Periodic Tables | PT Archive
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April 10, 2012
PoWeR: The Physiology of Wearable Robots
Speaker: Dr. Greg Sawicki, Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Joint Department Biomedical Engineering, NC State University and UNC-Chapel Hill
Are exoskeleton suits such as the one in Iron Man a future reality? Will humans favor robotic limbs in place of their own? This Periodic Tables Cafe focused on the science and physiology of wearable robotics and what it could mean for humans with disabilities. Dr. Greg Sawicki, Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering at NC State and UNC, was on hand to discuss his research into bio-inspired lower-limb robotics and how these devices can assist both healthy and impaired human locomotion.
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March 13, 2012
Science of Snot
Speaker: Dr. Richard Superfine, Taylor-Williams Distinguished Professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy, UNC-Chapel Hill
Snot – or its scientific name – mucus, is the barrier between your body and the world. Ever wonder why your stomach does not eat itself? Mucus! Why the bacteria in your gut do not give you an infection? Mucus! How your lungs stay sterile, but the bread on the counter turns moldy? That’s right – Mucus. Join Dr. Superfine as he discusses mucus the wonder fluid, what we know, don’t know – and what goes wrong when mucus cannot do its job.
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February 14, 2012
Speed Dating: You Can't Always Get What You Want
Choosing a mate is one of the most important decisions a female can make. In the natural world, females choose males for a variety of reasons. Males aren’t perfect, however, and females must make compromises based on what is best for them and their kids. Dr. Karin Pfennig studies how females make these compromises using desert dwelling frogs, spadefoot toads, which are faced with making rapid mating decisions that can have lifetime consequences. Her work reveals that differences in how females compromise during mate choice contribute to biodiversity and can help us understand something about our own decision making (though perhaps not human mate choice!) as well.
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January 10, 2012
The Science of the Mind Body Connection: The Secret Life of Your Immune System Speaker: Staci Bilbo, Assistant Professor of Psychology & Neuroscience, Duke Institute for Brain Science, Duke University
The immune system continually “talks” to the brain. This brain-immune conversation occurs during illness, injury, or infection, but also during health and well being, and thereby has a continual and powerful influence on mood, motivation, and learning, during both health and disease. Join Dr. Staci Bilbo, Assistant Professor of Psychology & Neuroscience at Duke University, as she discusses the science of the mind-body connection and the life of your immune system.
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December 13, 2011
Ancient Mayan Calendar & Prophecies: Facts, Questions, Conjectures and Lies Speaker: David Mora Marin, a Linguistic Anthropologist at UNC-Chapel Hill
Dr. David Mora Marin, a Linguistic Anthropologist at UNC-Chapel Hill, introduced the ancient Mayan calendar and described the nature of the evidence pertaining to the "end date" and the ancient Mayan prophecies. Marin reviewed the recent claims by non-Mayan "prophets" about the Mayan calendar and pointed out a number of inaccuracies from those claims. He also discussed the big picture of Mayan cosmology, based on a couple of stimulating case studies from the past two decades of Mayan epigraphic research and what the ancient scribes and astronomers were really thinking.
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November 8, 2011
Pandemics: Real Epidemiology in Hollywood Reels Speaker: Katia Koelle, Assistant Professor, Biology Department, Duke University
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October 11, 2011
RACE - Shaping Your Children's Perspective on Skin Color Speaker: April Harris-Britt, Licensed Psychologist, AHB Psychological Services, PLLC
Children as young as 6 months of age make judgments about others based on skin color. What's a parent to do? What's a parent to say? April Harris-Britt, Ph.D., a licensed clinical psychologist and researcher at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who studies racial socialization and racial identity, spoke about the growing body of research which argues that parents need to talk openly and explicitly about race with their children from a young age.
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September 13, 2011
HYDROFRACKING: How Pigs and Drilling Rigs Are Alike Speaker: Rob Jackson, Chemical Engineer & Professor at Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment; Director for the Center for Global Change, Duke University
Hydraulic fracturing,
or Hydrofracking, is a process that uses water to help extract natural
gas from shale and other rocks. Considerable controversy surrounds the
current use of hydraulic fracturing in the United States, including
issues of potential contamination of drinking water. Environmental
safety and health concerns and are currently being debated at the both
the national and state levels, including in North Carolina, where the
state legislature is considering making it legal.
Dr. Rob Jackson, Nicholas Professor of Global Environmental Change and director of Duke University's Center on Global Change gave us an indepth look into the science behind hydrofracking and what his research is telling us about this controversial technology.
