The NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) Institute has announced a series of in-person talks and conferences for its April lineup.

Attendees will gain valuable insights into a wide range of topics, which include the latest breakthroughs in tobacco research, the future of space activities, the evolving role of technology and music within the film industry, the lasting effects of climate change towards the world’s oceans, and a journey through the history of Jerusalem.

Among some of the talks will be Romance and War/Music and Technology: From David Lean's Brief Encounter to His Lawrence of Arabia, which will take place on April 17 in collaboration with Abu Dhabi Festival.

Led by award winning author and distinguished Professor of Humanities at Columbia University Lydia Goehr, the talk will explore the connection between the themes of romance and war in two classic films by David Lean set in a post-Second World War context, focusing on transports of love and the transportation of warring parties.

Participants will have the opportunity to learn more about the perceptual and industrial differences among Britain and America, and the prominent role technology and music have played in relation to that.

On April 18, a discussion in collaboration with the Zayed Sustainability Prize will focus on the pivotal role of energy, and how a pioneering nature-based solution can simultaneously mitigate climate change, repair ocean ecosystems, and provide eco-friendly alternatives to plastics.