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

31 October to 6 November 2005

MONDAY, 31 OCTOBER

"Bottom-Up Assembly of Ordered Metamaterials," John Badding, Penn State, 12:00 noon, S-5 Osmond Laboratory, Center for Nanoscale Science/MRSEC, Department of Physics (863-8999).

"Agriculture in the Developing World: Challenges and Opportunities," Deborah Delmer, Rockefeller Foundation, 12:20 p.m., 108 Wartik Laboratory, host: Daniel Cosgrove, Intercollege Graduate Program in Plant Physiology (863-3892).

"Regional Plant-Population Dynamics of Tricky Invaders and Red-List Treats," Eelke Jongejans, Penn State, 1:30 p.m., 118 Agricultural Sciences and Industries Building, Intercollege Graduate Program in Ecology (863-5895).

"Continuous Dimensions and Von Neumann Algebras," Nate Brown, Penn State, 2:30 p.m., 106 McAllister Building, Department of Mathematics (865-7527).

"Lessons from the Past: How Science, Economy, and Politics Influenced Plant-Disease Epidemic," Jean-Philippe Marelli, Penn State, 3:30 p.m., 112 Buckhout Laboratory, Department of Plant Pathology (865-6761).

"Singular Sets from a Metric Viewpoint," Lev Birbrair, Universidade Federal do Ceara (Brazil), 3:30 p.m., 106 McAllister Building, Department of Mathematics (865-7527).

"Spitzer Space Telescope Infrared Observations of Gas and Dust in Star-Forming and Planet-Forming Regions: Ice Cold and Steaming Hot" (Chemerda lecture #1 of 3), Ewine van Dishoeck, University of Leiden (Netherlands), 3:30 p.m., 100 Life Sciences Building, Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics (865-0418).

"Arctic-National-Wildlife-Refuge Oil Resources: Probabilities, Politics, and Perceptions in Washington—Communicating Science in a Politically Volatile Environment," David Houseknecht, U. S. Geological Survey, 4:00 p.m., 114 Earth-Engineering Sciences Building, Earth and Environmental Systems Institute (863-7091).

POSTPONED UNTIL SPRING 2006:
"Chromatin Boundaries, Chromatin Domains, and Epigenetic Mechanisms" (Simpson lecture), Gary Felsenfeld, National Institutes of Health, 4:00 p.m., 101 Althouse Laboratory, host: David Gilmour, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (865-5497).

"Retinoic Acid Combined with the Synthetic-Immunity-Booster Poly I:C Enhances Tetanus-Toxoid-Induced Vaccine Response in Both Adult and Neonatal Mice," Yifan Ma, Penn State, 4:00 p.m., 209 Henderson South Building, Graduate Program in Nutrition (865-3448).

TUESDAY, 1 NOVEMBER

"Chemistry Around Low-Mass Protostars" (Chemerda lecture #2 of 3), Ewine van Dishoeck, University of Leiden (Netherlands), 3:30 p.m., 100 Life Sciences Building, Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics (865-0418).

"Jurassic to Recent Sedimentary Evolution of Arctic Alaska: A Spectrum of Tectonic Influences," Dave Houseknecht, U. S. Geological Survey, 4:00 p.m., 22 Deike Building, Department of Geosciences (865-2622).

(title to be announced), Hiroshi Akashi, Penn State, 4:00 p.m. (refreshments at 3:45 p.m.), 101 Althouse Laboratory, host: Robert Mitchell, Department of Biology (863-0278).

"From Molecules to Planets" (Chemerda lecture #3 of 3), Ewine van Dishoeck, University of Leiden (Netherlands), 7:30 p.m. (reception at 7:00 p.m.), 101 Chambers Building, Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics (865-0418).

WEDNESDAY, 2 NOVEMBER

"The Re-Emergence of Pertussis: Waning Immunity or Adaptation?" Frits Mooi, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (Netherlands), 10:00 a.m., 324 Agricultural Sciences and Industries Building, host: Eric Harvill, Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences (863-8522).

