Summer Seminars at UMass Downtown

Description

UMass Downtown and the UMass Amherst Graduate School invite you to the Summer Seminar Series, a new public speaker series connecting campus research with the community. Each Wednesday evening, UMass graduate student presenters will share their research, ideas, and work in an engaging and approachable format designed to spark conversation, curiosity, and connection. Each session offers a chance to hear directly from emerging scholars doing meaningful work across disciplines, with opportunities for discussion and community engagement.

Wednesdays | June 17–August 5 6:00–7:30 PM
Free and open to the public

July 15 | Ruth Appiah Kubi Co-Creating Systems of Care That Support Pregnant and Postpartum Individuals What if every woman moved through pregnancy and birth feeling supported, safe, and cared for? What if positive experiences were the norm rather than the exception? Many women do—but not all. A missed visit, feeling lost while trying to find support, or feeling unheard during the perinatal period can snowball into serious complications and, in the worst cases, contribute to preventable maternal deaths. These stories, both uplifting and painful, are happening in our own communities, and they deserve to be heard. We invite you to join us in holding space for this range of experiences and imagining the care, support, community-rooted change, policy, and advocacy efforts needed to help every mother feel seen, safe, and cared for.

July 15 | Jeng-Yu Chou From Detection to Policy: AI and Human Systems for Safer Digital Spaces Is it possible to automate safety in a digital world where context is everything? What happens when technology evolves faster than our laws can keep up?

This talk highlights two facets of digital safety, including how machine learning is being used to efficiently identify harmful content at scale, as well as findings from characterizing real-world activity and user-generated content on social media platforms. Come discuss the intersection of technical innovation and real-world policy, and how evidence from research moves from the lab into decisions that shape safer online communities.