Welcome back to Columbia and to Science Fair, Bwog’s weekly roundup of science events happening around campus. Good luck as we approach finals. As always, email science@bwog.com if you want your event featured.

People of the Environment (POTE): Art as Climate Action with Nicole Jackson
• Monday, December 8, 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm.
• Fayerweather Hall, Room 513. Register here.
• Join POTE for a conversation with Nicole Jackson (Columbia alum and founder of Embodied Earth) about using art to spark climate action and organize communities. Jackson brings together interdisciplinary arts to investigate the climate crisis through creative lenses. Great for anyone interested in art, activism, and environmental justice.

Responsible Mining in Latin America: The Extractive Transition and Social License
• Wednesday, December 10, 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm.
• Large Conference Room, Center on Global Energy Policy. Register here.
• Join CGEP for a roundtable with Osmel Manzano on how Andean countries are navigating the energy transition. These resource-dependent economies face new risks from decarbonization but also opportunities in critical minerals like lithium and copper. Explore boom-and-bust cycles, social conflicts, and what “social license” means for mining.

An Evening of Chicanx Poetry with Levi Romero
• Wednesday, December 10, 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm.
• 457 Schermerhorn Extension.
• Come hear Levi Romero, New Mexico’s inaugural Poet Laureate, read from his work tracing Spanish and U.S. imperialism in New Mexico and celebrating Indo-Hispano communities’ deep connection to place. His poetry offers stark, loving detail about Nuevomexicano culture and history. Co-sponsored by Anthropology, American Studies, Spanish and Latin American Studies, CSER, and the Columbia Center for Archaeology.

Machine Learning and AI Seminar Series: Self-Improvement of LLMs with Jason Weston
• Friday, December 12, 11:00 am to 12:00 pm.
• School of Social Work, Room 311/312. Registration required.
• Facebook Research Scientist Jason Weston explores a wild question: what if AI could improve itself? Learn about cutting-edge methods enabling LLMs to create their own training data, reward themselves, and train themselves to provide better rewards. A must for anyone fascinated by the future of machine learning.

Science Fair via Madeline Douglass