Sigma Xi Distinguished Lecturers 2008-2009 Abstracts
John F. Alderete
STDs, Trichomonas vaginalis, and Adverse Health Outcomes (P,G)
An overview of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs)will be followed by a detailed presentation on Trichomonas vaginalis, the number one STD agent. The latest information on the adverse health consequences to Trichomonas infection for both men and women will be provided. Some data on research on the biology of the trichomonas parasite will be given to help the audience understand the nature of infection and disease.
Trichomonas vaginalis Adherence and Disease (G,S)
Following a brief introduction into the STD caused by Trichomonas vaginalis, the audience will be informed about the mechanisms by which the organisms colonize the vagina. Details regarding the molecules involved and the role of these molecules in host responses leading to disease will be provided.
Trichomonas vaginalis AP65 and Pathogenesis (S)
The audience will receive an introduction in the protist Trichomonas vaginalis and the sexually transmitted disease caused by infection. This will be followed by data illustrating the molecules and mechanisms of adherence and the role of the prominent adhesin AP65 in mediating binding of parasites to host cells. Lastly, the role of AP65 in eliciting specific host responses will be delineated.
Helen M. Berman
How the History of the Protein Data Bank Informs the Future of Biology (S)
Since its grassroots beginnings in 1971, the Protein Data Bank (PDB) has been the archive for the for the three-dimensional coordinates of experimentally-determined biological structures. Today, it is a resource used by researchers and students studying the structures of biological macromolecules and their relationships to sequence, function, and disease.
This presentation will explore how the PDB developed from a simple repository for data from X-ray crystallographic experiments to a "knowledgebase" for structural biology.
Creating a Data Resource for Biology: Lessons from the Protein Data Bank (P,G)
There are many considerations when building a community resource for enabling science. One is the necessity of a scaleable infrastructure that can handle vast amounts and different types of data. This infrastructure must also be able to adapt to new and changing technologies. Another concern is how to solicit and incorporate the needs and wants of a variety of user communities. How are policies created and enforced? A case history of a global resource for science–the Protein Data Bank (PDB)–will be presented.
The PDB has been the archive for the three-dimensional coordinates for experimentally-determined biological structures. Today, it is a resource used by researchers and students studying the structures of biological macromolecules and their relationships to sequence, function, and disease.
John B. Carberry
Sustainable Industry in a Changing Society (P, G)
Changing Expectations of Society and Government: Over the past 40 years, the expectations of the public, regulators, and the government about the impact of industry on the environment has changed from almost laissez-faire to a strong and dynamic demand for sustainability. This trend was first manifest in a large array of laws and regulations that can be particularly expensive unless addressed proactively and, during the last decade has been increasingly reflected in the marketplace. This presentation seeks to review the major environmental issues and trends over that period along with methods to anticipate or otherwise prepare for these rising expectations along with examples of creative responses to these issues. The concepts of green manufacturing and sustainable businesses will be outlined in the context of the business case for meeting those expectations.
Sustainability in the Chemical Industry (S)
Markets, Requirements and the Bottom Line: Based on an analysis of almost two decades of environmental programs in chemical industry manufacturing, engineering oriented footprint and operating cost issues will be identified along with examples of ways to address those issues. In general, that will result in a focus on either programs that need to be done for defensive reasons or opportunities to provide a better product for your customers. For both situations, both the environmental concern and the business requirement will be reviewed. In addition, changes in expectations by customers, regulators, and the local community will be reviewed and their effects will be projected on future products. Finally, the emerging concepts and engineering needs to address truly sustainable facilities and products will be discussed.
Daryl E. Chubin
Supply, Demand, and Something Else (G,S)
Historically, the production of scientific knowledge has subsumed the production of new practitioners, treating human resources as a byproduct of what really matters in science and engineering (S&E) scholarship measurable in articles, citations, patents, and an array of prizes. R&D funding policy will not solve education and workforce dilemmas. Because the US has never had a human resource development policy, federal policies that address human resources have been fragmented categorically by group, segment of the education system, sector of the economy, institutional type, etc. The national interest gets lost. Neither OSTP nor the cognizant committees of Congress emerge with a systemic view of needs, trends, and options in building and sustaining the S&T workforce.
Globalization only complicates matters. National security clashes with visa policy. For US citizens, the policy focus ranges from women faculty to holistic college admissions to student retention, and the seemingly inexorable growth in the number of postdocs. Clearly, these issues are at the vortex of demography, economy, education, and employment. Hanging in the balance are careers, institutional vitality, and the composition not just the size of the future S&T workforce. To meet America's need for world-class talent in science and engineering, higher education must develop an emerging U.S. talent pool that looks very different from decades past. As diversity by gender, race, ethnicity, disability, citizenship, region, discipline, etc. has grown, our policy responses strike many as antagonistic, divisive, bureaucratic, and/or unworkable. This lecture suggests how we can do better.
Tipping Points in Academe (P)
Malcom Gladwell's best-seller, The Tipping Point, distills much research wisdom about when communities change and why. Marketed as a business strategies book, its social and behavioral science examples speak persuasively to what is not only possible, but predictable, in the behavior of those formerly complacent or distracted by life's routines. Within those routines dwell traditions that grip us all. The problems appear intractable. But they are not. The work of the AAAS Capacity Center (www.aaascapacity.org) with client institutions of higher education demonstrates that, with leadership, departments and colleges on campus can introduce practices that support the success of students and faculty. Change is possible if context is heeded. Indeed, innovation can be spread to other parts of the institution. Examples (with institutional anonymity assured) from the Center's portfolio will be discussed.
Measuring Program Impact: How to Evaluate the Value-Added (G,S)
As interventions in student learning proliferate, the call for accountability what difference do they make continues to grow. Based on reviews of undergraduate and graduate programs developed in an array of institutional settings and distilled in the 2004 BEST report, A Bridge for All (www.bestworkforce.org), this seminar will offer templates for faculty and administrators seeking to measure processes and outcomes of programs as educational experiments. The presenter's current work with college- and university-based projects funded by federal and corporate sponsors provides a corpus of questions to ask and approaches to consider.
Science in a Bigger Frame (P)
Whether it is education, trade, or public policy, science these days seems to dominate the social landscape. This is new territory for a science community that is used to speaking to itself and its sponsors. Now there are other consumers nonscientists eager to use and abuse science. It is as much a target as a resource. As a result, public policy becomes a focus of conflict through the political process.
An earlier era spoke of science literacy and public understanding. Indifference was lamentable, but appreciation of science was within reach. Today, we have no such illusions. Stem cell research, the teaching of evolution, and nanotechnology are political issues as well as scientific problems. Experts will disagree. Customs used within science to adjudicate differences in judgment, e.g., peer review, remain as mysterious as the technical disagreements themselves. Who mediates and translates? How do we experts and citizens alike converge on meanings and courses of action? This lecture addresses science as one cultural pursuit with consequences well beyond the science community.
