Lectures
Penn State Intercom......January
17, 2002
Lecture series announces
science speakers
The Science, Medicine and Technology in Culture lecture series presents the following speakers at the University Park campus:
* Jan. 18: Naomi Oreskes, associate professor of history and science studies at University of California San Diego, will present "From Hydrogen Bombs to Hydrothermal Vents: The Military-Scientific Career of the Submersible ALVIN" at 4 p.m. in 102 Weaver Building.
* Feb. 12: David Rosner, professor of history and co-director of the History of Public Health and Medicine at Columbia University, will present "Deceit and Denial: The Deadly Politics of Industrial Pollution, especially Lead Poisoning, in 20th Century America" at 4 p.m. in 102 Weaver Building.
* Feb. 21: Hendrik Poinar, postdoctoral fellow in the Max-Planck-Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology at Leipzig, will present "Molecular Coproscopy: Searching Ancient DNA for Clues to the History of Life" at 4 p.m. in the auditorium at 112 Kern.
* March 21: Benjamin Elman, professor of history at the University of California at Los Angeles, will present "The Transmission of Modern Science in Late Imperial China" at 4 p.m. in 102 Weaver Building.
* April 5: Nelly Oudshoorn, professor of gender and technology in the Centre for Studies of Science, Technology and Society at the University of Twente, The Netherlands, will present "Designing Technology and Masculinity: The Clinical Testing of the Male Pill" at 4 p.m. in 102 Weaver Building.
For information, go to the Web at http://faculty.la.psu.edu/ssps/smtc.html.
Lectures focus on
African studies, Malcolm X
The African and African-American Studies Department lists the following events for January and February on the University Park campus:
* Wednesday, Jan. 23: Kidane Mengisteab, professor of African studies and political science, will speak on "Globalization: The African Implications" during a brown bag luncheon from noon to 1:30 p.m. in 216 Willard Building. The event is free to the public. For information, call (814) 863-4243.
* Thursday, Feb. 21: Robyn Spencer, assistant professor of African and African-American studies and history, will facilitate a dramatic reading and discussion on "Reflections on the Meaning of Malcolm X's Life 37 years After His Death" at 7 p.m. in Pollock Commons. The event is free to the public.
For information, call (814) 863-4243.
Science series begins
with lecture on Earth
"Planet Earth: Our Role in Its Health" is the topic of the 2002 Penn State Lectures on the Frontiers of Science, a series of free public lectures that will begin on Saturday, Jan. 19.
The lectures take place on six consecutive Saturday mornings from 11 a.m. to about 12:30 p.m. in 101 Thomas Building on the University Park campus.
The lectures include:
* "How Can We Help the Earth Sustain Human Life?," Jan. 19, by Robert W. Corell, a senior policy fellow with the American Meteorological Society and the former assistant director for geosciences of the National Science Foundation;
* "Will Global Warming Let Us Feed 10 Billion People Without Trashing the Planet?," Jan. 26, by William Easterling, professor of geography and director of the Environmental Consortium;
* "Mammoths, Moose and How Animals Might Influence Earth's Response to Climate Change," Feb. 2, by Eric Post, assistant professor of biology;
* "Frogs, Toads and Other Amphibians as Indicators of Global Change: Translating Global Change into Local Species Loss," Feb. 9, by Joseph Kiesecker, assistant professor of biology;
* "Green Economics: An Optimistic Approach to Human Interactions with the Environment," Feb. 16, by Timothy Considine, professor of mineral economics; and
* "Creating an Environmental 'Intelligence' Center," Feb. 23, by Eric Barron, professor of geosciences and director of the Earth Systems Science Center.
For information, call (814) 863-8453, e-mail science@psu.edu, or check the Web at http://www.science.psu.edu/alert/news.html.
Discussion focuses
on refugees in West Africa
Jon Hubbard, research director of Center for Victims of Torture, will speak from 4 to 5 p.m. Jan. 18 in S209 Henderson Building on the University Park campus.
The lecture is titled "Helping Those Who Have Lost Community: Applied Research on Refugees in West Africa."
The Center for Human Development and Family Research in Diverse Contexts and
the Department of Comparative and International Education are sponsoring
the event.
