Each of us has the power to change the ways we think in manners that will increase our happiness, improve our resilience, and promote inner calm. Attendees of “Hardwiring Happiness: Turning Passing Experiences into Lasting Inner Strength and Peace” at Augsburg College will learn practical tips and proven methods from a leading, national neuropsychologist during a one-hour presentation that includes time for audience questions.

Who

is a neuropsychologist and senior fellow of the at University of California, Berkeley. He is an author of numerous books, including the 2013 New York Times bestseller, “Hardwiring Happiness: The New Brain Science of Contentment, Calm, and Confidence.”

When

11 a.m., Thursday, Oct. 16

Where

Hoversten Chapel (in the Foss, Lobeck, Miles Center) at Augsburg College located at 625 22nd Ave. S., Minneapolis. .

Cost

Free and open to the public. Seating available first come, first serve.

About Augsburg College

This program is sponsored by Augsburg College’s Center for Counseling and Health Promotion which provides a range of services to Augsburg students including mental health counseling and health promotion programs. Each year, CCHP hosts a convocation that is free and open to the public and on a topic related to developing knowledge and strategies for coping with life’s stressors and enhancing health and well-being.

Augsburg College is set in a vibrant neighborhood at the heart of the Twin Cities, and offers more than 50 undergraduate majors and nine graduate degrees to nearly  4,000 students of diverse backgrounds. Augsburg College educates students to be informed citizens, thoughtful stewards, critical thinkers, and responsible leaders. The Augsburg experience is supported by an engaged community committed to intentional diversity in its life and work. An Augsburg education is defined by excellence in the liberal arts and professional studies, guided by the faith and values of the Lutheran church, and shaped by its urban and global settings.

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Yet, each and every day, Augsburg College students conduct physics experiments whenever they cook or prepare food. Harvard University’s David Weitz will make visible the everyday physics taking place during food preparation at the Sverdrup Visiting Scientist lecture.

In addition to making science more accessible to non-scientists, the lecture provides important opportunities for Auggie science majors to hear from and network with leaders in the scientific community. Often, these experiences can grow into valuable internships or chances to study off campus and may be the starting point for Auggies to begin their careers.

The physics of our foods

Weitz, a professor of physics and applied physics and head of the  at Harvard, studies soft materials, such as the whipped cream on your banana split and squishy materials such as the yogurt and jello in your refrigerator. The study of soft condensed matter also includes biological materials such as blood, muscle, or milk. These materials often have properties of both liquids and solids. Understanding how these materials behave in different forms can have important technological applications.

Weitz, who also teaches an introductory science course on the physics of food, will explore in his Monday, April 8 lecture, “Physics of Cooking,” the science behind innovative approaches to taste and presentation used in modern cooking, including “food foams” and the use of “gelation,” which means solidifying a food by cooling or freezing it.

Weitz will discuss how foods change during cooking as a way to illustrate the scientific processes that people experience in daily life. By understanding the chemical and structural changes that occur during regular food preparation, attendees will be able to more easily relate to the actual scientific terms, processes, and disciplines including soft matter physics, materials science, and organic chemistry.

Studying physics in the Augsburg kitchen

Augsburg College associate professor Ben Stottrup, who teaches a course on the physics of cooking at Augsburg, said food is a way to get people interested in science—perhaps enough to change their degree program. One student wrote in a midterm evaluation: “My perspective on science has changed dramatically. I really enjoy how science is so mysterious yet so explainable at the same time. Makes me want to major in science.”

Stottrup’s course uses cooking and food—called a “biomaterial” by scientists—to present scientific concepts and processes. For example, students make mayonnaise to learn about how liquids can be combined. The egg yolks and oil used in mayonnaise would not naturally mix together, but by slowly whisking the oil into the egg yolks, the two liquids form what is called a permanent emulsion that won’t separate.

Stottrup’s course also includes labs that use tofu and steak to understand how materials resist or react to changes in shape, whipping cream to learn about foams, and melting chocolate to demonstrate the transition of matter from solid to liquid.