Adela I. de la Torre
Sex on the Border: Risky Practices and HIV (G)
Economic literature on Mexican female sex workers (FSWs) asserts that financial need is the primary motivation for labor market entry. If the price differential between protected and unprotected sex is significantly higher, negotiating condom use may be difficult for FSWs. The purpose of this paper is to examine differential prices FSWs charge for sex with and without a condom in two Mexican border cities.
Data were used from a larger intervention study conducted among adult FSWs in Mexico. A total of 277 FSWs were interviewed in Tijuana and 345 FSWs in Ciudad Juarez. Price differentials were evaluated in both sites revealing that significant price differentials exist in both sites, controlling for market and non -market characteristics of sexworkers such as sexual power and attractiveness. These results suggest that a higher price is paid for unprotected sex in both cities, which may act as a deterrent to safer sex practices. This price incentive effect may be significant over the long term when communities consider the long-term sustainability of prevention and intervention programs.
Improving Latino Health Outcomes: Identifying Best Outreach Practices for Public Health Insurance (P)
In a study examining the differential impact of Medicaid expansions on the health status of children by race and ethnicity, Lykens and Jargowsky (2002) have pointed out that access to public health insurance programs depends on three distinct realms of action. To benefit from public health insurance programs, such as Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), an individual must first qualify for, then enroll in, and ultimately take advantage of the care plan available (Lykens and Jargowsky 2002). Although this is a seemingly simple statement of fact, each of these three realms presents a unique set of difficulties for Latinos, especially in terms of their ability to benefit from Medicaid and SCHIP programs. This paper identifies the barriers to enrollment for Latinos in the publicly subsidized programs such as SCHIP, reviews the limited body of literature on culturally innovative interventions, particularly those that have been shown to be effective in reducing rates of under-enrollment among Latinos eligible for public health insurance programs. Finally, based on focus groups in Chicago, Florida and California as well as review of state reports identifying outreach practices targeted to Latinos, best practices will be identified to improve Latinos' access to public health insurance programs in an attempt to improve their well being and quality of life.
Immigration Policy and Immigration Flows: A Comparative Analysis of Immigration Law in the US and Latin America (P)
This talk presents a comparative analysis of US and Latin American immigration policies, with specific reference to immigration policy in Mexico and Argentina. Similar to the US, many Latin American countries are viewed as target sites for immigrants from Asia as well as from bordering countries with relatively lower wages and limited occupational opportunities. Nevertheless, these countries often provide more progressive strategies for economic and political incorporation of legal and illegal immigration within their borders. Although the absolute magnitude of migration is not equivalent to US legal and illegal migration in Latin American countries, the relative impact on specific sectors of these Latin American countries may be similar to that experienced in the US. Moreover, the Federal approach to immigration reform in Latin American countries is less influenced by populist rhetoric resulting in a less hostile and more practical approach to incorporating immigrants, both legal and illegal, into the social and economic fabric of these countries.
Robert B. Gilbert
Hurricane Katrina and the New Orleans Levees: What Went Wrong and Why (P,G,S)
On the morning of August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans and triggered what would become one of the worst engineering disasters in the Nation's history. The levees and floodwalls protecting the area failed and allowed water to pour into the city. Nearly 1,500 people lost their lives. One-fourth of the houses were wiped out and tens of billions of dollars of property were lost. The educational and health care systems have been crippled. Over 400,000 residents fled the city and have not returned. It will take decades for New Orleans to recover. This presentation will address what went wrong and why it happened. In addition, we will discuss how society and the engineering profession can learn and improve in the wake of this disaster.
Role of Engineers in Managing Risks from Natural Hazards (G,S)
Managing risks from natural hazards has taken on greater significance as the world becomes more interconnected and interrelated. Local disasters can now impact everyone, such as the high prices of oil in the wake of hurricane Katrina. Also, the available resources to manage risk in the world as a whole are severely limited. Engineers are essential in providing civilization with technically effective solutions that balance costs, benefits and risks. This talk will address the important role of engineers in managing risks from natural hazards. Topics will include establishing goals, mitigating consequences, considering system effects, including physical factors in statistical models, avoiding both too much and too little conservatism, maximizing the value of information, and communicating effectively to decision makers and the public. Applications from around the world, ranging from offshore structures and pipelines to coastal flood control systems, will be used to illustrate and demonstrate the main ideas.
Offshore Experience from Recent Hurricanes (S)
Three of the strongest hurricanes on record recently passed through the offshore oil and gas facilities in the Gulf of Mexico: Hurricane Ivan in August, 2004, Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, and Hurricane Rita in September 2005. The cumulative impact of these storms was significant, with more than 100 platforms destroyed, tens of billions of dollars in property loss, and more than 200 million barrels of oil production that was removed from the U.S. oil supply. Remarkably, however, there were no fatalities or injuries to offshore workers because they were successfully evacuated in advance of each storm. This talk will address what happened and what we have learned from these intense hurricanes. Topics will include hurricane forces, wave-induced mudslides, and the performance of facilities such as temporary drill rigs, permanent production facilities and pipelines.
Kimberly A. Gray
The Modern American City: Can We Ever Make it Sustainable? (P,G)
The short answer to this question is "not at the rate that we are going." Yet, if we really wanted to, we could make great strides in the short term and with our current technical knowledge in the ways we use energy and resources. So what is stopping us? In this presentation, I will discuss the various perspectives on "sustainability," a term that means very different things to different people, and make the case for why this is a pressing issue to be addressed sooner rather than later. To me the strongest case for changing the patterns by which we live and move can be made by considering the energy picture - supply, demand and consequence. I will discuss the requirements and the feasibility of developing truly renewable energy sources. I will consider the role of technology in finding solutions to the problem of sustainability, but I will also stress that technology, alone, will not supply the answers. Deeper understanding of the structure and function of ecological systems is key to designing sustainable cities. I will draw on examples of re-engineering the water cycle and a 100-year vision for the City of Chicago. Finally, sustainability requires that we address equity issues and the definition of prosperity across our own society as well as across the globe.