Gerontology Colloquia
will begin on Jan. 23
The Spring 2002 Gerontology Colloquia Series will feature a number of speakers making free presentations on issues of aging.
With the exception of the Feb. 6, 13 and 27 presentations, all will be held from noon to 1 p.m. in 108 Wartik Laboratory on the University Park campus and videoconferenced to Room CG 623 at Hershey Medical Center. Those will be held at Hershey Medical Center and videoconferenced to Wartik Laboratory.
The speaker schedule follows:
Jan. 23: Robert Weech-Maldonado, assistant professor of health policy and administration, "The Impact of Quality on Nursing Home Costs: Is there a Tradeoff?";
Jan. 30: Elizabeth Braungart, NIA predoctoral fellow, Behavior Problems in Dementia: Stability of Daily Reports Over Three Months," and Dwayne Brandon, NIA predoctoral fellow, "Individual Differences in Blood Pressure and Well-being in African-Americans";
Feb. 6: Anne Hawkins, professor of humanities, "Euthanasia, Hospice and Pathography";
Feb. 13: Kathleen Fisher, assistant professor, "Mental Health Disorders for Rural Elders in Public Housing";
Feb. 20: Steven M. Boker, assistant professor of psychology, University of Notre Dame, "Fitting Models of Self-regulating Processes to Repeated Observations: Factor Invariance and Dynamic Invariance";
Feb 27: Edward O. Bixler, professor of psychiatry, "Sleep and Wakefulness: Effects of Age";
March 13: Jason Allaire, postdoctoral fellow, "Going Beyond the Obvious: Intraindividual Variability as the Lost Information in Studies of Aging";
March 20: Arlene Katz, instructor in social medicine, Harvard Medical School, "Council of Elders";
March 27: Lori Frank, research scientist, MEDTAP International Inc., "Privately Funded Research and the Conduct of Science";
April 3: Maximiliane E. Szinovacz, research professor, The Glennan Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Eastern Virginia Medical School, "Retirement -- Marital and Familial Contexts";
April 10: John Horn, professor of psychology, University of Southern California, "Search for Quintessential Expressions of Human Intelligence: No g But Maybe Expertise Abilities"; and
April 17: Kaarin Anstey, research fellow, Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute, University of New South Wales, and Helen Christensen, Center for Mental Health Research, The Australian National University, "Eight-Year Changes in Sensory and Cognitive Performance in Very Old Adults: Results from the Australian Longitudinal Study of Aging."
Harvard research fellow
to discuss sustainability
Robert W. Corell will speak on "Science and Technology for Sustainability: A Strategy to Address the Challenges of a Changing World" from 3 to 4:25 p.m. Friday, Jan. 18, in 111 Wartik Laboratory on the University Park campus.
Robert Corell is a senior research fellow at Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs in the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. The talk is sponsored by the Environmental Consortium.
Professor to talk
about Douglass' narrative
The Comparative Literature Luncheon, a weekly informal lunchtime gathering of students, faculty and other members of the University community, has announced the next speaker in this semester's series.
Richard Kopley, associate professor of English, will speak on "Additional Allusions in Frederick Douglass' Narrative: The Declaration of Independence and Poe's 'The Telltale Heart'" on Jan. 21.
The free event begins with lunch from 12:15 p.m. to 12:40 p.m. in 102 Kern Building on the University Park campus.
Participants may bring their own lunch or buy something in Kern Cafeteria. Coffee and tea are provided.
The speaker will begin at about 12:40 p.m.
For information, e-mail Daniel Walden at dxw8@psu.edu.
Lunchtime discussion
focuses on Zero Tolerance
Jacqueline A. Stefkovich, professor of education, will lead a discussion on the issue of Zero Tolerance policies and practices concerning drugs and weapons in the public schools at noon, Thursday, Jan. 24, in the Faculty Staff Club at The Nittany Lion Inn, University Park.
She will focus on how these policies and practices help, and how they can be overextended to create a climate of general intolerance in schools. The event is open to the public.
Nonmembers will be charged $2 additional over the Faculty Staff Club-account lunch price, which is $7 for a full buffet and $5.50 for the light buffet.
