THURSDAY
JANUARY 15, 2026

7 pm

Lobdell, 2nd floor, Student Center

Recording from 2026:

Searching for Meaning in Science

Dr. Katie Galloway
Dr. Galloway is an Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering at MIT. She earned a PhD and an MS in Chemical Engineering from Caltech, and a BS in Chemical Engineering from University of California at Berkeley. She completed her postdoctoral work at the University of Southern California. Her research has been featured in several journals including Science, Nature Biotechnology, Cell Stem Cell, Cell Systems, and Development. She has won multiple fellowships and awards including the C. Michael Mohr Outstanding Faculty Award for Undergraduate Teaching 2024.

We are all searching for meaning in our lives, through our education, vocation, and relationships. But how we construct meaning relies on what we believe about the world. Science offers a compelling framework for inspecting and understanding the world and harnessing it to help others. The effectiveness of science is undeniable. But is it enough to build a meaningful life?

TUESDAY
JANUARY 20, 2026

7 pm EST

Lobdell, 2nd floor, Student Center

Recording from 2026

The Scientific Case for God

Dr. Mouhab Rizkallah
Dr. Mouhab Rizkallah is specialist in Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics, has a Doctoral degree in Dental Surgery (valedictorian), Bachelors degree in Biology  (valedictorian), and a separate Bachelors Degree in Business Administration (valedictorian). He also has a Masters Degree in Materials Science. Dr. Rizkallah has dozens of significant awards in his various fields, including being named the most influential person in dentistry, person of the Year, and receiving the American Dental Association’s Presidential Citation for his work in healthcare advocacy. He believes that 90% of the getting the right answer is asking the right questions, and he has dug into the facts underlying the big questions.

Do Scientific facts prove the existence of a supernatural creator? Call it God or something else, but does Science point to an immaterial source for the material world? In this talk we will examine the definition of Proof, the definition of God, and the scientific record. Then we will apply scientific reasoning to see if the facts show that belief in God can (and even should) co-exist in the mind of a dedicated scientist.

THURSDAY
JANUARY 22, 2026

7 pm EST

Lobdell, 2nd floor, Student Center

Recording from 2026

Who is the Real Jesus? A look at the Historical Evidence of Jesus Christ

Dr. Mouhab Rizkallah
Dr. Mouhab Rizkallah is specialist in Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics, has a Doctoral degree in Dental Surgery (valedictorian), Bachelors degree in Biology  (valedictorian), and a separate Bachelors Degree in Business Administration (valedictorian). He also has a Masters Degree in Materials Science. Dr. Rizkallah has dozens of significant awards in his various fields, including being named the most influential person in dentistry, person of the Year, and receiving the American Dental Association’s Presidential Citation for his work in healthcare advocacy. He believes that 90% of the getting the right answer is asking the right questions, and he has dug into the facts underlying the big questions.

In the prior talk, we discussed how Scientific facts support the existence of God. In this talk, we will tackle the next logical big question – Then who is God? This talk will use the other source of facts – Historical facts – applied through judicial system fact-finding to test the historical credibility of Jesus Christ. How would the evidence for Jesus’ crucifixion and supposed resurrection hold up in a court of law today? Would a court today determine Jesus was God?

TUESDAY
JANUARY 27, 2026

7 PM EST

Lobdell, 2nd floor, Student Center

Abdu’s 2026 talk:

Abdu’s 2025 talk:

The Big Question: Can Your Worldview Handle Reality?

Abdu Murray - author, speaker, and lawyer. He received his Juris Doctor from University of Michigan Law School. He is the author of several books, including the recently released book entitled, “More Than a White Man’s Religion” For most of his life, Abdu was a Muslim until a nine-year historical, philosophical, theological and scientific investigation pointed him to the Christian faith.

All religions and worldviews seek to answer the fundamental questions of human existence: Why am I here? What does it mean to be human? Do we have value? Why is there evil in the world and how do we deal with it? But not every worldview places equal emphasis on each issue. To be valid, any worldview has to provide coherent answers to the fundamental questions of existence. Abdu Murray will examine how the world's major worldviews tackle these questions, and provide insight as to how the Christian faith affirms these questions, but answers them in ways that uniquely satisfy our deepest inquiries and longings about existence, purpose, and morality. 

The major worldviews Abdu will be examining include: Secular humanism, Pantheism, Islam and Christianity. Abdu brings compassion, understanding and clarity to his analysis, comparing the answers of each view to the central message of Christianity.

A crowd favorite last year, Abdu is back this year! Come bring your toughest questions for Abdu

Thursday
JANUARY 29, 2026

7 PM EST

Lobdell, 2nd floor, Student Center

Thursday
March 5, 2026

Dinner And Dialogos

Tonight is the final Reason for God session of IAP, but more sessions will happen during the semester (see note below)!  At our previous sessions we got to hear from some great speakers but there is often limited time to discuss the topic with one another.  So tonight, the focus will be on discussing our own thoughts and questions about God, faith, religion, etc. We look forward to how tonight will be a time to have some honest, respectful and open conversation about important questions.  What will that look like?

• Personalized discussion at your table

• Honest dialogue -engaging with big questions together

• Time to ask questions in a small group 

• And, of course, free dinner

Future Reason for God Sessions

Due to unforeseen circumstances, our original planned speakers, Cliffe and Stuart Knechtle have had to postpone their visit to MIT. We are planning to have them at MIT on March 5th.

More about Cliffe and Stuart:
With over 2 million followers on social media Cliffe and Stuart have gone viral online and become very popular among college students. They travel to multiple campuses each year to engage students on the Big Questions about life, faith, the Bible, God, Jesus, and more. Together they host Give Me an Answer

www.youtube.com/@givemeananswer
Instagram: @stuart_knechtle
Tiktok: stuartknechtle

This night will be an open forum focused primarily on answering questions from the audience.