Several of Stottrup’s students said in their midterm evaluations that the course has helped them see the science around them and to be more aware of how science affects them. Another student said, “Before Science 123 I could have never imagined thinking about food scientifically. It has made me really think about the material properties in the foods that I like to eat, and in my mind, make better eating choices. I’m now curious [about] what I eat… and what [foods] will do for me when I eat them.”

The magic of microfluidics

The Tuesday convocation lecture, titled “Dripping, Jetting, Drops, and Wetting,” explores microfluidics, the science of the behavior, control, and manipulation of fluids that are constrained to a small, typically sub-millimeter, scale.

Because fluids behave differently in small channels, scientists use microfluidics to study how behaviors change and how to work around or exploit these changes for new uses. Weitz will discuss the use of microfluidic devices to precisely control the flow and mixing of fluids to make drops, which have a variety of practical applications from cosmetics to drug testing and delivery.

The Sverdrup Visiting Scientist program

The annual Sverdrup Visiting Scientist lecture series brings renowned scientists to campus to share their expertise with the Augsburg community, the College’s aspiring scientists, and members of the larger scientific community. The program provides an opportunity for Augsburg students and faculty to interact on a personal basis with scientists of national stature.

The General Leif J. Sverdrup Visiting Scientist program was established in 1990 by Johan Sverdrup in memory of his father, Major General Leif J. Sverdrup ’18. General Sverdrup was the founder of Sverdrup and Parcel, Inc. (now the Sverdrup Corp.), an international architectural and engineering firm.

Sverdrup Lecture Event Schedule – all events are free and open to the public

Monday, April 8, 7 p.m.

Hoversten Chapel, Foss Center

“Physics of Cooking”

Tuesday, April 9, 11 a.m.

Hoversten Chapel, Foss Center

“Dripping, Jetting, Drops, and Wetting: The Magic of Microfluidics”

Convocation Hashtags

Share your convocation experience using social media. The hashtag for the Sverdrup Visiting Scientist lecture with David Weitz from Harvard (@Harvard) is #SverdrupConvo.

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The presentation, “Searching for MLK: A provocative exploration of the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,” will take place at 1 p.m. in Hoversten Chapel and will include thought-provoking archival images, song, movement, and written excerpts from Dr. King.

“Each year, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Convocation offers us the opportunity to celebrate the life of Dr. King, and—more importantly—reaffirm our community’s commitment to the values associated with his legacy: social justice, peace, and non-violence,” said Mohamed Sallam, director of the Pan-Afrikan Center and Convocation committee chair.

This year, Convocation curators T. Mychael Rambo and Brian Grandison have crafted a production that seeks to empower each audience member to hold on to Dr. King’s dream and to maintain his vision for a beloved community.

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Convocation is as pertinent today as it was at its founding a quarter century ago, according to Sallam. “The Convocation is exceedingly important as our community is presented with new challenges,” he said. “The planning committee works to address these issues by utilizing different thematic approaches to the event that are relevant on campus and across the Twin Cities.”

As with all Augsburg College convocation programs, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Convocation is free and open to the public. The Convocation historically has attracted a sizeable audience due to its community partners.

Rambo hosted and curated the 2012 Martin Luther King, Jr. Convocation, and he partnered with Grandison for the 2013 event in order to call on his expertise as an actor, director, and writer who has taught classes and led performing arts workshops at universities across the United States. Both men have performed at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis and at numerous other venues in the Twin Cities.

Convocation Hashtags

Share your convocation experience using social media. The hashtag for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Convocation is #MLKConvocation.

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Dan Phillips has found that uncommon materials, unimpeded creativity, and a unique approach to environmentalism can form a solid footing on which to build a house—and a business.

As this year’s Humanities and Fine Arts Convocation speaker, Phillips will describe his role as a designer, a homebuilder, and the founder of the Phoenix Commotion, a company that constructs beautiful, whimsical houses out of reused or recycled materials.

His presentation, “Recycled Housing: Adventures in Human Sensibilities,” will take place Wednesday, November 7, at 10 a.m. in Hoversten Chapel.

