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

17 to 23 April 2006

MONDAY, 17 APRIL

"Equivalence of Tunneling and the Covalent Bond: The Implications in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology," Julian Chen, University of Hamburg (Germany), 12:00 p.m., S-5 Osmond Laboratory, Center for Nanoscale Science (MRSEC) and Department of Physics (863-8999).

"Pollination-Induced Inhibition of Maize-Silk Growth," Nuwan Sella Kapu, Penn State,12:20 p.m., 106 Wartik Laboratory, host: Daniel Cosgrove, Intercollege Graduate Program in Plant Physiology (863-3892).

"How Large is the Gap Between Science and Conservation Practice, and Is It a Scaling Issue?" John Wiens, Nature Conservancy, 1:25 p.m., 100 Life Sciences Building (Berg Auditorium), Intercollege Graduate Program in Ecology (865-5557).

"Catalytic Enantioselective Synthesis of Beta-Lactones Via Ketene-Aldehyde Cycloadditions," Amy Yap, Penn State, 2:30 p.m., 102 Chemistry Building, host: Steven Weinreb, Department of Chemistry (865-0189).

"Dyadic Diophantine Approximation and Katok's Horseshoe Approximation in Eta Shifts," Joerg Schmeling, Lund University (Sweden), 3:35 p.m., 106 McAllister Building, Department of Mathematics (865-7527).

"Parallelizing the Monte-Carlo-Markov-Chain Algorithm, With Applications in Finance and Marketing," John Liechty, Penn State, 3:35 p.m., 158 Willard Building, Institute for Computational Science (865-1172 or www.ics.psu.edu/springsem.html).

"Does Weight Matter in Reproduction?" Richard S. Legro, Penn State, 4:00 p.m., S-209 Henderson Building, Graduate Program in Nutrition (865-3448).

"Overview of Grain-Legume Research Program in Mozambique: The Challenges and Opportunities," Manuel Amane, Agricultural Research Institute of Mozambique (IIAM), 4:00 p.m., 108 Tyson Building, Department of Horticulture (865-2571).

(title to be announced), David Linden, Johns Hopkins University, 4:00 p.m., 108 Wartik Laboratory, host: June Liu, Penn State Neuroscience Institute and Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences (863-8749).

"Chromatin Boundaries, Chromatin Domains, and Epigenetic Mechanisms" (Simpson Memorial lecture), Gary Felsenfeld, National Institutes of Health, 5:00 p.m., 100 Life Sciences Building (Berg Auditorium), host: David Gilmour, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (865-3072).

TUESDAY, 18 APRIL

"Database Curation at the National Center for Biotechnology Information," John Jackson, National Center for Biotechnology Information, 11:15 a.m., 101 Althouse Laboratory, host: Greg Keil, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (865-3072).

"Memory in Magnetic Nanoparticles," Sushanta Dattagupta, S. N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences (India), 3:30 p.m., 339 Davey Laboratory, host: Jainendra Jain, Department of Physics (863-1162).

"The Impact of L1 Retrotransposons on Mammals," Anthony Furano, National Institutes of Health, 4:00 p.m. (refreshments at 3:45 p.m.), 101 Althouse Laboratory, host: Wojciech Makalowski, Department of Biology (865-5025).

(title to be announced), Ben van der Pluijm, University of Michigan, 4:00 p.m., 22 Deike Building, Department of Geosciences (865-2622).

WEDNESDAY, 19 APRIL

"Abrupt Climate Change: Would We See it Coming?" (videoconference), Klaus Keller, Penn State, 12:00 noon, 541 Deike Building, Office of the Dean of the Graduate School and Worldwide Universities Network (863-1274).

"The Southern Appalachians: A Changing World" (video), 12:15 p.m., 105 Deike Building, Earth and Mineral Sciences Library (863-7073).