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August 9, 2011
The Wild Life of Our Bodies: Predators, Parasites & Partners The Shape Who We Are Today Speaker: Rob Dunn, Author and Biologist at NC State University
We evolved in a wilderness of parasites, mutualists, and pathogens, but we no longer see ourselves as being part of nature and the broader community of life. In the name of progress and clean living, we scrub much of nature off our bodies and try to remove whole kinds of life—parasites, bacteria, mutualists, and predators—to allow ourselves to live free of wild danger. Nature, in this new world, is the landscape outside, a kind of living painting that is pleasant to contemplate but nice to have escaped.
Check out Rob's book The Wild Life of our Bodies.
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July 12, 2011
Bed Bug Basics: Our New Bedfellows Speaker: Coby Schal - Professor of Entomology, NC State
Recently, bed bugs have resurged as a serious new and growing
problem, not only in North America, but also globally. Unlike
infestations in the early part of the 20th century, which were limited
to places with high turnover, such as hotels, military bases, homeless
shelters, and prisons, bed bug infestations are now being reported from a
variety of locations in the urban and suburban environments.
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June 14, 2011
Insights into Brain Evolution: Signing in Birds and Spoken Language in Humans Speaker: Erich Jarvis, Associate Professor, Department of Neurobiology, Duke University
Erich Jarvis is an unconventional, award-winning neuroscientist at
Duke University whose career demonstrates the power of bringing
open-mindedness into the lab. Prior to pursuing science, Jarvis studied
dance and choreography at New York City's High School for the Performing
Arts (made famous in the film Fame). Jarvis and his colleagues have
discovered that inside a hummingbird's brain—even though that brain is
very tiny—is a sophisticated neural network that allows hummingbirds to
teach each other to sing.
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May 10, 2011
In a Race Against Time: Making Science Work on the Timescale of an Individual's Disease Speaker: Josh Sommer, Executive Director of the Chordoma Foundation
New technologies in genomics, computing, synthetic biology, etc. have put cures for virtually any disease within the realm of possibility. Unfortunately, the way we practice science is not designed to move on the timescale of an individual’s disease. Josh Sommer, Executive Director of the Chordoma Foundation, which he co-founded after being diagnosed with a clival chordoma in 2006, has since been in a scientific race against time.
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April 12, 2011
Nanofoods: Coming Soon to a Fridge Near You Speaker: Dr. David Berube, Professor of Science and Technology Communication at NCSU.
Nanotechnology is changing the way we think about food. It’s already
having an impact on several aspects of food science, from how food is
grown to how it’s packaged. Companies are already developing futuristic
drinks with dial-up flavors to low calorie ice cream. But does the body
metabolize these nanofood additives and do they present a greater risk
for the consumer and the environment?
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photo by Muhammad Mahdi Karim |
March 8, 2011
The Beauty and Mystery of the Honey Bee Speaker: Jimmy Chalmers - Honey Beevangelist
Why has this small insect captured the heart of humans for over
8000yrs? Once you get a view behind the curtain you will experience a
world of systematic elegance and unmatched complexity. From the
necessity of each member to the present eco-emergency you will have a
new appreciation for the honey bee. You might even learn to appreciate
the pain and shock of the bee sting.
Jimmy Chalmers is the Honey Beevangelist. His lifelong love
& partnership with this tiny dynamo has influenced his world view
of community as well as corporate functions. Listen to his stories as
well as his passion and you too might be converted to the belief
that the honey bee is one of the greatest mysteries of this planet.
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February 8, 2011
Spintronics: Can Chemists Put a Spin on Molecular Electronics? Speaker: David Shultz, Director, Center for Molecular Spintronics, NC State University
New electronic devices which operate by taking advantage of an electron's spin (in addition to its charge) are envisioned. One such device is already in use as a "read/write head" in a magnetic hard-drive. Future "spintronic" devices might allow for components that are smaller, faster, consume less energy and have "instant on" capabilities. David Shultz provided an interesting look into the fundamental elements of spin, magnetism and the future of spintronic devices.
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December 14, 2010 Here Is a Human Being: At the Dawn of Personal Genomics Speaker: Misha Angrist, Assistant Professor of the Practice at the Duke University Institute for Genome Sciences & Policy
DNA technology has already changed our health care, the food we eat, our criminal justice system - and we are only in the first inning. In the new book HERE IS A HUMAN BEING: At the Dawn of Personal Genomics, Misha Angrist brings us the first inside story of the Personal Genome Project. Led by Harvard geneticist George Church, the Project aims to sequence the entire genomic catalogue of ten individuals, and ultimately 100,000, with the hope of better understanding how our DNA gives rise to our physical traits and medical conditions. Misha was on hand to explore the complicated issues surrounding personal genomics and what it means to be human.