The Phoenix Commotion

Phillips and the Phoenix Commotion have built houses for low-income families out of 90 percent repurposed supplies for more than a decade. In these homes, non-traditional materials marry aesthetic appeal with essential utility: license plates can replace shingles for roof tiles and wine corks can form a mosaic floor covering.

According to its website, the is a “building initiative created to prove that constructing homes with recycled and salvaged materials has a viable place in the building industry.”

Phillips is “freed, by necessity, from what he calls the ‘tyranny of the two-by-four and four-by eight,’ common sizes for studs and sheets of plywood,” according to The New York Times‘ article, .

Phillips is a self-taught carpenter, electrician and plumber, but the cross-disciplinary nature of his business means that he’s also an environmentalist, artist, social entrepreneur, and historian.

“Dan is not only one of the smartest and most talented people I know, he is also an amazing storyteller with a very down-home and humorous approach,” Phil Adamo, associate professor and chair of the History Department, said. “Hearing Dan speak is what it must have been like to hear Mark Twain give a lecture.”

Adamo anticipates that key messages from this year’s Humanities and Fine Arts Convocation will resonate with a wide audience on the Augsburg campus. The presentation will have all of the liberal arts “packed in,” according to Adamo. “Who knew that a talk about building houses from recycled materials would include references to the history of the Italian Renaissance and the Industrial Revolution?” he said. “Or that Dan’s design concepts make reference to the philosophical writings of Plato and Nietzsche and Jean-Paul Sartre?”

Social entrepreneurship, art, and the environment

Through the Phoenix Commotion, Phillips puts his theories on eco-friendly design and housing affordability into practice. The company addresses four social issues in the United States, which include reduction of landfill burden, low-income housing, training unskilled labor, and interim financing. Each home’s future owner works alongside Phillips and novice laborers who—through building—learn marketable skills.

“By keeping labor costs low and using donated or found materials, the homes created are truly affordable,” according to the Phoenix Commotion website. “No two are alike due to the myriad materials used, so there is an artistic element that makes Phoenix Commotion homes unique.” And, the homes’ owners become “empowered, not only by the useful knowledge of building skills, but by the opportunity to become part of a community as a vested participant.”

During his visit to Augsburg, Phillips will talk with art students about design, with environmental studies students about sustainable building practices, and with Master of Business Administration (MBA) students about social entrepreneurship.

Phillips is a “perfect example of a social entrepreneur,” according to Bruce Batten, director of the Augsburg MBA program. “He’s created an innovative and sustainable for-profit business model that addresses several important social issues….

“The company helps to reduce the burden on landfills and trains unskilled labor by using an apprentice program. [Phoenix Commotion] offers a great lesson in how a social enterprise can be run like a business and yet serve a greater good than just profits.”

John Zobitz, assistant professor of mathematics and director of environmental studies, sees Phillips’ presentation as an opportunity for his students to critically examine the natural world and the paradigms that define humans’ relationship to it.

“‘Reduce, reuse, recycle’ is a common saying we are taught in primary education as a way to reduce our impact on the environment,” he said. “We typically put this saying into practice by disposing and sorting our waste in appropriately labeled containers, carted away and out of sight. This is one-way action, and with it, we become disassociated with the very spirit of the ‘three R’s.’

“The work of Dan Phillips provides a way forward and challenges existing paradigms that waste cannot be reused. It can be practical, functional, and aesthetically pleasing. By these actions, [Phillips] honors the true spirit of reduce, reuse, recycle.”

Humanities and Fine Arts Convocation Event Schedule

November 7 | Hoversten Chapel

• 9:55 a.m. – The Augsburg Percussion Ensemble, directed by Matthew Barber, performs “Stinking Garbage” by Ed Argenziano
• 10 a.m. – Dan Phillips presents “Recycled Housing: Adventures in Human Sensibilities”

Convocation Hashtags

Share your convocation experience using social media. The hashtag for the Humanities and Fine Arts Convocation with Dan Phillips of the Phoenix Commotion () is #HFAConvo.

Consider:

• How can something as common as housing and construction be based in the liberal arts?
• What can you do to save the planet? How does knowledge of art and philosophy and history help you do that?