Energy and the Environment: The Central Challenge of Sustainability (P,G)
The commonly held definition of sustainability put forth in Our Common Future (Brundtland Commission,1987) states that sustainable development should be pursued globally to "meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." The only problem is that it is not clear how this notion translates into action. The way most Americans live, for instance, is far from sustainable. People in the U.S. use energy and resources to a far greater extent than what they produce and what other countries use. A compelling case for sustainability can be made if we consider energy use and the issues of supply, security and environmental consequence. While there are numerous possible renewable alternatives, there is resistance to making the necessary investments that will allow us to shift our dependence on fossil fuels to other sources, such as solar, wind, nuclear, etc. There have been many predictions that the end of oil is near and as many that refute these warnings. Yet, Amory Lovins advises, "The stone age did not end because the world ran out of stones. . . And the oil age will not end because the world will run out of oil." There is an urgent need to determine the near-term and long-term paths to a sustainable future in an integrated fashion if we are to protect future generations, the environment, and the economies of the world. Technological breakthroughs alone will not rescue us if they are not coupled to changes in how we live and where we live. Do we have the political will to pursue these changes? Do we have sufficient scientific and technical understanding to alter the course we began charting hundred of years ago as societies moved from subsistence agricultural to highly industrialized economies?
Ecological Restoration: The Importance of Details in the Big Picture (P,G,S)
A key strategy in sustainable development is to mimic nature in the design of buildings, businesses, and cities. In utilizing nature's own "zero-waste," self-renewing strategies, we hope to build a society that, as defined by the UN, "meets the need of the present without sacrificing the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." Yet to mimic nature we must first understand it. Any survey of the natural systems surrounding us illustrates our lack of mastery of their function-our lakes, rivers, and wetlands are degraded and polluted, and are no longer self-sustaining-they are no longer truly "natural." Despite decades of concerted effort on the part of scientists and management agencies to restore them, the majority of these degraded ecosystems show little improvement. One major problem is that we do not fully understand the biological structure of ecosystems that control their health and function. This is in large part due to the fact that biological systems are under constant assault, particularly in our current global world where the introduction of non-indigenous species are causing ongoing, dramatic shifts in the world's food webs. These shifts rearrange the flow of energy, disrupt species interactions, and reroute contaminant accumulation pathways in ways that can have significant negative impact on public health. Our challenge now, if we are to succeed in truly sustainable design, is to better understand what is "natural," and use this understanding to restore degraded environments, producing self-sustaining ecosystems that can serve as models for our built environment.
Progress in Engineering Photoactive Nanocomposite Materials for Solar Fuel Production (GS)
Since Fujishima and Honda developed the photoelectrochemical cell for H2O splitting in 1972, heterogeneous photocatalysis has attracted much attention. TiO2 is among the most extensively studied semiconductor photocatalysts. It is chemically and biologically inert, photocatalytically stable, commercially available, and inexpensive. An electron is excited from the valence band of TiO2 into the conduction band by light absorption with energy greater than its band gap, leaving a charge vacancy behind. These excited charge carriers are highly reactive radicals with robust reducing and oxidizing capacity. In the past three 30 years, most of the effort in the photocatalytic field has been focused on energy and environmental applications, which require materials with the following properties: (1) hindered charge recombination and improved photocatalytic efficiency; (2) targeted reactivity and selectivity that match band energies to the desired reaction, and (3) extended photoresponse into the visible light region. Masakazu Anpo first introduced the notion of "second-generation" TiO2 photocatalysts, which are activated by visible light. We hypothesize that the solid-solid interface in TiO2-based nanocomposites is key to overcoming these three challenges and are a promising candidates for 2nd-generation photocatalysts. Recent findings in our laboratory reveal a number of surprising insights as to why TiO2 nanocomposites tend to display higher photoactivity than pure-phases and point to the critical role of the solid-solid interface as the location of catalytic "hot spots". Yet, efforts to probe the role of the solid-solid interface in photocatalytic activity are stymied by an inability to synthesize under sufficiently controlled conditions and in sufficient quantities the "interface", which would then allow structural characterization and functional interrogation. Advances in photocatalyst synthesis using sputtering technologies promise to revolutionize our ability to engineer the solid-solid interface at the molecular level and thus, to fabricate photoactive nanostructured composite materials having high densities of "defects" designed for energy harvesting and storage.
Robert M. Hazen
Genesis: The Scientific Quest for Llife's Origins (P,G)
How did life arise? Is life's origin a cosmic imperative manifest throughout the cosmos, or is life an improbable accident, restricted to a few planets (or only one)? Scientists who seek experimental and theoretical frameworks to deduce the origin of life look to the concept of emergent systems to provide a unifying approach. Natural systems with many interacting components, such as molecules, cells or organisms, often display complex behavior not associated with their individual components. The origin of life can be modeled as a sequence of emergent events - the synthesis of biomolecules, the selection and organization of those small molecules into functional macromolecules, the emergence of self-replicating molecular systems, and the initiation of molecular natural selection - which transformed the lifeless geochemical world of oceans, atmosphere and rocks into a living planet. This framework guides origin experiments, which can be designed to focus on each emergent step.
Right and Left: Mineral Surfaces and the Origins of Biological Handedness (G,S)
Life arose on Earth as a geochemical process from the interaction of rocks, water, and gases. Prior to the origin of life, the necessary organic molecules had formed abundantly, but indiscriminately, both in space and on Earth. A major mystery of life's origin is how an idiosyncratic subset of those diverse molecules was selected and concentrated from the prebiotic soup to form more complex structures leading to the development of life. Of special interest, both from a scientific and technological viewpoint, is the separation of left- from right-handed molecules - "chiral" molecules, which are hallmarks of living organisms. Rocks and minerals are likely to have played several critical roles in this selection, especially as templates for the adsorption and organization of these molecules. Our recent experimental and theoretical studies on interactions between crystals and organic molecules reveal that crystals with chiral surface structures may have facilitated the separation of left- and right-handed biomolecules - the possible origin of life's distinctive handedness.
Functional Information and the Emergence of Biocomplexity (G,S)
What is "complexity" and how do complex biological systems evolve? A key to understanding these longstanding questions is to recognize that complexity has meaning only with respect to function. All complex emergent systems of many interacting components, including complex biological systems, have the ability to "do something." Accordingly, we define "functional information" as a measure of system complexity. Functional information, which will be illustrated with letter sequences, artificial life, and biopolymers, represents the information (in bits) required for a system to achieve a specific function to a specified degree. We observe evidence for several distinct solutions with different maximum degrees of function - features that lead to steps in plots of information versus degree of function. This formalism points to experimental parameters that can be adjusted to increase the potential complexity of experimental systems, notably experiments attempting to duplicate steps in life's chemical origins.
Manjit S. Kang
Can Crop Scientists Help Feed Ten Billion in 2050? (P)
From the standpoint of food, the world is one civilization and until everyone had food to eat, there would be no peace or prosperity in the world. — David Brinkley.
