Happenings

Concerts

University of Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, semester’s final concert, featuring Bach’s Third Brandenburg Concerto, Rachmaninov’s Second Symphony, and new works or arrangements by six undergraduates, 8 p.m. April 15, free, Bellefield Hall Auditorium, Pitt Department of Music, www.music.pitt.edu

Pitt Jazz Ensemble Spring Concert, featuring ensemble with Master Drummer Carl Allen and Pittsburgh’s Jazz Master Dwayne Dolphin, 8 p.m. April 16, Bellefield Hall Auditorium, Pitt Department of Music, www.music.pitt.edu

Pitt Women’s Choral Ensemble Spring Concert, featuring variety of genres from chant to contemporary, 7:30 p.m. April 17, free, First Baptist Church of Pittsburgh, 159 N. Bellefield Ave., Oakland, Pitt Department of Music, www.music.pitt.edu

Pitt African Music and Dance Ensemble Spring Concert, featuring traditional and popular music of Africa, 8 p.m. April 17, Bellefield Hall Auditorium, Pitt Department of Music, www.music.pitt.edu

Heinz Chapel Choir Spring Concert: Departures, exploring theme through music selections that address physical and emotional leave-taking, 3 p.m. April 19, Cathedral of Learning Commons Room, Pitt Department of Music, www.music.pitt.edu

Exhibitions

Studio Arts Student Exhibition, showcasing the creative work of graduating seniors as well as works by majors and non-majors from Department of Studio Arts courses, through April 25, University Art Gallery, Frick Fine Arts Building, artist talks in the gallery, noon April 15, www.studioarts.pitt.edu

Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation, Elements, utilizes drawings and watercolors of bird nests to focus on the natural and man-made materials incorporated into these architectural structures, through June 30, Hunt Library, 4909 Frew St, Carnegie Mellon University, www.huntbotanical.org 

Hillman Library, Get to the Point!, features early drawings, postcards, engravings, maps, and photographs from the Pitt Library System Archives Service Center that document the history of the Point and Point State Park, through April 25, Hillman Library ground floor, http://digital.library.pitt.edu/pittsburgh/exhibits/thepoint 

Carnegie Museum of Art, Sketch to Structure, reveals the architectural design process to show how buildings take shape from an initial concept, through Aug. 17; Visiting Van Gogh: Still Life, Basket of Apples, provides a rare opportunity to experience four influential masterpieces up close and in-depth, through July 6; Antoine Catala:Distant Feel, a multimedia exploration of the way that images provoke emotion, especially as they travel virtual and physical distances via the Internet, through May 18, 4400 Forbes Ave., Oakland, www.cmoa.org 

Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Time Machines: Watches from the H. J. Heinz Collection, showcases more than 20 of ketchup entrepreneur H. J. Heinz’s most spectacular timepieces, through June 1; The Scientific Art of Charles R. Knight, showcases a collection of ten works with human and animal subjects spanning 200 million years, through April 26, 4400 Forbes Ave., Oakland, www.carnegiemnh.org

Lectures/Seminars/Readings 

“Foreign Policy and Political Culture: The Case of Greece,” Ioannis Stefanidis, professor of diplomatic history, School of Law, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, noon April 13, 4217 Posvar Hall, Pitt European Studies Center and European Union Center of Excellence, euce@pitt.edu 

“Muscle-Derived Stem Cell Depletion During Aging and Disease,” Johnny Huard, Henry J. Mankin Endowed Chair in Orthopaedic Surgery Research, Pitt School of Medicine, 4 p.m. April 13, Hillman Cancer Center, Cooper Pavilion Classroom B, Pitt Pittsburgh Center for Bone & Mineral Research Seminar Series, 412-623-1114

“Tiananmen Exiles: Voices of the Struggle for Democracy in China,” Rowena Xiaoqing He, lecturer, Harvard University’s Department of Government, and author of Tiananmen Exiles, 4:30 p.m. April 13, CMU’s Gates Hillman Center, Room 4307, Pitt Asian Studies Center, CMU’s Center for International Relations and Politics, www.cmu.edu

“The Dynamic Impact of Adiposity on Reproductive Hormones and Symptoms in Midlife Women: New Findings Challenging Old Paradigms,” Rebecca C. Thurston, Pitt associate professor of psychiatry, psychology, epidemiology, and clinical and translational science, noon April 16, A115 Crabtree Hall, Pitt Graduate School of Public Health Epidemiology Seminar, www.publichealth.pitt.edu

