- What: TENWEST Impact Festival
- When: Oct. 11-20
- Where: Visit TENWEST.com for a full schedule of events.
TUCSON, Ariz. — More than 50 speakers from the University of Arizona and 250 overall will take part in the TENWEST Impact Festival, which runs Oct. 11-20 and is expected to draw about 15,000 local, regional and national attendees to downtown Tucson to discuss innovative solutions to the world’s social, environmental and economic issues.
“I am excited that the University of Arizona has made a long-term commitment to support the TENWEST Festival,” says President Robert C. Robbins. “Not only do we wholeheartedly believe in the vision and mission of this community-driven impact effort, but we also see the incredible economic, social and cultural impact that this festival can have for Tucson.”
The festival theme is “Everyone has a role. Discover yours.” Through 10 days of exhibitions, talks and interactive experiences, national experts and local heroes seek to inspire the ideas and facilitate the connections that will enable solutions and empower everyone to act.
Some highlights include:
- Health Sciences Workforce Development
Monday, Oct. 14, 10-10:45 a.m., Tucson Convention Center, Graham Meeting Room
Heather Carter, assistant professor of practice and associate director, Arizona Center for Rural Health, UA Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, and a member of the Arizona State Senate representing District 15; and Daniel Derksen, associate vice president for health equity, outreach and interprofessional activities, UA Health Sciences.
- Meeting the Need for Higher Education & Professional Development in Indian Country
Monday, Oct. 14, 10-10:45 a.m., Tucson Convention Center, Greenlee Meeting Room
Robert Williams Jr., Regents Professor of law, and Tory Fodder, Indigenous Governance Program manager, will be part of a panel presenting a case study on how tribes can strengthen their governance, rebuild their nations and demonstrate sovereignty in action.
- One Health Program
Monday, Oct. 14, 11-11:45 a.m., Tucson Convention Center, Graham Meeting Room
Kerry Cooper, assistant professor, Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences, CALS; Jean Mclain, assistant dean for faculty advancement, CALS; Kristen Pogreba-Brown, assistant professor, epidemiology and biostatistics, UA Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health; Marc Verhougstraete, assistant professor, community, environment and policy, UA Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health.
- Artificial Intelligence (AI): Tap or slam on the brakes?
Monday, Oct. 14, 11-11:45 a.m., Tucson Convention Center, Greenlee Meeting Room
Paul Melendez, founder of the Center for Leadership Ethics in the Eller College of Management, will examine the benefits of AI technology, as well as economic, legal and ethical issues it raises.
- Digital Health Innovations
Monday, Oct. 14, 2-2:45 p.m., Tucson Convention Center, Graham Meeting Room
Emmanuel Bukenya, co-founder, Anuel Energy; Cindy Jordan, CEO, Pyx Health; and Nirav Merchant, director, Data Science Institute (Data7), co-principal investigator, CyVerse, University of Arizona.
- The Art and Science of Making Musical Instruments
Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2:30 p.m., Tucson Convention Center, Apache/Cochise Meeting Room
Bruce Bayly, professor of mathematics, will bring a variety of instruments to illustrate the physical principles of their designs and show attendees how to make their own instruments.
- Diversity in Entrepreneurship
Thursday, Oct. 17, 3 p.m., Tucson Convention Center, Gila Meeting Room
Joan Timeche, executive director of the Native Nations Institute in the Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy, will take part in a panel of how to create a level playing field in entrepreneurship for women- and minority-owned companies.
- Creating Spaces for Healthy Aging: Measuring Health, Wellbeing & Performance Non-Invasively: From Molecules to Environment
Friday, Oct. 18, 10 a.m., Tucson Convention Center, Mojave Meeting Room
Esther Sternberg, director of the UA Institute on Place, Wellbeing and Performance, will discuss features of the built environment that promote physical health and emotional wellbeing, with a focus on aging populations.
- Defending the Planet From Falling Rocks
Friday, Oct. 18, 11 a.m., Tucson Convention Center, Coconino Meeting Room
Amy Mainzer, professor of planetary science, will detail the search for potentially hazardous asteroids and comets that might impact the Earth.
- From Farm to Table: AI Sensors and Big Data Help Produce More and Better Food
Friday, Oct. 18, 11 a.m., Tucson Convention Center, Greenlee Meeting Room
Monica Schmidt, associate professor of plant science; Uwe Hilgert, director of industry engagement, workforce development and STEM training at the UA BIO5 Institute; Eric Lyons, associate professor of plant science; and Murat Kacira, professor of biosystems engineering will take part in a panel about how new and advanced technologies can help farmers and businesses improve food production and distribution.
- Humanity in the Age of the Genome Revolution
Friday, Oct. 18, 3 p.m., Tucson Convention Center, Greenlee Meeting Room
Michael Hammer, professor, UA Department of Neurology, and research scientist with Arizona Research Labs, and Floyd Chilton, professor, UA Department of Nutritional Sciences, will discuss research on precision health, designed to avoid disease through individually tailored wellness strategies.
- Podcast, Cli-Fi and Science Storytelling for Climate Action in the Built Environment
Friday, Oct. 18, 3 p.m., Tucson Convention Center, Mohave Meeting Room
Ladd Keith, assistant professor of planning in the College of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture, will talk about how to give narrative shape to the climate crisis through novels, films and podcasts.
Other topics of interest include panels on Building Innovative Cities (Oct. 11), STEM Connect (Oct. 16), IdeaFunding, including a shark-tank style contest (Oct. 17) and the Fourth Industrial Revolution and Women's Hackathon (Oct. 18).
For more information and for a full schedule of events, please visit TENWEST.com.
About the University of Arizona Health Sciences
The University of Arizona Health Sciences is the statewide leader in biomedical research and health professions training. The UA Health Sciences includes the UA Colleges of Medicine (Tucson and Phoenix), Nursing, Pharmacy, and the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, with main campus locations in Tucson and the growing Phoenix Biomedical Campus in downtown Phoenix. From these vantage points, the UA Health Sciences reaches across the state of Arizona and the greater Southwest to provide cutting-edge health education, research, patient care and community outreach services. A major economic engine, the UA Health Sciences employs nearly 5,000 people, has approximately 900 faculty members and garners $200 million in research grants and contracts annually. For more information: uahs.arizona.edu (Follow us: Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | LinkedIn | Instagram)