Princeton Area Alumni Association

Please join us at our next Princeton Diversity Discussion, hosted by Marita Martiney on Friday, February 21, 2020, at 6 pm, at Surf Taco Coastal Cuisine in the Princeton Shopping Center, 301 North Harrison Street. (Note this is the evening before Alumni Day.) Free parking is available. Order individually, pay at the counter, and join us at the tables inside; or feel free to come for the conversation without eating. Remember to wear your orange and black so we can find one another! RSVPs are not required, but may be sent to Jenny Korn '96.

Princeton Diversity Discussions is a monthly series of friendly and inclusive gatherings supported by the Association of Black Princeton Alumni (ABPA), Association of Latino Princeton Alumni (ALPA), Asian American Alumni Association of Princeton (A4P), Princeton Area Alumni Association (PA3), Princeton Association of Delaware, Princeton Association of New York City (PANYC), Princeton Club of Washington (PCW), Princeton Club of San Diego (PCSD), Princeton Association of New England (PANE), and Princeton Club of Chicago (PCC). We have been featured in Princeton Alumni Weekly.

Open to *everyone* (affiliated and not with Princeton) who would like to discuss race-related issues in person,. We invite alumni, students, staff, family, friends, and everyone you think is groovy to join us! So far, we have teamed up with the Duke Black Alumni Association, Harvard Women in Design, and the Harvard Kennedy School's Women's Network to co-host discussions. Hosting involves no financial commitment, only a commitment to selecting a date in the calendar and to choosing a restaurant that the host digs.

To join our Princeton Diversity Discussions email list to learn of upcoming gatherings across the United States, please email Princeton Diversity Discussions Founding Director Jenny Korn '96.

Join us for First Fridays, a monthly recurring event for undergraduate and graduate Princeton alumni, graduate students, and parents.  On the first Friday of each month, area alumni and their guests will meet to enjoy a prix fixe luncheon at the Nassau Club in downtown Princeton.  As a special bonus for PA3, a Princeton University PhD candidate will present his/her work to the group in this informal setting.  Topics vary monthly and are always interesting!  Have a look at our impressive roster of previous luncheons. 

Our speaker this month is Robbie LeDesma, a graduate student in the department of Molecular Biology.  His topic is a very timely one:  viruses and the human immune system.  "I will have a combination of a very brief general introduction to the innate immune system, followed by more detail on how viruses generally evade these mechanisms. While I don't actually work on coronaviruses, I can definitely offer brief insights as to what makes for an epidemic both on the sides of the virus and host, but also, more broadly in terms of global travel and the way in which governments respond to such events."

Here is Robbie's bio:

Robbie LeDesma is a fourth-year Ph.D. candidate in Molecular Biology. Born and raised in Mesa, Arizona, Robbie took a very nontraditional path to get to where he is today. He began his own dog training / house sitting business to pay his way through community college, where he graduated as Valedictorian in 2010 before moving east and transferring to Columbia University on a full-tuition scholarship to finish his undergraduate education.  In 2014, he graduated with a degree in Neuroscience and Behavior, with a concentration in premedical sciences, and began working in a genetic nephrology lab at Columbia University Medical Center. In 2016, he matriculated to Princeton University, and has been pursuing his passions in science and community outreach ever since.  His current research focuses on viral evasion mechanisms of the innate immune system.  In his free time, he likes to make music, make hot sauce, and play with puppies.

Priced at $28/person (or $32 if you choose not to pay PA3's annual dues).  Lunch includes an appetizer, entree, dessert and coffee/tea. Wine/beer offered a la carte - select Enhanced Lunch Ticket on the PayPal button below.

REGISTRATION RULES:

Pre-registration is required, by 9 pm on the day prior to the luncheon (so that Nassau Club can properly prepare).

Date: Friday, Febuary 7, 2020
Time: 12 noon - 2 pm
Location: Nassau Club, 6 Mercer St, Princeton, NJ
Nassau Club membership is not necessary to attend this event.
Dress is business casual.

Registration (if not via Paypal) or questions:  Send email to Tom Swift via: tswift@alumni.princeton.edu

>> Looking forward to seeing you...in your orange and black! <<

PA3 INVITES YOU TO “SECOND TUESDAYS”

A PRINCETON PROPELLER EVENT

AT QUADRANGLE CLUB

FOR ENTREPRENEURS,

NAVIGATORS & THE CURIOUS

Please Join Us for Cocktails & Hors d’oeuvres

33 PROSPECT AVENUE – PRINCETON, NJ

6 P, TUESDAY, February 11th, 2020

Speakers:  Stephanie Thomas & Charles Swanson

Vice President and Senior Scientist, Princeton Satellite Systems

“Frontiers in Commercializing Fusion Development:

The New Landscape of Companies Investing in Fusion Worldwide”

The 2010s saw a tremendous proliferation of private nuclear fusion companies.  There may be dozens:  including five stand-out leaders and a burgeoning host of intermediate companies.  Though not yet within our grasp, the promise of fusion energy remains obvious.  Clean, limitless power plants could:  halt deleterious global climate change; and free us from polluting, extractive industries and the resource conflicts they engender.  But what makes these companies think they can succeed where 60 years of research from world governments have not?  And, how are they now leveraging governmental support to accomplish this?  Our speakers will survey this rapidly evolving landscape and the technical and financial investments that are driving its development.

Registration Required via propellers.princetonaaa.org

NEXT PRINCETON PROPELLER:  Tuesday, March 10^th (6 P)

 The Princeton University Art Museum currently features the exhibit: "Eternal Feast: Banqueting in Chinese Art from the 10th to the 14th Century".  These banquets were about more than food, and their images more that mere adornments for the walls of the wealthy.

The exhibit is described here: https://artmuseum.princeton.edu/story/eternal-feast-banqueting-chinese-art-10th-14th-century

There is also a reference to it in the New York Times:  https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/21/dining/chinese-banquet-princeton-art-museum.html

Thanks to the wonderful assistance of the Association of Asian American Alumni of Princeton (A4P), Zoe Kwok *13, the Assistant Curator of Asian Art who put together the exhibit, has offered to give an exhibition tour to PA3 members, family, and friends on Saturday, January 25th, 2020 at 2 PM - 3 PM.  This is an exceptional opportunity to learn about a PU Art Museum exhibit directly from the curator.

Space is limited, so please indicate your desire to attend via an email to Tom Swift at tswift@alumni.princeton.edu.  Reservations will be taken on a first come, first served basis.  Please indicate your interest in participating in a lunch in Princeton (venue TBD) prior to the tour.  We'll organize that if there is sufficient interest.