Welcome back to Science Fair, Bwog’s weekly roundup of science events happening around campus. As always, email science@bwog.com if you want your event featured. Also, get your flu shot and COVID-19 booster if you haven’t!!

Diversity In Computing: Saba Gul On One-Size-Fails-All Tech

  • Monday, December 6, 2021 6 to 7 pm
  • Online event, link here
  • “In this talk, Saba Gul draws from her wide-ranging work around the globe as a Pakistani, female technologist to explore the concept of ‘social scalability’—building products that carry an awareness of the social systems they will become a part of, and that can respond to society-level needs, not only user-level ones. Using her own experience building products and startups as case studies, she discusses technology and business solutions to mitigate the harm perpetuated by tech platforms and their growth-at-all-costs approach—from features and algorithms, to product design, incentive structures and startup culture. She asks the question: How can technology startups create economic and societal value without wreaking havoc on users, public infrastructure, and economies?”

Climate Change and Global Mental Health

  • Tuesday, December 7, 2021 12 to 1 pm
  • Online event, link here
  • “This University Seminar will feature the interdisciplinary research from a panel of experts working on issues related to climate change and global mental health. Brief presentations will be followed by a moderated discussion of the priorities, challenges, and opportunities to address climate change and mitigate its impacts on mental health.”

Campus Update Forum For Faculty, Researchers, And Staff (Ed. note: this is regarding COVID-19 and Omicron)

  • Tuesday, December 7, 2021 4 to 5 pm
  • Online event, link here
  • “We invite you to join us for the next Campus Update Forum for faculty, researchers and staff on Tuesday, December 7, from 4 to 5 pm. via Zoom. This session will include up-to-date information regarding COVID-19, with a focus on status of the pandemic and the newly-identified omicron variant, as well as guidance about campus gatherings, travel policy and the new year. Panelists will include Melanie Bernitz, Wafaa El-Sadr, Donna Lynne. and Gerry Rosberg.”

Analyzing Athletics: How Stats Are Changing The Game (Hosted by the Columbia Science Review)

  • Tuesday, December 7, 2021 6:30 pm
  • Online event, link here
  • “Is fantasy sports your way to stay in the loop with the NBA, NFL, or NHL? Interested in the more statistical side of sports analytics? Join us for our panel-style event where we’ll be showcasing the complex landscape of sports analytics, predictions, and betting. Meghan Chayka, co-founder of Stathletes, Ivana Seric, PhD, Sr. Research Specialist, and Jeremy Abramson, PhD, research computer scientist at USC, will all be speaking. Hear their unique personal experiences from both the academic and industry side of sports analytics and listen to their thoughts about the trajectory of the field into the future.”

Workshop: Live Coding—Play Your Laptop Like An Instrument

  • Friday, December 10, 2021 12 to 2 pm
  • Hybrid event, link here
  • “Learn how to turn your laptop into a musical or visual instrument. This workshop covers the basics of Live Coding – the artistic exploration of turning the act of programming into a performative practice. Prereqs: No coding (or musical) background needed—just an interest!”

How To Grow A Field

  • Friday, December 10, 2021 2 to 4:30 pm
  • In-person event, Milstein Room 104
  • “Field is a bio-arts laboratory and research space that creates new discourse around our relationships with land and nature to rethink the homogeneity, order, and control present within the built environment. Field collaborators are biohackers, artists, engineers and architects who open source their findings to share recipes, fabrication processes and tools for working with new experimental and sustainable materials. “How to Grow a Field?” is a 2.5-hour workshop where participants will learn to make Field’s new grass-based bioplastic and experiment with a variety of fabrication processes with this material. In the process, Field will discuss the opportunities and challenges of working with biomaterials, and introduce participants to their ongoing research with robotic fabrication techniques for these new materials.”

Science Fair via Shane Maughn