Previous Arts & Sciences Seminar Series presentations:

 
SARA LAMERS BIO PHOTO FEB 2008 February 5, 2009
Shaping the Scribbles: Poetry and the Creative Process
Prof. Sara Lamers


Poet Sara Lamers will read from her current poetry manuscript and discuss the evolution of a poem from draft to polished piece.
 
PHOTO NOT AVAILABLE - SMALL May 1, 2008
Touching and Interacting with Data
Dr. Shi-Ping Hsu


Instead of using a mouse, joystick, or keyboard to manipulate data on your computer, imagine being able to interact with it, using just your voice or simple touch of the hand. The exciting future of computers was discovered during Touching and Interacting with Data, featuring Shi-Ping Hsu, director of Northrop Grumman Futures Lab in California. Hsu, who holds a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Caltech, discussed and demonstrated some of the latest, user-friendly projects and technologies being developed at his lab and other organizations. During this fascinating lecture, Hsu talked about new applications and products, such as the Terrain-Table, an interactive, three-dimensional topographical map. He also presented the TouchTable, a high-tech computer that allows geographical data to be controlled in real time by the user’s hand movements.

 
PHOTO NOT AVAILABLE - SMALL April 17, 2008
Storytelling: Therapy in Images
Major Robert Frazer


Using storytelling techniques to treat post-traumatic stress disorder in combat soldiers.  Major Frazer (LTU'07) discussed the journey of his graduate thesis in Technical and Professional Communication, and summarized his findings and the protocol he developed to train lay leaders.

 
PHOTO NOT AVAILABLE - SMALL April 3, 2008
Do we have to believe in science?
Dr. Emmanuel Dissake


Are we bound to believe in something if we want to have any chance to practice science? What is the relation of science to reality? Does experience not guarantee the objectivity of science? Science and faith are opposed concepts, aren't they? Does science remain rational if it is thought of as closely linked to beliefs? Surprising answers inspired by the philosophy of science of Michael Polanyi.
 
PHOTO NOT AVAILABLE - SMALL March 27, 2008
Mice to Men: Steps toward a Cancer-Free Future
Dr. Lisa Porter

Cancer will affect 1 in 3 of us in our lifetime and kill over half a million Americans in 2008. In this short talk Dr. Porter highlighted some of the primary hurdles that cancer researchers face in trying to find “a cure” for cancer as well as some of the big advancements that have been made which provide tremendous hope in the face of these staggering statistics. Importantly, she provided some examples of some basic cancer research projects that are ongoing in her own laboratory and demonstrated how the questions that we are asking can contribute toward furthering our ability to detect and treat cancer. Understanding what cancer is, what has been done and what is being done in the way of cancer research is essential to empower our community against this devastating disease.
 
Schneider faculty
February 26, 2008
Leap Year, Shmeep Year! What's the big deal?
Dr. Scott Schneider
  
PHOTO NOT AVAILABLE - SMALL April 19, 2007
Hydrogen in carbon nanotubes: quantum sieving and extreme confinement
Dr. Evelyn M. Goldfield

This seminar was sponsored by the College of Arts and Sciences and the Student Affiliate of the American Chemical Society.
 

 Christopher Cartwright

April 10, 2007
Solve this Math Problem and You Could Win One Million Dollars!
Dr. Chris Cartwright

Some math problems are hard, some are easy. Sometimes it is not obvious whether a problem is hard or easy. How do we tell if a math problem is hard or easy? This question is important enough that someone is willing to pay a million dollars to find out the answer! At this lecture, find out what you need to do win the prize.

 
 Schneider faculty

March 27, 2007
Two Sunrises on Mercury - Count 'em! TWO!
Dr. Scott Schneider

You would think you'd only have one sunrise a day, right?  Not on Mercury!  And, you would think that a "solar day" must be far shorter than a year, right?  For Earth, it is 1/365th of a year...but not for Venus...and not for Mercury!  If you want to find out what it would be like to live on Mercury or Venus (from the point of view of sunrises and "length of the day" - not from the "I can't breath" or "Yikes, what am I breathing?" points of view), come to this talk!

