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DTSTAMP:20260119T234520
DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260121T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260121T173000
SUMMARY:Lecture / Discussion:CAS Book Talk. Between Armenian(s): A Conversation with Arakel Minassian
DESCRIPTION:Please join us for the re-launch of our graduate student Arakel Minassian’s co-written book *Sahmanakhagh(kht): Hayerenn u hayerēně [Border-play: The Armenian and the Armenian]*. In this book\, Arakel and Armenia-based writer Anahit Ghazaryan narrate a moment in time that found Arakel navigating life in Armenia as a Lebanese-Armenian diasporan from Canada. Written as a set of correspondences between Arakel and Anahit on topics ranging from everyday interactions to specific musings on language and dialect\, the book also narrates a meeting between the two major standards of Armenian – Arakel’s Western Armenian\, the standard of much of the post-genocide Armenian diaspora\, and Anahit’s Eastern Armenian\, the standard of the post-Soviet Armenian Republic. Written in their respective dialects (and their different orthographies)\, Anahit and Arakel’s dialogue illustrates the growing and complicated interactions between these two standards at the same time as it stages a discussion on diaspora\, home\, and the various meanings of Armenianness in the present-day. First published in Yerevan in 2022 with a grant from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation\, *Sahmanakhagh(kht)* is now in its second printing. This event will feature a discussion with Arakel Minassian in English\, as well as readings in both Armenian and English translation. Books will be available for purchase.\n   \n   Arakel Minassian is a PhD student in the University of Michigan’s Department of Comparative Literature. His research focuses on 20th century Armenian literature and how writers creatively and differently engage Armenian and non-Armenian traditions across locales as diverse as Istanbul\, Paris\, and Soviet Yerevan. Looking at nodes like multilingualism\, diaspora\, and world literature\, he tries to find novel ways of reading 20th century Armenian literary history. Arakel has also published several translations from Armenian\, including Zabel Yesayan’s 1918 book *The Agony of a People *and Yeghishe Charents’ 1920 poem *Vision of Death*\, among other works.\n   \n   Webinar ID\n   924 1095 7575\n   https://umich.zoom.us/j/92410957575\n   \nCosponsor: National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR)\n\n*Accommodation: If there is anything we can do to make this event accessible to you\, please contact us. Please be aware that advance notice is necessary as some accommodations may require more time for the university to arrange.\n   Email: -- armenianstudies@umich.edu
UID:142562-21891156@events.umich.edu
URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/142562
CLASS:PUBLIC
STATUS:CONFIRMED
CATEGORIES:Discussion,diaspora,Lecture,Armenian Studies,Book,comparative literature,Complit
LOCATION:Weiser Hall - 555
CONTACT:
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260112T145331
DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260121T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260121T173000
SUMMARY:Lecture / Discussion:Donia Human Rights Center Annual Martin Luther King\, Jr. Lecture | Still Struggling to Cross That Bridge: Connecting the US and African Civil Rights Movements
DESCRIPTION:Hala Al-Karib is the Regional Director of the Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA) and is the Donia Human Rights Center’s inaugural Raoul Wallenberg Human Rights Practitioner Fellow.  In her lecture\, Ms. Al-Karib will reflect on her experiences advocating for human rights in the African context and how it mirrors the fight for civil rights in the United States.\n\n\"I grew up in the diminishing shadows of the African liberation movements. My childhood recollections were filled with long political debates among my parents\, their friends\, older cousins\, and uncles about memories of leaders like Biko of South Africa\, Senghor of Senegal\, Nkrumah of Ghana\, Nyerere of Tanzania\, Nasser of Egypt\, and Patrice Lumumba of the Congo. Naturally\, this history has shaped my political consciousness.\n\nLater in my life\, I discovered that at the same time\, another liberation movement was unfolding across the Atlantic\, where young men and women of African descent were challenging a system that disregarded their humanity\; they also vigorously strived for equality\, justice\, and human rights. In this conversation I am going to have with you\, I will seek to illustrate how the quest for liberation and decolonization in Africa parallels the civil rights movement in America\; both movements are reflecting our extended struggle to cross over that bridge towards a peaceful and just society.\"\n\nCommentator\n\nCarina Ray\nA.M. and H.P. Bentley Chair and Associate Professor of African History\, Department of History\, U-M\n\nThis is event is free and open to the public and is in-person only. For questions\, please reach out to umichhumanrights@umich.edu.
UID:142119-21890028@events.umich.edu
URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/142119
CLASS:PUBLIC
STATUS:CONFIRMED
CATEGORIES:Africa,Mlk,human rights
LOCATION:Weiser Hall - Room 1010
CONTACT:
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260117T142002
DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260121T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260121T170000
SUMMARY:Workshop / Seminar:Pre-colloquium warmup seminar: everything you wanted to know about Brownian motion and Brownian loops (in 2d) but were afraid to ask
DESCRIPTION:This is an experimental informal learning session for those who may be interested in attending Yilin Wang's colloquium on Thursday. The plan is to discuss the definition and the conformal invariance of the Brownian motion and Brownian loops in 2d and why this can be related to the Laplacian.
