COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
SCIENCE SUNDAYS AT OHIO STATE
2017–2018
Discovery at the speed of light: Ohio State physicists played a major role in the most remarkable discovery in the history of physics: the Higgs Boson, “God Particle,” at the Large Hadron Collider (world’s largest supercollider) at CERN, Geneva, Switzerland, in 2012.
Contents About Science Sundays – 4 Upcoming Events – 6 SEPT: Frederic
Bertley OCT: Jonathan Yewdell NOV: Ruchika Prakash DEC: Joe Lykken JAN: Rebecca Reczek FEB: Matthew Kahle MARCH: Amanda Petford-Long APRIL: Alberto Cairo
Sponsoring Centers – 14 asc.osu.edu/science-sundays
About Science Sundays Science Sundays is a FREE public lecture series offered and supported 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 directly to 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 Astro-Particle 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; health and wellness; and exploring vibrant, meaningful connections between art and science. They are dedicated to improving life on our planet by producing critical, innovative information; discovery of viable new “smart” materials, energy sources, drug therapies; and building collaborative partnerships among disciplines worldwide. 4
Upcoming Events 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 Theatre Reception Venue Ohio Union Ohio Staters Traditions Room Ohio Union Interfaith Room (Jan. 21, 2018, only) For more information on SCIENCE SUNDAYS visit: asc.osu.edu/science-sundays
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September 10, 2017
Frederic Bertley Paying Attention to the Importance of the Scientific Revolution Amid Cluelessness Despite an ever-growing dependency on science and technology, we are seeing a decline in scientific literacy. Bertley discusses this duality and challenges us to become advocates for science. Highlighting wide-ranging technological advances, he emphasizes the necessity of basic scientific literacy and appreciation for the scientific process, whatever our career paths.
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Frederic Bertley, PhD, president and CEO, Center of Science and Industry (COSI), has worked in the area of preventive medicine in Haiti, Sudan, and the Canadian Arctic.
October 15, 2017
Jonathan Yewdell A Practical Guide to Becoming a Priest of Scientific Methodism Yewdell, who studies influenza viruses to see how viral proteins are made to better understand immune-system responses to viral infection, describes the nuts and bolts of becoming a biomedical PhD researcher. He shares what is required to make and interpret discoveries, the sheer joy of scientific exploration and life in the worldwide research community. Jonathan Yewdell, MD, PhD, chief, Laboratory of Viral Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is passionate about promoting science and helping the next generation of young scientists be successful researchers via lectures, Youtube videos, and a forthcoming book. 7
November 12, 2017
Ruchika Prakash Mindfulness for the Aging Brain Mindfulness meditation has been practiced for centuries, but is now finding its place in Western discourse. Prakash discusses research examining the effect of training in practices of mindfulness meditation for brain and cognitive health, with a special emphasis on the aging brain.
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Ruchika Prakash, Ohio State associate professor of psychology, is an expert in neuropsychological rehabilitation. She studies effects of lifestyle-based interventions, e.g., exercise training and mindfulness meditation, to promote cognitive and brain health.Â
December 3, 2017
Joe Lykken Particle Physics: New Research Frontiers Particle physics, the quest to understand the smallest objects in the universe, depends on operating powerful colliders, like those at Fermilab and CERN. Surprisingly, the answers we get also shed light on the largest objects, such as the universe itself. Lykken outlines deep theoretical questions, exciting experimental programs and how they connect.
Joseph Lykken, a theoretical physicist, is deputy director and chief research officer of Fermilab, the leading particle physics laboratory in the United States.
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January 21, 2018
Rebecca Reczek Do Healthy Diets Make Empty Wallets? How Consumer Beliefs Shape Food Choice Consumers have many lay beliefs about how the world works. But are these beliefs always correct? Reczek explains how our non-professional theories about food, including the relationships between health and taste; and cost and health, drive our food choices that can sometimes lead us away from making healthy decisions. Rebecca Walker Reczek, Ohio State associate professor of marketing, studies consumer decision making, including those about food and health, sustainability, and ethical issues in the marketplace. Her work is published in leading journals; she recently received the Early Career Award from the Society for Consumer Psychology. 10
February 18, 2018
Matt Kahle Archimedes: Mathematical Superhero of the Ancient World Archimedes — remarkable physicist, engineer, inventor, astronomer — built a heat ray to burn attacking ships’ sails; designed machines predicting motions of planets and eclipses; estimated how many grains of sand it would take to fill the universe. Kahle discusses a few of these amazing inventions and insights, including one that anticipated calculus by thousands of years. Matthew Kahle is Ohio State associate professor of mathematics. His research interests include various interactions of topology and geometry with probability, statistical mechanics, and combinatorics. 11
March 18, 2018
Amanda Petford-Long How Microscopy Can Help Understand Nanomaterials Materials at the nanoscale behave in a fundamentally different way. Using microscopes as ‘nano-laboratories,’ allows us to understand their structure at the atomic scale. Petford-Long shares how this new understanding has applications for how we store, read and write information in computers. Amanda Petford-Long, Argonne Distinguished Fellow, Materials Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory; Northwestern University Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, studies behavior of nanoscale materials with applications in information-storage technology. She is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering; and the American Physical Society. 12
April 15, 2018
Alberto Cairo Visual Trumpery Trumpery: worthless nonsense, something that is, simultaneously, deceitful and showy. Cairo explains how to fight fake data, fake facts, fake visualization, demonstrating how choices a data-visualization designer makes have significant impact on how an audience perceives data. He shares strategies to improve rational thinking and understand probability and uncertainty as ways to fight back against a deluge of misinformation. Alberto Cairo is the Knight Chair in Visual Journalism at the University of Miami, and director of UM’s Center for Computational Science’s Visualization program. He is an author and freelancer and permanent consultant for companies like Google and Microsoft.
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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.
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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 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 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 ASTRO-PARTICLE 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 FUNDED 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 smarter devices and faster computers — and much more. Imagine the future: cem.osu.edu 19
At the Heart of Life. CENTER FOR RNA BIOLOGY (CRB) SUPPORTED BY ASC, OFFICE OF RESEARCH, COLLEGE OF MEDICINE
RNA, the most ancient form of nucleic acid, is a “multi-tasker.” 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 20
DECISION SCIENCES COLLABORATIVE (DSC) Ohio State faculty and graduate students from across the university 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. SHARE MY LIFE? PROTECT MY PRIVACY? KEEP MY JOB? LOOK FOR NEW JOB? SAVE? SPEND? PAPER? PLASTIC?
MEDICATION? SIDE EFFECTS? THINK HARD? FLIP A COIN? VENTI? GRANDE? BUY? SELL?
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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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Mail your survey to ASCComm: Science Sundays, 154 N. Oval Mall, 1010 Derby Hall, Columbus, OH 43210
THE COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES EMBRACES THE SCIENCES AND THE ARTS. Find out more about upcoming college events at:
asc.osu.edu/events
Scene from the Department of Theatre’s production of One Man, Two Guvnors, Autumn, 2016