Science Seminars is a weekly list of science-related seminars sponsored by colleges, research institutes, and other organizations throughout Penn State. Science Seminars is published by the Penn State Eberly College of Science as a service to Penn State and its surrounding communities

Science Seminars

31 March to 6 April 2008

MONDAY, 31 MARCH

(title to be announced), Takis Konstantopoulos, Heriot-Watt University (United Kingdom), 11:15 a.m., 106 McAllister Building, Department of Mathematics (865-7527).

"Phototaxis of Non-Biological Particles," Darrell Velegol, Penn State, 12:00 noon, S-5 Osmond Laboratory, Center for Nanoscale Science (MRSEC) and Department of Physics (863-0007).

"Inflorescence Architecture in the Grasses: Development, Domestication, and Evolution," Erik Vollbrecht, Iowa State University, 12:10 p.m., 108 Wartik Laboratory, Intercollege Graduate Program in Plant Biology (863-3892).

"Sustainable Agriculture," Laurie Drinkwater, Cornell University, 1:30 p.m., 101 Agricultural Sciences and Industries Building, Intercollege Graduate Program in Ecology (867-0371).

"Diseases of Banana," Emily Helliwell, Penn State, 3:30 p.m., 112 Buckhout Laboratory, Department of Plant Pathology (865-6761).

"Domain Decomposition Method for Scattered Data Fitting," Mingjun Lai, University of Georgia, 3:30 p.m., 315 McAllister Building, Department of Mathematics (865-7527).

"Massive Black Holes from Early Times to the Present," Marta Volonteri, University of Michigan, 4:00 p.m., 320 Whitmore Laboratory, Institute for Gravitation and the Cosmos (863-9605 or www.gravity.psu.edu).

"Mindless Eating," Brian Wansink and John S. Dyson, Cornell University, 4:00 p.m., S-209 Henderson Building, Graduate Program in Nutrition (865-3448).

TUESDAY, 1 APRIL

"A Simplified View on the Airway Surface Layer of a Lung," Michael Rubinstein, University of North Carolina, 10:00 a.m., 301 Steidle Building, Department of Materials Science and Engineering (865-4992).

"Nano-Spintronics with Quantum Dots," Pawel Hawrylak, National Research Council (Canada), 3:30 p.m., 339 Davey Laboratory, host: Peter Eklund, Department of Physics (865-5233).

SEMINAR CANCELLED AFTER EMAIL DISTRIBUTION; WILL BE RESCHEDULED AT A LATER DATE:
"Revisiting Fluorescence Recovery after Photobleaching (FRAP) as a Tool to Study Membrane Domains," Anne Kenworthy, Vanderbilt University, 4:00 p.m., 102 Chemistry Building, host: Erin D. Sheets, Department of Chemistry (863-0044).

WEDNESDAY, 2 APRIL

"Born in Freedom: Story of Colonel Drake" (video), 12:15 p.m., 105 Deike Building, Earth and Mineral Sciences Library (863-7073).

"Atmospheric and Astrophysical Neutrinos from Charm," Hallsie Reno, University of Iowa, 2:30 p.m., 339 Davey Laboratory, host: Irina Mocioiu, Department of Physics (865-3721).

SEMINAR CANCELLED AFTER EMAIL DISTRIBUTION; WILL BE RESCHEDULED AT A LATER DATE:
"Block Copolymer Lithography," Paul F. Nealey, University of Wisconsin, 2:30 p.m., 102 Chemistry Building, host: Paul S. Weiss, Department of Chemistry (865-3693).

"Changes in Brain Processes Underlying the Maturation of Cognitive Control Through Adolescence," Beatriz Luna, University of Pittsburgh, 4:00 p.m., 108 Wartik Laboratory (with videoconferencing to Room CG623 at the College of Medicine), hosts: Laureen Teti and Rick Gilmore, Child Study Center and Penn State Neuroscience Institute (865-3664).

"The Death and Afterlife of Massive Stars," Roger Chevalier, University of Virginia, 4:00 p.m., 538 Davey Laboratory, Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics (865-0418).

THURSDAY, 3 APRIL

"Topic Detection and Tracking Using Nonnegative Matrix and Tensor Factorizations," Michael W. Berry, University of Tennessee, 10:00 a.m., 333 Information Sciences and Technology Building, Department of Computer Science and Engineering (865-9505).

"Direct Observation of PsaB-Side Electron Transfer by Transient Electron-Paramagnetic-Resonance (EPR) Spectroscopy in Cyanobacterial Photosystem I," Nithya Srinivasan, Penn State, 11:15 a.m., 101 Althouse Laboratory, host: John Golbeck, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (865-1163).

