COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
SCIENCE SUNDAYS AT OHIO STATE
2012 – 2013
CONTENTS ABOUT SCIENCE SUNDAYS – 4 PAST & UPCOMING EVENTS – 6 •
Year One
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Year Two
Sept: Don Saari
Oct: Lonnie G. Thompson
Nov: Andrew E. Johnson
Dec: Jennifer Ouellette
Jan: Roland Kawakami
Feb: Jeffrey Reutter
Mar: John Wenzel
Apr: Ron Graham
SPONSORING CENTERS – 16
ABOUT SCIENCE SUNDAYS
A Public Lecture Series offered by Ohio State University’s College of Arts and Sciences and its sponsoring science centers. • • • • • •
Center for Applied Plant Sciences (CAPS) Climate, Water, Carbon Program (CWC) Center for Cosmology and AstroParticle Physics (CCAPP) Center for Emergent Materials (CEM) Electronic & Magnetic Nanoscale Composite Multifunctional Materials (ENCOMM) Mathematical Biosciences Institute (MBI)
These centers are dynamic national hubs focused on solving critical global problems in energy and the environment, safe food production, health and wellness, developing viable new materials, and exploring what drives our universe. Arts and sciences researchers lead the way nationally and internationally for their work in all areas of basic mathematical, physical, and life sciences. Their research cuts across boundaries of traditional disciplines and makes connections that result in breakthrough discoveries that make a difference in our lives. Speakers are leading experts in their fields from on campus, across the country, and around the world. We invite scientists who are both comfortable in their “native habitat”— research labs or field sites 4
— and in front of a lay audience. These are folks who are excited about sharing their work and have experience in making it interesting and accessible for audiences of all ages, with or without a science background. Science Sundays was initiated in 2011 as a way to take leading-edge work beyond the lab and open a window to the future. Lectures cover a wide range of current and emerging topics and issues in science that touch our everyday lives.
GENERAL EVENT INFORMATION Each lecture is followed by a free, informal reception. TIME Lecture: 3-4 pm; Reception: 4-5 pm LECTURE VENUE Ohio Union U.S. Bank Conference Theater or Wexner Center Film/Video Theatre RECEPTION VENUE Ohio Union Ohio Staters Traditions Room or Wexner Center Café
For more information on SCIENCE SUNDAYS visit: asc.osu.edu/science-sundays 5
YEAR ONE The series premiered in September 2011, with renowned British mathematician and science-fiction writer Ian Stewart who introduced his audience to the fun of creating The Science of Discworld. In ensuing months, audiences learned about the search for other Earth-like planets; experiments to probe the deepest reaches of our own planet; a bacterium’s sense of touch; the science of shale gas; mathematical patterns; and the future of the car. Evalyn Gates, executive director and CEO of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, wrapped up the 2011-12 year with Einstein’s Telescope: The Hunt for Dark Matter and Dark Energy. 1 Ian Stewart – The Science of Discworld September 2011
2 Scott Gaudi – The Search for Other Worlds October 2011
3 Steven Lower – A Bacterium’s Sense of Touch November 2011 6
PAST SPEAKERS
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4 Giorgio Rizzoni – Sustainable mobility, renewable energy, and the future of transportation January 2012
5 Jeffery Daniels – The Science of Shale Gas February 2012
6 Marty Golubitsky – Patterns, Patterns Everywhere March 2012
7 Wendy Panero – The Earth Under Pressure: Experiments to probe the deepest reaches of the planet April 2012
8 Evalyn Gates – Einstein’s Telescope: The Hunt for Dark Matter and Dark Energy May 2012
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YEAR TWO HERE IS A LOOK AT THIS YEAR’S SCIENCE SUNDAYS CALENDAR
OCTOBER 2012 – APRIL 2013
Don Saari Kicking off the second season, mathematician Don Saari, University of California-Irvine, posed a timely question: We vote; but can we elect someone who we really don’t want? 8
2012 – 2013 EVENTS
Lonnie G. Thompson Don Saari was followed by internationally-recognized expert on climate change, Ohio State Distinguished University Professor and senior research scientist at the Byrd Polar Research Center, Lonnie G. Thompson with Glaciers, People and Global Climate Change (An Inconvenient Truth Meets an Inconvenient Mind).
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Andrew E. Johnson, NASA Jet Propulsion Lab, Landing and Roving on Mars. At NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Johnson develops image-based techniques for autonomous navigation and mapping during descent to planets, moons, comets, and asteroids.
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2012 – 2013 EVENTS
Jennifer Ouellette Jennifer Ouellette, science writer, editor and blogger, Ready for Their Close-up: Scientists Go Hollywood Ouellette takes us to the movies to look at what happens when science intersects with popular culture. The author of three popular science books; Ouellette frequently contributes to NPR’s Science Fridays, and maintains a blog at Scientific American called Cocktail Party Physics, featuring her faux-French avatar/alter ego, Jen-Luc Piquant.
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Roland
Physicist Roland Kawakami, University of California-Riverside, puts a spin on Nanoelectronics; developing electronic devices that utilize the electron spin (spintronics) has potential for important applications, including spin-based quantum information systems.
