Office Hours at Duke University

Soon millions of Americans will turn their attention to the red carpet in Hollywood for the Academy Awards. In advance of the big night, two Dukies with insights into the world of film and celebrity will participate 1 p.m. Feb. 25, in a live "Office Hours" webcast conversation on the Oscars. Watch the webcast live on the Duke YouTube channel and Tweet in your comments and questions to @DukeOfficeHours. Deirdre Haj, executive director of the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, will be joined in the discussion by alumnus Dave Karger, chief correspondent for the movie ticket website Fandango. David Jarmul, associate vice president of news and communications for Duke, will conduct the interview. Haj has been working in the entertainment industry for 25 years on both sides of the camera. Prior to joining Full Frame, she consulted on and produced numerous documentary and reality television projects. She came to Duke in 2010 when Full Frame became part of Duke's Center for Documentary Studies. Last year, Full Frame became a qualifying festival for the Academy Awards in the documentary short category. Karger was a longtime writer for Entertainment Weekly before joining Fandango. For the website's FrontRunners series, he recently interviewed actor Matthew McConaughey, who is a nominee for best actor for his role in "Dallas Buyers Club." A self-described "Oscar obsessive," Karger has been an official Red Carpet Greeter at previous Academy Awards ceremonies. "Office Hours" is a live webcast series for the university community and others to engage with Duke experts in their various fields.

In January, Duke announced the Bass Connections initiative to encourage students and faculty to collaborate across traditional academic boundaries and to develop the broad expertise and perspective needed to tackle complex societal problems. The effort now has 37 teams of students, faculty and partners outside the university working in areas such as energy, global health and brain and society. Members from one of the teams will participated in a live "Office Hours" webcast conversation Dec. 10, 2013, to discuss their project, as well as their experience with the Bass Connections approach to education and research. Participating in the webcast was Rochelle Schwartz-Bloom, a professor of pharmacology and cancer biology at Duke's School of Medicine; Craig Dane Roberts, assistant director of education at the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences; and Rachel James, a senior neuroscience major. The three are part of a Bass Connections cross-disciplinary team exploring how best to convey recent scientific discoveries on environmental effects on cognitive development. For their project, they are developing educational materials that explain how smoking during pregnancy not only harms a woman’s baby but also her future grandchildren. In doing so the team is translating insights from the emerging field of epigenetics into language and graphics that are accessible to a lay audience. "Office Hours" is a live webcast series for the university community and others to engage with Duke scholars and their research.

In an attempt to address global changes in climate, the Obama administration plans to use the Clean Air Act to limit greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. The first set of proposed Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations -- aimed at reducing power plants' carbon emissions -- is due by Sept. 20. In this live webcast conversation, three Duke scholars discussed the legal, political, environmental and economic implications of the proposed regulations. Participating in the conversation is Jonas Monast, director of the Climate and Energy Program at Duke's Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions; Robert Brenner a senior fellow at the Nicholas Institute; and Jonathan Wiener, the William R. and Thomas L. Perkins Professor of Law at Duke Law School. In announcing this summer his intention to use the Clean Air Act to limit greenhouse gas emissions, President Obama said, "For the sake of our children, and the health and safety of all Americans, I'€™m directing the Environmental Protection Agency to put an end to the limitless dumping of carbon pollution from our power plants, and complete new pollution standards for both new and existing power plants." "Office Hours" is a live webcast series for the university community and others to engage with Duke scholars and their research.

Hundreds of people have been arrested at the North Carolina Legislative Building as part of the "Moral Mondays" protests against policies by the Republican-led legislature and Gov. Pat McCrory. Five of those people -- Duke professors Willie Jennings, Robin Kirk, Bill Turner, Jed Purdy and Bill Chafe -- participated in a live webcast interview about the protests Monday, July 1. Also joining the conversation was Duke alumnus David Graham who wrote a recent article for The Atlantic about the protests, which compared North Carolina's politics with those of Wisconsin's two year ago.

