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

13 to 19 February 2006

MONDAY, 13 FEBRUARY

"Universal Graphs," Mike Capalbo, Rutgers University, 10:00 a.m., 333 Information Sciences and Technology Building, Department of Computer Science and Engineering (865-9505).

"Level-Set Dynamics and the Non-Blowup of the Two-Dimensional Quasi-Geostrophic Equation," Xinwei Yu, University of California, 11:15 a.m., 216 McAllister Building, Department of Mathematics (865-7527).

"From Biomimetic Molecular Machines to Functional Nanodevices," Tony Jun Huang, Penn State, 12:00 noon, S-5 Osmond Laboratory, Center for Nanoscale Science/MRSEC and Department of Physics (863-8999).

ADDED AFTER EMAIL DISTRIBUTION:
"Molecular-Genetic Approaches to Understand a Cellular Portal for Iron," Hiromi Gunshin (faculty candidate), Children's Hospital, 12:00 noon, 108 Wartik Laboratory, Department of Nutritional Sciences (865-3448).

"On Earth as it is on Mars: A Kilometer-Scale Approach to the Search for Traces of Life," Abigail Allwood, Macquarie University (Australia), 12:00 noon, 541 Deike Building, Penn State Astrobiology Research Center (865-4074).

"Patterns and Processes of Carbon and Nitrogen Sequestration at a Range of Spatial and Temporal Scales," Christine Goodale, Cornell University, 1:25 p.m., 100 Life Sciences Building (Berg Auditorium), Intercollege Graduate Program in Ecology (865-5557).

"Transition-Metal-Catalyzed Intermolecular Hydroamination," Yaping Zou, Penn State, 2:30 p.m., 102 Chemistry Building, host: Xumu Zhang, Department of Chemistry (865-4221).

"Post-1-Newtonian Equations of Motion for Systems of Arbitrarily Structured Bodies," Eanna Flanagan, Cornell University, 3:00 p.m., 318 Osmond Laboratory, Institute for Gravitational Physics and Geometry (863-9605 or www.gravity.psu.edu).

"Collisions of Black Holes and Neutron Stars," Pablo Laguna, Penn State, 3:35 p.m., 158 Willard Building, Institute for Computational Science (865-1172 or www.ics.psu.edu/springsem.html).

"Stability of Mixing and Rapid Mixing for Hyperbolic Flows," Andrew Torok, University of Houston, 3:35 p.m., 106 McAllister Building, Department of Mathematics (865-7527).

"Effect of Strontium on Bone in an Avian Model," Mohammad Shah Nazari, Penn State, 4:00 p.m., S-209 Henderson Building, Graduate Program in Nutrition (865-3448).

TUESDAY, 14 FEBRUARY

"Oligocene-Miocene Rise of the Andean Plateau: Geodynamic Implications for the Construction of Orogenic Plateaus," Carmala Garzione, University of Rochester, 4:00 p.m., 22 Deike Building, Department of Geosciences (865-2622).

"Picosecond Time-Resolved X-ray Crystallographic Proteins in Radioresistant Archaea," Josh Sokoloski, Penn State, 4:00 p.m., 102 Chemistry Building, host: Philip Bevilacqua, Department of Chemistry (863-3812).

"The Hippocampus and Emotions," René Hen, Columbia University, 4:00 p.m., 100 Life Sciences Building (with videoconferencing to Lecture Room D at College of Medicine), Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences (863-3650).

WEDNESDAY, 15 FEBRUARY

"Compiler Optimizations for Network Processors," Xiaotong Zhuang, Georgia Institute of Technology, 10:00 a.m., 333 Information Sciences and Technology Building, Department of Computer Science and Engineering (865-9505).

"Should We Be Concerned About Future Drought Impacts on Upland-Oak Forest Function and Growth?" Paul Hanson, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 11:30 a.m., 541 Deike Building, Earth System Science Center (865-0478).

"Power From the People: Breaking Barriers to Renewable-Energy Distribution" (video), 12:15 p.m., 105 Deike Building, Earth and Mineral Sciences Library (863-7073).

"Biochemical Characterization of Membrane Proteins in Shewanella oneidensis Involved in Dissimilatory Iron Reduction," Shane Ruebush, Penn State, 1:00 p.m., 108 Tyson Building, host: Ming Tien, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (865-3072).

(Mathematical Physics seminar title to be announced), Gregory Ginot, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Cachan (France), 2:30 p.m., 106 McAllister Building, Department of Mathematics (865-7527).

"Protein Structure Simulation: Separating the Signal from Noise," Stuart M. Rothstein, Brock University, 3:30 p.m., 102 Chemistry Building, host: James Anderson, Department of Chemistry (865-3933).

(Center for Dynamics and Geometry seminar title to be announced), Helmut Hofer, New York University, 3:35 p.m., 106 McAllister Building, Department of Mathematics (865-7527).

ADDED AFTER EMAIL DISTRIBUTION:
"Bacterial-Adenylate-Cyclase Toxins: More Than Just Making Cyclic AMP!," Erik Hewlett, University of Virginia, 4:00 pm, 101 Agricultural Sciences and Industries Building, Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, host: Eric Harvill (863-8522 or eth10@psu.edu).

