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

23 to 29 April 2007

MONDAY, 23 APRIL

"Securing Peer-to-Peer Systems," Yongdae Katz, University of Minnesota, 11:00 a.m., 333 Information Sciences and Technologies Building, Department of Computer Science and Engineering (865-9505).

"Anisotropic Waveguides and Light Manipulation at the Nanoscale," Alexander Govyadinov, Oregon State University, 12:00 noon, S-5 Osmond Laboratory, Center for Nanoscale Science/MRSEC Interdisciplinary-Research Group Two (863-0007).

ADDED AFTER EMAIL DISTRIBUTION:
"A New Era of Cellulose Applications in Biotechnology and Nanotechnology," Malcolm Brown, Jr., Johnson & Johnson Centennial Chair in Plant Cell Biology, University of Texas at Austin, 12:10 p.m., 108 Wartik Laboratory, Host: Dan Cosgrove, co-Sponsored by The Center for Nanocellulosics and Intercollege Graduate Program in Plant Biology (863-3892).

"Glycolipid Interactions of Membranes," Amit Basu, Brown University, 2:30 p.m., 102 Chemistry Building, host: Blake Peterson, Department of Chemistry (865-2969).

(title to be announced), Volodymyr Rybalko, B. Verkin Institute for Low-Temperature Physics and Engineering (Ukraine), 3:30 p.m., 216 McAllister Building, Department of Mathematics (865-7527).

"Effective Closure in Multi-Scale Modeling and Simulations," Qiang Du, Penn State, 3:35 p.m., 203 Sackett Building, host: Lyle N. Long, Department of Aerospace Engineering (865-1172 or www.csci.psu.edu/springsem.html).

CANCELLATION—RESCHEDULED FOR 7 MAY 2007:
"Astrophysical High-Energy Neutrinos," Soeb Razzaque, Penn State, 4:00 p.m., 320 Whitmore Laboratory, Institute for Gravitational Physics and Geometry (863-9605 or www.gravity.psu.edu).

"Health and Development in Africa: What are the Engines for Growth and Change?" Anne C. Petersen, Stanford University, 4:00 p.m., 22 Deike Building, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences + Alliance for Earth Sciences, Engineering, and Development in Africa (865-0333).

ADDED AFTER EMAIL DISTRIBUTION:
"Horticulture Programs in Pennsylvania High Schools," Beth Mathie, Penn State, 4:00 p.m., 111 Tyson Building, Department of Horticulture (865-2571).

"Life on the Energetic Edge: Anaerobic Metal Oxidation," Karrie Weber (faculty candidate), University of California, 4:00 p.m., 104 Thomas Building, host: James Marden, Department of Biology (865-4562).

"Nuclear-Fuel Cycle Versus the Carbon Cycle: Plutonium Versus Carbon," Rod Ewing, University of Michigan, 4:00 p.m., 114 Earth-Engineering Sciences Building, Earth and Environmental Systems Institute + College of Earth Mineral Sciences (863-7091).

TUESDAY, 24 APRIL

"The Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics (KITP) Program on Quantum Singularities," Martin Bojowald, Penn State, 10:00 a.m., 320 Whitmore Laboratory, Institute for Gravitational Physics and Geometry (863-9605 or www.gravity.psu.edu).

"Practicing Medicine in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Herbs, Despair, and Science," Sydney Shampile, Change Hospital (Zambia), 11:00 a.m., 101 Henderson Building (Living Center), Alliance for Earth Sciences, Engineering, and Development in Africa (865-0333).

"RNA-Dependent RNA-Polymerase (In)fidelity: Mechanisms, Consequences, and Applications," Victoria Korneeva, Penn State, 1:00 p.m., 8 Mueller Laboratory, host: Craig Cameron, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (863-8705).

"Molecular and Genomic Analyses of Honey-Bee Social Behavior," Gene Robinson, University of Illinois, 2:30 p.m., 112 Buckhout Laboratory, Department of Entomology (865-1895).

"Green-Tao Work on Arithmetic Progressions in Primes: Methods and Techniques, Part Three," Izabella Laba, University of British Columbia (Canada), 3:30 p.m., 216 McAllister Building, Department of Mathematics (865-7527).

