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thePROSPECTUS

WEDNESDAY

October 5, 2016 Volume 11, Number 7

Campus | Parkland Café

News | Presidential Debate

Campus| Open Houses

Students’ thoughts served up hot

A review of the first pres. debate with Parkland’s thoughts

Learn more about various programs at Parkland

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Upcoming planetarium talks

give insight into modern sciences

HUMANS Zayd Jawad

Peter Floess Staff Writer Staerkel Planetarium’s coming “World of Science” series hopes to introduce its guests to just that, with a range of topics—at both the microscopic and macroscopic levels, on earth and beyond— addressed by learned voices in their fields. “[We hope] that our audiences leave with not only a greater appreciation of what our scientists are working on at the moment, but with some of the amazing results that have emerged from their research,” said David Leake, director of the planetarium. Leake emphasized his understanding that several Parkland instructors offer extra credit to their students for attending planetarium events. The first lecture, on Oct. 7, is by University of Illinois physicist Peter Abbamonte: “How Laws, Sausages and Science Are Made: An Inside View of How Science Really Works.” Despite the rather eclectic title, the focus of Abbamonte’s presentation is his experiences working with some of the smallest pieces of existence known to man and interacting them with water at time frames that make mere seconds look like eons, as well as explaining what he says is the true nature of the scientific method and how science is done. Nov. 4’s “The Threat of Zika Virus and other Vectorborne Pathogens” is by viral disease epidemiologist James Dobbins, a veteran of both the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dobbins says his lecture “will be an update on the current Zika virus disease outbreak in the Americas, as well as provide some additional information on the rapidly expanding Zika virus disease outbreak in Southeast Asia.” He says his presentation will work to identify the real risks people face from Zika and sort out the true and untrue elements of the “almost

Photo by Scott Wells | The Prospectus Scott Wells Staff Writer

audience gain an appreciation of “the variety of the stuff of the galaxy and the universe, and that it all has a personal role in making us.” The first lecture after winter break is on Feb. 7, 2017, by Cultural Resource Coordinator with the Illinois State Archeological Survey Thomas Loebel. “Seeing Beneath the Ground: Geophysics and Recent Archaeological Explorations and Discoveries in Illinois” will discuss the use of geophysics—the field

Zayd Jawad was diagnosed at age five with an extremely rare genetic disorder called Hunter syndrome. “I am quite blessed,” he said. Whereas Jawad’s family comes from the Middle East, he was born and raised in Champaign. A student of the Unit 4 district, Jawad graduated from Champaign Central in 2015. “From a young age, I had to learn to do the best I can with what I have, wherever I am,” he said. “Hunter [syndrome] is what they call a lysosomal storage disorder that affects every system of the body from growth and development of your organs, to your ability to walk and move, to even physical and mental lifespan.” Hunter syndrome, according to the Mayo Clinic, is a result of an enzyme—which are microscopic molecules that serve as the spark to most of the body’s chemical reactions necessary for healthy functioning— failing to do its job as it should, resulting in a build-up of harmful chemicals in the body. It is inherited from the mother’s X chromosome, which carries and passes down the malfunctioning enzyme to the son. Each son has a 25 percent chance of having Hunter syndrome. Girls almost never have the already-rare condition due to having two X chromosomes; if one is affected, the other can compensate. Jawad says he did not let his diagnosis interfere with his desire to make the most of his high school years. “I could not necessarily play sports in high school and excel,” he said. “Instead I rose up the ranks in music playing lead jazz trombone.” The Parkland communications student’s

SEE SCIENCE PAGE 4

SEE HUMANS PAGE 3

Photo by Scott Wells | The Prospectus

The Zeiss Model M1015 star projector is the centerpiece of Parkland’s Staerkel Planetarium. “Carl”, as it is called, can be used to show the movement of the sun, the moon, the stars, and the planets through the sky. constant media hype” surrounding it. Photographer Tom Murphy and UIUC Geologist Bruce Fouke will give a talk called “The Art of Yellowstone Science: Mammoth Hot Springs as a Window on the Universe.” According to the website of the World of Science Lectures, “in this presentation, photographic art at Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park is melded with cutting-edge natural sciences to search for common laws of nature through the power of observation and a willingness to embrace the unexpected.”

The lecture will work to tie in the phenomena viewed in places like right above Yellowstone’s brewing supervolcano and connect them to laws of nature universe-wide. The two co-authored a book on the subject, which is to be made available to attendees following the Nov. 15 presentation. Dec. 2 will see retired U of I astronomy professor and worldknown science fiction and popular science author James Kaler, who has talked at the planetarium before, presenting “Cosmic Dust.” “[C]osmic dust,

usually in the form of complex silicates or carbon, plays a powerful role,” Kaler said. “The dust, which is so fine you could not see it, helps form both stars and planets.” Kaler, who has published over 120 academic papers relating to astronomy, will explain in his lecture how small objects in space coalesce to create the gargantuan objects that exist in the universe, from the one you’re standing on to the stars that are thousands of times bigger than our sun. Kaler hopes his lecture will help the

The word, “set” has over 400 definitions. Answer on page 3