"Quantum Electrodynamics at Your Pencil Tips: Dirac Fermion in Graphite," Philip Kim, Columbia University, 4:00 p.m., 339 Davey Laboratory, host: Jun Zhu, Department of Physics (865-4376).

THURSDAY, 16 FEBRUARY

"Behavior-Based Program Adaptation and Parallelization," Xipeng Shen, University of Rochester, 10:00 a.m., 333 Information Sciences and Technology Building, Department of Computer Science and Engineering (865-9505).

"Environmental Biotechnology: Challenges and Opportunities for Chemical Engineers," Wilfred Chen, University of California, 10:00 a.m., 111 Wartik Laboratory, host: Costas Maranas, Department of Chemical Engineering (863-9958).

ADDED AFTER EMAIL DISTRIBUTION:
"Lipid Rafts Expansion and Brain Insulin Resistance," Changiz Taghibiglou (faculty candidate), Brain Research Center, University of British Columbia (Canada), 10:00 a.m., 117 Henderson Building, Department of Nutritional Sciences (865-3448).

"Effect of Gas Adsorption on Single-Asperity Contacts at Nanoscale," Seong Kim, Penn State, 12:30 p.m., 102 Chemistry Building, host: Alan Benesi, Department of Chemistry (865-0941).

"Designing, Measuring, and Controlling Molecular-Scale and Supramolecular-Scale Properties for Molecular Devices," Paul Weiss, Penn State, 4:00 p.m., 117 Osmond Laboratory, host: Reka Albert, Department of Physics (865-6123).

"Inference for Quantile Regression Models with Applications to GeneChip Data," Huixia Wang, University of Illinois, 4:00 p.m., 201 Thomas Building, Department of Statistics (865-1348).

(Meterology colloquium title to be announced), Jennifer Francis, Rutgers University, 4:00 p.m., 112 Walker Building, Department of Meteorology (863-8566).

"Soft-Error Rate: Architecture, Modeling, and Circuit," Tanay Karnik, Intel, 4:00 p.m., 113 Information Sciences and Technology Building, Department of Computer Science and Engineering (865-9505).

"Symmetry Breaking and Hallucinations," Andrew Torok, University of Houston, 4:00 p.m., 114 McAllister Building, Department of Mathematics (865-7527).

FRIDAY, 17 FEBRUARY

"Efficient and Effective Dynamic Slicing," Xiangyu Zhang, University of Arizona, 10:00 a.m., 333 Information Sciences and Technology Building, Department of Computer Science and Engineering (865-9505).

"How Would Termites Prepare for Pandemic Bird Flu and What Should We Learn From Them?" Nina Fefferman, Rutgers University, 11:15 a.m., 101 Agricultural Sciences and Industries Building, Department of Entomology (865-1895).

"Theory and Practice of Wrestling-Minimal-Weight Testing," Cynthia J. Bartok, Penn State, 11:15 a.m, 127 Noll Lab, Noll Physiological Research Center (865-3453).

"Boundary Conditions for Molecular Dynamics Simulations in Crystalline Solids: From Zero Temperature to Finite Temperature," Xiantao Li, Penn State, 3:30 p.m., 106 McAllister Building, Department of Mathematics (865-7527).

"Baraka" (film and discussion), 4:00 p.m., 22 Deike Building, host: Denice Wardrop, Department of Geography (865-3433).

SATURDAY, 18 FEBRUARY

"The Human Mind as an Evolutionary Patchwork" (Frontiers lecture #5 of 5), Jeffrey A. Kurland, Penn State, 11:00 a.m., 100 Thomas Building, Eberly College of Science (863-0901 or www.science.psu.edu/alert/frontiers).

SUNDAY, 19 FEBRUARY

(none)

 

**********

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

**********

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.

Reporters for Science Seminars and the areas they cover are as follows: [agriculture: Kay Moore] [agronomy: Madeline Laubach] [anthropology: Alan Walker] [astronomy and astrophysics: SherryDawn Jackson and Christine Selders] [biochemistry and molecular biology: Tamara Housel] [biology: Paula Farwell and Stephanie Gookin] [gravitational physics and geometry: Randi Neshteruk] [ceramic science and engineering: April Benson] [chemical engineering: Sandra Brown and Kathy Peters] [chemistry: Clare Eckley] [computer science and engineering: Beth Kennedy and Karen Alise Corl] [earth and mineral sciences: Debra Lambert] [energy: Kelly Jo Rhoades] [entomology: Thelma Brodzina] [life sciences: Janice Kennedy] [mathematics: Flossie Dunlop] [nutrition: Judy Jones] [physics: Cheryl Wagner] [physiology: Jenny Edwards] [plant physiology: Janice Kennedy] [poultry science: Linda Houtz] [Vice President for Research: Emily Rowlands] [science, technology, and society: Karen Snare] [statistics: Bonnie Cain] [veterinary science: Loretta Muchinsky].

NOTICE: PRESS RELEASES AVAILABLE
Press releases occasionally are written for some of the lectures sponsored by the Eberly College of Science. If you would like to receive copies of these press releases in the future, send a note to Barbara K. Kennedy at SCIENCE@PSU.EDU. Your e-mail address will be added to a distribution list.

This publication is available in alternative media on request.

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 06-88

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