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His first lecture will be held at 10 a.m. on Friday, October 19 in Hoversten Chapel and repeated at noon on Saturday, October 20 in the Chapel.

Emmons’ presentation is titled “The Science of Hope: Blending New Neuroscience and Ancient Wisdom to Sustain a Healthy Mind, Mood, and Heart.” His lecture will outline approaches to cultivating inner calm and joy in a chaotic, contemporary society where stress-related disorders are prevalent.

Emmons is a consultant to Twin Cities-area college counseling centers and organizations as well as a popular workshop presenter. He is a past recipient of a Bush Medical Fellowship, which funded a sabbatical to study natural and mindfulness therapies in the practice of psychiatry.

He has created adult education programs through the University of Minnesota’s Center for Spirituality and Healing, including “A Year of Living Mindfully” and “The Inner Life of Healers: Programs of Renewal for Health Professionals.” Emmons developed the “Resilience Training Program” for the Penny George Institute for Health and Healing. This unique program integrates nutrition, exercise, and the psychology of mindfulness to improve outcomes in the treatment of depression.

Emmons is the author of three books:

— The Chemistry of Joy: A Three Step Program for Overcoming Depression Through Western Science and Eastern Wisdom,

— The Chemistry of Calm: A Powerful, Drug-Free Plan to Quiet Your Fears and Overcome Your Anxiety, and

— The Chemistry of Joy Workbook.

He also has authored “Insights on the Inner Life of Healers,” an essay in Living the Questions: Essays Inspired by the Work and Life of Parker J. Palmer.

The CCHP convocation is free and open to the public.

2012-13 Convocation Series

Augsburg’s 2012-13 Convocation Series of speakers explores the impact that an individual can have in a global population of 6.7 billion people. Presentations touch on topics in the arts, humanities, and sciences.

Each session offers an opportunity to hear from leaders in their areas of expertise. Dan Phillips, designer, builder, and founder of The Phoenix Commotion, will discuss “Recycled Housing: Adventures in Human Sensibilities” during the to be held Wednesday, November 7.

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Luskin is the director of the Stanford University Forgiveness Projects, a senior consultant in health promotion at Stanford, and a professor of clinical psychology at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology. Currently he also serves as the co-chair of the Garden of Forgiveness Projects at Ground Zero in Manhattan.

Luskin has completed 10 successful research projects on the training and measurement of forgiveness therapy. Luskin’s research demonstrates that learning forgiveness leads to increased physical vitality, hope, greater self–efficacy, enhanced optimism and conflict resolution skills. His research also shows that forgiveness lessens the physical and emotional toll of stress and decreases hurt, anger, depression, and blood pressure.

On three occasions he successfully worked with men and women from both sides of the violence in Northern Ireland who had family members killed. In addition, he worked with seven different groups of financial advisors after the stock market crash of 2000 to enhance their conflict resolution and stress management skills.

Luskin is the author of Forgive for Good and Forgive for Love as well as Stress Free for Good.

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Set against a backdrop of his most memorable speeches, quotations, and historical events from the Civil Rights era, this celebration pays tribute to the life and legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. through performances from renowned Twin Cities artists and talented members of the Augsburg College community. As part of this event, students from the Southside Family School will also share an excerpt from their world premiere production, “Keeping the Dream Alive.” Hosted and curated by T. Mychael Rambo, this stirring performance will give voice to “the dream” and refresh our resolve to boldly proclaim, that indeed “Now is the time!”

An affiliate professor and recruitment coordinator for the College of Liberal Arts, Theatre Arts and Dance at the University of Minnesota, T. Mychael Rambo is best know as a member of Penumbra Theatre Company. He has performed in several Guthrie main stage productions and other Twin Cities theatre venues. The convocation will be held Monday, January 16 at 1 p.m. in the Hoversten Chapel, Foss Center.

Photo courtesy of tmychaelrambo.com.