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November 9, 2010
On The Grid:A Plot of Land, an Average Neighborhood, and the Systems That Make Our World Work Speaker: Scott Huler, Author, On the Grid
"Wires, pipes, roads, and water support the lives we lead, but the average person doesn't know where they go or even how they work. Our systems of infrastructure are not only shrouded in mystery, many are woefully out of date. In On the Grid, Scott Huler takes the time to understand the systems that sustain our way of life, starting from his own quarter of an acre in North Carolina and traveling as far as Ancient Rome."
Join us for a unique Periodic Tables as DG Martin, host of UNC-TV's North Carolina Bookwatch program, will be interviewing Scott Huler about his latest book. The event will be filmed for a later broadcast on UNC-TV.
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October 12, 2010 The Science of Fine Dining Speaker: Matt Novak, Biomedical Engineering Ph.D. Candidate at Duke University
For centuries, the world of fine dining has been defined by very rigid rules and techniques for how food can be prepared. Recently though, there has been a surge in chefs who have chosen to question the presentation and preparation of food using an arsenal of different scientific tools.
Matthew Novak, a graduate student in biomedical engineering at Duke University, recounted his time spent cooking with Chef Grant Achatz, one of the world's leading practitioners of this new progressive cuisine at his Chicago restaurant, Alinea. He lent insight into the new scientific methods being employed in the world of cuisine and even had a few interactive and tasty demos for everyone to enjoy!
Read more about Matt's summer internship at Alinea in Chicago, considered by many to be the best restaurant in the US.
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September 14, 2010
Alcohol and the Adolescent Brain: Dude, where's my car? Speaker: Scott Swartzwelder, Duke Institute for Brain Sciences
Recent MRI studies have shown that adolescence is a period of intensive brain development, and this research has generated new public policy debates on topics ranging from criminal liability to the drinking age. Dr. Swartzwelder reviewed his studies of the effects of alcohol on the adolescent brain, and suggested a context for the ongoing public policy debates. |
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August 10, 2010
Bonobo Handshake: Love and Adventure in the Congo Speaker: Vanessa Woods, Duke University
"A young woman follows her fiancé to war-torn Congo to study extremely endangered bonobo apes—who teach her a new truth about love and belonging."
Author and scientist Vanessa Woods discussed and signed copies of her new book, Bonobo Handshake: A Memoir of Love and Adventure in the Congo. Like chimpanzees, bonobos are related to humans by 98.7%. But in contrast to chimpanzees, who live in male dominated societies where infanticide and lethal aggression are observed, bonobos live in highly tolerant and peaceful societies due to female dominance that maintains group cohesion and regulates tension through sexual behavior. How much of us is chimpanzee and how much is bonobo? |
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July 13, 2010
Data-Driven Parenting - spilling the statistics of your lives on the Web Speaker: Ben MacNeill, Trixie Tracker
Trixie Tracker is a data tracking web and phone app that is part experimentation and part self-help allowing parents the opportunity to become their own forensic accountants. Created by stay-at-home-dad, Ben MacNeill, Trixie Tracker helps parents uncover and understand patterns in their baby's sleep and daily schedules.
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June 8, 2010
Ocean Oil Spills: They have happened before - and we haven't learned much Speaker: Fred Pfaender, Professor of Environmental Microbiology, University of North Carolina School of Public Health
Oil spills have been around for a long time. Dr. Pfaender discussed what the spill means for the Gulf and how it might be cleaned up with his ideas. Dr. Pfaender also discussed why we can't seem to be able to learn from past experiences.
Dr. Pfaender is a petroleum microbiologist who has been involved in many oil spills starting with the Amoco Cadiz grounding in Normandy in the 70's to Ixtoc on the Gulf of Mexico. He was also one of EPA's advisors for the clean up of the Exxon Valdez in Alaska. His special expertise is how microorganisms break down contaminants, including oil.
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Photo: Joan Silk |
May 11, 2010
The Importance of Being Dad: Paternal Care in Primates Speaker: Dr. Susan Alberts, Associate Professor in the Department of Biology at Duke University
Although human males often get criticized for being "deadbeat dads", the truth is that compared to most mammals, human males are simply outstanding fathers. Join us as Dr. Susan Alberts discusses why we don't generally expect male mammals to provide paternal care (answer: because we think they usually can't recognize their own offspring), and the unusual and surprising case of paternal care in a primate species where we least expect to find it.