Duke finance professor John Graham and CFO Publishing vice president Celina Rogers discuss the latest results from the Duke/CFO Magazine Global Business Outlook Survey. Duke Fuqua School public relations manager Erin Medlyn hosts the conversation. The survey found U.S. businesses trail their global counterparts in terms of how much importance they place on corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability. Nearly half of U.S. chief financial officers rate CSR and sustainability as moderately important or very important items in their business strategies. By contrast, the rating in Europe is 63 percent, 67 percent in Asia, 76 percent in Latin America and 83 percent in Africa. Also, optimism among CFOs about the U.S. economy is now above the long-run average for only the second time since 2007.

Duke's Steven Churchill and an international team of colleagues published the second wave of papers in the journal Science from their analysis of two South African specimens called Australopithecus sediba. He is joined by his colleague, Boston University's Jeremy DeSilva, in describing the latest findings in a conversation hosted by Duke's Karl Bates. This latest round of analysis goes deeper into several areas of the anatomy of the two spectacularly complete A. sediba specimens and turns up some surprises.

What does it take to get into medical school and to excel once you have been admitted? In a live "Office Hours" webcast interview, Dr. Ed Buckley, vice dean for education for Duke's School of Medicine, discusses the MCATs, medical school applications and the future of medical education. Duke's School of Medicine's curriculum differs from some other medical schools. Students study the basic sciences for one year instead of two, giving them the opportunity to devote their entire third year to a scholarly research project. Students care for patients during their second year. In his role as vice dean for education, Buckley oversees the development of the medical school curriculum. He was instrumental in developing the school's new Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans Center for Health Education and has worked closely with the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore to create a research-oriented medical school in Singapore modeled after Duke's curriculum. Buckley, who attended Duke for both undergraduate and medical school, is a professor of ophthalmology and pediatrics and division chief for pediatric and neuro-ophthalmology. His research focuses on treatment of complicated eye muscle problems and congenital cataracts. He has published six books, 35 book chapters and more than 100 peer-reviewed articles. "Office Hours" is Duke's live webcast series for the university community, and others, to engage with professors about their research and scholarship.

College seniors will soon graduate and take their first steps down career paths that may take unforeseen directions. In his 30 years as a college career counselor, William Wright-Swadel has picked up some wisdom about the road ahead for soon-to-be graduates, which he'll share in a live "Office Hours" webcast interview at noon Friday, April 5. "One common myth is the overstated significance of one's first opportunity after graduation," says Wright-Swadel, the Fannie Mitchell executive director of Duke's Career Center. "Twenty years ago it was not entirely significant for predicting liberal arts students' career direction, and it appears to be even less significant today." Watch the interview live on this webpage or on Duke Today. To pose a question to Wright-Swadel, email live@duke.edu, Tweet at @DukeOfficeHours or post to the Duke Office Hours Facebook page. Since 2008, Wright-Swadel has overseen the Career Center, which advises graduate students as well as undergraduates. Prior to coming to Duke, he headed career services at Harvard, Dartmouth and the University of Rhode Island. "Office Hours" is Duke's live webcast series for the university community, and others, to engage with professors about their research and scholarship.

Duke biologist Sönke Johnsen plunges deep into the ocean to understand how creatures on the seafloor see. In a live "Office Hours" webcast interview Johnsen discusses how the animals produce and detect light far underwater -- where there's little sunlight. For his research, Johnsen has received a multi-million dollar grant from the Navy to investigate underwater camouflage. He has studied the eyesight of deep-sea crabs and giant squid. And he has a new book out called "The Optics of Life: A Biologist's Guide to Light in Nature." On his lab's website, Johnsen describes his own meandering path -- via carpentry, dance instruction and teaching kindergarten -- to his career as a biology professor, and offers advice to potential graduate students. "Do not go to a high-powered lab that you hate assuming that this will promise you long-term happiness," he writes. "Deferred gratification has its limits."

