Watch, Read, Listen

An esteemed panel of astronomers, historians, and engineers explore astronomy’s fantastical theories and fascinating discoveries with moderator and Caltech university archivist Peter Sachs Collopy. Panelists include Tracy Drain, JPL Psyche mission deputy project systems engineer; Eun-Joo Ahn, astrophysicist and graduate student in history at UCSB; W. Patrick McCray, professor of history at UCSB; and John Mulchaey, Crawford H. Greenewalt Chair and Director of the Carnegie Observatories.

Author Julie Leung and illustrator Chris Sasaki discuss the inspiring true story behind their children’s book, Paper Son. Li Wei Yang, curator of Pacific Rim Collections at The Huntington, introduces the program and offers historical context. A book signing follows the talk.

William Deverell, director of the Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West, explores the life of Henry E. Huntington (1850-1927) against the backdrop of American history. This program is a Haynes Foundation Lecture.

Noted ethnobotanist Mark Plotkin and cartographer Brian Hettler of the Amazon Conservation Team discuss the work of Richard Schultes, the 20th-century ethnobotanist, and share their new interactive map, based on the explorer’s journals, that tracks his Amazon travels and offers insights into his role in the development of the field of ethnobotany in the US.

The year 1919 was a tumultuous one in American history. It was also the year that Henry E. Huntington created the institution that bears his name. This conference, designed around The Huntington’s Nineteen Nineteen centennial exhibition, focuses on the social, cultural, and political events that provide a national and international context for Huntington’s remarkable act of philanthropy.

Kristen L. Chiem, associate professor of art history at Pepperdine University, explores the role of floral imagery in Qing-dynasty China. Focusing on the peony, Chiem traces how artists used the flower to demonstrate imperial power during the 17th through 20th centuries. Prominently adorning portraits and material objects of Qing emperors and empresses, these images offer insight into gender, ethnicity, and diplomacy at court.