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 – Lindy McBride

  • Monday, March 7, 2022. 12 pm
  • 601 Fairchild or Online, register by emailing biology@columbia.edu.
  • “The mosquito Aedes aegypti has recently invaded the ‘human’ niche and evolved a robust preference for biting humans over non-human animals — transforming it into the primary global vector of human arboviral disease.”…“Where, when, and why did Aedes aegypti evolve to specialize in biting humans? And how does it use its exquisite sense of smell to distinguish us from animals?” More information here.

The Story and Ethics of Dust: Linking the Past to the Present through Art and Science

  • Monday, March 7, 2022. 5 to 6:30 pm.
  • Fayerweather 513 or online, register here.
  • “ ‘The Ethics of Dust’ challenges the conceptual duality of tangible/intangible heritage, the limits of governmentality, and the politics of belonging.”…”Jorge will present a selection of dust casts taken from buildings around the world, and discuss the unexpected histories that each of them unveils”…“Complementing this, Gisela Winckler will show how she reconstructs the story of dust over the earth’s history using the tools of science.” More information here.

Daphna Shohamy – Memory Matters

  • Tuesday, March 8, 2022. 5:30 to 6:30 pm.
  • Online, register here.
  • “Daphna Shohamy started her scientific path intent on understanding how the human brain creates and retrieves memories”…“Perhaps the primary purpose of memory is not to accurately remember the past, but rather to help us make decisions that will shape our future. This scientific spotlight focuses on her research on how the brain uses memory to make decisions and how this work can help us understand memory loss, maladaptive decision-making and the connection between them.” More information here.

The Astronomer’s Chair: A Visual and Cultural History

  • Tuesday, March 8, 2022. 6:30 to 8:30 pm.
  • Online, register here.
  • “The Astronomer’s Chair: A Visual and Cultural History is the first book-length study of the place of seat-furniture in the history of science, particularly with respect to the astronomer’s gendered and racialized labor and body. With a focus on mechanically adjustable observing chairs used in conjunction with telescopes in Europe, Great Britain, and the United States in the nineteenth century, the book situates task-specific chairs at the intersection of multiple economies: moral, visual, and epistemic.” More information here.

The Hows and Whys of Historical Climate Reconstruction: Examples for Africa

  • Wednesday, March 9, 2022. 4 to 6 pm.
  • Fayerweather 513, register here.
  • “Historical climatology can dramatically extend the climate record in many parts of the world. That has definitely been the case for Africa, where the instrumental record of many countries barely goes back to the early twentieth century. This talk will focus on five aspects of the historical climatology of Africa: information sources, quantification of non-instrumental data, development of a two-century semi-quantitative data set for the whole continent, and two unusual periods with the nineteenth century.” More information here

Building a habitable planet: an emerging view of volatile chemistry in planet-forming disks

  • Wednesday, March 9, 2022. 4:05 to 5:05 pm.
  • Pupin 1402.
  • “Planets form within disks composed of gas, ice, and dust in orbit around young stars. The distribution of volatiles (gas+ice) within these disks profoundly impacts both the chemical and physical outcomes of planet formation– including the delivery of prebiotic building blocks to new worlds.  In this talk, I will highlight our recent advances in disentangling how organic complexity is built up during the star and planet formation sequence, the role of interstellar inheritance in setting disk volatile compositions, and the distinctive volatile chemistry at play during the planet formation epoch.” More information here.

Athena Film Festival: Women in Science Virtual Showcase

  • Thursday, March 10, 2022. 3 to 4 pm.
  • Online, register here.
  • “This event will start with a panel conversation entitled ‘Expanding the Narrative: The Untold Stories of Women in Science’.”…”This panel will bring together scientists, storytellers and industry experts to explore and discuss how we can elevate and celebrate the incredible stories of women in STEM that deserve to be showcased on screen. What stories do we need to know about? How do we get these projects made? And how do these stories enrich and expand an audience’s understanding of the world of STEM?” More information here.

Autism Genomics Research: Parents’ Views on Genetic Results and Autistic Representation

  • Friday, March 11, 2022. 12 to 1 pm.
  • Online, register here.
  • “Decades of research into the genetics of autism suggest that genes play a significant but also complex role in autism. Studies of the experience of families participating in such studies also report variation, both in their expectations for the research and the impact its results have on them.”…“This panel explores the variety and range of impacts that autism genetics research can have for autism individuals and their families, including impacts on parents’ understanding of causation, responsibility to seek interventions and aspirations for their child’s future as well as how the receipt of a genetic diagnosis does or does not impact the parents’ personal identity.” More information here.

Demonstration of the Bird in the Vacuum via Bwarchives