About 3 billion of the current 6.5 billion people in the world live in poverty, 815 million suffer from hunger, and half of the children in the poorest countries are malnourished. Population is projected to be 9 to 10 billion by 2050. Arable land in the world is limited (currently estimated to be 8.57 billion hectares). During the past 50 years, agricultural research and technology have helped increase the output of world crops two and a half-fold. Nobel Laureate Norman E. Borlaug estimates that world food production would have to triple by 2050 to feed a population of 10 billion. Can this be done?
Genetically Modified Crops: Frankenfoods or Boon for the Poor? (G)
Genetically modified (GM) crops have been developed through years of dedicated research that is generally dubbed as "genetic engineering." Proponents of GM foods argue that the benefits of GM foods, like improved flavor or increased nutritional value, outweigh potential risks. Opponents of GM foods do not believe enough government regulations are in place to control the production and distribution of these foods. They say there has not been enough research or long-term testing on these foods and no one knows what might happen as a result of growing and eating GM foods or how the environment might be affected.
With more than half of the soybeans and approximately 25% of the corn grown in the U.S. are GM varieties, chances are high that you are eating food containing ingredients derived from GM crops. Are they safe?
In famine-ridden countries, given the choice between starvation and GM food, which one would they choose?
What Can GGE Biplot Analysis Do for Plant Scientists? (S)
The newly developed GGE Biplot methodology, based on principal component analysis, is a revolutionary approach to grpahical (visual) data analysis. Discussion will include topics such as issues in genotype-by-environment interaction and how GGE biplot methodology help analyze genotype-by-trait data, QTL data, and diallel and host-pathogen interaction data. The information presented should greatly enhance researchers' ability to understand and interpret their data.
Bruce A. Macher
Proteomics and Biomarkers (G)
The development of new mass spectrometric methods, and software able to link data output from mass spectrometers to protein databases has provided the potential to identify new biomarkers. However, identification of candidate biomarkers is only the first step in the process. After several years of technology development, it has become apparent that success in identifying and validating biomarkers requires a new approach that is being addressed by funding initiatives developed by researchers and funding agencies, particularly the National Cancer Institute. This lecture is designed to provide an overview of the technology being applied for biomarker discovery and the approaches being developed to ensure the candidate biomarkers are validated and clinical assays developed.
Developing Postdoctoral Scholar Training Programs (P,G)
Most postdoctoral experiences are solely research focused and ignore the need for structured experiences in teaching and career development. Postdoctoral experiences are generally determined and driven by individual research mentors, not institutional policies or programs; thus they vary dramatically in scope, content, and quality. The lack of consistency and the resultant under preparation of postdoctoral scholars for faculty positions negatively impacts not only the postdoctoral scholars, but also the students they teach and mentor when they become assistant professors. Thus, there is a significant need for a structured program in which postdoctoral scholars could participate just prior to searching for a faculty position-a time at which they are optimally prepared mentally and academically to obtain the greatest benefit. In this lecture, I will review two programs that have been developed in collaboration with colleagues at the University of California campuses at Davis and San Francisco. A description of the program components, lessoned learned, and results from evaluations conducted will be presented. A product of these postdoctoral scholars programs is a set of web modules designed to provide and orientation to college teaching (http://oct.sfsu.edu/).
Gary S. May
Intelligent Semiconductor Manufacturing (S)
Recent innovations in the field of artificial intelligence, including neural networks, genetic algorithms, and expert systems have the potential to revolutionize the multi-billion dollar semiconductor manufacturing industry. Research at Georgia Tech is a leading contributor to intelligent semiconductor manufacturing.
Diversifying the Engineering Workforce (P)
This talk examines the various factors that contribute to the success of minority students in engineering programs by exploring past and current paradigms promoting success and analyzing models for advancing the participation of members of these populations. Student success is correlated to several indicators, including pre-college preparation, recruitment programs, admissions policies, financial assistance, academic intervention programs, and graduate school preparation and admission. This review suggests that the problem of minority underrepresentation and success in engineering is soluble given the appropriate resources and collective national "will" to propagate effective approaches.
Robert D. Mathieu
A Wide View of the Universe (P,G)
Astronomers strive to observe the largest areas of the sky with the finest resolution, two goals that tend to compete against each other. We are in the midst of exciting technological advances in astronomical instrumentation that are moving us closer to the ultimate instruments. I will introduce the audience to the basic challenges and designs of modern telescopes, and explore several new directions in camera and spectrograph design. And of course along the way, show lots of beautiful images of the universe!
Stars That Go Bump In the Night (P,G,S)
The distances between the stars are vast, and until recently collisions between stars seemed highly unlikely. Now we think they happen quite frequently, particularly when binary stars encounter each other within clusters of stars, and create stars that as yet are unexplained by standard stellar physics. These events bring together two classical fields of astronomy, stellar dynamics and stellar evolution. I will introduce the audience to the basics of both, and then embark on a journey into the strange world of stellar collisions.
An Observational Exploration of Angular Momentum Evolution in Sun-like Stars (S)
This is a technical talk on angular momentum evolution processes in young stars, with a particular emphasis on magnetic disk-locking and tidal processes.
Preparing the Future National STEM Faculty (G,S)
Traditionally research universities prepare graduate students to be forefront researchers. While necessary, this training is not sufficient for a successful career in any field, and not the least for a career as a professor. The National Science Foundation has invested nearly $15M in the Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning (CIRTL), whose mission is to prepare graduate students who are both forefront researchers and superb teachers. CIRTL has used the University of Wisconsin - Madison as its laboratory to develop a prototype program for study. In the past four years more than 1300 STEM graduate students have participated and are now moving into faculty positions around the nation. A major longitudinal study will be following their early careers. In the meantime, CIRTL now is creating a network of research universities, including the University of Colorado at Boulder, Howard University, Michigan State University, Vanderbilt University, Texas A&M University and UW. I will tell the CIRTL story, and as appropriate discuss how the CIRTL ideas might help the host institution, either as programs for graduate universities or STEM faculty, and how the host institution might inform the future of CIRTL.
Philip A. Meyers
How Did Petroleum Source Rocks Accumulate? Insights from Deep-Sea Sediments (P,G,S)
Petroleum originates from organic-carbon-rich source rocks. Formation of these peculiar rocks requires the unusual combination of high marine biological productivity and survival of a remarkably large fraction of the resulting organic matter while it settles to the sea floor and becomes buried. These essential requirements are rare in todayÆs world, and they have similarly been rare through much of geologic time. However, widespread accumulations of petroleum source rocks have occurred in multi-million-year periods in the past, which indicates that world conditions of the past were sometimes quite different from those of today. This lecture will present and evaluate geochemical evidence of how paleoclimatic and paleoceanographic conditions were different during times of extensive deposition of petroleum source rocks using examples from mid-Cretaceous marine sediments and Mediterranean sapropels, and it will emphasize why petroleum is a limited resource.
