Annual Meeting and Student Research Conference
This document is preliminary and subject to modification.
October 25—28, 2018
Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport, California
Agenda, Table of Contents
Thursday, October 25, 2018
Friday, October 26, 2018
Saturday, October 27, 2018
Sunday, October 28, 2018
Thursday, October 25, 2018
9:00 a.m.–7:00 p.m. Registration
11:00 a.m.–Noon Sigma Xi Chapter Delegate Orientation
Noon–1:00 p.m. Lunch on Your Own
1:00–6:15 p.m. Assembly of Delegates and Caucus Meetings for Chapter Delegates
See Agenda Details and the Business Meeting Page.
6:15–7:00 p.m. Dinner on Your Own or Purchase Dinner During the Science Café at 7:00 p.m.
7:00–8:30 p.m. Science Café: The Who and Why of Environmental Health
RSVP on Eventbrite. RSVPs required due to limited seating.
Cavin Ward-Caviness, Principal Investigator, Environmental Public Health Division of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Attendees will be able to purchase dinner at the venue, Rise Pizzeria at 1451 Burlingame Avenue in Burlingame. A complimentary shuttle will pick up participants in the hotel lobby at 6:30 p.m. and provide a return ride.
Friday, October 26, 2018
Plenary Sessions, General Sessions, and Entertainment
8:00–8:30 a.m. Opening Remarks
Jamie Vernon, Sigma Xi Executive Director and CEO; Joel Primack, Sigma Xi President and Conference Chair
8:30–9:30 a.m. Observing the Universe Broadly, Deeply, and Frequently
Steve Ritz, Professor of Physics, University of California Santa Cruz, Director of the Santa Cruz Institute for Particle Physics; Subsystem Scientist, Large Synoptic Survey Telescope's Camera
11:00–11:50 a.m. Global SPHERE Network
Raja GuhaThakurta, Professor and Astronomer, University of California Observatories, Lick Observatory, Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz; Emily Entress Clark, Science Internship Program Coordinator, University of California, Santa Cruz
Noon–1:15 p.m. Luncheon and Walston Chubb Award for Innovation Lecture: A Personal Journey into Mathematics, Software, Music and Art
Timothy A. Davis, Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, Texas A&M University
3:30–4:45 p.m. Professional Poster Session and Refreshment Break
5:00–6:00 p.m. Deep Learning and the Grand Engineering Challenges
Jeff Dean, Senior Fellow in the Research Group, Leader of the Google Brain Project, and Head of Artificial Intelligence, Google
6:00–7:00 p.m. Dinner on Your Own or Purchase Dinner During the Science Café at 8:30 p.m.
7:00–8:00 p.m. Think Cosmically, Act Globally, Eat Locally
Joel Primack, Sigma Xi President; Nancy Abrams, cultural philosopher
7:00–9:00 p.m. Science Communication Workshop, Part I
Darcy Gentleman, Principal, DJG Communications LLC
8:30–10:00 p.m. Science Café: "So What Kind of Doctor Are You, Anyway?" My Long Journey from Medicine to Public Policy, with Stops in Lasers and Corn Farming
RSVP on Eventbrite. RSVPs required due to limited seating.
Colin Murphy, Deputy Director of the Policy Institute for Energy, Environment and the Economy, University of California, Davis. RSVP by clicking on Murphy's name. Presented by the California Council on Science and Technology Fellows. Attendees will be able to purchase dinner at the venue, Rise Pizzeria at 1451 Burlingame Avenue in Burlingame. A complimentary shuttle will pick up participants in the hotel lobby at 8:00 p.m. and provide a return ride.
Big Data in Biology and Medicine Symposium
9:45–10:45 a.m. Keynote: Making the Most of Petabases of Genomic Data
Benjamin Langmead, Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science, Johns Hopkins University
10:45–11:00 a.m. Break
11:00–11:20 a.m. Therapies for Hearing loss: From Bench to Clinic
Pranav Dinesh Mathur, Associate Scientist, Otonomy Inc.
11:20–11:40 a.m. Pharmacogenomics of Arsenic Trioxide: GWAS Identifies WWP2, an E3 Ubiquitin Ligase
Steve Scully, Executive Chairman, Thaddeus Medical Systems, Inc.