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The Humanities & Fine Arts Convocation speaker David Carlyon is the author of Dan Rice: The Most Famous Man You’ve Never Heard Of. Carlyon examines the life of Dan Rice, the 19th-century icon who lived at the intersections of art and politics, pop culture and celebrity, with revealing points of comparison for our own times.

The convocation will take place on Wednesday, Oct. 26 at 10am in Hoversten Chapel. Admission is free. A book signing will follow.

Carlyon is an historian, theatre director, teacher, actor, and ex-circus clown. His book on Rice was the subject of a New York Times feature article and received glowing reviews around the country. He has directed plays at Joseph Papp’s Riverside Shakespeare Company, the Actor’s Studio, and the Goodspeed Opera Company.  He has taught master classes in clowning, acting, and theatre history at Northwestern, the University of Michigan, Carnegie-Mellon, and Brown. He has studied acting at the Royal National Theatre Summer Acting Program in London under Fiona Shaw, Richard Eyre, and Janet McTeer, as well as in the U.S. under Frank Galati and Uta Hagen. For three years he toured throughout the United States as a clown with the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. He has a BA from the University of Michigan, a law degree from the University of California at Berkley, and a PhD from Northwestern University. He has fought forest fires, served as an MP in the Army, and sold beer at Philadelphia’s Vets Stadium. Talk about vocation!

Learn more about David Carlyon

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First Decade Award

Adam Seed ’01 [top left]

Adam has been called a man of honor, compassion, and service who lives the mission of Augsburg. After graduating from the Augsburg StepUP® program, Adam completed his bachelor’s degree at Brown University. Over and over again, he has given back to the Augsburg community where he once worked on the grounds crew not just financially but also personally and professionally. He currently works alongside his father and brother in their family real estate investment business in Rhode Island. Adam is a servant leader, which was evident since he first set foot on campus. He dreams big and nurtures his dreams to fruition. Adam and his wife Allison are the proud parents of their daughters Avery and Annika and their son Ashton.

Spirit of Augsburg Award

Norma Noonan [bottom left]

Since arriving at Augsburg in 1966, Norma Noonan has earned a reputation as a supportive and dependable program leader, a conscientious and caring mentor, and a servant leader. She led the Master of Arts in Leadership program, building it to a well-regarded interdisciplinary graduate studies program. A professor of political science, Noonan has also directed the international relations major and explored special interests in Russia, Russian foreign policy, political leadership, and women in leadership. She has directed the Center for Leadership Studies and also initiated the Called to Lead interdisciplinary adventure in blending the spiritual with the practical lives we lead. A frequent Twin Cities speaker on foreign policy and Russia, Noonan has often served as a commentator on Minnesota Public Radio and has authored numerous articles. She recently published a book, Women in Russian Politics and Society, for which she was a major contributor and co-editor.

Arlin Gyberg [top right]

Since 1967, Arlin Gyberg has mentored chemistry students who have become physicians, research scientists, and university professors—as well as a Rhodes Scholar, a Nobel Prize recipient, and a biodiesel entrepreneur. Gyberg was given an Outstanding Educator in America award in 1973 and was selected twice by the graduating class as an honored faculty in the science and mathematics division. He has done consulting, research, and teaching for numerous organizations including 3M, NSP nuclear power plants, the Minnesota prison system, and several educational institutions.

Distinguished Alumni Award

Wayne Jorgenson ’71 [bottom right]

With a degree business administration, Wayne Jorgenson entered the world of finance and now serves as senior vice president of investments at UBS Financial Services. In 1973, Jorgenson was one of the founders of a Civil War re-enactment unit known as the 1st Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, dedicated to preserving the history of the men who actually served in that unit during the War. The re-enactment group has acted as extras in several Civil War productions, including Dances with Wolves, Glory, The North and the South, and The Blue and the Gray. Jorgenson is said to be 100% dedicated to helping his clients protect, manage, and grow their assets and is a perfect blend of highly professional and delightful. He truly loves what he does and it shows in his awards, respect from colleagues, and referrals from satisfied clients.

