Iowa State Lectures Program

🔬A Hyena's Tale: 35 Years of On-The-Ground Research
Step inside the world of one of Africa’s most misunderstood predators. Join Dr. Kay Holekamp as she shares what decades of field research in Kenya have revealed about spotted hyenas, from their female-dominant social structures to intelligence, cooperation, survival, and the conservation challenges facing large African carnivores.

📅Thursday, Oct 8 | 7:00 PM
📍Sun Room, Memorial Union

A 2026 Paul L. Errington Memorial Lecture.

Check out this week's events:

https://www.lectures.iastate.edu/events

🗳️ Is the Electoral College actually terrible?

Every four years, Americans head to the polls thinking they're voting directly for President — but there's a 230-year-old obstacle in the way. Join Mr. Beat (aka Matthew Beat) as he breaks down how the Electoral College works, why it exists, and why he thinks it's one of the most misunderstood and controversial features of American democracy.

📅 Tuesday, Sept 29 | 6:00 PM
📍 2630 Memorial Union

Part of the America250 lecture series.

Mr. Beat is a YouTuber, educator, and musician whose channels — Mr. Beat and The Beat Goes On — have reached over 1.4 million subscribers and 370 million views. The University Book Store will be onsite selling his books.

How is AI really changing business?

From startups to manufacturing floors to the defense industry, artificial intelligence is reshaping how organizations innovate, govern data, and make decisions. Join Dr. Tom Hall — former U.S. Army Ranger, director of defense for Jabil, and former director of AI at Jabil — for a talk on how AI is transforming defense and aerospace, and what it will take to scale next-generation solutions.

📅 Monday, Sept 28 | 6:00 PM
📍 Great Hall, Memorial Union

Dr. Hall brings experience across startups, Cisco, Veritas, and Jabil, plus research at the intersection of venture capital and defense technology. He's also an adjunct professor at the University of South Florida — and an ISU alum!

Don't Swipe Right: How Hookup Culture Is Destroying Our Generation

Join us for a talk examining the cultural and social effects of hookup culture on Generation Z, presented by Isabel Brown, activist, author, and host of "The Isabel Brown Show" with The Daily Wire.

📅 Monday, Sept 28 | 7:00 PM
📍 2630 Memorial Union

Brown reaches millions daily with commentary on politics, culture, and faith aimed at young audiences. She is the author of Frontlines: Finding My Voice on an American College Campus and The End of the Alphabet: How Gen Z Can Save America, and has worked with organizations including Turning Point USA, PragerU, and Students for Life of America. A former U.S. Senate and White House staffer, she holds degrees in biomedical sciences from Colorado State University and Georgetown University and is currently pursuing a master's in Theology at the University of Notre Dame.

The University Book Store will be onsite selling her books.

Check out this week's events:

https://www.lectures.iastate.edu/events

📚 Where are the women?

Women judges have shaped the law for decades — so why are so many missing from Wikipedia? Join us for a talk with Dr. Sally Kenney, Professor Emerita of Political Science at Tulane University and former Director of the Newcomb Institute, on how Wikipedia's gaps erase women judges from public memory — and what we can do about it.

📅 Wednesday, Sept 23 | 6:00 PM
📍 2630 Memorial Union

Dr. Kenney is a leading scholar of public law and women judges, author of Gender and Justice: Why Women in the Judiciary Really Matter, and host of the podcast Deconstructing R**e.

What do we stand for?

As America turns 250, explore the political philosophy behind the Declaration of Independence with award-winning ISU professor Dr. Scott Samuelson. How can we live together? Can lofty ideals work in practice? What can ancient and modern philosophy teach us today?

📅 Tuesday, Sept 22 | 6:00 PM
📍 2630 Memorial Union

Part of the America250 lecture series. The University Book Store will be onsite selling Dr. Samuelson's books.

Check out this week's events!

https://www.lectures.iastate.edu/events

🧠💻 What are the limits of computation — as set by the laws of physics themselves?

Join renowned computer scientist Scott Aaronson (UT Austin, Quantum Information Center) for "What Is Efficiently Computable In Nature?" — the 2026 Miller Family Endowed Mathematics Lecture.

He'll dig into quantum computers (and why the hype often gets it wrong), analog computers, time travel computers, and even black hole computers — exploring what physics really allows.

📅 Thursday, Sept 17 | 6PM
📍 Sun Room, Memorial Union