11:40–Noon Network Approaches Identify Brain Regions and Gene Hubs Associated with Genetic Predisposition for Methamphetamine Intake
Ovidiu D. Iancu, Research Assistant Professor, Oregon Health & Science University and Veterans Affairs Portland Health Care System
Noon–1:15 p.m. Luncheon and Walston Chubb Award for Innovation Lecture: A Personal Journey into Mathematics, Software, Music and Art
Timothy A. Davis, Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, Texas A&M University
1:15–1:30 p.m. Break
1:30–2:30 p.m. Keynote: Personal Genomics and Data Science
Mark B. Gerstein, Albert L. Williams Professor of Biomedical Informatics and Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, and of Computer Science, Yale University; Co-director, Yale Program in Computational Biology and Bioinformatics
2:30–3:30 p.m. Keynote: The Importance of Diversity in Big Genomic Data
Dana Crawford, Assistant Director, Population and Diversity Research, Institute for Computational Biology; Genetic Epidemiologist, Case Western Reserve University
Big Data in Physics and Astronomy Symposium
9:45–10:45 a.m. Keynote: A Universe of Data Challenges
Risa Wechsler, Cosmologist; Director of the Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology and Associate Professor of Physics at Stanford University and at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
10:45–11:00 a.m. Break
Noon–1:15 p.m. Luncheon and Walston Chubb Award for Innovation Lecture: A Personal Journey into Mathematics, Software, Music and Art
Timothy A. Davis, Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, Texas A&M University
1:30–2:30 p.m. Keynote: From Supercomputers to the IMAX Screen: Cinematic Scientific Visualizations
Frank Summers, Outreach Astrophysicist, Space Telescope Science Institute; Host, Hubble's Universe Unfiltered Video Podcast
2:30–3:30: p.m. Keynote: Big Data and Theoretical Astrophysics
Fred Adams, Ta-You Wu Collegiate Professor of Physics, University of Michigan
Big Data in Climate, Energy, and the Environment Symposium
9:45–10:45 a.m. Keynote: Deep Learning for Climate Science
Prabhat, Group Leader of the Data and Analytics Services Team at the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
10:45–11:00 a.m. Break
11:00–11:30 a.m. Global Parameterization of Climate Change Indicators
Micha Tomkiewicz, Department of Physics, Brooklyn College of CUNY
11:30–Noon Reduction of a Manufacturing Plant’s Electricity Demand During Grid Consumption Peaks with an Energy Storage System Managed by Neural Network-Based Big Data-Fed Demand Forecast and a Decision Model
Richard Boudreault, Executive Chairman and CTO, Sigma Energy Storage Inc.
Noon–1:15 p.m. Luncheon and Walston Chubb Award for Innovation Lecture: A Personal Journey into Mathematics, Software, Music and Art
Timothy A. Davis, Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, Texas A&M University
1:15–1:30 p.m. Break
1:30–2:30 p.m. Keynote: The Fourth National Climate Assessment: Translating Data to Inform Decisions
David Reidmiller, Director, U.S. Global Change Research Program
2:30–3:30 p.m. Keynote: How Big (Biological) Data Is Changing Our Approach to Environmental Health
Cavin Ward-Caviness, Principal Investigator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Environmental Public Health Division
Ethics and Responsible Conduct of Research Sessions
9:45–10:45 a.m. Keynote: Big Data Challenges from Total-Body Positron Tomography to Explore Addiction, Schizophrenia, and Other Diseases
Tom Budinger, Professor in Residence Emeritus, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, University of California, Berkeley
10:45–11:00 a.m. Break
11:00-11:30 a.m. Ethical Debate On Standards For Authorship
Subrata Saha, Research Professor, Department of Restorative Dentistry and the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Washington; Pamela Saha, Psychiatrist, University of Washington Medicine Harborview Medical Center;
11:30–Noon Tele-Cybernetics: Socio-Politico-Ethical Background for Governing Big Data
G. Arthur Mihram, Princeton, NJ; Danielle Mihram, University of Southern California
Noon–1:15 p.m. Luncheon and Walston Chubb Award for Innovation Lecture: A Personal Journey into Mathematics, Software, Music and Art
Timothy A. Davis, Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, Texas A&M University
1:15–1:30 p.m. Break
Science Communication Sessions
1:30–1:50 p.m. Science Communication Talks: Increasing Data Literacy and Building Science Communication Skills
Lisa D. White, University of California, Berkeley; Anna Monfils, Central Michigan University
1:30–2:30 p.m. From Supercomputers to the IMAX Screen: Cinematic Scientific Visualizations
Frank Summers, Outreach Astrophysicist, Space Telescope Science Institute; Host, Hubble's Universe Unfiltered Video Podcast
1:50–2:10 p.m. Challenges of Sharing Data in Long-Distance Collaborations
Allen Thomas, University of Nebraska at Kearney
2:15–3:00 p.m. Seeking Science: A Roundtable with California Legislative Staff
Description. Organized by California Council on Science and Technology
7:00–9:00 p.m. Science Communications Workshop Part I
Darcy J. Gentleman, Principal, DJG Communications LLC, time to be announced.