“Corals as Climate Communicators,” Kim Cobb, associate professor, School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, 4 p.m. April 16, Charity Randall Theatre, Stephen Foster Memorial Building, University Honors College, www.honorscollege.pitt.edu 

“Gay Steelworkers: Expanding How We Imagine Queer Folks, and How Working-Class Queers Expand Queer Possibility,” Anne Balay, activist and author of Steel Closets: Voices of Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Steelworkers (2014), 4 p.m. April 16, 324 Cathedral of Learning, Pitt Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies Program, www.gsws.pitt.edu

Pittsburgh Contemporary Writers Series: Peter Hessler, author and winner of 2014-15 William Block Sr. Award, 2011 MacArthur Fellowship, 2008 National Magazine Award for Excellence in Reporting, 8:30 p.m. April 16, Pitt Graduate School of Public Health Auditorium, Pitt Asian Studies Center, Pittsburgh Contemporary Writers Series, University Store on Fifth, http://pghwriterseries.wordpress.com

“The Second Step: Developing a Business Plan,” presented by Pitt’s Small Business Development Center, 7:30 a.m. April 17, Mervis Hall, www.entrepreneur.pitt.edu

“The End of Black Metropolis?” Mary Pattillo, Harold Washington Professor of Sociology and African American Studies, Northwestern University, noon April 23, 20th floor, Cathedral of Learning, Center on Race and Social Problems Spring 2015 Speaker Series, Pitt School of Social Work, Reed Smith LLP, www.socialwork.pitt.edu

Miscellaneous

Slavery and Abolition Research Symposium–A Symposium Honoring the Scholarship of Seymour Drescher, Pitt Distinguished University Professor, Department of History, 1 p.m. 

April 17, Frick Fine Arts Auditorium and Cloisters, Pitt European Studies Center and European Union Center of Excellence, Department of History, www.ucis.pitt.edu

Jean-Marie Villeneuve Presents His Film: Tout Est Faux, free screening and question-and-answer session with French filmmaker, 6 p.m. 

April 18, 332 Cathedral of Learning, Pitt European Studies Center and European Union Center of Excellence, www.ucis.pitt.edu 

PhD Dissertations

Amanda Phillips Chapman, Dietrich School’s Department of English, “Self-consciousness and Childhood in the Long Nineteenth Century,” 9 a.m. April 13, 501 Cathedral of Learning

Shelley Scherer, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, “Grant Evaluation: What Private Foundations Do and Why They Do it: An Examination of Grant Assessment Motivations and Practices,” 10 a.m. April 13, 3200 Posvar Hall

Perna Grover, Pitt School of Medicine’s Integrative Molecular Biology Program, “Understanding Active Abl Kinase Conformations: Application to Discovery of Small Molecule Allosteric Modulators,” 2 p.m. April 13, Room 503, Bridgeside Point II, 450 Technology Drive

Mark Langhans, Pitt School of Medicine’s Department of Molecular Genetics and Developmental Biology, “Wdpcp Affects Skeletogenesis via the Hedgehog Pathway,” 3 p.m. April 14, Room 402, Bridgeside Point II, 450 Technology Drive

Kevin Flanagan, Dietrich School’s Department of English, “The British War Film, 1939-1980: Culture, History, and Genre,” 10 a.m. April 15, 501 Cathedral of Learning

Shaina L. Stacy, Graduate School of Public Health’s Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, “Epidemiological Investigation of Infant Health and Environmental Exposures,” 9 a.m. April 17, Fifth Floor Conference Room, Bridgeside Point, 100 Technology Drive 

Cameron L. Kramer, Pitt School of Nursing, “Self-Management and Adherence in Chronic Disease,” 10 a.m. April 17, 451 Victoria Building

Lillian Laemmle, Pitt School of Medicine’s Department of Molecular Virology and Microbiology, “Polycistronic HSV Vectors for the Differentiation of Embryonic Stem Cells toward a Cardiac Lineage,” 2 p.m. April 20, Room 402, Bridgeside Point II, 450 Technology Drive

Velin Kounev, School of Information Sciences’ Telecommunications and Networking Program, “Secure Real-Time Smart Grid Communications: A Microgrid Prospective,” 12:15 p.m. April 22, 828 IS Building

Andrew Hertsenberg, Pitt School of Medicine’s Department of Molecular Genetics and Developmental Biology, “Stem Cells for the Treatment of Corneal Fibrosis,” 10 a.m. April 23, 129 Victoria Hall

Candice Nadia Wilson, Dietrich School’s Department of English, “Unseen Femininity: Women in Japanese New Wave Cinema,” 9 a.m. April 27, 501 Cathedral of Learning