NYU Abu Dhabi's new season of talks to feature Nobel laureate Art McDonald

Autumn programme will include a diversity of speakers from the fields of history, heritage, literature and architecture

Starting on September 8, NYU Abu Dhabi will launch a full programme of in-person talks, including one on the evolution of architecture in the UAE. Photo: NYU Abu Dhabi

After two years of online-only events, the NYU Abu Dhabi Institute has announced an autumn programme of in-person talks.

Starting on September 8, the line-up will include a wide array of speakers, discussing topics ranging from heritage and history to politics and architecture.

NYUAD will present three series — Al Andalus, Environment and the Middle East, and Philanthropy.

The first talk to start the season will be Understanding Our Universe From 2km Underground, featuring Art McDonald, the Nobel laureate in Physics. The session will delve into the experiments taking place in deep underground labs, which seek to address fundamental questions about our universe; from how the Sun burns to black matter particles.

Some of the other talks that will take place include Between Skylines and Deserts: Space in Photography Series, on September 14, where photographers Ammar Al Attar and Hussain AlMoosawi will discuss how the UAE’s spaces have physically changed, as captured by their photographic series.

At The Evolution of Architecture in the UAE, on September 22, Rashad M Bukhash, chairman of the Architectural Heritage Society, will give a talk exploring the evolution of architecture in the UAE. It will start with architectural and archaeological sites from 6000 BC, and continue to the 1980s.

On September 26, 50U: The Story of the UAE in 50 portraits will be centred on factual accounts of the UAE’s history, told alongside human stories. The stories are drawn from extensive interviews with the young nation’s residents and visitors, compiled in the book 50U, which was published to mark the UAE's 50th anniversary.

Speakers will include Francesco Degl'Innocenti, managing editor of 50U, its editor Anna Seaman and project director Khawla Bin Khediya.

More information and the full calendar of events are available at www.nyuad.nyu.edu/en

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