Even though the United States could possibly become the world's largest oil producer by 2020, America would still not be "energy independent." U.S. energy production would continue to be tied to global markets and climate concerns, according to professor Richard Newell, director of Duke's Energy Initiative. In a live "Office Hours" webcast interview on Feb. 22, 2013, he discusses advances and limits in American energy production. Newell, the Gendel Professor of Energy and Environmental Economics at the Nicholas School of the Environment, is an expert on the economics of markets and policies for energy, the environment and related technologies. "While the United States will produce more oil and gas, we cannot drill our way to energy independence," Newell said in a recent op-ed. "Yet we can reduce our exposure to energy risks by increasing energy efficiency and, as the president noted in his [State of the Union] address, we can increase energy resilience by diversifying our options through research and development of alternative fuels and technologies." In a conference in Oslo, Norway, last fall, Newell said tapping into unconventional oil and gas sources, such as shale gas, could allow the U.S. to become a net exporter of natural gas within a generation. Newell was head of the U.S. Energy Information Administration from 2009 to 2011 and has served on several advisory boards related to energy, environment and innovation. "Office Hours" is Duke's live webcast series for the university community, and others, to engage with professors about their research and scholarship.

The fabled city of Timbuktu has recently been a center of conflict between the French military and Islamic militants. Complicating the clash are tensions within Mali among the country's ethnic groups. In a live "Office Hours" webcast interview Feb. 8, Duke professor Bruce Hall explains some of the historical and cultural context of the conflict. Watch the interview live on this webpage or on Duke Today. Post a question for Hall on Twitter using @DukeOfficeHours or the Duke Office Hours Facebook page. "There is nothing 'less racial' about the situation in Northern Mali because of a history of 'mixing' than anywhere else," Hall told the International Business Times in an article published last week. "Race is not about the biology; it is about the ideas and practices that link biological traits to value which are claimed to be transmissible inter-generationally. "In fact, in the absence of a strong international security presence, it seems very likely to me that racialized violence will occur on a much greater scale than it has so far," he said. Joining Hall is Duke senior Jennifer Denike, who completed a study abroad program in Mali in the fall of 2011. Hall is the author of "A History of Race in Muslim West Africa, 1600-1960." At Duke, he is an assistant professor of history and African and African American Studies. This year he is a visiting scholar at Stanford University and participated in the interview via Skype. "Office Hours" is Duke's live webcast series for the university community, and others, to engage with professors about their research and scholarship.

As an architectural historian, Professor Caroline Bruzelius works with mathematicians, architects and computer scientists to develop virtual models of ancient buildings and artworks so scholars and laymen can better understand the past. In a live "Office Hours" webcast interview Jan. 25, 2013, she explains her approach to animating historical objects. "Space is really like an ameba," Bruzelius said in a talk last year. "Even if it's made out of brick or stone, it changes all the time. "How can we show process as part of our representation?" she said about dynamic modeling of buildings. One example of Bruzelius' work is a set of 3D digital models of selected areas of Venice that show how the architecture and layout of the city has changed over time. Another example: She and her students created an animation that allows viewers to visualize how medieval sculptures at Duke's Nasher Museum of Art might have appeared in a church in the Middle Ages. "Office Hours" is Duke's live webcast series for the university community, and others, to engage with professors about their research and scholarship.

In the wake of last month's deadly shootings in Newtown, Conn., President Obama said the U.S. must consider new ways to combat gun violence. Public policy professor Philip J. Cook, who has long studied the effectiveness of gun control efforts in this country, participates in this live "Office Hours" webcast interview on the topic at noon Friday, Jan. 11, 2013. A recent article in the (Raleigh) News and Observer describes the many media interviews Cook has done in the wake of the Newtown killings. He is co-author of the book "Gun Violence: The Real Costs." His recent scholarly articles include "Q&A on Firearms Availability, Carrying, and Misuse" and "The Economist's guide to crime busting." He has served as a consultant to the Department of Justice and been vice chair of the National Research Council's Committee on Law and Justice. "Office Hours" is Duke's live webcast series for the university community, and others, to engage with professors about their research and scholarship.

