PGSA Weekly Update April 9, 2014

Here is a short list of PGSA activities and other social events for the week of April 9-April 15.  If you would like an activity to be included in future PGSA weekly updates, email them to huemill2@illinois.edu.

Wed April 9

8:00 - 9:30 Weekly Movie night in the Interaction Room
Inside Llewyn Davis. 105 minutes. Pizza. Interaction Room.
        "Friends, tonight we'll be screening Inside Llewyn Davis, the 2013 Coen brothers production about a week in the life of the titular Llewyn Davis, a folk singer in 1961 New York. Davis, played by Oscar Isaac, is a capital-A-artist, an uncompromising auteur whose latest album bombs, leaving the itinerant Davis to couch-surf his way through the Village with nothing but his guitar, some clothes, and a newfound feline hanger-on. Along the way, we run into the likes of Justin Timberlake, Carey Mulligan, Adam Driver, and John Goodman, with John Goodman hamming it up in full-on "John Goodman in a Coen brothers film" style. A languid and melancholy film, Llewyn Davis is an uncannily accurate depiction of 1960's New York, complete with period-appropriate music and a lovingly desaturated glimpse of the dingy Gotham streets. The Coens have an unusual, sometimes disjointed expressiveness to their films, and Llewyn Davis is yet another idiosyncratic addition to their repertoire, a rich, meandering look at the sadsack folk singer's life the way James Joyce's prose might wander through a sad Irish slice-of-life tale (hell, the cat inLlewyn Davis is even named Ulysses)."

Thur April 10

5:15 - sunset  Games 2 and 3 for the Majorana Meatballs
Games are at the corner of Florida and Lincoln in Urbana, just off the Teal bus line.
What to bring:

• Red Shirt
• Water
• Soccer or Football Cleats (optional)
• A Great Attitude   

Everyone is welcome no matter the level of experience.  We can teach you everything you need to know to be a contributing member of the Majorana Meatballs.

Friday April 11

10:30 - 11:00 Snacks and meet and greet with Joel Strand

11:00 - 12:00 Career Seminar in the Interaction Room:
"Academic Research on an Industrial Scale: Working in an R&D Lab at a Defense Contractor"
        -by Joel Strand
"Working for a government contractor can be a great way to work on exciting large-scale projects that are still definitely cutting-edge research. I will talk about my research in the superconducting electronics group at Northrop Grumman, how I got there, what it’s like to work at a large defense corporation, and whatever advice I can give to current students."

12:00 -12:45 1:00-2:00 PGSA Pizza Social in the Interaction Room:
Come take a break from research and teaching to hang out with fellow grad students while taking advantage of the best deal on campus: 2 slices of pizza and a can of Soda for $1.

Tues April 15

12:30 - 4:00 am Viewing of the Total Lunar Eclipse with the Astronomy Department
"The Astronomy Department and UIAS will be hosting a viewing of a total lunar eclipse at the Observatory in the very early morning hours of April 15th. The eclipse starts just before 1 am, with the total eclipse phase starting just after 2 am and mid-eclipse occurring at 2:46 am. There will be telescopes set up on the lawn of the Observatory to view the the eclipse, as well as the historic 12" telescope in the Observatory dome (weather permitting)."

5:15 pm - sunset Games 4 and 5 for the Majorana Meatballs
Games are at the corner of Florida and Lincoln in Urbana, just off the Teal bus line.
What to bring:

• Red Shirt 
• Water 
• Soccer or Football Cleats (optional) 
• A Great Attitude 

Everyone is welcome no matter the level of experience. We can teach you everything you need to know to be a contributing member of the Majorana Meatballs.