COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
SCIENCE SUNDAYS AT OHIO STATE
2014–2015
Contents About Science Sundays – 4 Upcoming Events – 6 Sept. - Margot Gerritsen Oct. - Ray Jayawardhana Nov. - James Sneyd Dec. - Martina Newell-McGloughlin Jan. - Clifford Will Feb. - Joel Cohen March - Fran Kalal April - Craig Mello
Sponsoring Centers – 14 asc.osu.edu/science-sundays
About Science Sundays Science Sundays is a FREE 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): an NSF MRSEC • Institute for Population Research (IPR) • Mathematical Biosciences Institute (MBI) • Center for RNA Biology 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 global population dynamics; and build collaborative partnerships merging arts and technology. 4
Upcoming Events General Event Information Time Lecture: 3–4 p.m.; Reception: 4–5 p.m. Lecture Venue All 2014–2015 lectures will be held in the Wexner Center Film/Video Theater, unless otherwise noted on the following lecture pages. Each lecture is followed by a free, informal reception Reception Venue All 2014–15 Receptions will be held in the Wexner Center Café, unless otherwise noted on the following lecture pages. For more information on SCIENCE SUNDAYS visit: asc.osu.edu/science-sundays 5
SEPT. 14, 2014
Margot Gerritsen Mathematical Tools Bring Hidden Beauty to Light Is it difficult to believe that the linear algebra taught in school is useful, even attractive? Gerritsen will make us believers. She shows that not only are these equations the very core of science and engineering, they can be turned into beautiful art. Associate professor, Energy Resources Engineering; director, Institute for Computational & Mathematical Engineering, Stanford University: smartenergyshow.com 6
OCT. 12, 2014
Ray Jayawardhana Neutrino Hunters: Chasing a Ghostly Particle to Unlock Cosmic Secrets Move over Higgs — it’s neutrino time. Take a thrilling journey into the shadowy world of these elusive particles as Jayawardhana recounts a captivating detective story with a colorful cast of characters and awesome cosmic implications. Follow on Twitter @DrRayJay
Dean of Science and professor, York University, Toronto, Canada 7
NOV. 2, 2014
James Sneyd Mathematics and Music: the Beauties in Pattern Sneyd gives us a look at patterns underlying mathematical research and shows that such pattern constructions lay at the heart of musical improvisation and rhythmic patterns, not to mention Homeric poetry, which he promises will make an appearance.
Mathematics professor, University of Auckland, Royal Society of New Zealand 8
DEC. 7, 2014
Martina Newell-McGloughlin Genetically Modified Organisms: Debunking the Myths Trying to avoid GMOs? We may need to return to a hunter-gatherer society; humans have been genetically modifying plants for around 10,000 years. NewellMcGloughlin addresses the many myths surrounding modern techniques developed to introduce desirable traits into crops and animals. Director, University of California System-wide Biotechnology Research and Education Program Lecture: Ohio Union Conference Theater; Reception: Ohio Union, Ohio Staters Room 9
JAN. 11, 2015
Clifford Will Black Holes, Waves of Gravity & Other Warped Ideas of Dr. Einstein Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity helped create the modern world: think GPS devices. Marking the theory’s 100th anniversary, scientists worldwide are on a quest to verify two of his crazier ideas: black holes and gravitational waves. Clifford Will tells all.
Distinguished Professor of Physics, University of Florida 10
FEB. 8, 2015
Joel Cohen The Human Population: Its Past and Its Prospects By the middle of this century, the world’s population is likely to be larger by several billion people, more urban, older. Noted population ecologist Joel Cohen shows how actions taken today can strongly influence the world half a century from now. Professor of Populations at Columbia University; Abby Rockefeller Mauze Professor of Populations at Rockefeller University; director of Laboratory of Populations, Rockefeller University & Columbia University 11
MARCH 8, 2015
Fran Kalal Digital Tailoring, Grooming and Simulation in Pixar Films Fran Kalal is a Cloth and Simulation Technical Director at Pixar Animation Studios and has tailored outfits and simulated shots on Up, Brave, and Inside Out. Learn how art and science are woven together to dress, groom and simulate the characters in some of your favorite Pixar Animation Studios films.
Digital Tailor at Pixar, Ohio State alumna: MFA, design 12
APRIL 12, 2015
Craig Mello A Worm’s Tale: Secrets of Evolution and Immortality Everything alive today shares a nearly 4 billion year-old common ancestry. Humans — even scientists — cannot conceive of the implications of such a timescale, and consequently, always underestimate living things. Hear about the remarkable mechanisms organisms use to program gene expression, and ways scientists and physicians use them as tools. Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Blais University Chair in Molecular Medicine, co-director, RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School. Mello won the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physiology/Medicine for the discovery of RNA interference, a type of gene silencing. 13
Sponsoring Centers The following world-class Arts and Sciences centers sponsor Science Sundays: ACCAD, CAPS, CCBBI, CCAPP, CEM, MBI, IPR and RNA Biology 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, ACCAD researchers 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
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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 BEHAVIORAL BRAIN IMAGING (CCBBI) This new frontier in cognitive neuroscience uses brain imaging to “see� individual differences in cognitive capacities and social emotional processing to explore relationships between the human brain and behavior. 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): AN NSF MRSEC 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. Imagine the future: cem.osu.edu 19
Inventing New Solutions. MATHEMATICAL BIOSCIENCES INSTITUTE (MBI) 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 20
THE INSTITUTE FOR POPULATION RESEARCH (IPR) IPR applies a collaborative, multidisciplinary approach to critical problems affecting health and well-being in the U.S. and internationally. Its researchers include sociologists, economists, geographers and biostatisticians who investigate ongoing and emerging issues in global population dynamics, marriage and family, child well-being and health disparities. Follow their progress: ipr.osu.edu
Taking the World’s Pulse.
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At the Heart of Life. CENTER FOR RNA BIOLOGY 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. Feel the power: rna.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/arts
There Is No Silence, Department of Theatre Spring 2014, Photo by Matt Hazard