How do haiku work? How can you understand them if you don’t read or speak Japanese? Tim Hitchens, President of Wolfson College, will take you on a journey into this most exquisite of Japan’s literary art forms; decipher a famous verse by the poet Basho; and will offer for exclusive sale at knock-down prices copies of his book of Japanese haiku, with all proceeds going to the College Charity AMREF, working to support health services in Africa. Join him in the brand new Buttery at 6.00pm on Tuesday 11th June for thirty minutes of enlightenment!

The holy month of Ramadan is upon us! We welcome all members of our Wolfson community to join our fellow fast-keepers on a special Iftar Potluck! It's the most wonderful time of the year for Muslims all over the world as they fast from dawn to dusk. Ramadan is a special time of the year meant to detoxify and renew. Muslims open their fasts with an evening feast, called iftar, which is meant to be a joyous social event connecting friends and family together over food and laughter. If you plan to join, please click on the link to the google document to enter your name and the dish you plan to bring to the potluck. Thank you! We look forward to enjoying a festive iftar with you all!

Advances in machine learning, AI & data science is already transforming our ability to work with big data and complex information. The 1st Oxford Cross-disciplinary Applications of Machine Learning (OxfordXML) Workshop will bring together researchers from a range of disciplines to learn about the techniques, applications and impact of machine learning in their respective fields, such as civil engineering, healthcare, biomedical, and psychology. The speakers include Dr. Brian Sheil (from civil engineering), Dr Tingting Zhu & Dr. Antoniya Georgieva (both from healthcare/biomedical engineering) and Timo Flesch (from experimental psychology). Come and hear them speak on June 14, 2019 at 10:30am to 12.30pm, at the Florey Room. This is an open event. No registration is required. For more information on the speakers and the schedule, please visit http://oxfordxml.com

A private view, talk, and reception for The Golden Age of Japanese Prints, Kunisada, Kuniyoshi and Hiroshige. Ukiyo-e from the Collection of Ruth Muschel and Gilles McKenna. All welcome.

Private View - Tom Cross: Shapes and Adventures, an exhibition of paintings 2004-2019

Do you use machine learning in your research? If you have a success story, cautionary tale or something compelling to say — here’s a chance to present and share with the Wolfson community! The Cross-disciplinary Applications of Machine Learning (XML) workshop brings together members of the Wolfson community who apply machine learning techniques in their research, be it in the sciences, humanities or other disciplines. It will be a great opportunity to hear about the impact of machine learning in various disciplines, and to network and exchange ideas. Each talk should be about 15 minutes in length, and should be accessible to a general audience. The workshop is scheduled for May 31, 2019 (subject to change). Graduate students, postdoctoral researchers and fellows are all welcome to present. If you are interested in presenting at the workshop, please email either: stephen.suryasentana@eng.ox.ac.uk or yaling.hsiao@psy.ox.ac.uk by the end of 30 April 2019.

At our next meeting we will be discussing ‘The Ice Palace’ by Tarjei Vesaas (1897-1970). Tarjei Vesaas was a Norwegian poet and novelist and widely considered to be one of Norway's greatest writers of the twentieth century. New members always welcome. Please contact Jan Scriven if you wish to be added to the mailing list. jan.scriven@wolfson.ox.ac.uk

An exhibition of paintings by local artist Tom Cross looking at his work from 2004-2019.

Lunch Table in Hall from 12:30, followed by a talk in the Florey Room at 1.15 delivered by Dr Søren Handberg (University of Oslo), The History and Archaeology of the Ancient Greek City of Kalydon from the Late Bronze Age to the Early Roman Period. Coffee and cakes will be served. Lunch for Cluster Members Talk open to ALL

The next event for Visiting Scholars and Research Membership of Common Room will be on Tuesday 26 February 2019 at 17:00 in the Florey Room with research presentations, followed by supper table in Hall at 19:00.