Why did Okabe's university ask Kurisu, a neuroscientist, to do a talk on time travel?

It's not like she ever told anyone she was writing a paper about it. I don't think her connection to Nakabachi is very public either. Seems like a pretty random subject to ask a neuroscientist about.

Also I think she mentions it's her first time doing a talk? For a famous, young genius scientist who's working on cutting edge technology and got her PhD at 17 (She did get her PhD, right? It's not really clear to me since I'm not familiar with the American system.), I find that a bit hard to believe.