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 October 2006

MONDAY, 23 OCTOBER

"Electrochemical Synthesis of Inorganic Electrodes with Controlled Micro-Structures and Nano-Structures," Kyoung-Shin Choi, Purdue University, 12:00 noon, S-5 Osmond Laboratory, host: Thomas Mallouk, Department of Chemistry (863-9637).

"Mechanisms of Large-Scale-Uniparental Gene Silencing in Hybrids: The Epigenetics of Nucleolar Dominance," Craig S. Pikaard, Washington University, 12:10 p.m., 108 Wartik Laboratory, host: Teh-hui Kao, Department of Biology and Intercollege Graduate Program in Plant Biology (863-3892).

"Super Spreaders of Disease in a Wild-Rodent Population," Sarah Perkins, Penn State, 1:25 p.m., 118 Agricultural Sciences and Industries Building, Intercollege Graduate Program in Ecology (865-5557 or 862-0797).

"The Re-Emergence of Potato-Virus-Y in Potato: The Politics and Science of Virus-Disease Control," Stewart Grey, Cornell University, 3:30 p.m., 112 Buckhout Laboratory, host: Seogchan Kang, Department of Plant Pathology (865-3761).

"Analyzing Data From Repeated-Measures Experiments," Richard Marini, Penn State, 4:00 p.m., 111 Tyson Building, Department of Horticulture (865-2571).

"It's a Matter of Angstroms: Transmembrane Signaling in Bacterial Chemotaxis," Michael Manson, Texas A&M University, 4:00 p.m., 101 Althouse Laboratory, host: Don Bryant, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (865-1992).

"Reinventing Disaster Recovery in the 21st Century," James K. Mitchell, Rutgers University, 4:00 p.m., 114 Earth-Engineering Sciences Building, Earth and Environmental Systems Institute and College of Earth and Mineral Sciences (863-7091).

TUESDAY, 24 OCTOBER

"Energy Technologies Enabled by Nanoscale Heat-Transfer Effects," Gang Chen, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 3:30 p.m., 339 Davey Laboratory, host: Xiaoxing Xi, Department of Physics (863-5343).

"Modelling Aspects of Vascular Cancer," Philip Maini, Oxford University (United Kingdom), 4:00 p.m., 106 McAllister Building, Department of Mathematics (865-7527).

"RNA Polymerase IV and the Nuclear-siRNA Pathway for RNA-Directed DNA Methylation," Craig S. Pikaard, Washington University in St. Louis, 4:00 p.m. (refreshments at 3:45 p.m.), 101 Althouse Laboratory, host: Dan Cosgrove, Department of Biology (863-3892).

WEDNESDAY, 25 OCTOBER

"Neural Engineering 2006: Deep Brain Stimulation -- Technology Development through Scientific Understanding," Cameron C. McIntyre, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, 10:00 a.m., S-5 Osmond Laboratory, host: Steven Schiff, Department of Neurosurgery and Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics (863-4210 or 321-4884).

"Heavy Metal: An American Pollution Story" (video), 12:15 p.m., 105 Deike Building, Earth and Mineral Sciences Library (863-7073).

"Mass Gaps and Spin Chains for (Super) Membranes," Abishek Agarwal, City College of New York, 2:30 p.m., 339 Davey Laboratory, host: Radu Roiban, Department of Physics (865-2015).

"Hoelder Conjugacy of Anosov Diffeomorphisms," Misha Guysinsky, Penn State, 3:35 p.m., 106 McAllister Building, Department of Mathematics (865-7527).

"Cosmology and the Shape of Large-Scale Structure," Neta Bahcall, Princeton University, 4:00 p.m., 538 Davey Laboratory, Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics (865-0418).

"Maternal Immune Responses to Pregnancy-Recognition Signaling in Ruminants," Troy Ott, Penn State, 4:00 p.m., 101 Agricultural Sciences and Industries Building, Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, host: Andrew Henderson (863-0340 or ajh6@psu.edu).

THURSDAY, 26 OCTOBER

"Fracture at the Nanoscale: Measurements and/or Calculations," Stephen Freiman, Freiman Consulting, 10:10 a.m., 26 Hosler Building, Department of Materials Science and Engineering (865-4992).

"Probing the Quark-Gluon Plasma Using Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) at the Large Hadron Collider," Gerd Kunde, Los Alamos National Laboratory, 11:00 a.m., 339 Davey Laboratory, host: Mark Strikman, Department of Physics (865-3721).

