Don't Miss It!

This installment of Don't Miss It! covers April 22 through May. For additional sesquicentennial events during May, watch Purdue Today and the 150 Years of Giant Leaps celebration website and its calendar.

What will it take for the U.S. to return to the moon and send humans to Mars and beyond? A high-level panel moderated by President Mitch Daniels, former co-chair of a national panel on that subject, will launch into subjects such as spaceflight, colonization and interplanetary travel during an Ideas Festival event Thursday (April 25) in the 150 Years of Giant Leaps celebration. Several exciting performances in music and dance also grace this springtime week. Don’t Miss It!

 

APRIL 23 and 25

Chamber Recital I and Chamber Recital II will feature performances by students in Purdue Bands & Orchestras. 7-9 p.m. each night. STEW, Fowler Hall.

APRIL 25

“What IF We Blaze a Path to Mars?” will be a high, even orbital, level panel discussion moderated by President Mitch Daniels, former co-chair of the National Research Council’s Committee on Human Space Flight. Panelists: Jonathan Lunine, the David C. Duncan Professor in the Physical Sciences and director of the Carl Sagan Institute at Cornell University; Mary Lynne Dittmar, president and CEO of the Coalition for Deep Space Exploration; and Bill Gerstenmaier,  Purdue alumnus and associate administrator, human exploration and operations, at NASA. This event is a part of Purdue’s Ideas Festival, the centerpiece of Purdue’s Giant Leaps Sesquicentennial Campaign, addressing the IF theme “Space: Earth, Exploration, Economics.” 6:30-7:30 p.m. STEW, Loeb Playhouse. News release

APRIL 25-26

Mahan Esfahani is a key part of a resurgence of interest in the harpsichord, which is older than piano but sounds fresh and varied when a master plays it. Limited seating for two shows at Duncan Hall, 619 Ferry St., Lafayette. Tickets $27-$38. Event. Shows:
     • 7:30 p.m. Apr. 25. Pre-show discussion at 6:30 p.m. Cash bar: wine and beer.
     • 8 p.m. April 26. Pre-show discussion at 7 p.m. Cash bar: wine and beer.

APRIL 26

The Purdue Choral Festival, in its fifth year, will present a closing concert featuring Purdue Musical Organizations singers and high school choirs, including combined numbers with nearly 500 voices. 6:30 p.m. Elliott Hall of Music. Free. Website

APRIL 26-27

Spring Works in dance will blossom again onstage during performances by the Purdue Contemporary Dance Company. Featuring student dancers and choreography by Division of Dance faculty, plus original music/sound by theatre students. 7:30 p.m. Friday; 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Pao Hall of Visual and Performing Arts, Nancy T. Hansen Theatre. Reserved seating: public, $14, students, $11; ages 1-12, $7. Dance

APRIL 27

The Chameleon classic rock band featuring Purdue Jazz/Variety Band alumni will maintain its recent tradition of an end-of-spring benefit concert providing jazz band scholarships for Purdue Bands & Orchestras. 8 p.m. Lafayette Theater, 600 Main St., Lafayette. Ticket: public, $10; student, $5; at the door; if advance sales, information to come.

APRIL 28

Jazz on the Hill featuring all jazz bands at Purdue plus the Alumni Jazz Band will return to Slayter Hill this year now that construction on Stadium Avenue is done. 2-4 p.m. Free. Band events

APRIL 28-30

The Jefferson Science Symposium will gather diverse expertise to consider how to make STEM principles better reflected in national and global policies and initiatives. For this Ideas Festival event, registration was due April 22. News release

MAY 3

“What IF Medical Technology Transformed Health?” will be an Engineering 2169 symposium featuring Jay Hess, dean of the Indiana University School of Medicine, and an event in the "Health, Longevity and Quality of Life" theme of the Ideas Festival, the centerpiece of Purdue's yearlong Giant Leaps Sesquicentennial Campaign. 1-5:15 p.m. University Towers Residences, Hine Theater, 911 W. North St., Indianapolis. Event

MAY 11

The Purdue Varsity Glee Club will wrap up the year and some PMO careers with the End of Season Concert. 7:30 p.m. Long Center, 111 N. Sixth St., Lafayette. Tickets for sale in advance at Purdue Account Manager: adults, $20; students, $10 (general admission; doors open at 6:45 p.m.)

MAY 14

The Purdue Symposium on Ethics, Technology and the Future of War and Security will pursue the theme question: “What IF Artificial Intelligence Wages War?” This event is a part of Purdue’s Ideas Festival, the centerpiece of Purdue’s Giant Leaps Sesquicentennial Campaign, addressing the IF theme “Artificial Intelligence, Algorithms and Automations: Balancing Humanity and Technology.” Continental breakfast and registration at 8:30 a.m. Welcome at 9 a.m. Ross-Ade Pavilion, Buchanan Club (fifth floor). Registration available online. Website

MAY 22

Spring Fling, Purdue's employee appreciation event for faculty, staff, graduate student staff, and retirees (BTW, not families, friends, or other students) will offer many familiar favorite foods, freebies and activities. Some events require advance registration. 11:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. In and around Memorial Mall, plus a few activities elsewhere. Article

MAY 25

The "All-American" Marching Band will mark its 100th anniversary as host band in the Indianapolis 500 Festival Parade, which starts at noon at North and Pennsylvania and finishes about 1:30 p.m. A Purdue Alumni Band will join in to celebrate the musical centennial. $ for parade seating; free for standing room. Details

MAY 26

The "All-American" Marching Band again will head the influx of bands at 8 a.m. on race day at the Indianapolis 500 and, as is traditional, will play "On the Banks of the Wabash" and other music. A Purdue Alumni Band will participate also. $. Race details

SPORTS IN SEASON

Intercollegiate Athletics home
Track and field (indoor and outdoor) | Free admission | Information for attending
Women's tennis | Free admission | Information for attending
Men's tennis | Free admission | Information for attending
Baseball | Tickets | Home season March 12-May 18
Softball | Tickets | Home season March 22-April 28
Women’s golf | Free admission | Information for attending
Men’s golf | Free admission | Information for attending

These and other events, plus other timely information, are listed in the Purdue Today calendars under "Events" under the Campus News pulldown at www.purdue.edu/newsroom/purduetoday.