learn how your brain processes britney spears in the narrative medicine talk on wednesday!

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:

  • India Global Design Challenge
    • Tuesday, October 2, 5:30pm, Davis Auditorium in Schapiro (kickoff to learn about actual upcoming design challenge, scheduled for Saturday, October 6th at 10am), more info here
    • Description: “Columbia Engineering is pleased to be working with Columbia’s Mumbai Global Center to launch a collaborative design challenge that will bring engineering, planning, public health, policy, business, and many other disciplines together… At the end of the Fall semester, three teams will be selected to travel to India in early January to further refine their designs. The winning team, which will be selected during the Spring semester, will have the opportunity to return to India in late May.”
  • Columbia Astronomy Outreach: “Slooh Your Way To The Stars”
    • Friday, October 5, 7pm, Pupin Hall, more info here
    • Description: “Slooh is an online observatory that livestreams telescope feeds for public viewing and use. We have a wealth of amateur astronomers discovering comets, tracking asteroids, and spotting supernovae. In this talk I will provide an overview of our technology and the unique ways our members are using Slooh telescopes.” Event followed by guided stargazing with telescopes (weather permitting)
  • Narrative Medicine Rounds: “Music and the Brain: How Our Lives in Sound Shape Who We Are” 
    • Wednesday  October 3, 5-7pm, Faculty Club of CUMC (Medical Campus), more info here
    • Description: “‘The talk will center on the ways sound processing in the brain is a reflection of brain health. How our brains respond to sound reveals each person’s unique narrative of their life experiences.”

  • Columbia’s new electric bus display
    • Tuesday, October 2, 11am-6pm, College Walk, more info here
    • Description: “This year, Columbia replaced many of its diesel-powered campus shuttles with battery-electric buses. The new fleet – among the first electric buses to be introduced in New York City – offers both environmental and health benefits, including reduced emissions and noise pollution, and improved air quality. You are invited to tour one of Columbia’s new electric buses on College Walk.”

For more advanced students of the given subject:

  • Biology Seminar: “On the Beauty and Impact of Astrophysics: from Gravitational waves to Biology” by Dr. Szabolcs Marka
    • Monday, October 1, 12pm, 601 Fairchild, more info here
    • Event abstract: “The discovery of gravitational waves and their multi-messenger fingerprint has opened tremendous opportunities for astrophysics… Interestingly, this amassed experience and creative thinking also enabled innovative collaborative solutions to global health and other biological challenges, since we strongly believe that beyond seeking fundamental discoveries, scientists should also invest in bettering human life here on Earth through utilizing their experience and creativity. The talk will highlight many interesting results in biology published in the last decade.”
  • Physics Seminar: “Novel Probes of Dark Matter” by Dr. Cora Dvorkin (Harvard)
    • Monday, October 1, 2:10pm, Pupin Hall Theory Center, 8th Floor, more info here
    • Event Abstract: “The particle nature of dark matter is one of the most intriguing puzzles of our time. It is therefore important to identify cosmological and astrophysical processes where the particle interactions of dark matter are of relevance.”
  • Bristol-Myers Squibb Lecture by the Department of Chemistry: “Single Electron Processes Enabling Organic Synthesis” by Dr. Gary Molander (UPenn)
    • Thursday, October 4, 4-5pm, 209 Havemeyer, more info here
    • Event Abstract: “In traditional cross-coupling reactions, a three-step catalytic cycle mechanistically based on 2-electron processes is employed… The limitations of the transmetalation in cross-coupling reactions are inherent to the mechanism of this process at the most fundamental level, and thus predispose many Csp3-hybridized alkylmetallic reagents for failure. Described is a novel, single electron mechanistic paradigm for cross-coupling that avoids this problem.” Tea and cookies served prior to the lecture at 3:30pm in 328 Havemeyer!

image via flickr