 
 Julie Zwiesler-Vollick March 20, 2007
On the trail of Cereal Killers - towards an understanding of apoplast-infecting fungieasons
Dr. Julie Zwiesler-Vollick

The study of fungal plant pathogens is important for economic, environmental and public health reasons. Plant pathogens exhibit a diverse variety of infection strategies, many of which are quite complicated. Some plant pathogens, however, infect via elegantly simple mechanisms. The invasion and colonization of the leaf apoplastic space is just such a straightforward approach. When the pathogen invades, it utilizes natural openings. Hyphal growth in the apoplast occurs without appearing to physically alter the host cells, even those in contact with the fungal pathogen.   At some point the pathogen ceases growing in this biotrophic stage and begins to cause symptoms in the host leaf.  The culmination of this necrotrophic stage is the death of the host leaf.  The apoplastic space is thought to be an inhospitable environment for microbes.  The successful colonization of this space by pathogens indicates that they have the ability to evade host defenses, acquire nutrients and cause the visible symptoms associated with infection. Because of the nature of the interaction, secreted molecules are believed to play a large role in allowing pathogenic colonization of the apoplast.  Two different pathosystems, Mycosphaerella graminicola on wheat and Septoria lycopersici on tomato, and research into their infection strategies will be presented.
 
 PHOTO NOT AVAILABLE - SMALL February 20, 2007
SONIC IR IMAGING: How to find cracks in airplanes (or almost anything else!)

Dr. Lawrence D. "Skip" Favro (Professor Emeritus, Wayne State University Department of Physics)

This talk can be characterized as either applied physics or engineering, or both. The talk will explain both passive and active infrared imaging. Emphasis will be on finding cracks in aircraft, but examples of the application of infrared imaging to biological systems, to crime detection, and to detecting hidden defects in art will be shown. Contained within the talk will be a brief discussion of acoustic chaos. This is true mathematical chaos that occurs in a real physical system, and that has important practical applications. Click here to view the seminar flyer.
 
 Jeffery Morrissette December 12, 2006
Hot Headed and Cold Hearted: The Physiology of Endothermic Fish
Dr. Jeff Morrissette

Tunas are remarkable among teleosts for systemic endothermy, high metabolic rates and exceptional cardiac performance. Among tunas, the 3 bluefin species attain the largest body sizes, inhabit the broadest thermal niches, maintain the warmest body temperatures and experience the coldest ambient temperatures. In contrast, tropical yellowfin tuna are unable to tolerate temperatures below 10 C. Interspecific differences in metabolic rate and thermal tolerance correspond with differences in cardiac performance and biochemistry. This talk will explain how the cellular and tissue traits of bluefin hearts can be linked to the species' cold tolerance and higher metabolic rates. Funded by NSF, AHA, Pew Foundation, and Monterey Bay Aquarium.

 
 JASON BARRETT

November 14, 2006
Submission and Consent: the Rational Will of Jeffersonian Evangelicalism
Dr. Jason Barrett

Following the American Revolution, the consensual models of authority celebrated in the Founding were disseminated into American culture. This discussion will focus on the way those models of authority were reflected in, and modified by, early national religious practices. Political consent was premised on individuals' rational agency; Evangelical submission required the surrender of individual agency. From this conflict we may understand the significance of  Jefferson's 'wall of separation' between church and state.

 
 PHOTO NOT AVAILABLE - SMALL

September 12, 2006
Manufacturing, Robotics, and Computational Geometry

Dr. David Field (General Motors Research Lab)

This SIAM Visiting Lecture features examples of geometry's dominating influence in the automotive manufacturing process. The lecture begins with the design and manufacture of sheet metal components that motivated advances in mathematical applications for Computer Aided Design. After discussing the mathematics developed for the geometric aspects of this manufacturing process, the lecture examines an application of the same mathematics to robotics. The next topic relates the previous geometric constructions with the analysis of automotive components for fatigue, stress and strain. The lecture ends with the award winning video tape "Ballet Robotique".

