD; Kevin P. Weinfurt, PhD	April 9th, 2019 7 p.m.
Professor Jory Weintraub	Science Miscommunication: How and Why Corporations Spin Science to Advance their Agenda, and What We Can Do About It Just as quickly as scientists in the 50s started to uncover links between cigarettes and human disease, tobacco companies started to produce and promote their own versions of “science” to counter medical evidence. Their methods for doing this were so successful that corporations, lobbyists and interest groups have continued to employ this playbook to spin science in ways that advance their agenda, right up through today. In this Dinner Dialogue we’ll explore and discuss how the strategies developed by tobacco companies in the 50s continue to be applied in “controversial” areas of current science, such as climate change, vaccines and even evolution. Video & Readings: Doctors Recommend Smoking 60 Years Ago – YouTube Early 1960’s Cigarette Ads – YouTube “Merchants of Doubt” trailer – YouTube Climate Science Denial Explained: Tactics of Denial – Skeptical Science	April 10th, 2019 7:30 p.m.
Dr. Sharron Docherty	Defining Quality of Life: Whose Life is it, Anyway? As medical advances have increased survival for those with previously fatal conditions, our focus has shifted from quantity to quality of life. While an objective definition of quality of life has remained elusive, some shared sense of clarity around its meaning is necessary for those who must take account when making or assisting with difficult medical decisions. Readings: “Pepperoni Pizza and Sex” – ScienceDirect ‘Is it better not to know certain things?’: views of women who have undergone non-invasive prenatal testing on its possible future applications – Journal of Medical Ethics	April 17th, 2019 6 p.m.
Dr. Jessie Tenenbaum	De-Identified Clinical Data in the Genomic Era US law permits secondary use of de-identified clinical data for research purposes without a patient’s knowledge or consent. But biospecimens, and genomic sequence data derived from them, are increasingly linked to clinical data in the era of genomic and precision medicine. What are the risks involved, and where should the limits lie? Video & Readings: Every Patient a Subject – SLATE A genome hacker’s experience with the privacy of shared data – Yaniv Erlich, TED Talk	April 18th, 2019 7 p.m.
Dr. Amy Corneli	Biomedical HIV Prevention & Supporting African Women The discussion will first focus on biomedical HIV prevention, HIV in Africa, and then the role society plays in supporting or not supporting young African women’s ability to take action to reduce their HIV risk.	April 25th, 2019 7 p.m.

2018 Fall Dinner Dialogues

September

October

Faculty Host	Topic	Date
Dr. Anthony Galanos	Patients & Their Families During End of Life Care Readings: “When Breath becomes Air” Paul Kalanithi (2016)	October 1st, 2018 7:00 p.m.
Dr. Lori Bennear	Autonomous Vehicles: Good or Bad for the Planet?	RESCHEDULED New Date TBD
Dr. Kate Scholberg	Chasing Neutrinos – Unlocking the Mysteries of the Universe Join Dr. Scholberg for dinner and a discussion on this elusive particle, why the fundamental science is so important to our understanding of the universe, and how it might practically affect our lives.	October 3rd 7:00 p.m.
Dr. Alexander Rosenberg	Neuroscience and narrative explanation, the theory of mind, interpretive social science and the humanities Readings: How History Gets Things Wrong– Time Magazine Is Neuroscience a Bigger Threat Than Artifical Intelligence – NY Times	October 10th, 2018 7:30 p.m.
Dr. Regis Kopper	Real World Applications of Virtual Reality In this science and society dialogue, we will discuss the potential impact VR can have in serious application areas, ranging from learning and education to the advancement of a wide range of fields, such as health care, public safety and the humanities. Readings: 7 Surprising Real-world Uses for VR – Fool.com Is VR Set to Disrupt the Digital Workplace? – CMS Wire	October 15th, 2018 7 p.m.
Dean Stephen Nowicki	What can birds really tell us about humans? Stephen Nowicki, Duke’s Dean of Undergraduate Education, addressed the Class of 2020 during convocation. Readings: Categorical perception of colour signals in a songbird – Nature Birds perceive colours in categories – Nature	October 16th, 2018 7 p.m.
Professor Kevin LaBar	The feasibility and ethics of emotional mind reading Video: Emotional Brain – Mysteries of the Brain Readings: Decoding Spontaneous Emotional States in the Human Brain – PLOS Biology This is what emotions look like in your brain – CNN	RESCHEDULED
Dr. Kenneth Rogerson	Do You Trust What You Like? – When Social Media & Politics Mix In a world where more information flows than we can ever successfully navigate, is it even possible to sift through it to know what is true and relevant to the choices we must make as citizens? Video: Dr. Rogerson from the Cyber Governance and Policy Center Readings: How the World Changed Social Media – UCL Press	October 22nd, 2018 7 p.m.
Professor David McAdams	Big data and the future of privacy In this Dinner Dialogue, we will explore the question of privacy through the lens of game theory–discussing not just the coming upheaval in the digital economy but the intertwined impact of changing social relationships, scientific innovation, and government action. Video: How game theory is applied across a wide variety of problems 2014 interview with Science for the People Readings: “The Future of Privacy” by Lee Rainie and Janna Anderson, Pew Research Center: Internet and Technology, 2014 The End of Privacy – NY Times Attempts to stay anonymous on the web will only put the NSA on your trail – The Guardian	October 23rd, 2018 7 p.m.