Luke Bretherton is new to Duke from England. A professor of ethics in Duke's Divinity School, he writes on a contentious topic -- how Christians should engage in politics. "Politics without piety is pitiless; piety without politics is pitiful," he writes in his latest book "Christianity & Contemporary Politics." In this "Office Hours" interview, he identifies key Christian voices on politics, describes virtues of the Southern Populist Movement, and lists strengths and weaknesses of the two American political parties. Read his blog at http://christianitycontemporarypolitics.blogspot.com. Follow him on Twitter @WestLondonMan.

A founder of multiple companies himself, Jesko von Windheim was already teaching entrepreneurship courses at Duke when he recently joined the Nicholas faculty to lead the new environmental entrepreneurship certificate program. Classes in the two-year program will train students to understand business models and financial statements, use case studies of real entrepreneurship and translate an academic idea into a virtual start-up. In this "Office Hours" interview, he talks about how to teach entrepreneurship, how businesses can grow out of research and where the green of environment and money meet.

Duke Chapel's new dean is Luke Powery. Both a scholar and practitioner of the African-American preaching tradition, Powery comes to Duke from Princeton Theological Seminary. He is the chapel's first dean who is black. In an Office Hours conversation, he described how he's coming to understand the chapel's role, his approach to preaching and what hymn has been in his head since arriving on campus.

Professor Eric Meyers says archaeology in Israel and Palestine can give context for biblical narratives. In his new book, "Alexander to Constantine," co-authored with Mark Chancey, Ph.D. '99, he argues that Hellenistic culture gave Judaism, and later Christianity, a vehicle for worldwide expression.

On May 8th, North Carolina residents will vote on Amendment One, which proposes adding a clause to the state constitution that would define marriage as being only between a man and a woman. Janie Long, director of Duke's Center for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Life (LGBT), opposes the amendment and is concerned about how its passage might affect Duke students and families. Long, a 1981 graduate of Duke Divinity School, has served as the director of the LGBT center since 2006. Joining her will be Duke alumnus Steven Petrow, a former president of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association. Petrow has written numerous books and columns on LGBT issues. His work has appeared in The New York Times, CNN, NPR, The Huffington Post and elsewhere. In a live "Office Hours" interview on April 12, 2012, Long and Petrow discuss Amendment One and its implications. Conducting the interview is David Jarmul, Duke's associate vice president of news and communications.

In his book "Race: A Theological Account" J. Kameron Carter examines the role of Christianity and Western philosophy in the making of modern perceptions of race. He also uses slave narratives and early Christian thought to find theological arguments he says can counter modern misunderstandings of race and point to a new orientation for the faith. In a live "Office Hours" conversation April 5, 2012, the Divinity School professor answers questions from online viewers about the connection between the identity of Jesus and the concept of race. Hosting the conversation is James Todd from Duke's Office of News and Communication.

Tiny particles can hold big secrets. Haiyan Gao, chair of Duke's physics department, probes inside atoms to study the structure and spin of neutrons. One aim of her research is to design experiments that test for the existence of a new fifth fundamental force of nature, in addition to the strong, weak, electromagnetic and gravitational forces. Gao answers questions about her research during a live "Office Hours" webcast interview March 15, 2012. Ashley Yeager, a science writer in Duke's Office of News and Communications, conducts the interview.

Steve Nowicki, dean of undergraduate education at Duke, explains the university's new student housing assignment system in a live "Office Hours" webcast interview February 16, 2012. Joining him is Duke Student Government President Pete Schork. Duke senior Sarah Krueger conducts the interview. Learn more at http://www.dukeofficehours.com.

In a live "Office Hours" interview Feb. 9, 2012, Duke political science professor Sunshine Hillygus takes viewer questions about the science of public opinion polling and the art of campaign communications. She is joined via Skype by Neil Newhouse, Mitt Romney's lead pollster and a 1974 graduate of Duke. Duke senior Sarah Krueger conducts the interview.

Brian Murray, director for economic analysis at the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, answers viewer questions about the state of international climate change policy negotiations, during a live "Office Hours" webcast Dec. 1. He is joined via Skype by Jeff Gustafson, a Duke Nicholas School graduate student attending the United Nations climate talks in Durban, South Africa, with his class. Hosting the show is James Todd, a senior writer in Duke's Office of News and Communications. Learn more at http://www.dukeofficehours.com.

