COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
SCIENCE SUNDAYS AT OHIO STATE
2015–2016
Contents About Science Sundays – 4 Upcoming Events – 6 Sept: Jeffrey R. Childress Oct: Tish Shute Nov: Stefano Mancuso Dec: Sian Beilock Jan: Ellen Peters Feb: Jill Pipher March: Todd Thompson April: Sean B. Carroll
Sponsoring Centers – 14 asc.osu.edu/science-sundays
About Science Sundays Science Sundays is a public lecture series offered by The Ohio State University College of Arts and Sciences and its sponsoring science centers. Speakers are leading experts in their fields dedicated to making their work interesting and accessible for audiences of all ages and backgrounds. Science Sundays brings leading-edge work into the lives of the public with lectures covering diverse topics in science, arts and technology that touch our everyday lives. Sponsoring Centers • Advanced Computing Center for the Arts and Design (ACCAD) • Center for Applied Plant Sciences (CAPS) • Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Brain Imaging (CCBBI) • Center for Cosmology and AstroParticle Physics (CCAPP) • Center for Emergent Materials (CEM) • Center for RNA Biology (CRB) • Decision Sciences Collaborative (DSC) • Mathematical Biosciences Institute (MBI) These centers are dynamic national hubs focused on solving critical global problems in energy and the environment, safe food production and health and wellness. They produce important new information; discover viable new “smart” materials, energy sources, drug therapies; investigate effective decision-making strategies; and build collaborative partnerships merging arts and technology. 4
Upcoming Events General Event Information
Each lecture is followed by a free, informal reception. TIME Lecture: 3-4 p.m.; Reception: 4-5 p.m. LECTURE VENUE All 2015-2016 lectures will be held in the Ohio Union U.S. Bank Conference Theatre. RECEPTION VENUE All 2015-16 Receptions Ohio Union Ohio Staters Traditions Room. For more information on SCIENCE SUNDAYS visit: asc.osu.edu/science-sundays 5
SEPTEMBER 20, 2015
Jeffrey R. Childress
Science and technology of data storage in the information age We know data needs to be stored somewhere — quickly, safely, reliably. Translated into tiny magnetic poles on hard disk drives, or an electric charge inside a silicon chip, enormous amounts of data storage rely on amazing scientific and technological progress in magnetism and nanofabrication. Learn about today’s technology and challenges ahead. Research director, HGST, a Western Digital company in San Jose, CA. 6
OCTOBER 18, 2015
Tish Shute The Future of Story Telling: What are we going to do with our super powers? Today’s emerging Augmented and Virtual Reality technologies takes computing back to the language of the body, emotions and senses. This new era of computing is not just about seeing something, but feeling something and making connections — offering a super power that brings new forms of empathy to storytelling. Director, Product Experience, THRED, team of talented designers, engineers, entrepreneurs who created genre defining works: SimCity, The Sims, Spore, Carmen San Diego 7
NOVEMBER 15, 2015
Stefano Mancuso Brilliant green – from plant intelligence to a new model of modernity Despite huge differences in form, all animals are similar to us—variations on a theme. A plant is ‘something else,’ viewed as commodity or decoration. Mancuso shows plants are exquisitely complex organisms that communicate, solve problems, memorize, learn: with intelligence, but not as we know it. Professor, University of Florence; director and founder of the International Laboratory of Plant Neurobiology; founder of International Society for Plant Signaling and Behavior 8
DECEMBER 6, 2015
Sian Beilock How to perform your best under stress In an energetic tour of the latest brain science, Sian Beilock explains why we all too often blunder when the stakes are high. She reveals what happens in our brain and body when we experience the dreaded performance anxiety and shows how to succeed brilliantly when it matters most. Vice provost for academic initiatives and psychology professor, University of Chicago 9
JANUARY 10, 2016
Ellen Peters Decision making across the life span: What are good moods good for? How we process information in making decisions changes as we get older. We don’t think as hard as we get older, but having experience to rely on allows us to think better. And, good moods have a surprising power that can help older adults make better decisions. Professor of psychology and director, Ohio State’s Decision Sciences Collaborative 10
FEBRUARY 21, 2016
Jill Pipher Mathematical ideas in Cryptography: from ancient times to a post-quantum age How does encryption work? How do we know that our current encryption methods are secure? Pipher provides answers and explores why we need new mathematical ideas to deal with emerging problems, such as privacy for information stored in the cloud, and the computational potential of quantum computing. Elisha Benjamin Andrews Professor of Mathematics, Brown University and director of the Institute for Computational and Experimental Research in Mathematics 11
MARCH 20, 2016
Todd Thompson The Fantastic Forge: Supernovae and the Origin of the Elements Thompson describes the grand pageant of stellar death and transfiguration caused by supernovae — exploding massive stars and tremendous thermonuclear detonations of white dwarfs — that partially replenish galaxies with raw materials for future star formation. We owe our existence to the elements they provided: carbon, oxygen and iron. Professor of astronomy, Ohio State 12
APRIL 17, 2016
Sean B. Carroll The Serengeti Rules: The Quest to Discover How Nature Works & Why It Matters Nature regulates everything — whether it’s the molecules in our bloodstream or lions on an African savanna. Revolutionary discoveries like The Serengeti Rules, are illuminating this regulation. Carroll discusses ecological rules that control numbers and kinds of animals and plants everywhere that are being applied to restore some of the planet’s greatest wildernesses. Professor of molecular biology and genetics, University of Wisconsin. 13
Sponsoring Centers The following world-class centers are Science Sundays sponsors: ACCAD, CAPS, CCBBI, CCAPP, CEM, CRB, DSC and MBI. Each center brings together teams of experts who form collaborations and partnerships worldwide within and across disciplines to tackle and answer some of the most important problems and questions of our time. They teach and train the next generation of researchers; encourage creativity and innovation and share their discoveries with the public. They are supported by major funding from federal granting agencies, the university and the College of Arts and Sciences.