November

Faculty Host	Topic	Date
Professor Sallie Permar	Giving All Infants a Healthy Start to Life Dr. Permar is a physician scientist focusing on the prevention and treatment of neonatal viral infections. She leads a research laboratory investigating immune protection against vertical transmission of neonatal viral pathogens, namely HIV and cytomegalovirus (CMV). Readings: The Permar Research Laboratory	November 5th, 2018 7:30 p.m.
Professor Brian Hare	Can understanding animals make us better people? We often assume that we are the most intelligent animals on earth. But this uni-dimensional view of intelligence has been outdated for decades. What can we learn from other animals, both in how they solve problems and their emotional intelligence, and how can this knowledge help us be better people? Video & Readings: Brian Hare reveals what the animal mind can tell us about our minds and ourselves Stories of Impact: Animal Intelligence	November 6th, 2018 7 p.m.
Professor Bill Adair	Truth and Trust in Politics Can automated journalism help us battle falsehoods in American politics? And can anything help us heal the partisan divide? Readings: Overview on automated fact-checking research Student tests of Alexa app Students tackle big challenges in automated fact-checking	November 7th, 2018 7 p.m.
Professor Walter Sinnott-Armstrong	Moral Artificial Intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is beginning to be used for many life-and-death decisions —such as autonomous cars and weapons as well as criminal punishment and distribution of kidneys for transplantation. Is it immoral to leave such decisions to machines? Will AI systems or robots act in immoral or destructive ways? Will computers make morally better decisions than humans do? Can AI improve human moral judgments? We will discuss these and related questions, and I will describe how our Bass Connections research group uses a hybrid method of programming morality into artificial intelligence systems. Video & Readings: Understanding the four types of AI, from reactive robots to self-aware beings – The Conversation Why are we reluctant to trust robots? – The Guardian	November 8th, 2018 7 p.m.
Dr. Sharron Docherty	Death and dying in a medically technological and curative focused world.	RESCHEDULED, TBD
Professor Jeff Ward	Machine Learning With Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) GANs are representative of the rapidly evolving capacities of artificial intelligence and may signal the legal, regulatory, and cultural challenges that remain on the horizon. We’ll explore how GANs are different in scope, potentially different in kind, and why this matters. Readings: The Ganfather, the Man Whos Given machiens the Gift of Imagination – MIT Technology Review Generative Adversarial Nets	November 13th, 2018 7 p.m.
Dr. Miles Berger	Making Sense of Confusion: Studying Postoperative Cognitive Dysfunction, Neuroinflammation, and Alzheimer’s Disease Why do so many older patients develop thinking and memory problems after anesthesia and surgery? What might be causing these problems? And how might we prevent them for future patients and loved ones? Readings: Postoperative Cognitive Dysfunction The Risk of Going Under – Scientific American The Post-Op Brain – Science Magazine	November 15th, 2018 6:30 p.m.
Professor Hiroaki Matsunami	Making Sense of Our Senses We all know the sweet smell of cinnamon and the tangy aftertaste of lemon. But at the molecular level, what is really happening? Why are there some certain chemicals only some humans can sense? We still don’t fully know, but Dr. Matsunami and his lab are working on the answers! Videos & Readings: Duke Research Computing Minute Marvel – Post-doc Claire de March shows how cluster computing helped her model odor molecules.	November 19th, 2018 7 p.m.
Professor Priscilla Wald	Science and Science Fiction The computer running your spaceship has turned homicidal; you have crash landed on a planet run by talking apes. Your little sister can read your mind; your future is revealed in the DNA sample taken moments after your birth. From space travel to time travel, from mind control to genetic manipulation, from aliens to sentient robots, no genre has more fully captured—and influenced–the relationship between important scientific discoveries and profound geopolitical and social transformations than science fiction. If you have a passion for science fiction, a curiosity about how it has sparked the scientific imagination, or just want to know more about it, let’s talk! Readings: Speech Sounds by Octavia E. Butler A Dialogue: Samuel Delany and Joanna Russ on Science Fiction	November 28th, 2018 7 p.m.

