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

10 to 16 April 2006

MONDAY, 10 APRIL

"Mixed-Boundary Value Problems in Inverse Electromagnetic Scattering Theory," Fioralba Cakoni, University of Delaware, 11:15 a.m., 216 McAllister Building, Department of Mathematics (865-7527).

"Biotechnological Approaches for Biotic and Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Crops of Semi-Arid Tropics," K. K. Sharma, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (India), 11:30 a.m., 118 Agricultural Sciences and Industries Building, host: Surinder Chopra, College of Agricultural Sciences International Programs + Department of Crop and Soil Sciences (863-0249 or 865-1159).

"G-Protein Signaling in Arabidopsis," Sona Pandey, Penn State, 12:20 p.m., 106 Wartik Laboratory, host: Sarah Assmann, Intercollege Graduate Program in Plant Physiology (863-3892).

"Multi-Trophic Interactions Across Variable Landscapes: Consequences of Predator Subsidies for Insect Herbivores and Food-Web Dynamics," Robert Denno, University of Maryland, 1:25 p.m., 100 Life Sciences Building (Berg Auditorium), Intercollege Graduate Program in Ecology (865-5557).

"Optimizing the Delivery of the Stroke Agent, MaxiPost," John Starrett, Bristol-Myers Squibb, 2:30 p.m., 102 Chemistry Building, host: Steven Weinreb, Department of Chemistry (863-0189).

"How Much Math Gets Used in Understanding Physics?" Harry Collins, Cardiff University (United Kingdom), 3:00 p.m., 318 Osmond Laboratory, Institute for Gravitational Physics and Geometry (863-9605 or www.gravity.psu.edu).

(Partial Differential Equations and Numerical Methods seminar title to be announced), Zhimin Zhang, Wayne State University, 3:30 p.m., 216 McAllister Building, Department of Mathematics (865-7527).

"Airframe and Ducted Fan-Noise Computations," F. Farassat, NASA Langley Research Center, 3:35 p.m., 158 Willard Building, Institute for Computational Science (865-1172 or www.ics.psu.edu/springsem.html).

"Markov Structures and Rates of Mixing for Non-Uniformly Expanding Maps," Stefano Luzzatto, Imperial College London (United Kingdom), 3:35 p.m., 106 McAllister Building, Department of Mathematics (865-7527).

TITLE CHANGED AFTER EMAIL DISTRIBUTION:
"Green Roofs: An Exploration of the Human Benefits of Eco-Roof Technology," Jennifer Vidmar, Penn State, 4:00 p.m., 108 Tyson Building, Department of Horticulture (865-2571). 

"Guided by COMPASS (Complex Proteins Associated with Set1) on an Expedition Defining the Role of Mixed-Lineage Leukemia (MLL) and Its Histone-Methylase Function in Leukemogenesis," Ali Shilatifard, Saint Louis University, 4:00 p.m., 101 Althouse Laboratory, host: David Gilmour, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (865-3072).

(title to be announced), Steven Clarke, Johnson and Johnson, 4:00 p.m., S-209 Henderson Building, Graduate Program in Nutrition (865-3448).

"Water, Drought, and Fire: Implications of Recurrent Drought Cycles in the Central United States," Eric Grimm, Illinois State Museum, 4:00 p.m., 114 Earth-Engineering Sciences Building, Earth and Environmental Systems Institute (865-7091).

TUESDAY, 11 APRIL

"Protein Molecular Switches," Marc Ostermeier, Johns Hopkins University, 10:00 a.m., 111 Wartik Laboratory, host: Costas Maranas, Department of Chemical Engineering (863-9958).

"Ultra-Cold Atoms in Optical Lattices: Making Pancakes and Playing the Atomic Accordion," Johnny Huckans, National Institute of Standards and Technology, 3:30 p.m., 339 Davey Laboratory, host: Ken O'Hara, Department of Physics (865-7259).

"Recognition of Single-Stranded RNA by Proteins and Small Molecules," Anne Baranger, Wesleyan University, 4:00 p.m., 102 Chemistry Building, host: Blake Peterson, Department of Chemistry (865-2969).

"Three-Dimensional Mechanical Models of Active Faulting in Southern California," Michele Cook, University of Massachusetts, 4:00 p.m., 22 Deike Building, Department of Geosciences (865-2622).

(title to be announced), Michael Snyder, Yale University, 4:00 p.m., 100 Life Sciences Building (Berg Auditorium) (with videoconferencing to Lecture Room D at College of Medicine), Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences (863-3650).

WEDNESDAY, 12 APRIL

"A Global View of Severe Thunderstorms: Estimating the Current Distribution and Possible Future Changes," Yvette Richardson and Paul Markowski, Penn State, 12:00 noon, 529 Walker Building, Earth System Science Center (865-0478).

"An Alternative View of C-Isotope Variations in Neoproterozoic Carbonates with Implications for the ‘Snowball Earth’ and Life on Land in the Precambrian," Paul Knauth, Arizona State University, 12:00 noon, 541 Deike Building, Penn State Astrobiology Research Center (865-4074).

"Walking Lightly on the Earth: Adventures in Sustainable Living," Dave Lettero, Penn State, 12:00 noon, Penn State Downtown Theatre Center (127 S. Allen Street), Office of the Vice President for Research (865-3477 or www.rps.psu.edu/unplugged).

