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.

Crop Diversity: Why We Need to Conserve and Use It

  • Monday, February 3, 11:00 am to 12:00 pm. 
  • The Forum, Room 315. Registration required.
  • Columbia Climate School experts will explore why crop diversity is so important for the past, present, and future of our world. The seminar will aim to highlight why crop diversity is currently threatened, and why its conservation is both necessary and beneficial. More information.

Physics Colloquium: “Free-Falling in Quantum Spacetime” with Dr. Maulik Parikh (Arizona State University)

  • Monday, February 3, 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm. 
  • Theory Center (8th floor of Pupin). No registration required. 
  • Dr. Parikh will demonstrate how Einstein’s theory of classical gravity is challenged when gravity is treated as a quantum field theory, because it becomes subject to random fluctuations. Dr. Parikh will discuss how this gravitation noise may lie within a range that can be sensed by detectors under construction and how it would provide the first evidence that gravity, and therefore spacetime itself, is also quantized. More information.

Food for Humanity Initiative: Five-Year Strategy Launch Webinar

  • Tuesday, February 4, 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm. 
  • Online. Registration required. 
  • Columbia Climate School will discuss their new Food for Humanity Initiative, which brings together experts working on projects related to food systems research, climate, environment, health, agriculture, and tradition. Their new five year strategy aims to ensure our food systems can nurture both humanity and the planet. More information.

Sustainable Fashion Exchange

  • Wednesday, February 5, 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm. 
  • The Foyer, 2nd floor of The Forum. Registration required. 
  • As it is New York Fashion Week, this event aims to explore fashion in a deeper sense to unite students, researchers, and industry professionals to explore how design and sustainability intersects. The evening will feature a brief panel discussion with experts from Columbia and Yale, followed by a networking hour. More information.

Air: Climate Change, Atmospherics, and the Unseen in India and West Papua

  • Thursday, February 6, 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm. 
  • Online. Registration required. 
  • In this interdisciplinary talk, speakers will discuss their recent work on climate change, atmospherics, and spirits in West Papua, India, and the UK. They will place contemporary discussions about climate change and atmospheric pollution into the broader history of how societies discuss environmental destruction. More information.

Outside of fun science events around campus, Butler is hosting two sessions this week to teach programming fundamentals to those who are new to it.

From Zero to Python: An Introduction to Scripting

  • Tuesday, February 4, 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm. 
  • In Person in Butler 208B. Registration encouraged.  
  • A two-hour workshop for those who want to start learning how to program. It will cover the basics of scripting in Python through interactive examples, time to experiment, and pair programming with the instructor. Further tutorials and resources will be provided.

R 101 for Social Scientists

  • Wednesday, February 5, 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm. 
  • In Person in Butler 306. Registration encouraged.  
  • This workshop will introduce R to those in various social science disciplines, as it is commonly used for statistical computing and graphics. The workshop is designed for those with no prior experience and will provide basic tools useful for further exploration. More information.

Science Fair via Madeline Douglas