December

Faculty Host	Topic	Date
Dr. Charles Gersbach	Ethics and societal implications of genome editing Genome editing has made it possible to alter the genome sequences of humans, animals, insects, and plants in almost any way. This technology is being developed to correct mutations that cause genetic disease, engineer animals whose organs can be transplanted to humans, eliminate insect species that carry diseases such as malaria and zika virus, and modify plants to address world hunger. The implications for science and society are manifold. Breaking News! EXCLUSIVE: Chinese scientists are creating CRISPR babies – MIT Tech Review Chinese researcher claims first gene-edited babies – AP Editing Babies? We Need to Learn a Lot More First – NY Times Readings: Editing Humanity – The Economist Will Editing Your Baby’s Genes Be Mandatory? – The Atlantic On Human Gene Editing: International Summit Statement – That National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine The Future of Food – The Washington Post	December 5th, 2018 7 p.m.
Dr. Misha Angrist	Blood on the Tracks: What Does the Theranos Story Tell us About Science and Startup Culture? The dramatic rise and precipitous fall of Theranos is stuff of which movies are made (starring Jennifer Lawrence). But beyond the popcorn-worthy drama, what does Theranos teach us about innovation, science and the biotech economy? Readings: She Absolutely Has Sociopathic Tendencies’: Elizabeth Holmes, Somehow, Is Trying To Start A New Company! – Vanity Fair Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes and former president Balwani charged by feds with wire fraud – CNBC	December 6th, 2018 7 p.m.
Dr. Richard Bedlack	Exploring the new ‘Right to Try’ law Readings: The Disingenuousness of ‘Right to Try’ – The Atlantic	December 13th, 2018 7 p.m.

All 2018-2019 Hosts

Participant Selection

The S&S Dinner Dialogues is committed to selecting a new audience for each dinner composed of participants with diverse professional and cultural backgrounds, professional interests, and years and areas of study. To accomplish this goal, the program staff will offer priority to participants who have not attended an S&S dinner before and who explain their interest in the topic and the faculty host. Students, post-doctoral fellows, researchers and faculty of all backgrounds, majors, degrees, etc. are welcome to sign up.

Participant Notification & Follow-up

Participants accepted to a dinner after they signed up through the S&S website will be notified by the Dinner liaison at least 3 days before (and often earlier) for the dinner for which they signed up. Along with their notification of acceptance or wait-listing, students may also receive reading materials recommended by the host. In such cases, students are encouraged to read the materials and to come prepared to engage in a lively conversation.

Waitlist

We expect that the number of interested participants will be higher than the number of seats open for each dinner. Therefore, will keep a waitlist. If seats become available after one or more accepted attendees cancel their participation, we will notify the waitlisted participants and assign the available spots in order.

Code of Conduct

The S&S Dinner Dialogues have been established by the Duke Initiative for Science & Society with support from the Office of the Provost with the goal of bring undergraduate and graduate students, post-doctoral researchers, and faculty together across campus to engage in meaningful and ongoing dialogues about the broader implications for society of scientific and technological progress. Students and faculty participating in this program are expected to listen to each other’s perspectives and act with respect, cross-cultural sensitivity and an open mind.

Transportation

The Science & Society Dinner Dialogues Program will offer transportation to participants. All attendees who are taking the group transportation must be in front of the North Building (located on 304 Research Drive) no later than 10 minutes before the designated pick-up time. You will be notified of the precise pick-up time, which will vary based on the distance of the host’s location. If you are late, you will be responsible for your own transportation. Participants will also be given the address of the dinner in advance, and can choose self-transporation to the event.

Cancellation Policy

If you unable to attend a dinner that you signed up and have been accepted to attend, you are required to give the Science & Society Dinner Dialogues Liaison member responsible for your dinner notice at least 24 hours in advance.

If your notification is not received on time you may be prohibited from attending Science & Society Dinner Dialogues for the remainder of the semester.

DUKE CONVERSATIONS

S&S Dinner Dialogues differs from Duke Conversations in that our discussions will always focus on the intersection of science, technology, and society. In addition, attendance at our events incorporates a mix of undergraduate and graduate students, postdocs, researchers, and other faculty. This can make reserving a seat difficult for high-demand events. If you are an undergraduate student and you were not able to attend your preferred Dinner Dialogue or if you are looking for additional events with more broad topics, we highly encourage you to look for opportunity in the Duke Conversations program.

Visit the Duke Conversations website for more information.