UID:144075-21894615@events.umich.edu
URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/144075
CLASS:PUBLIC
STATUS:CONFIRMED
CATEGORIES:Mathematics
LOCATION:East Hall - 4088
CONTACT:
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260119T092447
DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260121T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260121T170000
SUMMARY:Workshop / Seminar:Student AIM Seminar: Sampling with Langevin Dynamics: Theory\, Algorithms\, and Limitations
DESCRIPTION:This talk introduces the overdamped Langevin stochastic differential equation as a method for sampling from complex probability distributions\, with brief historical context from statistical physics. We begin by deriving the infinitesimal generator of the Langevin diffusion and the associated Fokker–Planck equation\, which governs the evolution of probability densities. This correspondence allows us to characterize invariant (stationary) distributions and to analyze qualitative dynamical behavior\, including probability flow and transition times between modes of the distributions.\n\nExploiting the special Gibbs form of the stationary distribution\, we show how overdamped Langevin dynamics can be used as a practical sampling mechanism for high-dimensional target distributions. We then compare classical Metropolis–Hastings algorithms with Langevin-based methods\, highlighting their respective strengths\, such as improved scalability with data through gradient information\, as well as their limitations\, including discretization bias and sensitivity to step size. We conclude with remarks on challenges that arise when applying Langevin-based samplers to latent-variable models\, such as latent Dirichlet allocation and tree-structured latent variable models\, where other methods such as Variational Inference perform much quicker with great results.
UID:143954-21894310@events.umich.edu
URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/143954
CLASS:PUBLIC
STATUS:CONFIRMED
CATEGORIES:Applied Mathematics
LOCATION:East Hall - 3088
CONTACT:
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20251126T124446
DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260121T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260121T170000
SUMMARY:Workshop / Seminar:Thompson Sampling Algorithm for Stochastic Differential Games
DESCRIPTION:We study a stochastic differential game with $N$ competitive players in a linear-quadratic framework with ergodic cost\, where $d$-dimensional diffusion processes govern the state dynamics with an unknown common drift (matrix). Assuming a Gaussian prior on the drift\, we use filtering techniques to update its posterior estimates. Based on these estimates\, we propose a Thompson-sampling-based algorithm with dynamic episode lengths to approximate strategies. We show that the Bayesian regret for each player has an error bound of order $O(\sqrt{T\log(T)})$\, where $T$ is the time-horizon\, independent of the number of players. This implies that average regret per unit time goes to zero. Finally\, we prove that the algorithm results in a Nash equilibrium.
UID:142237-21890255@events.umich.edu
URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/142237
CLASS:PUBLIC
STATUS:CONFIRMED
CATEGORIES:Mathematics
LOCATION:East Hall - 1360
CONTACT:
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260324T085405
DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260121T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260121T170000
SUMMARY:Meeting:Unpacking the News with U-M Faculty Experts
DESCRIPTION:Each session offers a space to pause\, sort out what’s happening\, and engage in thoughtful\, civil discussion with peers. Bring your questions\, your curiosity\, and your perspective—no preparation required.\n\nJosh Pasek is Professor of Communication & Media and Political Science\, Faculty Associate at the Center for Political Studies\, Institute for Social Research\, and Associate Director of the Michigan Institute for Data Science at the University of Michigan.
UID:143802-21894054@events.umich.edu
URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/143802
CLASS:PUBLIC
STATUS:CONFIRMED
CATEGORIES:Media,Civic Engagement,Civic Learning,Culture,Education,Free,In Person,Politics,Social Impact,Talk,Undergraduate
LOCATION:Michigan Union - Pond Room
CONTACT:
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20251218T141138
DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260121T163000
DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260121T180000
SUMMARY:Social / Informal Gathering:Build-A-Hug Buddy at Baits II
DESCRIPTION:Celebrate National Hugging Day with the Baits II Diversity Peer Educator and Resident Advisors by making a stuffed animal! Take home your new fuzzy friend\, enjoy free snacks\, and connect with fellow residents.
UID:142916-21891805@events.umich.edu
URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/142916
CLASS:PUBLIC
STATUS:CONFIRMED
CATEGORIES:Free Food,Crafts,Community Engagement
LOCATION:Baits House II - Coman Lounge
CONTACT:
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260311T094357
DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260121T163000
DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260121T180000
SUMMARY:Workshop / Seminar:First Year Success Seminar Series
DESCRIPTION:Upcoming W26 topics include undergraduate research\, alumni panels on majors and careers\, graduate school pathways\, student panels on internships/co-op\, and more! If you have any questions\, please don't hesitate to contact the event organizer.\n\nUse the RSVP link to stay updated. \n\n💼 Internships & Co-ops: How Students Land Them + What They Learn\nThu\, March 26\, 2026\, 5–6pm\n📍2150 Dow\n\n• Wondering how engineering students get internships or co-ops — and what those experiences are really like?\n\n• This student panel brings together undergraduates from different engineering majors (CEE\, ME\, NERS) to talk about how they found their roles\, what skills they developed\, and how internships and co-ops shape career exploration and future opportunities.\n\n\nPizza provided*. 🍕  \n*To avoid food waste and ensure accurate food orders\, please RSVP to the Google calendar invite (you'll receive it after you RSVP) if you do plan to join us (we hope you do!).
UID:138671-21891327@events.umich.edu
URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/138671
CLASS:PUBLIC
STATUS:CONFIRMED
CATEGORIES:Welcome to Michigan,Engineering,First Year,free food,Undergraduate Students
LOCATION:Industrial and Operations Engineering Building - 1610
CONTACT:
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