Graduate Students

Join an exclusive hands-on portrait photography workshop at **Sarosh Photography & Studios** where creativity meets professional guidance. This immersive studio session will give photographers the opportunity to learn lighting techniques, posing direction, composition, and creative storytelling while working with **International model Cordelia**. Participants will gain real-world experience capturing elegant portraits in a controlled studio environment, while also learning practical tips on working with professional models, styling, and creating portfolio-worthy images. This workshop is designed to help photographers refine their artistic vision, improve technical skills, and elevate their portrait photography through guided demonstrations and live shooting sessions.

…Carroll, 304 pages [Physics] • Hardcover • Kindle • Audiobook • Library: https://fcplcat.fairfaxcounty.gov/search/title.aspx?ctx=1.1033.0.0.1&pos=1&cn=611358 Check the How To Find Us section for Zoom Link **(Remember, the Zoom Link is different each month, do not bookmark)** ### Review Praise for Quanta and Fields: “Readers will be electrified by his discussion of wave functions, entanglement, fields, and so much more. From the most infinitesimal of subatomic particles to the seemingly vast infinities of the universe’s great expanse, Carroll’s latest inquiry illuminates, well, everything.” —Booklist "In that void between hand-wavy popular science and academic textbook, this modern, informative and engaging account of quantum physics ticks all the boxes. Carroll the Explainer at his very best." —Jim Al-Khalili ### About the Author Sean Carroll is Homewood Professor of Natural Philosophy at Johns Hopkins University, and Fractal Faculty at the Santa Fe Institute. He is host of the Mindscape podcast, and author of From Eternity to Here, The Particle at the End of the Universe, The Big Picture, and Something Deeply Hidden. He has been awarded prizes and fellowships by the National Science Foundation, NASA, the American Institute of Physics, the Royal Society of London, and many others. He lives in Baltimore with his wife, writer Jennifer Ouellette.

Please join us for our Annual Open House at the Studio on March 21st from 1lam to 4pm. Enjoy light drinks, small bites, and a relaxed stroll through the studio. As we step into our 5th year at this location, we'd love for you to stop by & celebrate with us. This is a drop-in event from llam-4pm

[Profs and Pints Northern Virginia](https://www.profsandpints.com/washingtondc) presents: **“The Secrets of Runes,”** on the origins, development, and interpretation of the runic script, with Lilla Kopár, runologist and a professor of medieval literature and culture at Catholic University. [Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at [https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/nv-rune-secrets](https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/nv-rune-secrets) .] The fame of runes outshines that of any other ancient script. They can be found not just on Viking Age rune stones, but on Bilbo’s door and as the Bluetooth logo on your cell phone. Runic script is commonly associated with magic, used by modern practitioners of neopaganism, and in recent decades has captured the imagination of filmmakers and video game designers. Yet most of us know little about the historical origins of runes and have no clue how to read or use them. Come to Crooked Run Fermentation in Sterling, Va., to get schooled on runic script with the help of Lilla Kopár, a veteran scholar of runes who has earned a following among Profs and Pints fans by giving fantastic talks on medieval monsters and Norse mythology. As someone who has carried out extensive field research on runes, published several articles on runic objects, and even appeared on the History Channel commenting on runes in America, she’s exceptionally qualified to introduce you to runology and the fascinating things that runes tell us. Dr Kopár will discuss the development of runic script from its humble origins on the borders of the Roman Empire in the first or second century CE, through its popularity in the Viking world, to its use and misuse in modern times. She’ll discuss how runes are a set of related alphabets that underwent changes over time and she’ll describe what inspired changes in this writing system and where and how runes were used in the medieval period. Her richly illustrated talk will highlight some of the most intriguing objects with runic inscriptions, from humble bone fragments to impressive rune stones, and offer insight into the scholarly methods of deciphering and interpreting runic inscriptions. We’ll also look at the function of the runic script from simple practical notes and memorial inscriptions to cipher-runes and magic. The most fun might be the in-class assignment, which will involve reading a few runic inscriptions and writing your name and other words in runes. (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. Talk starts 30 minutes later.) Image: Part of Codex runicus, a rune manuscript written on animal skin and dating to about 1300 (University of Copenhagen / Wikimedia Commons).