In the baboons of the Amboseli basin of southern Kenya males differentiate their own offspring from other males' offspring, and provide care to them. Dr. Alberts will talk about why this should be so, and what it means about males of all species and their tendencies to provide offspring care.
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April 13, 2010
Why Dogs Love Us Speaker: Dr. Brian Hare, Assistant Professor in Evolutionary Anthropology at Duke University
More has been discovered about dog intelligence in the last decade than the preceding 100 years. The Duke Canine Cognition Center was founded to continue studying how dogs understand their world, how dogs might have evolved, and how we might help dogs be even more successful at helping people. Dr. Brian Hare shared some of his work comparing dogs to various species like wolves and chimpanzees.
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March 9, 2010 Nanomaterials in Ecosystems: Should we worry? Speaker: Dr. Emily Bernhardt, Assistant Professor of Biology at Duke University and Program Leader at the Center for Environmental Implication of NanoTechnology
Nanotechnology has the enormous potential to change our society. New advances in medicine, energy production, environmental cleanup and better access to clean water are just a few of the many possibilities. According to the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies, the number of products that use nanomaterials has increased almost 380% since 2006. But, is it the same special properties that make nanoscale materials so useful that also pose potential risks to humans and the environment? Dr. Emily Bernhardt from the Center for the Environmental Implications of NanoTechnology discussed with us the fate of nanomaterials in our environment and why you should care.
View a Slidecast of this presentation here
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February 9, 2010 GM Foods: The Long Path from the Lab, to the Field and Finally to your Plate Speakers: Dr. Volker Mittendorf and Demetra Vlachos, Syngenta Biotechnology Inc
Genetic engineering allows the delivery of genes into plants and results in the production of a number of initial genetically modified (GM) organisms with potentially useful new traits. These are screened rigorously in the lab and the field in order to select the most suitable crop. Dr. Volker Mittendorf and Demetra Vlachos from Syngenta Biotechnology, Inc. discussed the regulatory criteria, breeding efforts, and role that biotechnology companies play in developing GM crops. |
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January 12, 2010
Spirits of the Night: Getting to Know an Ancient Relative Speaker: Sarah Zehr, Research Manager at the Duke Lemur Center
The Duke Lemur Center has had an active conservation program for 20 years with over 80% of their lemur colony involved in scientific research. Graduate students and research scientists are involved in projects studying feeding adaptations, vocalizations, reproductive behavior, vertical clinging and leaping, and vision acuity. Dr. Sarah Zehr from the Duke Lemur Center shared the creative and non-invasive ways data is collected on these endangered animals. |
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December 8, 2009
Hide and Seek in the Open Sea: Vision and Camouflage in Marine Animals Speaker: Dr. Sönke Johnsen, Associate Professor of Biology, Duke University
The open ocean, which comprises over 99.5% of the earth’s liveable space, is an exceptionally difficult place to hide. The background is featureless, predation is intense, and there is nothing to cower behind. Complete invisibility is usually the only successful strategy. Dr. Sönke Johnsen shared a colorful presentation on how animals in the open ocean have evolved a number of beautiful tricks that are absent or rare in other environments. |
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November 10, 2009
Masking the Swine Flu: A Textiles Approach Speaker: Dr. Stephen Michielsen, Associate Professor in Textile Engineering, Chemistry and Science
Imagine a world in which germs are eliminated before infection occurs. Are smart wearable technologies the answer to preventing the spread of the swine flu? Dr. Stephen Michielsen from the College of Textiles at NC State talked about a mask he has created that, when exposed to light, kills viruses and bacteria.
View a Slidecast of this presentation here
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October 13, 2009
Science on Tap: The Chemistry of Beer Speakers: Andy Miller, Triangle Brewing Company and Nate Cowles, Brew Master Store
This month we tapped into the science of brewing beer and discovered how a few simple ingredients (yeast, water, hops and grains) can make a variety of brews. We also discussed the importance of sterilization and the microbiology of yeast culturing. |
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September 8, 2009
The Science of Hurricanes Speakers: Chris Hohmann, Chief Meteorologist, WTVD ABC11 and Dr. Ryan Boyles, Director and State Climatologist, State Climate Office of North Carolina
Should we be attempting to control the weather? Is there more to a hurricane than just destruction? Join us for a discussion with ABC's Chief Meteorologist, Chris Hohmann and Dr. Ryan Boyles from the State Climate Office to discuss the history of North Carolina hurricanes, what role they play in our ecosystem and whether or not hurricane intervention is a wise choice.
