protect these tallbois; in other news, i miss nature (and central park doesn’t count sorry)

We’re back with Science Fair, Bwog’s weekly curated list of interesting STEM-related talks, symposiums, and events happening on campus. For science and non-science majors alike, our list will bring you events that will satisfy your scientific curiosity for everything from astronomy to zoology, and everything in between.

For anyone, related-majors and non-majors alike:

  • “The Process of Making Breakthroughs in Engineering,” Armstrong Memorial Lecture delivered by Thomas Kailath (Stanford)
    • 2-4pm, Tuesday, September 25, Schapiro CEPSR, Davis Auditorium; learn more here
    • Lecture Abstract: “This presumptuous title was first proposed as a challenge, followed by an irresistible bribe! Of course, there are no magic formulas for making breakthroughs in any field. However, it is possible to gain useful insights from past experiences. I will go over a few case histories and draw some pointers from them.”
  • Geriatric Medicine: From Classroom to Bench to Bedside
    • 11:30am-12:30pm, Thursday, September 27, Allan Rosenfield Building, Room 440 (Medical Campus); learn more here
    • Event description: “The Columbia Aging Center (aging.columbia.edu) presents a seminar by Dr. Evelyn C. Granieri, Chief of the Division of Geriatric Medicine and Aging. Dr. Granieri’s interests are in medical and geriatrics education, programmatic development, advocacy and interdisciplinary care of frail and vulnerable older adults.”
  • Regulation: The Responsible Control of Drugs – A Public Presentation of a New Report by the Global Commission on Drug Policy
    • 4-6pm, Wednesday, September 26, Faculty House, Floor 2; learn more here
    • Event description: “The new report by the Global Commission on Drug Policy provides a practical roadmap that details how governments can take control of currently illegal drug markets through responsible regulation, thereby weakening criminal organizations that now profit from them.”

  • Fighting Back Against Attacks On Climate Science
    • 6:30-8:30pm, Monday, September 24, Jerome Greene Hall Room 103
    • Note: registration has filled up, but the waitlist is available here. The event will also be streamed live at the link.
    • Topic Description: “Attacks on both the message and the messengers of climate science have been disturbingly resilient. Why is that? What are the best ways to reconnect sound science with clear-thinking public action on climate change?”

For more advanced students of the given subject:

  • Biological Sciences Seminar: “From Single Molecules to Single Cells: Imaging RNA molecules and RNP Complexes” by David Rueda (Imperial College London)
    • 12pm, Wednesday, September 26, 601 Fairchild; learn more here
    • Seminar Abstract: “Understanding how nucleic acids and proteins interact to regulate key cellular processes requires the ability to observe these interactions directly. The dynamic nature of many nucleic acid-protein interactions makes it challenging to study them with traditional bulk methods… To overcome the averaging problem, our group develops and applies single-molecule microscopy (SMM) approaches to monitor such interactions in real-time.”
  • Physics Seminar: “From LIGO-Virgo detections to the measurement of the expansion rate of the Universe” by Hsin-Yu Chen (Harvard)
    • 2:10pm, Monday, September 24, Pupin Hall Theory Center (8th floor); learn more here
    • Seminar Abstract: “In this talk, I will discuss the gravitational-wave detection statistics, the electromagnetic follow-up strategies, and focus on one of the many scientific outcomes enabled by the gravitational-wave/electromagnetic-wave multi-messenger astronomy–to measure the expansion rate of the Universe. In particular, I will talk about the precision of Hubble constant measured by this method and the expected challenges.”

redwoods via national geographic