"Inter-Basin Freshwater Disparity, Global Ocean Circulation, and Climate: Modeling Approach," Dan Seidov, Penn State, 11:45 a.m., 117 Earth-Engineering Sciences Building, Earth System Science Center (865-0478).

"Geology: Why Bother?" (video), 12:15 p.m., 105 Deike Building, Fletcher L. Byrom Earth and Mineral Sciences Library (863-7073).

"A Molecular View of Arsenic Cycling in the Environment," Peggy O’Day, University of California, 2:30 p.m., 102 Chemistry Building, host: Karl Mueller, Department of Chemistry (863-8674).

"Theorem of de Rham for Metric Spaces," Alexander Lytchak, University of Bonn (Germany), 3:30 p.m., 106 McAllister Building, Department of Mathematics (865-7527).

"Neutron-Star Radii and the Dense-Matter Equation of State," Robert Rutledge, McGill University (Canada), 4:00 p.m., 538 Davey Laboratory, host: Derek Fox, Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics (863-4989).

"Rational Use of Antibiotics in Veterinary Medicine: The Role of Antimicrobial-Susceptibility Testing," Jeffrey Watts, Pfizer Animal Health, 4:00 p.m., 101 Agricultural Sciences and Industries Building, host: Bhushan Jayarao, Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences (863-5939).

THURSDAY, 3 NOVEMBER

"A New View of Internal Oxidation," John Morral, Ohio State University, 11:15 a.m., 135 Reber Building, Department of Materials Science and Engineering (865-2992).

"Galois Groups, Deformations, and Class Numbers," Ted Chingurg, University of Pennsylvania, 11:15 a.m., 106 McAllister Building, Department of Mathematics (865-7527).

"Molecular Clocks and Precambrian Life," Fabia Battistuzzi and Blair Hedges, Penn State, 2:00 p.m., 240 Deike Building, Penn State Astrobiology Research Center (865-4074).

(MASS colloquium title to be announced), Krishnaswami Alladi, University of Florida, 2:30 p.m., 113 McAllister Building, Department of Mathematics (865-7527).

"Clay Dehydration and Lateral-Fluid Flow in Subduction Zones," Alex McKiernan, Penn State, 4:00 p.m., 202 Research West Building, Department of Geosciences (865-7965).

"NanoCAD: Computer-Aided-Design Algorithms and Tools for Nanotechnologies," Niraj K. Jha, Princeton University, 4:00 p.m., 113 Information Sciences and Technology Building, Department of Computer Science and Engineering (865-9505).

"Quantum? I Hardly Even Know 'Um!" Ari Mizel, Penn State, 4:00 p.m., 117 Osmond Laboratory, host: Peter Schiffer, Department of Physics (865-5982).

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

FRIDAY, 4 NOVEMBER

"Brown and White Adipose Tissue: Metabolic Regulation During Exercise, Caloric Restriction, and Cold Exposure," Kurt Saupe, University of Wisconsin, 11:00 a.m., 127 Noll Lab, Noll Physiological Research Center (865-3453).

"Free Vacuum for Loop-Quantum Gravity," Florian Conrady, Penn State, 11:00 a.m., 318 Osmond Laboratory, Institute for Gravitational Physics and Geometry (863-9605, http://www.gravity.psu.edu).

ADDED AFTER EMAIL DISTRIBUTION:
"Impact Ionization in Quantum Dots" by LaSalle Swenson and "Atmospheric Chemical Dynamics" by Dhruva K. Chakravorty, Penn State, 2:30 p.m., 102 Chemistry Building, hosts: Thomas Mallouk and Sharon Hammes-Schiffer, Department of Chemistry (863-0119).

"Towards Label-Free Single-Molecule Sensing," Fredrik Hook, Chalmers University of Technology and Goteborg University (Sweden), 4:00 p.m., 102 Chemistry Building, host: Andy Ewing, Department of Chemistry (863-4653).

"Using Data-Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and Value-Efficiency Analysis (VEA) to Evaluate Quality of Life in the Mid-Atlantic States," James Shortle, Penn State, 4:00 p.m., 112 Walker Building, Department of Geography (865-3433).

SATURDAY, 5 NOVEMBER and SUNDAY, 6 NOVEMBER

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