Gaylord “Corky” Hall ’71 [top center]

Corky Hall is known for his leadership skills. Active in numerous activities while at Augsburg, he especially enjoyed sports, where his leadership skills shined as captain of a football team. He was signed by the Boston Bruins professional hockey club. He later went on to become an extremely successful businessman and entrepreneur, using his skills and training as an executive with General Mills and Carlson Companies. He created and owned several U.S. companies, including U.S. Communications (the nation’s second-largest promotional marketing agency). Later, he was recruited to create a marketing communications agency for Gage Marketing Group, the largest marketing services company in the U.S., after which he founded Hall Batko, a business and brand consultancy. Currently, he is founder and CEO of Stellus Consulting, which guides leadership teams in creating a strategic vision and building relationships that achieve that vision. Hall created the Minnesota Wild brand and has represented George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, and Jim Henson, among others. He is said to be a man who shares his many gifts and who has lived out the Augsburg mission of “education for service.” He conducts himself with the highest integrity, shows courtesy, concern, and respect for others, and is an outstanding community citizen in every respect.

Judith Schaubach ’68 [bottom center]

Early in her career, Judy Schaubach discovered the importance of collective action in educational leadership. As president of the Minnesota Education Association (MEA), she was instrumental in forging an agreement with MEA’s long-time rival, the Minnesota Federation of Teachers. The new organization, Education Minnesota, was the first statewide merger in the nation recognized by both NEA and AFT, and as co-president, Schaubach modeled the spirit of new unionism. This involved organizing efforts for education support professionals, establishment of professional development activists who assess the quality of professional development in school districts, and building coalitions to bring together leaders from all levels of education. Championing the creation of the five-year Schools First! campaign, Schaubach traveled around the state to lead community forums to discuss challenges and opportunities for public schools in each community. She has shown a generation of young education advocates and union activists what can be accomplished with vision, passion, dedication, and commitment to a cause.

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Read:

Most of you have been reading for a long time now, but this first advice is not your typical magazine or newspaper read. I am referring to the reading that requires you to find the main point and supporting details in a particular passage. Sounds easy? Because it is. But for me, it was much more of a struggle than anything…. The difficulty was not comprehension, but rather the lack of focus that was put into it. It is easy to quickly read an assigned chapter, close the book and go do something else. I am sure this is familiar to some of you. So remember to read your textbooks before going to class, and also take a few minutes to make marginal notes as a reminder of the main point and supporting details in each paragraph. At the end of your first semester, you want to be able to read with your eyes closed.

Write:

Every chance I get I enjoy writing personal reflections and poetry to soothe the mind and soul. …In the past two years of college, I discovered for myself that writing is a skill that is most crucial in any major even in sociology. …I have also learned that I still get intimidated with a 10-page paper assignment. But I tell myself; like poetry, writing an essay paper is more than just submitting it for a grade but is an art form that takes practice. It will be worth your while and college money to utilize the writing lab (located in the street level entrance of the library) or ask your English professors for assistance. Do not worry, it is only your fellow colleagues working in the writing lab and will not criticize you but will only make you a stronger writer. Remember, write not just to complete an assignment, but write to be good at it.

Speak:

One of the first classes I took here at Augsburg was public speaking. I knew it was a valuable skill to have but never thought I will be preparing a speech for the entire college. Am I terrified of public speaking? Absolutely! I am also afraid of heights and death. But last month, I jumped out of a plane at 13,000 feet going down at a speed of 150 miles per hour terrified of a parachute accident and how my parents will react for not letting them know. And here I am facing my number one fear: public speaking….

The art of speaking is more than that of your daily conversations, or voicing your thoughts and opinions. Most importantly, you must be able to articulate the materials you read and the papers you wrote. Many philosophers and educators will say that a student solidifies their knowledge when they are able to teach another person what they learned. So speak with confidence. Speak to learn.

As you get to know more about Augsburg. You will also find that “Augsburg College educates students to be informed citizens, thoughtful stewards, critical thinkers, and responsible leaders.” You must also make commitment to yourself to perfect the art of reading, writing, and speaking, not only to pass your classes but also to be good at it. I would like to leave you all today with a quote from my favorite poet and writer, Maya Angelou that reads, “Nothing will work unless you do.”

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