"Combining Polymer and Particle Nanomotifs for Improved Bio-Labels and Materials," Andrew Taton, University of Minnesota, 2:30 p.m., 102 Chemistry Building, host: Chris Keating, Department of Chemistry (863-7832).

"Integrability and String Theory," Tristan McLoughlin, Penn State, 2:30 p.m., 106 McAllister Building, Department of Mathematics (865-7527).

"Stellar Angular Momenta: A Probe of Initial and Environmental Conditions in Star-Forming Regions," Stephen Strom, National Optical Astronomical Observatory, 4:00 p.m., 538 Davey Laboratory, Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics (865-0418).

THURSDAY, 20 APRIL

"Centrosomal Attachment to the Nucleus: Specifying the Outer Membrane of the Nuclear Envelope," Il Minn, Penn State, 11:15 a.m., 101 Althouse Laboratory, host: Christian Malone, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (865-3072).

"Composite Actin Networks: Mechanics of Living Cell," David Weitz, Harvard University, 11:15 a.m., 26 Hosler Building, Department of Materials Science and Engineering (865-4992).

"Ion-Scattering Spectrometry: Elemental Analysis, Structural Analysis, and Electron-Exchange Phenomena," J. Wayne Rabelais, Lamar University, 12:30 p.m., 100 Chemistry Building, host: Arrelaine Dameron, Department of Chemistry (863-8220).

"From Research, Observations, and Models to Action" (Hussey lecture), Conrad Lautenbacher, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 4:00 p.m., 112 Walker Building, Department of Meteorology (863-8566).

"Inference for Quantile Regression Models," Xuming He, University of Illinois, 4:00 p.m., 201 Thomas Building, Department of Statistics (865-1348).

"Raising the Level of Modeling for Single-Chip Multiprocessor Systems," Don Thomas, Carnegie Mellon University, 4:00 p.m., 113 Information Sciences and Technology Building (Cybertorium), Department of Computer Science and Engineering (865-9505).

"Status and Future of Ground-Based Gamma-Ray Astronomy," Felix Aharonian, Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics (Germany), 4:00 p.m., 119 Osmond Laboratory, host: Stephane Coutu, Department of Physics (865-2015).

FRIDAY, 21 APRIL

"Ecosystem Engineering Begins at Home: How Exploiting a Few Chemical Signals Allows Eruptive Insect Herbivores to Act Locally and Impact Globally," Ken Raffa, University of Wisconsin, 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).

"Leg Vasoreactivity: Influence of Age and Estrogen Status," Beth Parker, Penn State, 11:15 a.m., 127 Noll Lab, Noll Physiological Research Center (865-3453).

"Determining Soil Changes After Forty Years of Wastewater Irrigation," Charles Walker, Penn State, 12:20 p.m., 101 Agricultural Sciences and Industries Building, Department of Crop and Soil Sciences (863-1601).

"Technology Partnerships and JBS United: Creating Global Growth for a Midwest-Based Animal-Nutrition Company," Don Orr, JBS United Inc., 12:20 p.m., 324 Agricultural Sciences and Industries Building, host: Chad Dechow, Department of Dairy and Animal Science (863-3659 or cdechow@psu.edu).

"Effects of Molecular Association on Polarizability Relation: Benzene, Its Fluorinated Analogs, and Their Mixtures," Branka M. Ladanyi, Colorado State University, 2:30 p.m., 102 Chemistry Building, host: Mark Maroncelli, Department of Chemistry (865-0898).

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

"Niels Bohr" (video), 3:30 p.m., 211 Davey Laboratory, Physical and Mathematical Sciences Library (865-7617 or www.libraries.psu.edu/pams/filmseries.html).

"Statistically Modified Farming: Investigating the Spatial Politics of Scottish Agriculture Censures," Alistair Geddes, Penn State, 4:00 p.m., 22 Deike Building, Department of Geography (865-3433).

SATURDAY, 22 APRIL and SUNDAY, 23 MARCH

(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] [physical and mathematical sciences library: Emily L. Rimland] [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 06-130

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