Events

28 February 2026, 3-4:30 PM EST

Independent Scholars Sandbox!

Conversation and connection with fellow independent scholars. An online hangout all about sharing ideas and building community in a relaxed vibe. Reserve your spot here!

 

16 November 2025

Sisterhood Was Limited: Jews, Intersectionality, and Feminism

Susan Roth Breitzer, Elizabeth Eisenstein Prize winner, delves into the complexities of Jewish identification during the 1970s, even within the feminist movement.

 

20 September 2025

Regenerative Ecology: Restoring Public Green Spaces

Dr. Ventra Asana discusses the moral and ethical issues involved in restoring public green spaces in towns and cities.

 

28 June 2025

Out of the Blue: A Neurological Hypothesis for Spontaneous Action Selection

Scholar Chris Rourk explores the neural mechanism that results in a specific action being selected. The webinar covers implications for social sciences, opening the discussion for participation and feedback.

 

26 April 2025

Quantum Biology and the “Wacky Factor”

Marco Ruggiero, MD and Ph.D., shows how non-classical quantum phenomena apply to biological systems.

 

1 February 2025

Pyrophytic Architecture™: Design for Living with Wildfire

A presentation by sustainable-innovation researcher Melissa Sterry, who works at the intersection of science, technology, and design. Dr. Sterry reimagines how to build in fire-prone, arid environments by mimicking natural ecosystems and the species that populate them.

 

23 November 2024

The Americanization of Jewish San Francisco

University lecturer Mary Ann Irwin, winner of NCIS’s 2024 Elizabeth Eisenstein Essay Prize, presents her award-winning research.

 

12 October 2024

Fire-UK Conference Showcase

Our UK Partner Group, the Forum for Independent Research Endeavours (FIRE-UK) invited members to present their research, whether published or ongoing. 

14 September 2024

The Accidental Educator: Unlocking the Teacher in Everyone

2pm EST /11am PST/7pm BST/8pm CET: Librarian/archivist Jo Baines presented this free NCIS webinar. For academics, teaching and learning are the yin to research’s yang, together forming the education sector. Librarians also operate in both areas, as they support academic development. This talk explores what it teaching outside of traditional academic training, the importance to everyone of pedagogy, and how we can all learn a lot from thinking a little about how we inspire others in our professions.

15 June 2024

Disability and Research

In this symposium on disability and the “user interface,” Helen Ross, Kevin Waitkuweit, and Kate Burrows describe their own interfaces as the site where research hits disability.

11 May 2024

NCIS Guide for Independent Scholars book launch

Online book launch for this much-needed resource, with foreword by Ron Gross, author of The Independent Scholar’s Handbook. BYO celebratory drinks!

27 April 2024

Tools and Software for Independent Researchers

Presentations and discussion of the tools and resources we use to support our scholarly work, hosted by Kathryn Burrows.

  • Kathryn Burrows presents work management platform www.monday.com
  • Amanda Haste presents study buddy platform www.focusmate.com
  • Sandra Ham presents writing app www.scrivener.com
  • Linda Baines presents qualitative data analysis software www.quirkos.com
  • Helen Ross presents accessibility features in MS Word
  • Phillip Reid presents document/project platform www.evernote.com
17 February 2024

Ethics of Human Stem Cells

Presented by medical ethicist Elena Salvaterra.

VIDEOS FOR MORE PAST EVENTS ARE AVAILABLE ON THE NCIS YOUTUBE CHANNEL.