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 anything from astronomy to zoology, and everything in between.

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

  • “Promises and Perils of Neuroprediction” presented by the Presidential Scholars in Society and Neuroscience
    • Event Information: Tuesday, April 16, 4-6pm, Faculty House, Click here to register
    • Event Details: “With the advent of neuroimaging and the continuing rapid development of other non-invasive brain measurements, neuroprediction [the use of neuroscientific data to predict human behavior] is increasingly a real-world phenomenon… In this seminar, four experts from neuroscience, law, and philosophy will discuss recent findings in neuroprediction research, the predictive power of brain-based evidence compared to behavioral evidence, as well as the ethical and legal concerns emerging from the entrance of neuroprediction in the courts of law.”
  • “1,000 Cut Journey – Using VR to fight racism” presented by Emerging Technologies Consortium and Women in Technology
    • Event Information: Friday, April 19, 12-1:30pm, Milstein Center Room LL002, Click here to register
    • Event details: “The Emerging Technologies Consortium and Women in Technology proudly present, 1,000 Cut Journey by Assistant Professor Courtney D. Cogburn. In this experience, the viewer becomes Michael Sterling, a black man, encountering racism as a young child, adolescent, and young adult. 1,000 Cut Journey premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2018 and is now exploring the use of the VR experience in affecting empathy, racial bias, structural competence, and behavior.”
  • “Aesthetic Science: A Conversation on Taste, Judgment, and Affect”
    • Event Information: Friday, April 19, 6-8pm, Fayerweather Room 513, Click here for more information
    • Event details: “Join historians Ardeta Gjikola and Alex Wragge-Morley as they discuss Wragge-Morley’s new book reinterpreting the role of aesthetic experience in scientific practice. Alex Wragge-Morley and Ardeta Gjikola will engage in a wide-ranging discussion about the place of taste, judgment, and sensory pleasure in the production of scientific knowledge.”

Intended for more advanced students of the given subject (but still open to all interested students):

  • “Biological timers set by sun and moon” Stephen Schuetze Memorial Lecture presented by Kristin Tessmar-Raible (University of Vienna)
    • Event information: Monday, April 15, 12pm, 601 Fairchild, Click here for more information
    • Event details: “The moon is an important timing cue for numerous marine species, ranging from brown and green algae to corals, worms, fishes and turtles. Using reverse genetic techniques, such as targeted genome mutagenesis and transgenesis, on candidate light receptors provides us with insight into the genes required for solar vs. lunar light detection.”
  • “Searching for continuous gravitational waves” presented by Maria Alessandra Papa and Bruce Allen (AEI Hanover, Germany)
    • Event information: Wednesday, April 17, 1pm, Pupin Room 705, Click here for more information
    • Event details: “LIGO/Virgo have issued the first gravitational wave catalogue that comprises 11 signals, all from the merger of compact objects. We expect however to see a broader variety of signal morphologies than the ones observed so far, reflecting a broader range of astrophysical phenomena… I will outline the main features of the detection problem — which is probably the most complex across the gravitational wave spectrum — , results to date and future prospects.”
  • “‘A Pervasive Dread’: Disease Emergence, Genetics, and Indigeneity in Northern Australia” presented by Warwick Anderson (University of Sydney)
    • Event information: Friday, April 19, 6:30-8:30pm, Fayerweather Room 411, Click here for more information
    • Event details: “The Anindilyakwa went from being Indigenous isolates, vulnerable to development, to genetic cosmopolitans, suffering the biological consequences of empire. MJD on Groote Eylandt raises issues of disease definition and framing, Indigenous genomics, the origin of the mutation, the contrast between Indigenous and scientific explanations and narratives, and practices of care in remote Indigenous communities. It compels us to connect Indigenous histories with histories of “race-mixing,” genetics, and medicalization.”

starry night via wikipedia