To assist with seating, call (814) 865-8563 or e-mail Tammy Homan at fsclub@psu.edu by 9 a.m. Jan. 24 with attendance plans.
Teaching with Technology
series begins Jan. 24
A free lunchtime Teaching with Technology seminar series, showcasing how faculty members are using digital media in the classroom, begins Jan. 24 on the University Park campus.
Each will be presented from noon to 1 p.m. in 141 Computer Building. The series, sponsored by the Center for Academic Computing and Center for Education Technology Services, will offer these topics:
* Jan. 24: "Peer Instruction Using an Electronic Response System in Large Lecture Classes," presented by Stephen J. Piazza, assistant professor, Departments of Kinesiology, Mechanical Engineering, and Orthopedics and Rehabilitation, and the Center for Locomotion Studies;
* Feb. 22: "Technology and Teacher Education," presented by Christian Penny, instructor and supervisor of teacher education, Department of Curriculum and Instruction; and
* March 29: "Earth 101 -- Natural Disasters in (and beyond) the Classroom," presented by Kevin Furlong, professor of geosciences, and Jaime Whitlock, doctoral degree student, geosciences.
Each half-hour presentation is followed by a question-and-answer period. Participants should feel free to bring lunch; beverages will be provided.
Register online at http://cac.psu.edu/training/. A Penn State Access Account is required for registration.
For information, visit http://cac.psu.edu/fmc/teach or e-mail fmc@psu.edu.
Chemical Engineering series runs to April 23
The Department of Chemical Engineering Spring 2002 Seminar Series has planned a number of speakers for 10 a.m. Tuesdays in 140 Fenske Laboratory on the University Park campus.
The schedule follows:
* Jan. 29: "An Information Theoretic Approach to Temporal Gene Expression Analysis," by Raj Acharya, professor of chemical engineering;
* Feb. 12: "Enantioselective Chemistry on Naturally Chiral Surfaces," by Andrew J. Gellman, professor, Carnegie Mellon University;
* Feb. 26: "Novel polymeric materials and strategies for DNA sequencing and genotyping by capillary/microchip electrophoresis," by Annelise E. Barron, professor, Northwestern University;
* March 12: "Novel Mechanisms in Biological Adhesion," by Deborah E. Leckband, professor, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign;
* March 26: "Metabolic Control Engineering," by James C. Liao, professor, University of California-Los Angeles;
* April 9: "Engineering the Chemistry of Vapor Deposition," by Karen K. Gleason, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and
* April 23: "Enabling Microscopic Codes to Perform Several Tasks," by Yannis G. Kevrekidis, professor, Princeton University.
For information, call Barbara Abbott at (814) 865-2577 or e-mail blache@engr.psu.edu.
Domestic violence, employee
assistance explored
Anne K. Ard, director of the Centre County Women's Resource Center, will discuss "Building Safer Families and Communities" from 12:10 to 1:10 p.m. Jan. 30 in the conference room of the Hintz Family Alumni Center on the University Park campus.
Ard's presentation kicks of the spring semester's Brown Bag Luncheons, a series of free programs sponsored by the Commission for Women Staff Issues Committee. Her presentation will explore the dynamics of domestic violence and its impact on women and children, and tell what resources are available.
Cassandra Kitko, health promotions specialist, will present the next session, "Understanding the Employee Assistance Program, from 12:10 to 1:10 p.m. March 13 in the Hintz Family Alumni Center conference room.
Kitko will explain the benefits and procedures for using the free, confidential program to resolve personal concerns.
To register, call Carol Griffin at (814) 863-6188 or e-mail cjg3@psu.edu. Seating is limited. Coffee and dessert will be served.
Feminist scholar will
explore 'remote intimacy'
Jennifer Terry, associate professor of comparative studies in the humanities at The Ohio State University, will discuss "Remote Intimacy" at 3 p.m. Feb. 12, in 129A HUB-Robeson Center on the University Park campus.
The event, part of the Feminist Scholar Speaker Series, is free to the public.
For information, call (814) 863-4025 or check the Web at
http://womensstudies.la.psu.edu/calendar.html.