NOTE: During this time of social distancing and university life interrupted by the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, the Chronicle’s virtual Things to Do provides a variety of opportunities to engage with Cornell resources and programming. See the University Events Calendar for more events and updates.

Freshwater fish in danger

Conservation ecologist Peter McIntyre, Ph.D. ’06, associate professor of natural resources in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, will discuss the myriad dangers facing freshwater fish in global waterways, and what can be done about them, in an online lecture, Aug. 5 at 1 p.m. EDT. Register in advance.

His talk, “Saving Our Freshwater Fish: Climate Change, Pollution, and Aquaculture,” focuses on human impacts on freshwater fish in lakes, rivers and streams worldwide. These impacts include the effects of climate change on brook trout in Adirondack lakes and other species; mercury pollution in freshwater fisheries; and the effects of the global expansion of aquaculture.

McIntyre is the Dwight Webster Sesquicentennial Faculty Fellow at Cornell and co-leads the Adirondack Fishery Research Program in the Department of Natural Resources. He has studied the impacts of habitat degradation on aquatic life in lakes and rivers on four continents, including ongoing field projects in Africa and Southeast Asia. His work includes a focus on the challenges facing fish and fisheries in upstate New York, and the contributions of river and lake fisheries to global food security.

Spiritual life at Cornell

New students and their parents are invited to learn more about religious and spiritual life at Cornell at a webinar hosted by the Office of Spirituality and Meaning Making (OSMM), Aug, 5, 7-8:30 p.m. EDT. Register online.

OSMM is a unit of the Office of the Dean of Students that supports all Cornell students, regardless of their religious background, in deepening their beliefs, finding a sense of belonging and becoming more fully themselves. The office also supports Cornell United Religious Work, a community of affiliated chaplains offering additional spiritual support, programming and service opportunities.

Safe return to work

The Worker Institute at the School of Industrial and Labor Relations will host a virtual conference and workshop, “Fair and Safe Return to Work: Protecting Workers and Communities during Reopening,” Aug. 6, noon-1:15 p.m. EDT. The event is free; register online.

The conference brings together community and worker advocates, policymakers and experts to examine the issues that workers and communities are facing as New York City undergoes the phase 4 reopening of its economy. Panelists will address possible solutions to the pressing needs of workers and communities as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, how safety precautions are affecting workers and small businesses, and appropriate policies to protect workers’ rights during an economic crisis.

Speakers include New York State Assemblywoman Catalina Cruz, D-39th; Lowell Peterson, executive director of the Writers’ Guild of America-East; Alexander Colvin, Ph.D. ’99, the Kenneth F. Kahn ’69 Dean and the Martin F. Scheinman ’75, M.S. ’76 Professor of Conflict Resolution at the ILR School; Sekou Siby, executive director of Restaurant Opportunities Centers-United; former Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Diana Florence; and from The Worker Institute: Ileen DeVault, academic director; Nellie Brown, director of workplace health and safety programs; and Maria Figueroa, director of labor and policy research and the event’s moderator.

‘Podcasting Like a Pro’

Learn how to get started as a podcaster and produce professional-sounding content in a free four-session workshop hosted by Mann Library. The class meets Aug. 11, 13, 18 and 20 at 11 a.m. EDT. Register in advance.

“Podcasting Like a Pro” introduces participants to the basics of podcast production, from the initial creative process to recording, editing and hosting an audio podcast; audio gear and recording strategies; using editing software like Audacity and Adobe Audition; and tips and guidelines for uploading and hosting. No experience is necessary.

Linguistics conference

Cornell hosts the 30th international meeting of Semantics and Linguistic Theory (SALT), Aug. 17-20. Originally scheduled to take place on the Ithaca campus in April, the meeting will be held online. Register in advance.

Sarah Murray, associate professor of linguistics in the College of Arts and Sciences, and Will Starr, associate professor of philosophy (A&S), are the co-organizers, along with Dorit Abusch, professor of linguistics; Jon Ander Mendia, postdoctoral fellow with the Society for the Humanities, and Mats Rooth, professor of linguistics, are also organizing the conference.

The event features more than 20 speakers presenting on such topics as the development of language and meaning in children, mathematical and computational modes of meaning, and language in context. Presentations will include experimental and computational methods, and data from at least 25 languages. The conference is preceded by a one-day satellite workshop on focus and information structure, Aug. 17.

SALT is one of the world’s leading conferences on the scientific study of meaning in natural languages. The 2020 event is presented by the Department of Linguistics and the Sage School of Philosophy, with the Cornell Center for Social Sciences and the Cognitive Science Program. The annual conference is sponsored by the Linguistic Society of America.

The first interdisciplinary SALT conference was organized at Cornell in 1991 by Sally McConnell-Ginet, professor emerita of linguistics, and two colleagues. Cornell also hosted SALT10 in 2000. SALT30 will include a retrospective session with McConnell-Ginet and other founders and participants from SALT1.