Fighting disease in the age of Big Data. Measuring and understanding personalized Web services. Building trust between police and communities.

These are among the group of compelling issues being featured in a new faculty speaker series running throughout May and June at Northeastern. The “Minds over Matters: NUterm Faculty Speaker Series” features weekly presentations from top faculty scholars who discuss their research and examine innovation, new discoveries, and timely topics of global importance.

While the events are open to all Northeastern students, faculty, and staff, the series was developed for NUterm, an academic option for rising sophomores, coinciding with Summer I, that will give students greater flexibility to customize their learning experiences.

Minds over Matters is part of NUterm’s “Thinking Globally” track, among the six co-curricular activity tracks designed to build class spirit and enrich student life.

The series kicked off on May 12 with a talk by psychology professor David DeSteno, who provided a scientific basis for determining whether to trust people—including yourself.

Here is a full schedule. All the remaining events will begin at 4 p.m. and will be held in the Egan Research Center’s Raytheon Amphitheater.

Monday, May 18
Fighting Diseases in the Age of Big Data
Alessandro Vespignani
The Sternberg Family Distinguished University Professor of Physics, Computer Science, and Health Sciences

Wednesday, May 27
Hottest Topics in Entrepreneurship: Business Model Innovations
Oleks Osiyevskyy
Assistant Professor, Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Wednesday, June 3
Batsuits, Bike Frames, and Boogie Boards: New Materials Built from the Atom Up
Kate Ziemer
Associate Professor, Chemical Engineering

Monday, June 8
Measuring and Understanding Personalization of Web Services
Christo Wilson
Assistant Professor, College of Computer and Information Science

Thursday, June 11
Building Trust Between Police and Communities in the Wake of Ferguson
Amy Farrell
Associate Professor, Criminology and Criminal Justice

Tuesday, June 16
Sport, Communication, and Crisis: Preempting Scandal and Preserving Reputations at Universities
Alan Zaremba
Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs, College of Arts, Media and Design