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

21 to 27 March 2005

MONDAY, 21 MARCH

“Synthesis and Design of Fluorescent-Protein-Based Affinity Binders,” Melik Demirel, Penn State, 12:00 noon, S-5 Osmond Laboratory, Center for Nanoscale Science/MRSEC (863-0007).

“The Polarity Express: Regulation of Pollen-Tube Growth by Calcium-Dependent Protein Kinases,” Andrew McCubbin, Washington State University, 12:20 p.m., 106 Wartik Laboratory, host: Teh-Hui Kao, Intercollege Graduate Program in Plant Physiology (863-3892).

“Small Molecule Modulators of Cell Death: Identification of Novel Anti-Cancer, Anti-Neurodegenerative, and Anti-Bacterial Compounds,” Paul Hergenrother, University of Illinois, 2:00 p.m., 102 Chemistry Building, host: Blake Peterson, Department of Chemistry (865-2967).

“Consumer Preference for Annual Planters: Color Harmony, Container Style, and Price,” Jonathan Phillips, Penn State, 4:00 p.m., 108 Tyson Building, Department of Horticulture (863-3371).

“Is There a Hedgehog in the Chicken House? Part II,” Roland Leach, Penn State, 4:00 p.m., S-209 Henderson Building, Graduate Program in Nutrition (865-3448).

TUESDAY, 22 MARCH

“Human or Not? How to Tell the Difference,” Monica Chew, University of California, 10:30 a.m., 333 Information Sciences and Technology Building, Department of Computer Science and Engineering (865-9505).

“Ancient DNA, Viruses, and Insights into How Mechanisms of Molecular Evolution Change Across Time Frames,” Beth Shapiro (faculty candidate), Oxford University, 4:00 p.m. (refreshments at 3:45 p.m.), 101 Althouse Laboratory, host: Blair Hedges, Department of Biology (865-9991).

“Three Cycles of Promise and Hype,” James R. Fleming, Colby College, 4:00 p.m.,
109 Walker Building, Science, Technology, and Society Program (863-8566).

WEDNESDAY, 23 MARCH

(title to be announced), Kateryna Makova, Penn State, 12:10 p.m., 317 Mueller Laboratory, host: Masatoshi Nei, Institute of Molecular Evolutionary Genetics (863-7334).

“Pepper: The Master Spice” (video), 12:15 p.m., 105 Deike Building, Earth and Mineral Sciences Library (863-7073).

“Using Fluorescence-Correlation Spectroscopy to Study Interaction Kinetics” by
Mike Stagliano and “Intracellular Sensing with PEBBLES” by Lisa Dominak, Penn State, 12:30 p.m., 102 Chemistry Building, host: Daniel Jones, Department of Chemistry (865-8352).

“Stem-Cell Biotechnology: Lineage Commitment and Plasticity,” Terry Papoutsakis, Northwestern University, 2:30 p.m. (refreshments at 2:15 p.m.), 108 Tyson Building,
host: Antonios Armaou, Department of Chemical Engineering (865-5316).

“Maps That Take All Lines to Circles,” Vladlen Timorin, State University of New York, 3:30 p.m., 122 Pond Lab, Department of Mathematics (865-7527).

(title to be announced), Ming Zhao, ChevronTexaco Exploration and Production Technology Company, 3:30 p.m., 202 Research West Building, Department of Geosciences (865-7965).

“Virus-Cell Interactions in Hepatitis-B-Virus Assembly and Replication,” Jianming Hu, Penn State, 4:00 p.m., 101 Agricultural Sciences and Industries Building, host: Biao He, Department of Veterinary Science (863-8533).

THURSDAY, 24 MARCH

“Corepressors and Chromatin: Investigating the Role of the Protein Ssn6p/Tup1p in Chromatin Organization,” Christopher Graham, Penn State, 11:15 a.m., 101 Althouse Laboratory, host: Song Tan, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (865-3072).

“Materials Processing at the Nanoscale: From Quantum Dots to Nanowires,” Peter W. Voorhees, Northwestern University, 11:15 a.m., 26 Hosler Building, Department of Materials Science and Engineering (865-4992).

“Water at Work: Molecular Aspects of Aqueous Processes through Cluster Spectroscopy,” Mark Johnson, Yale University, 12:30 p.m., 102 Chemistry Building, host: A. Welford Castleman, Department of Chemistry (865-7242).

“Wave Extraction Using Weyl Scalars: A Numerical Application,” Andrea Nerozzi, University of Texas, 12:30 p.m., 318 Osmond Laboratory, Institute for Gravitational Physics and Geometry (863-9605).

“Quantum Chaos, Lattice Points, and Equidistribution,” Jens Marklof, University of Bristol
(United Kingdom), 4:00 p.m., 215 Thomas Building, Department of Mathematics (865-7527).

“Single-Vesicle Studies of Transmitter Release,” Manfred Lindau, Cornell University, 4:00 p.m., 108 Wartik Laboratory, host: Andrew Ewing, Eberly College of Science + Department of Biology + Department of Biobehavioral Health + Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences + College of Health and Human Development + Department of Chemistry (863-4653).

“Strong-Surface Fronts Over Sloping Terrain and Coastal Plains,” Lance Bosart, State University of New York, 4:00 p.m., 112 Walker Building, Department of Meteorology (863-8566)

(title to be announced), Juan Carlos Campuzano, University of Illinois, 4:00 p.m., 117 Osmond Laboratory, host: Roy Willis, Department of Physics (865-6101).

FRIDAY, 25 MARCH

“Evaporation of Callen-Giddings-Harvey-Strominger (CGHS) Black Holes and Information Loss,” Abhay Ashtekar, Penn State, 11:00 a.m., 318 Osmond Laboratory, Institute for Gravitational Physics and Geometry (863-9605).

“Vector Competence of Mosquitoes: The Role of the Midgut Cells and Enzymes in Killing Plasmodium,” Carolina Barillas-Mury, National Institutes of Health, 11:15 a.m., 118 Agricultural Sciences and Industries Building, Department of Entomology (865-1895).

“Data Quality Objectives for Environmental Soil Chemical Measurements,” Ephraim M. Govere, Penn State, 12:20 p.m., 101 Agricultural Sciences and Industries Building, Department of Crop and Soil Sciences (863-1601).

“Synthetic Diamond,” David Grove, Penn State, 2:30 p.m., 102 Chemistry Building, host: A. Welford Castleman, Department of Chemistry (865-7242).

“Multi-Time Systems of Hamilton-Jacobi Equations and Commutativity of Minimum Problems,” Franco Rampazzo, University of Padova (Italy), 3:30 p.m., 320 Whitmore Laboratory, Department of Mathematics (865-7527).

“Global Tectonics: What Every Business Needs to Know,” Fariborz Ghadar, Penn State, 4:00 p.m., 301 Steidle Building, Department of Geography (863-1806).

SATURDAY, 26 MARCH and SUNDAY, 27 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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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.

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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 05-104

This issue of SCIENCE SEMINARS was produced by Barbara K. Kennedy and Leta A. Krumrine.