Marine Upwelling Systems: Their Oceanography and Paleoceanography (P,G,S)
Important features of the modern ocean are its large coastal upwelling systems. These systems are associated with the eastern boundary currents of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and with the monsoons of the Indian Ocean, and they support the major fisheries of these oceans. Wind-driven upwelling brings nutrients from intermediate waters into the photic zone to fuel high rates of algal primary production that convert dissolved inorganic carbon into abundant amounts of organic matter, which in turn lead to accumulation of organic carbon-rich sediments on the underlying seafloor. The burial of marine organic matter is an important component of the global carbon cycle that removes carbon from fast turnover in the biosphere-atmosphere-hydrosphere system and transfers it into the slowly recycling geosphere. However, the high productivity that is typical of today's upwelling systems is a relatively new phenomenon. Organic-carbon-rich upwelling sediments first started to accumulate within the last 15 million years in the Pacific Ocean and less than 10 million years ago in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. This presentation will give an overview of the oceanographic basics of upwelling systems, discuss the paleoceanographic factors that participated in their different evolutions over geologic time, and consider possible future consequences of over-fishing and climate change.
The Great Lakes of North America and Their Sedimentary Histories of Human Impacts (P,G,S)
Lakes Superior, Huron, Michigan, Saint Clair, Erie, and Ontario constitute the Laurentian Great Lakes. Sedimentary records in the Great Lakes date from retreat of the Laurentide ice sheet from the lake basins about 12,000 years ago. Following retreat of the glaciers, land ecosystems in the Great Lakes region began a progression from tundra to boreal forests to mixed temperate forests dominated by deciduous trees in the south and coniferous ones in the north. After the first permanent Europeans colonies were established around 1700, the pace of environmental change increased, and it especially accelerated after completion of the Erie Canal in 1825. Forests were clear-cut and replaced by farmland, towns and cities grew, heavy industry became established, and some parts of the lakes evolved from oligotrophic to eutrophic as nutrient loadings increased. Evidence of these changes is recorded in components of the lake sediments that were deposited at the various stages of the paleoenvironmental history of the region. This presentation will focus on the sedimentary records of the last two centuries and the evidence of human impacts on the Great Lakes.
Naomi Miller
Past, Present and Future of the Landscape in the Land of King Midas: Gordion, Turkey (P, G) Gordion was the capital of ancient Phrygia and reputed home of King Midas (c. 700 B.C.). Its monuments include the Midas Mound (Tumulus MM), nearly a hundred smaller burial mounds, and the ancient city of Gordion itself. Studies of the modern forest and steppe vegetation suggest how ancient people may have used different areas within the landscape. Plant remains recovered from the settlement document changes in vegetation and land use from about 1200 BC to 1000 AD. Inspired by our glimpses of formerly healthy steppe vegations, the Gordion Project is attempting to create a solid cover of grasses and flowers on the Midas Mound to stem erosion.
Has It Always Looked Like This? Long-term Vegetation Changes in the Near East (G) Vegetation responds to climate and human activity. In west Asia, climate has been implicated in both agricultural origins and a late third millennium collapse of civilization.The problem for archaeologists is determining when a shift occurred and whether it was sufficient to affect (positively or negatively) the established cultural response to normal annual and interannual variability. Examples from west Asia illustrate that when climate is reconstructed from proxy data, human impact on the vegetation may swamp whatever evidence for climate change there is. This talk explains how archaeology can inform our understanding of long-term human impact on the land.
People and Plants: The Present as Key to the Past, Ethnoarchaeology in an Iranian Village (G, S) In order to connect the traces of the past to a plausible understanding of ancient lifeways, archaeologists use "ethnographic analogy." Some analogies are strong: in highland Iran, the best time to plant wheat is the fall, so ancient wheat was most likely planted that time of year; the span of a roof will depend on the length of available beams. In pre-revolutionary Iran, the village of Malyan was tied into the national and global economy. Nevertheless, the seasonal rhythms of life and many aspects of the built environment are strongly related to the past as uncovered through archaeology. The talk is based on my fieldwork during the 1970s, and explains how I used analogy to interpret ancient plant remains.
Stephen L. Morgan
Forensic Analytical Chemistry: Basic Research Behind CSI (P,G,S)
Prime time television presentations of analytical chemical measurements helping to solve crimes, coupled with the publicity surrounding high profile criminal cases have resulted in a number of effects. The so-called "CSI effect" arises from depictions of infallible analyses, instant laboratory results, and unambiguous computer matching of profiles and has fostered unrealistic expectations in the minds of the general public. This lecture highlights the current state of the art in forensic analytical chemistry and how it differs and, in some cases, matches this fantasy world of chemical detectives. While tremendous advances have been achieved in the application of analytical chemistry and biology to trace evidence, getting reliable and validated results that hold up in court requires a solid foundation in the relevant science, appropriate sample handling, careful laboratory technique, and good statistical practices. Forensic applications (and the science behind them) to be discussed include chemical analysis of latent prints, detection of biological fluids at crime scenes, the statistics of DNA analysis, and trace evidence analysis including fibers, hairs, bullet lead, and other polymeric materials.
Chemometrics: Separating Chemical Signals and Patterns from Noise (G,S)
Advances in science are often driven by development of improved measurement tools that provide more informative data, more reliable data, or data not previously obtainable. Improved statistical tools for analysis of the large amounts of complex data that arise from modern analytical instruments are just as important. Because such data typically consists of measured values on multiple correlated variables, interpretation is often confounded by the "curse of dimensionality." However, although spectral patterns have a large number of measured variables (e.g., an infrared spectrum at 1,500 wavelengths), these variables are not independent. Intensities may be correlated with one another simply because they are at adjacent wavelengths or as a consequence of chemical structural. As a result, the inherent dimensionality of the data is lower than the actual number of measurements. Multivariate statistical methods (principal component analysis, discriminant analysis, partial least squares) explore relationships between multiple features of an analytical data set and, project any systematic variability into "latent variables" space of lower dimensionality while discarding noise. These techniques, formerly used only in research settings, are finding their way into commercial software and routine applications ranging from applications in molecular biology to real-time quality control monitoring of manufacturing processes. Several applications to chemical problems will also be discussed, including correlations in the periodic table of elements, pattern recognition applied to spectroscopic data from forensic and polymer samples.