"Growth, Interface, and Electronic Structure of Graphene on Standard-Industrial Classification (SIC)," Thomas Seyller, Universitat Erlangen-Nurnberg (Germany), 3:30 p.m., 339 Davey Laboratory, host: Renee Diehl, Department of Physics (865-7533).

"Dual-Scale Modeling of RNA: Structure and Dynamics," David Mathews, University of Rochester, 4:00 p.m., 102 Chemistry Building, host: Phil Bevilacqua, Department of Chemistry (863-3812).

"Extreme-Mass-Ratio Burst Signals in the Laser-Interferometer-Space-Antenna (LISA) Band," Louis Rubbo, Penn State, 4:00 p.m., 320 Whitmore Laboratory, Institute for Gravitational Physics and Geometry (863-9605 or www.gravity.psu.edu).

"How Cryptochromes Regulate Plant Development," Chentao Lin, University of California, 4:00 p.m. (refreshments at 3:45 p.m.), 101 Althouse Laboratory, host: Hong Ma, Department of Biology (863-6414).

"Nano-Phase Formation Under Energetic Particle Beams: Geologic Applications," Rod Ewing, University of Michigan, 4:00 p.m., 22 Deike Building, Department of Geosciences (865-2622).

"Genomes Up and Down the Tree" (Marker lecture #1 of 2), Richard A. Gibbs, Baylor College of Medicine, 5:00 p.m., 100 Life Sciences Building (Berg Auditorium), host: Anton Nekrutenko, Eberly College of Science + Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (865-3072 or 865-4752).

WEDNESDAY, 25 APRIL

"Getting Back to Genetics After Two Decades of Genomics" (Marker lecture #2 of 2), Richard A. Gibbs, Baylor College of Medicine, 11:30 a.m., 100 Life Sciences Building (Berg Auditorium), host: Anton Nekrutenko, Eberly College of Science + Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (865-3072 or 865-4752).

"Pennsylvania Energy" (video), 12:15 p.m., 105 Deike Building, Earth and Mineral Sciences Library (863-7073).

"Manipulating Light at the Nanoscale with Plasmonic Structures," Teri Odom, Northwestern University, 2:30 p.m., 102 Chemistry Building, host: T.J. Mullen, Department of Chemistry (863-8220).

"Quasisymmetric Groups," Vlad Markovic, State University of New York, 3:35 p.m., 106 McAllister Building, Department of Mathematics (865-7527).

"Host Nutrition and Infectious Disease: The Neglected Virulence Factor," Melinda Beck, Penn State, 4:00 p.m., 101 Agricultural Sciences and Industries Building, host: Sandeep Prabhu, Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences (863-8976).

"Climate Change, Climate Justice: The Ethical, Religious, and Social Implications" (Research Unplugged), panel discussion, 7:00 p.m., Penn State Outreach Building Lobby, Office of the Senior Vice President for Research and WPSU (865-3477 or www.rps.psu.edu/unplugged/).

THURSDAY, 26 APRIL

"Protein Separations in Chromatographic Systems: A-priori Prediction of Protein Affinity, Selective Displacers, and Generic Antibody-Purification Processes," Steven Cramer, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 10:00 a.m., 108 Wartik Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering (863-1375).

"Characterization of Drosophila Negative-Elongation Factor (NELF)," Anamika Missra, Penn State, 11:15 a.m., 101 Althouse Laboratory, host: David Gilmour, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (863-8905).

"Modular Forms and W-Algebras," Antun Milas, State University of New York, 11:15 a.m., 106 McAllister Building, Department of Mathematics (865-7527).

"Synthesis and Control of Ultra-Thin Gate Oxides for the 90 and 65 Nanometer Nodes," Joseph F. Shepard Jr., IBM, 11:15 a.m., 26 Hosler Building, Department of Materials Science and Engineering (865-9857).

"Electrospray Wings for Molecular Elephants," John B. Fenn, Virginia Commonwealth University, 12:30 p.m., 102 Chemistry Building, host: James Anderson, Department of Chemistry (865-3933).

"From Random Walks to Predictive Biology," Philippe Cluzel, Princeton University, 4:00 p.m., 117 Osmond Laboratory, host: Reka Albert, Department of Physics (865-7533).