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August 11, 2009
The Nuclear Renaissance Speaker: Dr. David McNelis, Director of the Center for Sustainable Energy, Environment and Economic Development, UNC Institute for the Environment Is America ready to go nuclear? What are our concerns? Dr. David McNelis, director of the Center for Sustainable Energy, Environment and Economic Development at the UNC-Chapel Hill Institute for the Environment and UNC research professor, talked about the current state - and possible future - of nuclear energy.
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Uncovering the Mysteries of Human Fertility: On Sex, Fertile Days, and Why the Rabbit Dies Speaker: Allen Wilcox, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
Everyone knows where babies come from, but few people appreciate the extraordinary and in some cases completely weird processes that have to work right in order for a new life to form.
Dr. Wilcox discussed the key steps of human conception and early pregnancy including the window of days in which a woman can conceive, some of the factors that affect a couple's chances of conceiving, and the new options for infertile couples created by modern technology.
View a slidecast of this presentation here |
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June 9, 2009
Bioremediation - Using Bacteria to Clean Up the Environment Speaker: Pat Hicks, Wavefront Energy and Environmental Services
Would you believe that fungus and bacteria are naturally taking care of our world's contamination problem? Learn all about bioremediation with Pat Hicks of Wavefront Energy and Environmental Services.
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May 12, 2009
On the Origin of Species, Really Speaker: Mohamed Noor, Duke University
Hear Duke evolutionary biologist Mohamed Noor discuss the work that made him one of only a dozen scientists honored with the Darwin-Wallace Medal last year. This prize is given only once every fifty years to those twelve scientists who have done the most to advance Darwin's thinking.
Although Darwin's book title suggested that he provided us with insights on the origin of species, in fact, he only focused on the process of divergence within species and assumed the same process "eventually" led to something that could be called a new species.
View a slidecast of this presentation here. |
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April 14, 2009
Waves of Ocean Literacy Speaker: Cynthia Cudaback, NC State University
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March 10, 2009
Rekindling Wood Energy in America Speaker: Dan Richter, Duke University
Most people agree that we need to switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy, but few agree on the best method. The rate and sustainability of this transition will be determined in the next few years. In Europe, the renewable energy “heavyweight” is widely recognized to be advanced wood combustion (AWC); in America, wood is not even mentioned in most discussions about renewables. Two decades of European experience with AWC demonstrate that wood is “shovel ready” to contribute to the renewable energy portfolio of the United States.
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FEBRUARY 10, 2009
Transforming Learning Through Computational Thinking
Shodor is a Durham-based organization devoted to creating real world hands-on learning projects for students both in Durham and around the world. Bob will share his personal story as to why he left tenured academics and created Shodor and show you how he is helping to transform science and mathematics via the internet and network technologies sush as the National Science Digital Library.
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January 13, 2009
Buzzed: Using Fruit Flies to Understand Alcohol Addiction Speaker: Kapil Ramachandran, Duke Univ. Freshman
What is the alcohol tolerance of a fruit fly? How does a drunk fruit fly act? What does such an experiment look like? As a 16-year old, Kapil Ramachandran discovered that eliminating a specific protein in fruit flies stops them from building a tolerance to alcohol. Learn why this simple discovery won a national award, and what it could mean for our understanding and treatment of addiction. |
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DECEMBER 9, 2008
Human Enhancement Beyond Our Natural Abilities
Ethical issues of performance enhancing drugs and sports equipment development. Why is a carbon fiber bike OK and a carbon fiber leg not OK? |
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NOVEMBER 11, 2008
Using Dino-Science to Find Extra-Terrestrials Speaker: Dr. Mary Schweitzer
Did life never evolve on other planets? Did it evolve then go extinct? Or is it thriving now? Dr. Mary H. Schweitzer, Associate Professor of Paleontology at NC State, will share her expertise in the field of Astrobiology and explain how we can use the tools of molecular paleontology to detect biomarkers not only in fossils but also in extra-terrestrial samples. |
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The Invisibility Cloak Speaker: Dr. Steven Cummer “We’ve devised a recipe for an acoustic material that would essentially open up a hole in space and make something inside that hole disappear from sound waves,” says Steven Cummer, a scientist at Duke’s Pratt School of Engineering. Such a cloak might hide submarines in the ocean from detection by sonar or improve the acoustics of a concert hall by effectively flattening a structural beam.
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