Capillary Electrophoresis/Mass Spectrometry and Microspectrophotometry for Trace Forensic Analysis of Fibers (G,S)
The principle that "every contact leaves a trace" speaks to the potential value of trace evidence found at a crime scene, or found on a victim or suspect. Fiber evidence is class evidence and fibers from different sources could be indistinguishable. The probative value of fibers found at a crime scene depends on their uniqueness relative to the fiber background normally encountered at that location in the absence of the crime. In forensic fiber comparisons, when spectra of known and questioned fibers are consistent, the hypothesis that the fibers originate from a common source should not be rejected. Forensic analytical research in our laboratory has addressed the task of achieving greater discrimination between trace evidence fibers in two different ways: by the use of UV/visible absorbance and fluorescence microspectrophotometry (MSP), and by micro-extraction/capillary electrophoresis (CE) and by CE/mass spectrometry (MS). We have applied pattern recognition techniques to fiber spectra and found MSP to exhibit high discriminating ability for comparisons among different fibers. However, fibers dyed with different dye formulations can have similar color and spectra; MSP does not identify the dyes present and cannot guarantee chemical equivalence of two fibers. After extraction of dyes from a fiber, however, CE/MS can separate extracted dye components and provide semi-quantitative estimates of dye amounts as well as qualitative information to identify the dye present (via the molecular weight and mass spectra). Although this approach is destructive to the sample, only an extremely small sample is required (~1-2 mm of a single 15 micron diameter fiber). Automated micro-extractions and CE offer analysis with % RSDs ranging from 5-25% and with limits of detection in the picogram range.
Sharon L. Neal
Exploiting the Selectivity of Multivariate Spectroscopy in Investigating Complex Systems (G)
One of the interesting trends in analytical methodology has been the development of multivariate measurements. While the power of hyphenated separations measurements such as GCMS are well known, expansion to multivariate formats have increased the utility of many other types of measurements including the quantification of hybridized probes on cDNA microarrays and resolution of photosynthetic processes in bacteria. In this presentation, a short overview of this trend will be presented, followed by a description of how multivariate spectral analysis is contributing to the study of complex fluids based on mixed lipid aggregates. These intriguing soft materials are finding applications in a variety of fields, but improved methods to characterize them are needed to fully capitalize on their unique properties.
Microenvironment Sensitive Probes in
Complex Liquids (G)
The spectra of microenvironment sensitive fluorescence probes exhibit dramatic shifts during processes such as lipid phase transitions or protein folding. This report will describe the methods developed to monitor, resolve and analyze the underlying components of multi-state probes emission during such processes. The application of these methods will be illustrated in a variety of microheterogeneous systems using different types of microenvironment sensitive probes. The well-known amino-napthalene esters, such as PRODAN derivatives, which are widely used to study lipid phase and novel amino-substituted flavonol derivatives, such as FFE, which simultaneously undergo electron and proton transfers are two examples of these types of probes. The spectral and photokinetic properties of the probes in lipids and/or proteins will be compared to their properties in isotropic solvents.
Congratulations, if This is How You Want to Spend Your Life! (P)
Many people have asked me "how did you become a scientist?" by which I think they meant "why did you make such an unusual choice?" In the exchanges that followed, I learned that most of them thought that it's great that a black woman does science, but they were also usually surprised, even concerned, because at a deep level, they weren't completely sure I was in the right place. As a young person this ambivalence was a sad surprise, even a source of concern, for me. Eventually, I saw that dichotomies characterize my life as a scientist: thrilled by uncovering natureÕs secrets one minute; confounded by recalcitrant equipment the next. The phenomenon that looks like a limitation to planned experiments turns out to be an exciting line of new inquiry. The chauvinist reconsiders and becomes a friend (well, this one is still a dream, but one day, right?) I will recount a few recollections that illustrate how central stubborn optimism is to overcoming obstacles inside and outside the research lab.
Vito Quartana
Integrating Multiscale Data for Simulating Cancer Invasion and Metastasis (G,S)
Cancer research has undergone radical changes in recent times. Producing information both at the basic and clinical levels is no longer the issue. Rather, how to handle this information has become the major obstacle to progress. Intuitive approaches are no longer feasible. The next big step will be to implement mathematical modeling approaches to interrogate the enormous amount of data being produced, and extract useful answer. Quantitative simulation of clinically relevant cancer situations, based on experimentally validated mathematical modeling, provides an opportunity for the researcher and eventually the clinician to address data and information in the context of well formulated questions and ôwhat ifö scenarios. At the Vanderbilt Integrative Cancer Biology Center (http://www.vanderbilt.edu/VICBC/) we are implementing a vision for a web site that will serve as a cancer simulational hub. To this end, we are combining expertise of an interdisciplinary group of scientist, including experimental biologists, clinical oncologists, chemical and biological engineers, computational biologists, computer modelers, theoretical and applied mathematicians and imaging scientists.
Currently, the major focus of our Center is to produce quantitative computer simulations of cancer invasion at a multiplicity of biological scales. We have several strategies for data collection and modeling approaches at each of several scales, including the cellular (100 cells) multicellular (<102 cells) and tissue level (<106-108 cells).
For the cellular scale, simulation of a single cell moving in an extracellular matrix field is being parameterized with data from lamellipodia protrusion, cell speed, haptotaxis. Some of these data are being collected in novel bioengineered gadgets.
For the multicellular scale, we have adopted the MCF10A 3dimensional mammosphere system. Several parameters, including proliferation, apoptosis, cell-cell adhesion, are being fed into a mathematical model that simulates mammosphere morphogenesis and realistically takes into account cell mechanical properties.
At the tissue level, our hybrid discrete-continuous mathematical model can predict tumor fingering based on individual cell properties. Therefore, we are parameterizing the hybrid model with data from the cellular and multicellular scales and are validating the model by in vivo imaging of tumor formation.
Understanding Life by Data Integration at Multiple Scales (P,G)
This lecture explains how the best way to understand life is by organizing the enormous amount of biological data into a continuum of scales, from molecule, to subcellular organelles, to cells, tissues, organs and organisms. Examples are given for how this is being done in cancer biology, which is becoming more and more rooted in a comprehensive, systems approach.
Biology Becomes an Exact Science (P,G)
This lecture focuses on the emergence of a new type of biomedical scientist, either experimental biologist or physician, who is fluent in the language of both mathematics and biology. It shows, with concrete examples mostly from cancer research, how biology is undergoing a fast transition akin to the transformation of alchemy into chemistry, and is adopting more and more the tools and mindset of mathematics or engineering. Considerable creative input will be necessary to finalize this transition.
Lesley Reid
Urban Crime Rates and the Changing Face of Immigration: Evidence across Three Decades (G,S)
Despite the plethora of popular commentary on the alleged link between immigration and crime, empirical research exploring this link is sparse. Noticeably missing from the literature on immigration and crime is a consideration of how rates of immigration affect rates of crime at different points in time. This talk presents research that fills this void by testing the effects of immigration on crime in metropolitan areas across three decades. This talk will present analysis of census data and crime data for 1970, 1980, 1990, and 2000 to examine how characteristics of the foreign-born population influence criminal offending across a random sample of U.S. metropolitan areas.
