WUD Distinguished Lecture Series

John Martinis | March 23rd 2026

We had an awesome time at our event last night “John Martinis: Engineering the Quantum Future.” Thank you to everyone who came out and thank you to John for amazing and informative insights.

If you would like to nominate a speaker there is a link in our biography. We would love to hear your suggestions!

The WUD Distinguished Lecture Series and Society and Politics Committee are excited to welcome Ruby Bridges. “A Fireside Chat With Ruby Bridges” will feature a 60-minute moderated Q&A that will center on the topics of equality, education, and community. A 30-minute audience Q&A will follow. This is a free event taking place in Memorial Union’s Shannon Hall at 7:00 pm on April 8th.

In 1960, at the age of six, Bridges became the first Black student to integrate into an all-white elementary school in New Orleans, Louisiana. Her walk to school during the desegregation of public education was later depicted in Norman Rockwell’s piece “The Problem We All Live With,” chronicled in Robert Coles’ “The Story of Ruby Bridges” and portrayed in the Disney film “Ruby Bridges.”

Students will require a promo code, which they will receive via email, to acquire their ticket. Any remaining tickets will become available to the general public on March 26, with a limit of one ticket per person. Registration for the event will be available on the Wisconsin Campus Arts Ticketing Page.

CART captioning is provided with ASL interpretation upon request.

If you would like to nominate a speaker, there is a link in our biography. We would love to hear your suggestions!