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

3 to 9 October 2005

MONDAY, 3 OCTOBER

"The Gift that Keeps on Giving: siRNA-Initiated Heritable Silencing of a Transposon Caused by a Naturally Occurring Inverted Repeat," Damon Lisch, University of California, 12:20 p.m., 105 Wartik Laboratory, host: David Braun, Intercollege Graduate Program in Plant Physiology (863-3892).

"Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor (PPAR) Pan Agonists: The Next Generation of PPAR Ligands," Paul Feldman, GlaxoSmithKline, 2:30 p.m., 102 Chemistry Building, host: Steven Weinreb, Department of Chemistry (863-0189).

"Representation Theory for Compact Groups," John Roe, Penn State, 2:30 p.m., 106 McAllister Building, Department of Mathematics (865-7527).

"Local Differentiable Rigidity of Partially Hyperbolic Actions of Higher-Rank Abelian Groups and Algebraic K-Theory: Part Two," Anatole Katok, Penn State, 3:30 p.m., 106 McAllister Building, Department of Mathematics (865-7527).

"From Bioimpedance to Breastfeeding: How Children Change Everything," Cynthia Bartok, Penn State, 4:00 p.m., 209 Henderson South Building, Graduate Program in Nutrition (865-3448).

"Structure of Poliovirus Polymerase and the Molecular Basis for Its Proteolytic Activation," Olve Peersen, Colorado State University, 4:00 p.m., 101 Althouse Laboratory, host: Craig Cameron, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (865-3072).

TUESDAY, 4 OCTOBER

"New Aspects of Modular Forms, Part Five: Mock Theta Functions and Theta Series of Indefinite Quadratic Forms" (Distinguished Visiting Professor lecture), Don Zagier, Max Planck Institute for Mathematics (Germany) and College of France, 11:15 a.m., 106 McAllister Building, Department of Mathematics (865-7527)./p>

"The Role of Charge Order in the Mechanism of High-Temperature Superconductivity," Eduardo Fradkin, University of Illinois, 3:30 p.m., 339 Davey Laboratory, host: Jinwu Ye, Department of Physics (863-5345).

"Long-Term Survival of Microorganisms and DNA in Fluid Inclusions," Tim Lowenstein, State University of New York, 4:00 p.m., 22 Deike Building, Department of Geosciences (865-2622).

"Nearly Inviscid Faraday Waves," Edgar Knobloch, University of California, 4:00 p.m., 106 McAllister Building, Department of Mathematics (865-7527).

WEDNESDAY, 5 OCTOBER

"Functional Studies of Arabidopsis HYL1, a dsRNA-Binding Protein Required for MicroRNA Biogenesis," Meng-Hsuan Han, Penn State, 8:00 a.m., 110 Wartik Laboratory, host: Nina Fedoroff, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (865-3072).

Earth System Science Center Brown Bag Lunch, Ken Davis, Penn State, 11:45 a.m., 529 Walker Building, Earth System Science Center (865-0478).

"X-Ray Vision: An Inside Look at the Birth of Planets" (Research Unplugged lecture), Eric Feigelson, Penn State, 12:00 noon (refreshments at 11:45 a.m.), Penn State Downtown Theatre Center, 127 S. Allen Street, Office of Research Publications (865-3477).

"Changing Climates: The Impact" (video), 12:15 p.m., 105 Deike Building, Fletcher L. Byrom Earth and Mineral Sciences Library (863-7073).

"Biochemical Insights into the Endogenous Mechanism of Protein Lipoylation (Octanoylation) in Escherichia coli," Natasha Nesbitt, Penn State, 1:00 p.m., 101 Althouse Laboratory, host: Squire Booker, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (865-3072).

"Fredholm Theory on Polyfolds," Kris Wysocki, Penn State, 3:30 p.m., 106 McAllister Building, Department of Mathematics (865-7527).

"The Redshift Evolution of the Expansion and Acceleration Rates of the Universe: Constraints on Dark Energy," Ruth Daly, Penn State, 4:00 p.m., 538 Davey Laboratory, Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics (865-0418).

THURSDAY, 6 OCTOBER

"Environmental Genomics," John Heidelberg, The Institute for Genomic Research, 11:15 a.m., 101 Althouse Laboratory, host: Donald Bryant, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (865-3072).

"Materials Science in Magnetic Recording Media," Bin Lu, Seagate Research Center, 11:15 a.m., 135 Reber Building, Department of Materials Science and Engineering (865-4992).

"New Aspects of Modular Forms, Part Six: Quantum Modular Forms" (Distinguished Visiting Professor lecture), Don Zagier, Max Planck Institute for Mathematics (Germany) and College of France, 11:15 a.m., 106 McAllister Building, Department of Mathematics (865-7527).

"Iron-Isotope Studies of Sedimentary Pyrite," Amy Wolfe, University of Pittsburgh, 2:00 p.m., 240 Deike Building, Penn State Astrobiology Research Center (865-4074).

"Habitable Zones Around Stars and the Search for Extraterrestrial Life," James Kasting, Penn State, Department of Geosciences, 4:00 p.m., 117 Osmond Laboratory, host: Milton Cole, Department of Physics (863-0165).

"Intracellular Routing of Neuropeptides and Neuropeptide-Processing Enzymes," Richard Mains, University of Connecticut, 4:00 p.m., 108 Wartik Laboratory, Penn State Neuroscience Institute and Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences (863-3650).

"Mixing in Very Stable Conditions: Problems and New Concepts," Larry Mahrt, Oregon State University, 4:00 p.m., 112 Walker Building, Department of Meteorology (863-8566).

"Molecular Biology, Ecology, and Evolution of Feline Lentiviruses in Old and New Hosts," Mary Poss, University of Montana, 4:00 p.m., 101 Althouse Laboratory, host: Peter Hudson, Department of Biology (865-0522).

"Two New Approaches to Variable Selection," Len Stefanski, North Carolina State University, 4:00 p.m., 201 Thomas Building, Department of Statistics (865-1348).

FRIDAY, 7 OCTOBER

"Scaling and Skeletal-Muscle-Shortening Velocity," James Marx, University of Pennsylvania, 11:00 a.m., 127 Noll Lab, Noll Physiological Research Center (865-3453).

"Behavioral Genomics of Honey Bees," Christina Grozinger, North Carolina State University, 11:15 a.m., 118 Agricultural Sciences and Industries Building, hosts: Gary Felton and Diana Cox-Foster, Department of Entomology (865-1895).

"Terrain Representation and Non-Photorealistic Rendering: Tuning In to the Other NPR," Patrick Kennelly, Long Island University, 4:00 p.m., 112 Walker Building, Department of Geography (865-3433).

SATURDAY, 8 OCTOBER and SUNDAY, 9 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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This issue of SCIENCE SEMINARS was produced by Leta A. Krumrine and Kristen Devlin.