In a live, "Office Hours" webcast interview November 17, 2011, Gary Glass, assistant director for outreach and developmental programming at Duke's Counseling and Psychological Services, answers viewer questions about student mental health and coping with the pressures of college.

Charles Clotfelter, a professor at Duke University's Sanford School of Public Policy, takes viewer questions about the role of athletics at American universities, during a live "Office Hours" webcast interview, November 10, 2011. Learn more at http://www.dukeofficehours.com.

Ellen Hemphill is director of undergraduate studies in Duke's Department of Theater Studies. She took questions from online viewers on how acting skills can be applied to life offstage, during a live "Office Hours" conversation at Duke's Bryan University Center, November 3, 2011.

Robert Korstad, a Duke University professor of history and public policy, takes viewer questions during a live "Office Hours" conversation October 27, 2011, on how the current Occupy movement compares with post social movements. He is joined by Duke sophomore Anastasia Karklina, a participant in the Occupy Duke demonstration. Learn more at http://www.dukeofficehours.com.

In a live, interactive "Office Hours" conversation, Duke Professors Noah Pickus and David Schanzer take viewer questions on immigration and domestic security in advance of a campus talk by Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano on October 20, 2011.

A live "Office Hours" conversation with Kimberly Jenkins, the university's senior adviser to the president and provost for innovation and entrepreneurship. She is joined by Duke senior Sidney Primas. David Jarmul, Duke's associate vice president of news and communications, conducts the interview. Learn more at ‪http://entrepreneurship.duke.edu‬.

Duke University Professor Wahneema Lubiano answers questions about using literary tools to understand images in the media and objects in everyday life during a live "Office Hours" conversation October 6, 2011.

Duke Chapel Dean Samuel Wells and alumna Marcia Owen answer viewer questions about their new book, "Living Without Enemies: Being Present in the Midst of Violence," during an "Office Hours" conversation September 29, 2011.

Duke University Professor Kathy Rudy, author of "Loving Animals," discusses her philosophy of animal advocacy and answers viewer questions during a live "Office Hours" webcast, September 22, 2011.

Biology professor and geochemist Robert Jackson in Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment performed one of the first peer-reviewed studies on the environmental consequences of hydrofracking. In a live "Office Hours" webcast September 15, 2011, he answers questions about his study. Learn more at http://www.officehours.com.

Sanford School Dean Bruce Kuniholm and his son Jonathan, both combat veterans, answer viewers' questions during an "Office Hours" conversation September 8, 2011. Learn more at http://www.dukeofficehours.com.

Drawing on their decades of experience on archaeological digs in Israel, Duke University Professors Carol and Eric Meyers take questions from online viewers about the charged combination of archaeology, the Bible, politics and the news media, during an "Office Hours" conversation September 1, 2011. Learn more at http://www.dukeofficehours.com.

Tom Rankin, director of Duke's Center for Documentary Studies, previews films of the 2011 Full Frame documentary film festival during a live '"Office Hours" webcast interview on April 15, 2011.

The economics and ethics of college sports was the topic of a Duke Magazine-Office Hours conversation April 8, 2011, in Duke's Card Gym. Addressing the issue were Charles Clotfelter ('69), Z. Smith Reynolds Professor of Public Policy Studies, and author of the new book "Big-Time Sports in American Universities"; Alan Fishel (J.D. '86), lead counsel on Bowl Championship Series issues; Chris Kennedy (Ph.D. '79), Duke's deputy director of athletics; and Nancy Hogshead-Makar ('86), Olympic gold-medal winner and professor at Florida Coastal School of Law. James E. Coleman Jr., the John S. Bradway Professor of Law at Duke Law School, moderated the panel.

Wayne Norman is the Mike and Ruth Mackowski Professor of Ethics in the Kenan Institute for Ethics and the Department of Philosophy. He is the author of "Negotiating Nationalism: Nation-building, Federalism, and Secession in the Multinational State." He answered questions about ethics in business and sports during a live "Office Hours" webcast interview April 1, 2011.