Parents with adult autistic kids march h h meet up

[Profs and Pints Northern Virginia](https://www.profsandpints.com/washingtondc) presents: **“A Practical Guide to Social Change,”** a research-based look at how communities bring about reform and progress, with Marissa Robinson, founder of Real Health Impact LLC and an adjunct professor at George Washington University who teaches courses focused on public health leadership and social change. [Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at [https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/nv-social-change](https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/nv-social-change) .] Systems built on inequality rarely transform without deliberate pressure from the people most committed to justice, because progress takes coordination, conviction and willingness to change what has always been accepted. Real change starts when people choose to move together. Learn what research and experience say about how to make real social progress with Dr. Marissa Robinson, a public health practitioner who previously worked in federal agencies coordinating global and national public health initiatives focused on infectious diseases, HIV, and health equity. Among the key questions she’ll tackle: How do communities overcome barriers to create real change? When should evidence guide decisions and when does context matter more? She’ll discuss established frameworks for moving from intention to measurable progress and talk about the importance of building coalitions that actually work and of making decisions grounded in real data. You’ll learn about the importance of testing ideas on a small scale before going big, as well as how to use rapid feedback loops and continuous improvement cycles to refine approaches and scale what truly works. Dr. Robinson will share stories of ordinary people and communities who refused to accept the status quo and pushed through real barriers to achieve breakthrough results. She’ll talk about practical strategies, usable frameworks, and evidence-based examples that people can apply immediately in their own communities and organizations to support change that lasts. If you have dreamed about bringing about progress in your world, this talk will give you the clarity, direction, and confidence it takes to turn such dreams into reality. ( Door: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. The talk starts 30 minutes later.) Image by Canva.

**This talk has completely sold out in advance and no door tickets will be available. It also is being staged at Penn Social in DC on March 16th and plenty of tickets remain available for that date.** [Profs and Pints Northern Virginia](https://www.profsandpints.com/washingtondc) presents: **“Terrors of Irish Fairylore,”** an introduction to Ireland’s strange and unsettling folkloric “Good People,” with Brittany Warman, former instructor at Ohio State University, co-founder of The Carterhaugh School of Folklore and the Fantastic, and co-author of the new book *Fairylore: A Compendium of the Fae Folk.* [Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at [https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/nv-irish-fairy-terrors](https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/nv-irish-fairy-terrors) .] Today it is common to think of fairies as small, childlike, sparkly creatures with glittering wings and dresses made from flower petals. But the fae of traditional Irish folklore were no such things. Amoral, capricious, even malicious when they chose to be, the too-frequently forgotten fairies of times long past would, more often than not, haunt nightmares. Join Brittany Warman, a folklorist who has earned a devoted following among Profs and Pints fans, as she explores the darker side of Irish fairylore. The figures she'll discuss include: The Leanan-Sidhe, a vampiric fairy who gives artistic inspiration in exchange for your mortal spirit. The Dullahan, a fairy with a human spine for a whip and a habit of hurtling across fields in a death coach made from human skin. The Banshee, a mournful fairy whose cry signals a death in the family to which she's attached herself. Dr. Warman also will examine the surprising impact of fairy folklore on two classics of Irish Gothic literature, Oscar Wilde's *The Picture of Dorian Gray* and Bram Stoker's *Dracula.* It’s a talk that will remind you that the relationship between the Irish and the spooky stretches well beyond Halloween. (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. Talk starts 30 minutes later.) Image: “The Banshee Appears,” an 1862 illustration by Robert Prowse (Wicklow Heritage / Public domain).