The Immigrant Metropolis (P,G)
Today, among scholars and the popular press, many vilify large-scale immigration as the cause of numerous urban social problems, from joblessness to crime. This talk contributes to the debate about the effects of immigration in the United States. Research will be presented that uses census data to address the impact of recent immigration on the social and economic health of urban America. The research indicates that recent immigration tends to revitalize urban areas by expanding economic opportunities for native born workers in the working and middle classes. This revitalization is not uniform across metropolitan areas, however. Metropolises with particularly large immigrant populations and those with particularly small immigrant populations experience negative effects of immigration along with the positive ones.
Hug Drug or Thug Drug? The Ecstasy Aggression Connection (G,S)
While clinical studies have established a link between aggression and ecstasy (3,4-methylenedioxymeth-amphetamine [MDMA]), no research has explored how this link manifests itself in real-world behavioral outcomes. This talk presents research examining the effects of ecstasy on aggressive and violent behavior in a sample of active users. The research indicates that those with a higher prevalence of lifetime ecstasy use exhibit higher levels of aggressive and violent behavior. However, the effect of lifetime ecstasy use differs by propensity for aggression. Those with lower propensity for aggression are actually more affected by ecstasy use than those who are more aggression prone.
Alan Robock
Climatic Consequences of Nuclear Conflict - Nuclear Winter is Still a Threat (P,G,S)
The major policy implication of nuclear winter theory in the 1980s was that a full-scale nuclear attack would produce climatic effects which would so disrupt the food supply that it would be suicide for the attacking country and would also impact non-combatant countries. The subsequent end of the arms race and reduction of superpower tensions can be traced back to the world being forced to confront both the direct and indirect consequences of the use of nuclear weapons by the public policy debate in response to nuclear winter theory.
While significant reductions of American and Russian nuclear arsenals followed, each country still retains enough weapons to produce a nuclear winter. Several other countries now possess enough nuclear weapons to not only severely damage themselves and others directly by a regional nuclear war, but also to damage the rest of the world through significant global climate changes. I will show results using a modern climate model and new estimates of smoke generated by fires in contemporary cities to calculate the response of the climate system to a regional nuclear war between emerging third-world nuclear powers using 100 Hiroshima-size bombs on cities in the subtropics, as well as scenarios of larger nuclear wars between the U.S. and Russia. For all the cases, we find significant cooling and reductions of precipitation lasting years, which would impact the global food supply. Even the regional 100-bomb scenario, using less than 0.03% of the current nuclear arsenal, would produce climate change unprecedented in recorded human history. The climate changes are large because the fuel loadings in modern cities are quite high and the subtropical solar insolation heats the resulting smoke cloud and lofts it into the high stratosphere, where removal mechanisms are slow.
The results presented here need to be tested with other climate models, and the detailed consequences on agriculture, water supply, global trade, communications, travel, air pollution, and many more potential human impacts need further study. Each of these potential hazards deserves careful analysis by governments advised by a broad section of the scientific community. Nevertheless, one policy implication is clear: only nuclear disarmament will remove the possibility of this catastrophe. Nuclear war is a greater potential environmental threat to the planet than global warming or ozone depletion, and needs immediate policy attention. Continued nuclear proliferation is extremely dangerous.
Global Warming Is Real, and What You Can Do about It (P,G,S)
2005 was the warmest year on the planet in more than 1000 years. The Earth has warmed by almost 1°C during the past 150 years, and by 0.6°C (1°F) in just the past 30 years. Was this just by chance or caused by human pollution of the atmosphere, especially by carbon dioxide? I will explain why the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report said, "Most of the observed increase in globally averaged temperatures since the mid-20th century is very likely due to the observed increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas concentrations." I will explain the science behind global warming and describe how global warming will affect us, including sea level rise, stronger hurricanes, and threats to water resources and our food supply. Finally, I will discuss policy options for addressing the problem.
How the climate will change and the impacts of global warming can be addressed by science. What society chooses to do about this is a political decision, influenced by different values and interests. However, clear understanding of the science is a necessary input to these decisions, and in this talk I will clearly separate the science aspects from the policy aspects.
Volcanic Eruptions and Climate: Comparing Climatic Response to Low and High Latitude Volcanic Eruptions (P,G,S)
Large volcanic eruptions inject sulfur gases into the stratosphere, which convert to sulfate aerosols with an e-folding residence time of about one year. The radiative and chemical effects of this aerosol cloud produce responses in the climate system. Using examples from major eruptions of the past and results from experiments with numerical models of the climate system, this talk illustrates the major impacts. Volcanic eruptions produce global cooling, and are an important natural cause of interdecadal and interannual climate change. One of the most interesting volcanic effects is the "winter warming" of Northern Hemisphere continents following major tropical eruptions. During the winter in the Northern Hemisphere following every large tropical eruption of the past century, surface air temperatures over North America, Europe, and East Asia were warmer than normal, while they were colder over Greenland and the Middle East. This pattern and the coincident atmospheric circulation correspond to the positive phase of the Arctic Oscillation. High latitude eruptions in the Northern Hemisphere, while also producing global cooling, do not have the same impact on atmospheric dynamics. They weaken the Indian and African summer monsoon, and the effects can be seen in past records of flow in the Nile and Niger Rivers. In fact we can use records of the Nile River flow to provide an improved date for the Eldgjá eruption in Iceland, which we now date at 939 A.D. Very large, but rare, eruptions, such as that of Toba 74,000 years ago, may have caused very large climate changes. Whether their effects could have lasted long enough to produce ice ages is the subject of current climate model experiments, and the results will be discussed.
Smoke and Mirrors: Is Geoengineering a Solution to Global Warming? (P,G.S)
In response to the global warming problem, there has been a recent renewed call for geoengineering "solutions" involving injecting particles into the stratosphere or blocking sunlight with satellites between the Sun and Earth. While simple calculations have shown that such measures would cool the planet on a global average basis, volcanic eruptions, the closest analogs we have to these proposed schemes, also produce large regional climate changes in temperature and precipitation. In this talk, I describe different proposed geoengineering designs, and then show climate model calculations that evaluate both their efficacy and their possible adverse consequences. At the current level of understanding, there are too many potential problems with geoengineering, and it would be much cheaper and easier to solve the global warming problem by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. These problems will be described, and include cost, continued ocean acidification, obtaining global agreement on the optimum climate, regional climate changes, ozone depletion, reduction of solar energy for power generation, and unexpected consequences.