"Difference Galois Groups Over Function Fields and Periods of Drinfeld Modules," Matt Papanikolas, Texas A&M University, 11:15 a.m., 106 McAllister Building, Department of Mathematics (865-7527).

"The Essential Role of the Cytoplasmic Loop of the ExbB Protein in TonB-Protein-Dependent Energy Transduction in Escherichia coli," Charles Bulathsinghala, Penn State, 11:15 a.m., 101 Althouse Laboratory, host: Kathleen Postle, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (863-7568).

"Controlling Protein-Surface Interactions: From Nanoscale Architectures to Drug-Discovery Platforms," Jonathan S. Dordick, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 11:30 a.m., 111 Wartik Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering (863-1375).

"Lower Size and Temperature Limits of Life," Jennifer Loveland-Curtze and Vanya Miteva, Penn State, 2:00 p.m., 240 Deike Building, Penn State Astrobiology Research Center (865-4074).

TIME AND ROOM CHANGED AFTER EMAIL DISTRIBUTION:
"A Physicist as an Entrepreneur: A Personal Perspective," Yu Hak Hahn, CVI Laser Corporation, 3:00 p.m., S-5 Osmond Laboratory, host: Peter Schiffer, Department of Physics (865-3721).

(title to be announced), Lindsay Linzer, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research and the University of Witwatersrand (South Africa), 4:00 p.m., 202 Research West Building, Department of Geosciences (865-7965).

"Hurricane Death and Destruction," Hugh Willoughby, Florida International University, 4:00 p.m., 112 Walker Building, Department of Meteorology (863-8566).

FRIDAY, 27 OCTOBER

"Instabilities in Gauss-Bonnet Cosmology," Gianluca Calcagni, University of Sussex (United Kingdom), 9:45 a.m., 320 Whitmore Laboratory, Institute for Gravitational Physics and Geometry (863-9605 or www.gravity.psu.edu).

(title to be announced), Tom Barstow, Kansas State University, 11:15 a.m., 127 Noll Laboratory, Noll Physiological Research Center and Department of Kinesiology (865-3453).

TITLE CHANGE AFTER EMAIL DISTRIBUTION:
"The Biology of Doing Nothing: Insect Overwintering," David Denlinger, Ohio State University, 12:20 p.m., 112 Forest Resources Building (Steimer Auditorium), College of Agricultural Sciences (865-1895).

"Turfgrass Growth and Water Use in Gypsum-Treated Ultisols," Maxim Schlosberg, Penn State, 12:20 p.m., 101 Agricultural Sciences and Industries Building, Department of Crop and Soil Sciences (863-1601).

ADDED AFTER EMAIL DISTRIBUTION:
"Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) of blinking metal nanoparticles" by Erin Goken and "Single Cell Analysis on a Microfluidic Chip" by Patrick O'Connor, Penn State, 2:30 p.m., 102 Chemistry Building, hosts: A. Welford Castleman Jr. and Jim Anderson, Department of Chemistry (865-7242 and 865-3933).

"A Life of Time: Physics and Chronology" and "Impact! Comets and Asteroids" (videos), 3:30 p.m., 211 Davey Laboratory, Physical and Mathematical Sciences Library (865-7617 or www.libraries.psu.edu/pams/filmseries.html).

"The Cuntz Semigroup: Part One," Nate Brown, Penn State, 2:30 p.m., 106 McAllister Building, Department of Mathematics (865-7527).

(title to be announced), Tong Li, University of Iowa, 3:35 p.m., 106 McAllister Building, Department of Mathematics (865-7527).

ADDED AFTER EMAIL DISTRIBUTION:
"Helicobacter As An Underlying Cause of Stomach Ulcers and Cancer," Barry J. Marshall, University of Western Australia, 4:00 p.m., 100 Life Sciences Building -- Berg Auditorium (with video conferencing to Lecture Room D at the College of Medicine), Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences (863-4576).

"So What of Climate Change? The Science and Practice of Holistic Geography," Barry Smit, University of Guelph (Canada), 4:00 p.m., 112 Walker Building, Department of Geography (865-3433).

SATURDAY, 28 OCTOBER and SUNDAY, 29 OCTOBER

(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 07-35

This issue of SCIENCE SEMINARS was produced by Barbara K. Kennedy and Kristen Devlin.