Art Meets Technology. ADVANCED COMPUTING CENTER FOR THE ARTS AND DESIGN (ACCAD) Many contemporary computer animation artists and scientists get started at ACCAD — one of the world’s first computer animation research centers. Using visualization technologies, we can re-imagine 60,000-year-old dinosaurs; reveal a choreographer’s thinking about movement patterns and enable audiences to travel to ancient ruins through interactive, learning experiences. View the magic: accad.osu.edu 15
Greening the World. CENTER FOR APPLIED PLANT SCIENCES (CAPS) A partnership between the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences bridges the gap between basic research and potential applications. Crossdisciplinary research teams are finding ways to enhance crop production by making plants disease and pest-resistant. Watch them grow: caps.osu.edu 16
THE CENTER FOR COGNITIVE AND E B HAVIORAL R B AIN IMAGING (CCBIB ) This new frontier in cognitive neuroscience uses brain imaging to “see� individual differences in cognitive capacities to explore relationships between the human brain and behavior and social emotional processing. These differences can be responsible for debilitating psychiatric disorders such as bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders and autism. Get an inside look: ccbbi.osu.edu
Seeing the Brain.
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CENTER FOR COSMOLOGY AND ASTROPARTICLE PHYSICS (CCAPP) CCAPP researchers combine physics with astronomy, theory with computation and experiments with observation to tackle the universe’s biggest secrets: dark matter holding galaxies together; dark energy accelerating them apart; and the high-energy cosmic rays created by violent explosions of massive stars. Be amazed: ccapp.osu.edu
Probing the Universe.
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Building Our Future. CENTER FOR EMERGENT MATERIALS (CEM) Materials researchers are inventing the future today, manipulating matter on a nanoscale to address critical issues. Imagine “smart” materials using magnetism, electricity, light and heat, doing more and performing better while using less energy — producing better batteries, faster computers — and much more. The CEM is an NSF funded MRSEC. Imagine the future: cem.osu.edu 19
At the Heart of Life. CENTER FOR RNA BIOLOGY (CRB) RNA, the most ancient form of nucleic acid, is a multitasker. Unlike DNA, it acts as both carrier of genetic information and functional entity in its own right. RNA is a powerful tool used by biologists, mathematicians, physicists, chemists and medical and agricultural researchers to answer many important questions. The CRB is supported by Arts and Sciences, Office of Research and College of Medicine. Feel the power: rna.osu.edu 20
DECISION SCIENCES COLLABORATIVE (DSC) More than 100 Ohio State faculty members and graduate students teach and actively engage in basic and applied research at the forefront of Decision Sciences and within each of Ohio State’s Discovery Themes. Our mission is to foster collaborative programs for research and teaching and to serve the public by promoting more effective, evidence-based decision making and solutions to critical societal problems. Generating smart decisions: decisionsciences.osu.edu
The Science of Deciding.
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Inventing New Solutions. MATHEMATICAL BIOSCIENCES INSTITUTE (MBI) AN NSF-FUNDED CENTER MBI researchers apply diverse mathematical tools to probe the biological and health sciences, from examining cholera dynamics in Haiti, to understanding circadian rhythms in sleep disorders, to studying cancer growth, and more. MBI programs and researchers also explore how biology creates the need for new mathematics. Do the math: mbi.osu.edu 22
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THE COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES EMBRACES THE SCIENCES AND THE ARTS. Find out more about upcoming arts events at: asc.osu.edu/events
The Name of the Game by Ann Sofie Clemmensen Department of Dance, Photo by Catherine Proctor