Saturday, October 27, 2018
Plenary Sessions
7:00 a.m.–7:00 p.m. Registration
8:00–8:30 a.m. Student Research Conference Orientations for Students and Judges
8:30–9:00 a.m. Continental Breakfast
9:00–Noon Student Research Conference Poster Session: Featuring a Special Section on Big Data
Noon–1:00 p.m. Luncheon and Young Investigator Award Lecture: Uncovering the Fundamental Behaviors of Materials with Ultrafast Electron Microscopy
David Flannigan, Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota
3:00–5:30 p.m. Exhibits and Networking
Details
4:15–5:15 p.m. Sigma Xi Chapter Program Showcase
5:30–6:00 p.m. John P. McGovern Award for Science and Society Lecture: Science and Society: How Citizen Science Can Power People for Environmental and Social Good
Daniel Rubenstein, Professor of Zoology and Director of the Program in Environmental Studies, Princeton University
6:30–7:00 p.m. Banquet Reception
7:00–9:00 p.m. Banquet; William Procter Prize Lecture: Lessons from Viruses: Agents of Disease and Drivers of Evolution, Anna Marie (Ann) Skalka, Professor Emerita, Fox Chase Cancer Center; Student Research Conference Awards; Induction Ceremony for New Sigma Xi Members
9:00–9:30 p.m. Student Score Sheet Pickup
9:30–10:30 p.m. Science Comedy Show
Brian Malow, Science Comedian, Producer, Consultant
Big Data in Biology and Medicine Symposium
Noon–1:00 p.m. Luncheon and Young Investigator Award Lecture: Uncovering the Fundamental Behaviors of Materials with Ultrafast Electron Microscopy
David Flannigan, Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota
1:15–1:30 p.m. Break
1:30–1:50 p.m. The 1000 Genomes Project: Challenges and Opportunities
Latifa Jackson, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Howard University
1:50-2:10 p.m. Ultrasonic Vocabulary Defined by Social Behavior of Mice
Joshua P. Neunuebel, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware
2:10–2:30 p.m. Big Data Analytics for Rare Variations and Psychiatric Disorders
Shaolei Teng, Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, Howard University
Professional Development Sessions
1:30–2:50 p.m. Sigma Xi Chapters and Interdisciplinary Professional Development: How Can We Build on Our Strengths?
Chris Olex, Corporate Trainer and Facilitator, The Point; Sue Weiler, Senior Research Scientist, Whitman College
2:50–3:00 p.m. Break
3:00–4:00 p.m. Surviving and Thriving in a Research Career
Chris Olex, Corporate Trainer and Facilitator, The Point; Sue Weiler, Senior Research Scientist, Whitman College
4:15–5:15 p.m. Grant Writing Workshop
Emma Perry, Professor of Marine Biology, Unity College
SAS Demonstration
2:00–4:00 p.m. SAS Viya Data Mining and Machine Learning
Andre de Waal,Analytical Consultant in the Global Academic Program, SAS
Ethics and Responsible Conduct of Research Sessions
1:30–2:30 p.m. Keynote: Big Data Ethics, from Writing Code to Coding Rights in an Era of Intelligent Machines
Kenneth Goodman, Professor and Director, Institute for Bioethics and Health Policy, University of Miami
2:30–2:50 p.m. Break
2:50–4:00 p.m. Panel Discussion: Ethical Issues and Challenges in Research
Learn more
4:00–4:15 p.m. Break
Science Communication Sessions
1:30–3:00 p.m. Connecting with Your Audience, a Workshop
Ben Young Landis, Writer and Creator Specializing in Science, Environment, and Society
3:15–4:45 p.m. Science Communication Workshop Part II
Darcy J. Gentleman, Principal, DJG Communications, LLC
Sunday, October 28, 2018
8:30–10:00 a.m. Sigma Xi Town Hall
Updated on 9/13/18