The University of Miami’s Department of Philosophy will host Derk Pereboom, professor of philosophy at Cornell University, and John Martin Fischer, professor of philosophy at the University of California, Riverside.

Pereboom’s research concerns free will and moral responsibility, philosophy of mind, history of modern philosophy, and philosophy of religion. He has written extensively in all these areas. In his book on free will and moral responsibility, Living Without Free Will, he argues that human beings do not have the sort of free will required for praiseworthiness and blameworthiness, but that conceiving ourselves as lacking this sort of free will does not undermine what is important for morality and meaning in life.

Fischer’s main research interests concern free will, moral responsibility, and both metaphysical and ethical issues pertaining to life and death. He is the author of many articles and books, including The Metaphysics of Free Will: An Essay on Control; with Mark Ravizza, Responsibility and Control: A Theory of Moral Responsibility; and My Way: Essays on Moral Responsibility.

The lecturers are scheduled for Monday, May 3 from 2 to 5 p.m. in the Learning Center, Room 110. For more information, please visit www.miami.edu/phi or call 305-284-4757.

Neil Johnson, professor of physics in the University of Miami’s College of Arts and Sciences, will present “Life on the Edge: Dynamics of Networks and Groups in Biology” on Monday, May 3 at 12:20 p.m. in the Cox Science Center, Room 166. Johnson studies collective human activities, including violence, which have been shown to exhibit universal patterns. His research focuses on the size and timing of violent events within different insurgent conflicts. For more information, please contact Akira Chiba at [email protected].

Disbursements is now offering monthly eCheck training sessions through the online Elluminate Live! platform. eCheck is a University eForm available in UMeNET that has replaced the paper check requisition process. The next online eCheck training is scheduled for Monday, May 3 from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Log on to ULearn to sign up for the session. After registering, additional information regarding Elluminate Live! will be sent via e-mail. If you have any questions, contact Allison Gilbert at 305-284-6787 or [email protected].

George Tchobanoglous, member of the National Academy of Engineering and professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of California, Davis, will present “Satellite Systems for Energy Recovery” on Monday, May 3 from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. in the McArthur Engineering Annex, MEA 202.

The seminar will focus on energy harnessed from screened wastewater material, including tissue paper, oil and grease, and other organic materials, and on the feasibility of implementing alternative options for energy recovery. This event is part of the College of Engineering Distinguished Speaker Series.