"Natural-Gas Hydrates: The Fuel of the Future?" (video), 12:15 p.m., 105 Deike Building, Earth and Mineral Sciences Library (863-7073).

"Energy Loss of Jets in Dense-Quark-Gluon Plasmas," Ivan Vitev, Los Alamos National Laboratory, 2:30 p.m., 339 Davey Laboratory, host: Mark Strikman, Department of Physics (865-7382).

"Identifying New Roles for Red Cells in Diabetes, Multiple Sclerosis, and Beyond Using an In-Vitro Model of the Microcirculation," Dana Spence, Wayne State University, 2:30 p.m., 102 Chemistry Building, host: Andrew Ewing, Department of Chemistry (863-4653).

"Investigation of the Mechanism Catalyzed by Escherichia coli Cyclopropane-Fatty-Acid Synthase," David Iwig, Penn State, 3:00 p.m., 101 Althouse Laboratory, host: Squire Booker, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (865-3072).

"Erythroid Biology in a Post-Genomic World," Jeffrey L. Miller, National Institutes of Health, 4:00 p.m., 101 Agricultural Sciences and Industries Building, Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, host: Robert Paulson (863-6306 or rfp5@psu.edu).

"Gas-Giant Planet Formation: Theory vs. Observations," Alan Boss, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 4:00 p.m., 538 Davey Laboratory, Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics (865-0418).

THURSDAY, 13 APRIL

"Multiscale-Reaction Engineering for High-Temperature Fuel Processing: From Integrated-Reactor Concepts to Nanoengineered Catalysts," Goetz Veser, University of Pittsburgh, 10:00 a.m., 111 Wartik Laboratory, host: Kristen Fichthorn, Department of Chemical Engineering (863-4807).

"Multi-Clock-Control Shift-Register Sequences," Guo-zhen Xiao, Xidian University (China), 11:15 a.m., 106 McAllister Building, Department of Mathematics (865-7527).

"Transcription Termination in Drosophila," Ruopeng Fan, Penn State, 11:15 a.m., 101 Althouse Laboratory, host: David Gilmour, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (865-3072).

"Large-Scale Conformational Changes in the Mechanism of DNA Opening in Transcription Initiation by E. Coli RNA Polymerase," Thomas Record, University of Wisconsin, 12:30 p.m., 102 Chemistry Building, host: Chris Keating, Department of Chemistry (863-7832).

"What is New in Allyboration Chemistry?" P.V. Ramachandran, Purdue University, 2:30 p.m., 102 Chemistry Building, host: Xumu Zhang, Department of Chemistry (865-4221).

"Eavesdropping on the Wild Songbird's Brain as He Sings and Listens: Evidence of Auditory-Vocal Mirror Neurons," Richard Mooney, Duke University, 4:00 p.m., 108 Wartik Laboratory, host: Dezhe Jin, Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences (865-7533).

"Impact Cratering in Loose-Granular Media," Douglas Durian, University of Pennsylvania, 4:00 p.m., 119 Osmond Laboratory, host: Peter Schiffer, Department of Physics (865-5982).

"Impact Origin of Sediments at the Opportunity Landing Site on Mars with Implications for Astrobiology," Paul Knauth, Arizona State University, 4:00 p.m., 22 Deike Building, Penn State Astrobiology Research Center (865-4074).

(title to be announced), Eric Crosson, Picarro Inc., 4:00 p.m., 112 Walker Building, Department of Meteorology (863-8566).

"Andrea Doria: Dive to Adventure and Danger" (Shipwreck seminar), David Bright, Nautical Research Group Inc., 7:00 p.m., 26 Hosler Building, Department of Geosciences (863-1274).

FRIDAY, 14 APRIL

"Coevolution and Structuring of Chemical Attributes in Tropical Plant Communities," Judith Becerra, University of Arizona, 11:00 a.m., 101 Agricultural Sciences and Industries Building, Center of Excellence in Chemical Ecology and Department of Entomology (863-0844 or 865-1895).

"Controlling Reactions and Watching Energy Flow in Gases and Liquids," F. Fleming Crim, University of Wisconsin, 2:30 p.m., 102 Chemistry Building, host: Will Castleman, Department of Chemistry (865-7242).

(Applied and Computational Mathematics seminar title to be announced), Uday Banerjee, Syracuse University, 3:30 p.m., 106 McAllister Building, Department of Mathematics (865-7527).

"Femtosecond Spectroscopy: Beyond the Naked Eye" and "The Chemistry of Cooking" (videos), 3:30 p.m., 211 Davey Laboratory, Physical and Mathematical Sciences Library (865-7617 or www.libraries.psu.edu/pams/filmseries.html).

"The Making of a Geo-Coded World: Knowledge, Power, and the History of House Numbering in the United States," Reuben Rose-Redwood, Penn State, 4:00 p.m., 22 Deike Building, Department of Geography (865-3433).

SATURDAY, 15 APRIL and SUNDAY, 16 MARCH

(none)

 

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Additions or cancellations will be noted on weekly Science Seminar listings on the Web.

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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. Click here for additional information about Science Seminars, or for instruction on how to SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE.

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Penn State is an affirmative action, equal opportunity university. Penn State encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions about the physical access provided, please contact the office in charge of the seminar in advance of your attendance. U.Ed. SCI 06-122

This issue of SCIENCE SEMINARS was produced by Leta A. Krumrine and Kristen Devlin.