The January Lecture ONLY is in the Wexner Center’s Film/Video Theatre; Reception in the adjoining Cafe
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2012 – 2013 EVENTS
JeffreyReutter Reutter Jeffrey News from the North Shore: The State of Lake Erie Area Research Reutter, Lake Erie Area Research and Stone Lab Director, shares the latest leading-edge research that tackles problems of lake health, including water quality and invasive species; waterfront sustainability; and fisheries management.
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John Wenzel John Wenzel, Director, Powdermill Nature Reserve, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, The wisdom of the bee: How to organize a team when no one knows what she is doing.
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2012 – 2013 EVENTS
Ron Graham Ron Graham, aka “The Mathemagician,” Department of Mathematics, University of California-San Diego (and former president of the International Jugglers Association) talks about Magic and Math .
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SPONSORING CENTERS OF SCIENCE SUNDAYS HERE IS A LOOK AT THE CENTERS THAT MAKE SCIENCE SUNDAYS POSSIBLE
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CENTER FOR APPLIED PLANT SCIENCES (CAPS) This partnership between the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences bridges the gap between basic research and its potential applications. Cross-disciplinary research teams are finding ways to create new biologically-based products, such as biofuels; and engineer methods that enhance crop production by making plants disease and pest-resistant. CAPS offers robust interdisciplinary programs for students at all levels — K–12 through post-graduate, along with seminar series for faculty. The center is dedicated to promoting a spirit of collaboration that fosters research partnerships and learning experiences that empower the process of research through education. caps.osu.edu
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SPONSORING CENTERS OF SCIENCE SUNDAYS
CLIMATE WATER CARBON PROGRAM (CWC) The Climate, Water and Carbon Program unites scientists from across a spectrum of research fields at The Ohio State University with the aim of expanding inquiry and research into the causes and effects of abrupt global climate change. The CWC is dedicated to a better understanding of the Earth’s complex climate system, the future availability of fresh water, and the effect that energy use is having on the planet’s greenhouse gas cycles. Research findings can then be applied for society’s benefit through an improved understanding of related policy implications. cwc.osu.edu
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SPONSORING CENTERS OF SCIENCE SUNDAYS
CENTER FOR COSMOLOGY AND ASTROPARTICLE PHYSICS (CCAPP) Some of the oldest and most profound questions are about the origin, age, and fate of the Universe. We are still looking for the answers, but we now have strong evidence that these answers are more amazing than we ever imagined. To tackle these big questions, the interdisciplinary research in CCAPP joins physics with astronomy, and theory and computation with experiment and observation. Key topics range from the dark matter holding galaxies together and the dark energy accelerating them apart to the violent explosions of massive stars and the high-energy cosmic rays they create. CCAPP activities advance knowledge, train young scientists, and bring results to the public. ccapp.osu.edu
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SPONSORING CENTERS OF SCIENCE SUNDAYS
MATERIALS RESEARCH: BUILDING OUR FUTURE Ohio State researchers are inventing the future today — manipulating matter on an atomic and molecular scale to find solutions to critically important issues that affect our daily lives. Imagine new “smart” materials — inventing and creating new materials that use magnetism, electricity, light, and heat that do more and perform better while using less energy; making better batteries that can transform technologies from electronic communication to automobile transportation to space exploration and exploiting the wisdom of evolved biological materials to create nanomachines. Our materials researchers imagine these and more and work every day to make them happen. Center for Emergent Materials | cem.osu.edu Center for Electronic & Magnetic Nanoscale Composite Multifunctional Materials | encomm.osu.edu
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SPONSORING CENTERS OF SCIENCE SUNDAYS
MATHEMATICAL BIOSCIENCES INSTITUTE (MBI) MBI researchers apply diverse mathematical tools to probe the biological and health sciences and host approximately 15 workshops and 1000 visitors annually. Our researchers use mathematics and statistics to understand better ways to help wounds heal, to track the worldwide spread of viruses, and to gain insight into our body’s immune response. They examine cholera dynamics in Haiti and Africa, measure circadian rhythms in sleep disorders, and explore cellular processes that cause diseases such as cancer. MBI programs and researchers also explore how biology creates the need for new mathematics. mbi.osu.edu
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SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS We want to make Science Sundays a popular Sunday afternoon destination for science buffs of all ages. Your feedback is very important in helping us to do that. Please take a few minutes to let us know what you thought of this lecture — what you liked most, what you think could be improved. Do you think the speaker made his/her topic easily-understood? We are always looking for topics that have a broad appeal — what would you like to see featured in our lineup? Would you recommend Science Sundays to your friends? Thank you, your input and suggestions are appreciated and valued. Name: Preferred Email: Address: Feedback:
Mail your survey to ASCComm: Science Sundays, 154 N. Oval Mall, 1010 Derby Hall, Columbus, OH 43210 or submit online at asc.osu.edu/scisun-survey.
NOTES
Curious students of all ages would not have the opportunity to engage with news-making science, BUT FOR Ohio State’s SCIENCE SUNDAYS.