University of Michigan faculty and librarians will fan out across Ann Arbor to share their expertise in a bicentennial celebration April 6 called Feast of Ideas.

The event is a feature of the UMich200 Spring Festival, with professors from diverse disciplines — from kinesiology to Chinese studies to marketing — presenting 20-minute talks at Ann Arbor shops, restaurants and galleries.

“We want to provide a sampling of what our students experience every day in the classroom,” said event organizer Michelle French, associate director of the Bicentennial Office. “We’re pleased to work with local merchants to connect the campus with the community.”

Throughout the evening and across Ann Arbor, 14 locales will host speakers. For example, at Flipside Art Studio on East Liberty Street, an engineering professor will discuss facets of sustainable technology, while a marketing professor at the Blue Nile restaurant on East Washington Street will explain why and how consumers make decisions based on feelings rather than deep thinking.   

Feast of Ideas is supported by Michigan Radio, and all talks are free and open to the public. Participating faculty and their locations include:

• Stephen E. Feinberg, professor and associate chair of research, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, School of Dentistry

“The Role of Tissue Engineering/Regenerative Medicine in Facial Reconstruction”

6:30 p.m., The Bo Store, 333 S. Main St.

• Barry Fishman, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor, professor of education, School of Education; professor of information, School of Information

“School is a Game … But is it a GOOD game?”

6:30 p.m., 826michigan, 115 E. Liberty St.

• Margherita Fontana, professor of dentistry, School of Dentistry

“Enhancing Oral Health for Children”

7 p.m., Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea, 123 W. Washington St.

• Joel Howell, Victor Vaughan Professor of the History of Medicine, professor of internal medicine, Medical School; professor of history and Honors Program, LSA; and professor of health management and policy, School of Public Health

“A Hospital of Our Own: The Origins and Early History of the University of Michigan Hospital”

7 p.m., Roeda Studio, 319 S. Main St.

• Thomas Lyon, Dow Chair of Sustainable Science, Technology and Commerce, and professor of business economics and public policy, Stephen M. Ross School of Business; and professor of natural resources and environment, School of Natural Resources and Environment

“Using Your Purchasing Power to Support Green Companies and Products”

7 p.m., The Himalayan Bazaar, 218 S. Main St.

• Andrew D. Martin, professor of political science and dean of LSA; and faculty associate, Center for Political Studies, Institute for Social Research

“The Politics of Judging”

8:30 p.m., Knight’s Downtown, 600 E. Liberty St.

• Josh Mergos, clinical assistant professor of kinesiology, School of Kinesiology

“Intraoperative Neurophysiological Monitoring”

7 p.m., The Victors Collection by The M Den, 307 S. State St.

• Scott Rick, associate professor of marketing, Ross School

“Emotion and Consumer Financial Decision-Making”

6 p.m., The Blue Nile, 221 E. Washington St.

• Vivek Sankaran, clinical professor of law, Law School

“Poverty and the Foster Care System: The Data, Challenges, and A Call to Action”

6 p.m., Ten Thousand Villages, 303 S. Main St.

• Justin Schell, associate librarian, Library Learning and Teaching — Connected Scholarship, University Library

“Building the Bicentennial Bot”

6 p.m., Moe Sport Shops, 711 N. University Ave.

• Steven J. Skerlos, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor, professor of mechanical engineering, and civil and environmental engineering, and director of the academic program for Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering

“What Does ‘Sustainable Technology Design’ Even Mean? “

6:30 p.m., Flipside Art Studio, 255 E. Liberty St.

• Kentaro Toyama, W.K. Kellogg Professor of Community Information and associate professor of information, School of Information

“Geek Heresy: Why Technology is Terrific and Terrible at the Same Time”

8 p.m., Conor O’Neill’s, 318 S. Main St.

• Emily Wilcox, assistant professor of Asian languages and cultures, LSA; and Liangyu Fu, associate librarian, Library Research — Asia, University Library

“Creating the Exhibition: Chinese Dance — National Movements in a Revolutionary Age, 1945-1965”

7 p.m., Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library, Room 100, 913 S. University Ave.

• Sebastian Zöllner, associate professor of biostatistics, School of Public Health; and associate professor of psychiatry, Medical School

“Using Modern Genetics to Understand Bipolar Disorder”

7 p.m., Seva Restaurant, 2541 Jackson Ave.

Tags:

• UMich200 Spring Festival