Happening in May
Learn best practices for safe summer travel at a workshop presented by the Office of Global Initiatives.
High school students will race solar-powered go-karts at an event presented by UA Tech Parks.
Celebrate the newest UA alumni at the UA's 154th commencement ceremony.
Explore planets beyond our solar system with a talk at Flandrau Science Center and Planetarium.
The weather is heating up, the spring semester is ending, and students are graduating – all indicators that it's May at the UA.
This month, celebrate UA graduates at Commencement, attend a presentation and planetarium show about exoplanets, or cheer on the competitors in a go-kart race. The events happening in May also present a chance to prepare for your upcoming summer vacation with workshops about safe international travel and preserving photos and videos.
For more ways to enjoy May, check out the UA Master Calendar.
Safe Travels Brown Bag Workshop Series | May 4
Are you traveling during the upcoming summer break, or planning to travel abroad in the future? Before you board a plane and take off on your next exciting adventure, learn about the best practices for safe international travel.
Laura Provencher, associate director of global resiliency in the UA Office of Global Initiatives, will speak about risk assessment, resources and travel tips to help ensure your trip is fun, safe and well-planned.
Register here.
Arizona Historical Society Workshop – 'Preserving Your Digital Files' | May 5
Computers have changed the way we save our favorite photos, videos and important emails. But these digital files tend to fill up our inboxes and computers. In this workshop, presented by the Arizona Historical Society, learn how to backup and preserve your digital files to create space and ensure your digital keepsakes are safe for years to come.
In addition, the workshop will cover topics such as understanding cloud storage, how to migrate digital files from older storage devices, and how to preserve content on social media and email accounts.
The workshop will be held at the Arizona History Museum, 949 E. Second St., at 11 a.m. Workshop cost is $10.
Participants are encouraged to register by sending an email to kstewart@azhs.gov.
UA Tech Parks – Racing the Sun | May 5
What has four wheels and a steering wheel, is smaller than a car, and doesn't have an engine? A solar-powered go-kart! At this event, you can watch high school students race their own personalized solar-powered go-karts at the Musselman Honda Circuit in Tucson.
Racing the Sun is a science, technology, engineering and mathematics program that brings together students from 16 participating high schools in the Tucson, Phoenix and Sierra Vista areas. The program challenges the participating students to build, design and race their solar-powered go-karts at this family-friendly event, which is organized by UA Tech Parks.
The races are free and open to the public. Come cheer on your favorite go-kart and the students who built them.
Commencement | May 11
Get out your cameras and prepare to celebrate when the UA welcomes more than 6,000 undergraduate and graduate students into the Wildcat family for life. This year's commencement ceremony will feature a keynote address by Ray Mabus Jr., who served as secretary of the U.S. Navy, governor of Mississippi and U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia. The ceremony will begin at 7:30 p.m. at Arizona Stadium.
Additional event information is available here. The ceremony also will be livestreamed by Arizona Public Media.
Speaker Series – 'Exoplanets: The Search for Life Beyond Our Solar System' | May 17
For centuries, people have wondered whether there are other planets beyond our own solar system. Until recently, those planets were science fiction. Now, countless planets outside of our own sun-orbiting system have been found throughout the universe. These planets are called exoplanets.
You can explore the universe and the recently discovered exoplanets during Flandrau Science Center and Planetarium's new show, "Undiscovered Worlds."
In honor of the new show, Flandrau is featuring presentations by UA astronomers and planetary scientists highlighting their exoplanet research.
In the final segment of the three-part speaker series, Peter Behroozi, assistant professor of astronomy and assistant astronomer for Steward Observatory, and Lauren Schatz, a Ph.D. candidate in the UA College of Optical Sciences, will give presentations about their research. Behroozi will give a talk titled "Studying Galaxies to Calculate Rates of Planet Formation." Schatz's presentation is titled "Optical Engineering in the Search for Exoplanets."
The presentations will begin at 6 p.m. in the Eos Foundation Planetarium Theater at Flandrau. For "Undiscovered Worlds" showtimes and additional information, click here.