Pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard will present a free piano master class in Clarke Recital Hall at the L. Austin Weeks Center for Recording and Performance, Frost School of Music, on Thursday, January 27 from 2 to 4 p.m. in conjunction with his recent tour with The Cleveland Orchestra.

Waste Land follows renowned artist Vik Muniz as he journeys from his home base in Brooklyn to his native Brazil and the world’s largest garbage dump located on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. There he photographs an eclectic band of “catadores”—self-designated pickers of recyclable materials. Muniz’s initial objective was to “paint” the catadores with garbage. However, his collaboration with these inspiring characters as they recreate photographic images of themselves out of garbage reveals both the dignity and despair of the catadores as they begin to reimagine their lives. The film offers stirring evidence of the transformative power of art and of the human spirit. In English and Portuguese with English subtitles. The film screens Thursday, January 27 at 7:30 p.m., featuring a panel discussion with local experts following the film; Friday, January 28 at 7 p.m.; Saturday, January 29 at 6 p.m.; and Sunday, January 30 at 6 p.m. Admission is $7 for seniors, University of Miami alumni, faculty, non-UM students, and staff. General admission is $9. Free for UM students. Tickets are available online. For more information, visit www.cosfordcinema.com or call 305-284-4861.

Northern Trust and the University of Miami School of Education will present the Northern Trust 2011 Lecture, “Testing the Limits of Education Reform,” on Thursday, January 27 at 6:30 p.m. in Storer Auditorium. A reception will follow the lecture. The lecture will feature Diane Ravitch, former assistant secretary of education under former President George H.W. Bush. In her latest book, The Death and Life of the Great American School System, Ravitch critically examines standardized testing, punitive accountability, and the unprecedented growth in charter schools and points out the flaws in using the business model as a prescription for school reform. A professor of education at New York University, a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, and one of The Atlantic magazine’s 19 Brave Thinkers of 2010, Ravitch is one of the most important public intellectuals of our time. RSVP to 305-284-6486 or [email protected].

Raffaella Poggioli, fellow, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism, will present a neuroendocrine clinical case on Thursday, January 27 at 4 p.m. in the Batchelor Building, sixth-floor seminar room. For more information, contact Angie Saint Jean at [email protected] or 305-243-8417.

The Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism will host a research conference on Thursday, January 27 at 2:45 p.m. in the Batchelor Building, sixth-floor Seminar Room. Tatiana Fonseca, postdoctoral associate, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism, will present “Tissue-Specific Deletion of Type 2 Deiodinase Gene Identifies a Role for Pituitary D2 in the TSH Feedback Mechanism.” For more information, please contact Angie Saint Jean at [email protected] or 305-243-8417.