"Linear Programming, Matrix Games, and Linear Approximation: Part Three," Leonid Vaserstein, Penn State, 11:15 a.m., 106 McAllister Building, Department of Mathematics (865-7527).

"Whither Oxide Electronics," Ramamoorthy Ramesh, University of California, 11:15 a.m., 26 Hosler Building, Department of Materials Science and Engineering (865-4992).

"The Genetic Regulation and Physiology of Manganese Toxicity and Tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana," Phanchita Vejchasarn, Penn State, 12:20 p.m., 111 Tyson Building, Department of Horticulture (865-2571).

"Hydrogen Tunneling in Enzymes: Looking Under the Covers of Catalysis," Judith Klinman, University of California, 12:30 p.m., 102 Chemistry Building, host: Sharon Hammes-Schiffer, Department of Chemistry (865-6442).

"Exploring Evolutionary Leaps Using Structural Biology," James Allen (department-head candidate), Arizona State University, 4:00 p.m., 101 Althouse Laboratory, host: Ross Hardison, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (863-0113).

"Large-Scale Multiple Testing: Finding Needles in a Haystack," Tony Cai, University of Pennsylvania, 4:00 p.m., 201 Thomas Building, Department of Statistics (865-1348).

(title to be announced), Michel Devoret, Yale University, 4:00 p.m., 117 Osmond Laboratory, host: Alex Kozhevnikov, Department of Physics (865-6873).

(title to be announced), David Hurtubise, Penn State, 5:00 p.m., 106 McAllister Building, Department of Mathematics (865-7527).

FRIDAY, 4 APRIL

"Effects of Crop Rotation and Cover Crops on Physical Indicators of Soil Quality," Wesley Neal, Penn State, 12:20 p.m., 101 Agricultural Sciences and Industries Building, Department of Crop and Soil Sciences (865-6541).

"Radiation from the Non-Extremal Fuzzball," Borun Chowdhury, Ohio State University, 1:30 p.m., 320 Whitmore Laboratory, Institute for Gravitation and the Cosmos (863-9605 or www.gravity.psu.edu).

(title to be announced), Yi-Jun Yao, Vanderbilt University, 2:00 p.m., 106 McAllister Building, Department of Mathematics (865-7527).

ADDED AFTER EMAIL DISTRIBUTION:
“Novel Superconducting Pairing States in Heavy Fermion Systems and Noncentrosymmetric Superconductors,” Huiqiu Yuan, Los Alamos National Laboratory, 2:15 p.m., 151 Davey Laboratory, host: Ying Liu, Department of Physics (863-0090).

"Cyclic Dynamics and Regional Suppression of a Polyphagous Herbivore: Complementary Action of Transgenic Corn and Biological Control of European Corn Borer," Bill Hutchison, University of Minnesota, 2:30 p.m., 101 Agricultural Sciences and Industries Building, Department of Entomology (865-1895).

"Surface Chemistry of Nanocatalysts Prepared by Size-Selected Cluster Deposition," Michael White, Brookhaven National Laboratory and State University of New York, 2:30 p.m., 110 Wartik Laboratory, host: A. W. Castleman, Department of Chemistry (865-7242).

"Fractals: An Animated Discussion" (video), 3:35 p.m., 211 Davey Laboratory, Physical and Mathematical Sciences Library (865-7617 or www.libraries.psu.edu/pams/filmseries.html).

"Indigenous Culture and Biodiversity Conservation: The Sacred Kaya Forests of Coastal Kenya," Celia Nyamweru, St. Lawrence University, 4:00 p.m., 112 Walker Building, Department of Geography (865-3433).

SATURDAY, 5 APRIL and SUNDAY, 6 APRIL

(none)

 

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Cancellations and additions will be noted on weekly Science Seminar listings on the Web at
< www.science.psu.edu/scisem/scisem.htm > or
< www.events.psu.edu/cgi-bin/cal/webevent.cgi?cmd=opencal&cal=cal250& >.

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Science Seminars is a weekly list of science-related seminars sponsored by colleges, research institutes, and other organizations throughout Penn State. Science Seminars is published by the Penn State Eberly College of Science as a service to Penn State and its surrounding communities.

For more information about Science Seminars, or for instructions on how to SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE, visit the links at http://www.science.psu.edu/scisem/scisemData.htm

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This issue of SCIENCE SEMINARS was produced by Sara LaJeunesse and Kristen Devlin.