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.

Hybrid Seminar—Nathan Schroeder: Evolution of development and anatomy in nematodes

  • Monday, February 28, 2022. 12 pm.
  • Online or in Person, 601 Fairchild.
  • “Nematodes comprise one of the largest animal phyla on Earth and include both model organisms and important parasites of animals and plants. Despite their presence across habitats, nematodes have a very conserved body plan. However, even amongst this relative conservation, lay intriguing examples of anatomical changes across evolution. Using the model organism C. elegans as a central comparator, I will describe two examples of developmental and anatomical changes during this seminar.” More information here.

Reconstructing Planet Formation Using Dynamical and Chemical Fossils

  • Monday, February 28, 2022. 4:05 to 5:05 pm.
  • Pupin 1402. 
  • “The dynamical and chemical signatures of a planetary system are independent fossil records of its past. Orbital parameters are vestiges of its formation and dynamical evolution, while chemical compositions of planets and hosts are fingerprints of the stellar nursery and the protoplanetary disk where they formed. In this talk, I will explain the cutting-edge techniques I am using to measure orbital parameters and compositions and how to leverage them to reconstruct the history of planetary systems at a population scale.” More information here.

The Future of FinTech: Entering and Innovating in a Fast-Growing Industry

  • Monday, February 28, 2022. 7 to 8 pm.
  • Online event  Register here.
  • “The financial technology (FinTech) industry is rapidly expanding and changing. New companies and investors are entering the space every day, while legacy financial service companies are churning out innovative new products and practices to compete. The space offers ample opportunity, but it can feel daunting to enter and carve a new nichel.” More information here.

Intersectionality in Racism and Public Health

  • Tuesday, March 1, 2022. 5:30 to 7 pm.
  • Online event Register here.
  • “This panel discussion explores intersectionality—the simultaneous effects of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and other social and personal categories of identity. Panelists will explore the tenets of intersectional theory and the necessity for public health to take an intersectional approach to our research, policy, and practice.” More information here.

Observational Frontiers in Planet Formation

  • Wednesday, March 2, 2022. 4:05 to 5:05 pm.
  • Pupin 1402. 
  • “The discoveries of thousands of exoplanets have presented a number of puzzles about their properties and origins. Until recently, though, many of the key assumptions of planet formation models could not be examined directly. Through analysis of deep, high resolution images of protoplanetary disks from ALMA and VLT/SPHERE, we are now finding that the natal environments of planets are far more dynamic and varied than previously thought.” More information here.

Small Island Sustainability

  • Thursday, March 3, 2022. 6 to 7 pm.
  • Online event Register here.
  • “This will be a Q&A panel event with four activists from small island nations to discuss the impacts of climate change on small island nations. This panel will focus on solidarity efforts between various islands, adaptation methods to combat sea level rise, natural disasters, and internal displacement, and what we can do to prioritize the voices of island nations in climate action.” More information here.

BME Seminar: Mitra Hartmann, Ph.D., Northwestern University: Building a rat from the outside in: sensory signals, neural coding, and sensor motion

  • Friday, March 4, 2022. 11 am.
  • Mudd 833.
  • “Many rodents use active motions of their facial vibrissae (whiskers) to tactually explore the environment.”…“In this talk, I will describe studies that examine how a rodent might use information about whisker bending to extract the 3D contour of an object, and how primary sensory neurons of the trigeminal ganglion (Vg) represent these mechanical signals.” More information here.

Chris Mitchell – England’s First Astrology Book: Roger of Hereford’s Judicial Astrology

  • Friday, March 4, 2022. 12 to 1:30 pm.
  • Online event  Register here.
  • “Hiding in Latin for over eight centuries, England’s first textbook of astrological techniques finally enters the English-speaking world through the masterful translation of Chris Mitchell.” More information here.

Economies of Breath with Fields Harrington

  • Friday, March 4, 2022. 2 to 3:30 pm.
  • Online event  Register here.
  • “During this talk, fields will examine the social implications for a science of work and the biography of the spirometer. The spirometer’s measure of lung capacity is inextricable from the racializing surveillance of statistical law, by which entropy, energy and research into fatigue all have contributed to the creation of categories of difference and determined values of vitality.” More information here.

Bird in the Vacuum! What’s it doing there? via Bwarchives