David Field earned an A.B., an M.S. and a Ph.D. in mathematics from Bowdoin College, Oakland University and the University of Colorado, respectively. After teaching at the College of the Holy Cross, he joined the General Motors Research Laboratories where he holds the position of Staff Research Scientist. His research interests include numerical analysis, approximation theory, finite element analysis, and mathematics from computer aided design. In addition to co-founding and currently serving as president of the Great Lakes Section of SIAM, he co-edited for SIAM two volumes on geometrical and theoretical aspects of industrial design. He has organized SIAM workshops and international conferences on Computer Aided Design and on Industrial Mathematics.

 
 MCS RUTH FAVRO April 11, 2006
Gaspard Monge in Paris
(A photo history spanning the time from the French Revolution to Napoleon)
Prof. Ruth Favro

The talk traces the French mathematician Gaspard Monge from his education in Beaune through his career in Paris:  a founder of the Ecole Polytechnique, a confidante of Napoleon, the developer of differential geometry.  So why were his students not allowed to go to his funeral?
 
 David Bindschadler

March 21, 2006
Computer Games: Something for Everyone
Dr. David Bindschadler

These computer games - What are they? Why are they? Where are they headed? Should I care?  Computer games are far more than a simple diversion for a few kids on the fringes of society. The computer game industry is now a multi-billion dollar industry that may be influencing the directions of our societies. After a summer of studying computer games, I found that computer games posses incredible potential, pose a potential threat and provide a fertile ground for debate. In this talk for a general audience, I will explain what games are and how they are developed, motivate why there are games, summarize their impact, and indicate the directions they are taking.

 
 Gonzalo Munevar March 9, 2006
Venus and the End of the World
Dr. Gonzalo Munevar

An interesting hypothesis about Venus that connects life with plate tectonics is supported by the large ratio of deuterium to hydrogen in Venus’ atmosphere.  But this evidence has been challenged by a probabilistic argument analogous to John Leslie’s paradoxical argument, itself based on the Anthropic Principle, to the effect that the growth of the human population makes it highly probable that the end of humanity is near.  I argue that Leslie’s view of probability is wrong and that the challenge to the evidence from Venus is also wrong.
 
 Schneider faculty February 21, 2006
Seasons, Retrograde, and Alignments, Oh My!
Dr. Scott Schneider

Do the lengths of the Earth's seasons vary?
...You bet - want to know when?
Does Mars ever "back up" in the sky?
...You bet - want to know how?
Can we ever have all the planets line up together?
...Nope - want to know why?
You seem to have a lot of Astronomy questions - maybe you should check out this Astronomy talk!  And, we'll find out if Marvin the Martian has the right to be upset with the Earth!
 
 CORINNE STAVISH NEW February 14, 2006
The Story of...The Glory of...LOVE
Prof. Corinne Stavish

Adam and Eve, Orpheus and Eurydice, and Romeo and Juliet all knew what makes the world spin.  Sometimes tragic, sometimes humorous, but always intriguing—love is the force that Einstein said cannot be blamed on gravitation nor explained by chemistry or physics.  Join us as this gifted storyteller shares traditional and offbeat stories of the only force more powerful than death.
  
 MARVIN STERN December 1, 2005
Readings from My Writings
Dr. Marvin Stern 

Dr
. Stern will read selections from his writings in four areas. These reflect the author's interests as a scholar, a teacher, and a former resident of New York City.  The materials include scholarly work, essays on contemporary issues, a critique and guidebook on higher education in America, and short-stories.
 
 Matthew Cole November 1, 2005
The Analysis of Behavioral Data
Across Time Using Latent Growth Models
Prof. Matthew Cole

The investigation of change has fascinated researchers for generations.  Growth models examine the development of individuals on one or more outcome variables over time, and recent breakthroughs in the analysis of behavior over time include latent growth modeling. We will review some of the basic issues and concepts of this analytic approach.
 
 MCS GUANG CHONG ZHU

October 20, 2005
Recent Breakthroughs in Digital Communication, and What's Behind Them
Dr. Guang-Chong Zhu

Digital communication was pioneered by E. C. Shannon (from Michigan) in 1948, and has since become an integral part of our daily lives.  Two recent breakthroughs have completely revolutionized the theory and the design of digital communication systems, making impossible goals possible...

 

 

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