Cal State San Bernardino’s Provost Presents Faculty Research Series returns this fall with three talks exploring mathematics and evolution, the future of art, and artificial intelligence literacy in higher education.
The fall series will feature three presentations spanning mathematics, art history, and library research. All three are scheduled from noon-1 p.m. in the Faculty Center for Excellence, PL-4005, with a Zoom option available for each.
CSUSB Libraries organizes the series in collaboration with the Faculty Center for Excellence and the Office of the Provost.
Rebecca Lubas, dean of CSUSB Libraries, said the series gives the campus community an opportunity to engage with faculty research.
“I’m thrilled that the library is the site for showcasing the work of our talented CSUSB faculty,” she said.
All programs are free and open to the public. Attendees are encouraged to bring their questions and join the discussion.
The first talk in the Provost Presents Faculty Research Series will take place on Thursday, Oct. 1, when Hector Banos, assistant professor of mathematics, presents “Untangling Evolution Through Mathematics.”
Banos will explore how mathematics can help us understand and reconstruct the evolutionary history of life. By combining mathematical models with genomic data, he will present methods developed to infer how species are related in different evolutionary settings. He will also highlight the importance of collaboration among mathematics, biology, statistics and computer science in addressing these complex scientific questions.
The presentation is intended for a general audience and requires no prior background in mathematics or biology.
Zoom: https://tinyurl.com/MathematicalPhylogenetics
On Thursday, Oct. 29, Matthew Poole, professor of art history and theory, will present “Curating the Future of Art.” Poole will examine the future of art and curatorial practice through “The Edinburgh Companion to Curatorial Futures,” a 32-chapter volume that brings together perspectives from curators, artists, scholars and cultural leaders from around the world.
He will consider urgent questions about what it means to imagine the future of art in a cultural environment shaped by presentism, repetition and speculation. He will also explore how artists and curators respond to the conditions of the present as they imagine and shape possible futures.
Poole’s broader work encompasses exhibition-making, publishing artists’ projects and writing about the production and distribution of art.
Zoom: https://tinyurl.com/Curatorial-Futures
The fall series concludes on Thursday, Nov. 5, with “Listening to the Voices of the Pack: Defining AI Literacy at CSUSB,” presented by Sanjeet Mann, systems and discovery librarian, and William Ortiz, coordinator of library instruction. They will examine what AI literacy means to CSUSB students and faculty, a question that has taken on new urgency as generative AI tools reshape classroom practices, assignments and expectations across higher education.
Their presentation draws on a recent multi-campus qualitative study in which a CSUSB faculty research team examined perceptions of AI literacy among students and faculty. Mann and Ortiz will share findings from that research and discuss how faculty and students can develop critical thinking and culturally responsive practices through their engagement with AI.
Mann’s research examines the ethical and organizational implications of technology. Ortiz’s research focuses on first-generation students, culturally responsive teaching and active learning in library instruction.
Zoom: https://tinyurl.com/AILiteracyStudy
For questions or more information about the series, contact Rob Madrigal at rmadriga@csusb.edu.