ADDED AFTER EMAIL DISTRIBUTION:
"Global Change in Plants and Animals: A Fingerprint for Warming and Evidence of Cause," Terry Root, Stanford University, 4:00 p.m., 101 Agricultural Sciences and Industries Building, Intercollege Graduate Program in Ecology (865-5557).

"Inference for Nonlinear Dynamical Systems," Edward Ionides, University of Michigan, 4:00 p.m., 201 Thomas Building, Department of Statistics (865-1348).

"Neuroscience/Neural Engineering 2007: Cortical Coding for Hand Movement During Reach and Grasp with Potential Application of Prosthetic Hand," Jiping He, Arizona State University, 4:00 p.m., 108 Wartik Laboratory, host: Steven Schiff, Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences + Penn State Neuroscience Institute + Department of Neurosurgery + Department of Engineering Sciences and Mechanics + Department of Physics (863-4210 or 321-4884).

"Optical and Biophysical Properties of the Earth and Their Impact on Land-Surface Processes," Christopher Small, Columbia University, 4:00 p.m., 112 Walker Building, Department of Meteorology (863-8566).

"Robust Hepatitis-C-Virus Infection In Vitro: Coevolution of Virus and Host" (Stone lecture), Francis V. Chisari, The Scripps Research Institute, 4:00 p.m., 100 Life Sciences Building (Berg Auditorium), host: Kouacou Konan, Eberly College of Science + Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (865-5497 or 863-8254).

(title to be announced), Jon Samuelson, Penn State, 4:00 p.m., 202 Research West Building, Department of Geosciences (865-7965).

FRIDAY, 27 APRIL

"Scents and Songs: Sexual Signaling in Stink Bugs," Jocelyn Millar, University of California, 11:00 a.m., 101 Agricultural Sciences and Industries Building, Department of Entomology and Center for Chemical Ecology (865-1895).

(title to be announced), Simone Speziale, Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics (Canada), 11:00 a.m., 320 Whitmore Laboratory, Institute for Gravitational Physics and Geometry (863-9605 or www.gravity.psu.edu).

ADDED AFTER EMAIL DISTRIBUTION:
"The Effectiveness of the Plum-Pox-Virus Quarantine and Eradication Program in Pennsylvania," Fredrick Gildow, Penn State, 12:15 p.m., 112 Buckhout Laboratory, Department of Plant Pathology (865-3761).

"Soil-Nitrate Cycling in Conventional and Organic Agroecosystems," Barbara Fricks, Penn State, 12:20 p.m., 101 Agricultural Sciences and Industries Building, Department of Crop and Soil Sciences (863-1601).

ADDED AFTER EMAIL DISTRIBUTION:
"Can We Define, Let Alone Fix, "Dangerous" Climate Change?" Stephen Schneider, Stanford University, 1:25 p.m., Agricultural Sciences and Industries Building (call for room number), Intercollege Graduate Program in Ecology (865-5557).

"Formal Deformations of Azumaya Algebras and Gerbes," Alexander Gorokhovksy, University of Colorado, 2:30 p.m., 106 McAllister Building, Department of Mathematics (865-7527).

"What Will We Learn if a Higgs Boson is Found?" Ilia Gogoladze, University of Delaware, 2:30 p.m., 339 Davey Laboratory, host: Irena Mocioiu, Department of Physics (865-7533).

"Saturn’s Titan: Voyage to the Mystery Moon" (video), 3:30 p.m., 211 Davey Laboratory, Physical and Mathematical Sciences Library (865-7617 or www.libraries.psu.edu/pams/filmseries.html).

"The A-T(1,1) Theorem for Modulation-Invariant Bilinear Pseudodifferential Operators," Andrea Nahmod, University of Massachusetts, 3:35 p.m., 106 McAllister Building, Department of Mathematics (865-7527).

"Mysteries of Time" (Eberly lecture), Ahmed Zewail, California Institute of Technology, 4:00 p.m., HUB Auditorium, Eberly College of Science (863-4683 or 1-800-297-1429).

"Urban Governance and the Production of New State Spaces in Western Europe," Neil Brenner, New York University, 4:00 p.m., 22 Deike Building, Department of Geography (865-3433).

(title to be announced), Vadim Kaloshin, Penn State, 4:40 p.m., 106 McAllister Building, Department of Mathematics (865-7527)

SATURDAY, 28 APRIL and SUNDAY, 29 APRIL

(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.

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 07-119

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