Coffee with the Profs
One of the MSU Alumni Office's long-standing featured offerings, the Coffee with the Profs series highlights research and work done by some of MSU’s finest faculty and staff. This lifelong education program is open to all.
The spring 2024 series has concluded and presentations are located in our livestream archive.
Dates and topics for the fall 2024 series will be announced Aug. 2024.
Spring 2024 Series
March 18
Responsible Uses of Artificial Intelligence
Anjana Susarla, Omura-Saxena Professor in Responsible AI, Department of Accounting and Information Systems
Advances in information systems (IS), machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) have impacted various aspects of economic organization, which has led to shifts in labor demand, productivity growth, changes in the organization of firms and the transformation of customer-facing activities. In parallel, many aspects of our everyday interactions have been digitized. With AI/ML enabling the widespread adoption of automated decision making, it's imperative for us to understand responsible development, adoption and use of AI.
March 25
Looking Through a Giant Magnifying Glass: Views of the Distant Universe
Megan Donahue, University Distinguished Professor, Department of Physics & Astronomy
In July 2022, the James Webb Space Telescope — the most powerful telescope humanity has ever put into space — delivered its first photo. In this presentation, you’ll learn about some of the first years of observations by the telescope, including new results from a team of astronomers studying lensed galaxies and individual stars. Set against the scale of the universe’s age of 13.7 billion years, the glimpses of these early galaxies are providing us with clues about the history of how galaxies assembled gas into stars for the very first time.
April 1
Why Language Changes: Tracking Real-Time Change with Michigan Diaries
Betsy Sneller, assistant professor, Department of Linguistics, Languages and Cultures
One of the big mysteries in linguistics is how and why language changes from one generation to the next. In this presentation, you’ll be introduced to “MI Diaries," a major research project taking place at Michigan State, and see how stories from people across the State of Michigan are helping us understand a major sound change.
Archived Series
Presentations from the series are livestreamed each semester. Check out our livestream archive for past presentations that you can watch at any time.
You May Also Be Interested In
If you've enjoyed Coffee with the Profs or have an interest in lifelong learning, consider joining the Spartan Book Club.
The Spartan Book Club encourages alumni, faculty, staff, students and friends to virtually connect with each other to read and discuss books on a range of topics. A new book will be chosen approximately every two months.