Javier Rojo
Respirator Certification (P,G,S)
The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health is charged with the task of respirator certification. A representative panel of facial features guides the selection of subjects to don and respirators to be tested at the National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory. The processes to select the panel and the subjects are discussed.
Survival Analysis and Microarray Data (G,S)
The advent of high throughput data collection technology has led to large data sets. This has provided statisticians with many challenges. In the case of survival analysis with microarray data the technical challenges derive from the fact that typically, the number of patients (e.g. in cancer studies) is small compared to the number of genes under study. The talk will discuss these issues and provide a review of proposed approaches to address this issue.
Developing Human Resources in the Mathematica Sciences (P,G,S)
The Rice University Summer Institute of Statistics (RUSIS) is a 10-week program supported by the National Science Foundation and the National Security Agency. The goal is to encourage udnergraduate students to pursue graduate studies in theoretical statistics and/or probability. The goals of the program will be discussed and examples of students' proyects and success stories will be presented. Challenges in running such programs will also be discussed.
The Body Mass Index, Measures of Spread, and Statistical Genetics (P,G,S)
International studies have shown that population characteristics, such as BMI, change as groups migrate geographically. Examples from the literature that illustrate this observation will be presented. Connections to concepts of spread in statistics and models for linkage in statistical genetics can also be addressed.
Emily A. Tobey
Frankenstein: How Physics, Literature and Theatre led to a Scientific Success (P,G)
It is hard to imagine how a simple observation made by Volta in the late 1700's could leave a lasting legacy impacting physics, literature and theatre. Yet such an observation was made and a legacy was formed which impacts the arts and sciences in ways Volta could not conceive. It is even safer to assume that Volta had no idea that his basic reflection would lead to the restoration of multiple aspects of hearing for many deaf people around the world nearly 300 years later. Imagine a world of silence, imagine a world warning against the over reaching of man and the industrial revolution, and finally, imagine that for the first time you are hearing your child speak, listening to a horse chomp oats or hearing the fall leaves rustle in the wind. Imagine, if you will, a world no longer silent.
The Bionic Ear: Intersection of Technological Advances, Communication and Societal Change (P,G,S)
Two of the most devastating consequences of profound deafness are an inability to understand others and an inability of others to understand the speech of such a person speaking. Cochlear implants, however, are rapidly changing these consequences for many individuals who experience such hearing losses. Explore how the brain responds to electrical representations of speech, how technological advances impact communication development in young children with hearing loss, and how these factors alter societal views of deaf vs. Deaf.
Breaking the Sound Barrier (G,S)
Scientific breakthroughs on multiple fronts contribute to the success of cochlear implants for restoring many aspects of hearing to individuals with hearing losses. Silence no longer impedes oral communication in many individuals with hearing loss. Explore how scientists ask, "are two ears better than one?", "should cochlear implants be given to infants?", "can all languages be electrically coded using similar strategies?", and "is listening to opera out of the question?"
Communication Through Electrical Hearing (S) Oral communication is greatly aided by cochlear implants in young children with sensorineural hearing losses. This talk will review current research discussing how cochlear implants influence the development of communication. Presentation will review research related to speech perception, speech production, language, and literacy. Developmental changes and changes due to clinical intervention when exposed to electrical representations of speech will be explored. Talk may be adjusted to meet audience sophistication and interest.
Robert H. Tykot
Mediterranean Trade in Black Gold: The Sources and Distribution of Obsidian (P,G,S)
Stone tools are critically important to the interpretation of past human behaviors and lifeways. Studies of obsidian in particular have the potential for reconstructing the entire chaîne opératoire of activities represented, including quarrying, production, transport, trade, and use. This paper focuses on scientific studies of obsidian in the central Mediterranean, where obsidian artifacts are often found up to hundreds of kilometers from their geological sources on the islands of Lipari, Palmarola, Pantelleria, and Sardinia. With the support of NSF, intensive field surveys of these sources were conducted and have resulted in the precise location and documentation of each obsidian flow or outcrop. The analyses of geological samples from each island prove that subsources often have different physical and chemical characteristics that can be determined using non-destructive, inexpensive techniques including visual description, density measurement, neutron activation analysis, X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, and laser ablation ICP mass spectrometry. Nearly 2000 obsidian artifacts from Neolithic and Bronze Age (ca. 6000-1000 BC) sites in Spain, France, Italy, Croatia, and Tunisia have now been visually, physically, and if necessary, chemically analyzed by these methods. The results provide new insights into the socioeconomic role of obsidian trade during the chronological phase in which agriculture, village settlements, and ceramics first appear in the central Mediterranean region. When joined with technological and use-wear studies, as well as the excavation of a large obsidian workshop site in Sardinia, these results provide a more complete understanding of obsidian use, and the sociocultural circumstances in which it was embedded.
They Are What They Ate: Bone Chemistry and Ancient Diets (P,G,S)
Stable carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen isotope analysis of skeletal tissues is able to quantify the proportions of C3 and C4 plants (e.g. maize) and the contribution of freshwater and/or marine resources to otherwise terrestrial diets, as well as variations in trophic level of the foods consumed. Analyses on archaeological skeletal remains have been done now for more than 30 years, on projects from early hominins living millions of years ago to historic peoples in different parts of the world, and using different tissues (bone collagen, bone apatite, tooth enamel and dentin, hair, flesh, and fingernails) as well as residues (in ceramics, on stone tools). This presentation includes the history of isotope studies, the modern methods used to produce reliable results, the scientific hypotheses that may now be tested, and some examples of these applications around the world.
The Domestication and Spread of Maize in the New World (P,G,S)
Stable carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen isotope analysis of skeletal tissues is able to quantify the proportions of C3 and C4 plants (e.g. maize) and the contribution of freshwater and/or marine resources to otherwise terrestrial diets, as well as variations in trophic level of the foods consumed. In addition, while studies of faunal and floral remains, pollen and phytoliths, and ceramic residues are complementary, the isotope analyses allow the comparison of individual dietary practices with variables such as sex and/or status, as well as ecological, chronological, and cultural settings. A synthetic perspective for the New World is presented here based on collagen, apatite, tooth enamel, and hair data from many sites in North, Central, and South America. [if desired, can also be focused on one of these geographic areas: South America; Mesoamerica; or North America]
Veronica Vaida
Solar Energy and the Environment (G)
Sun-light in Atmospheric Chemistry and Climate (S)
Water Aggregates in the Earth's Contemporary and Prebiotic Atmosphere (G)
Cost competitive carbon-neutral energy is needed to reduce the anthropogenic impact on global climate, provide energy security for the United States, and enable a rise in the world's standard of living. For environmental, geopolitical, and health care reasons, it can be argued that finding and implementing such energy resources is the single most important challenge facing the world in the 20th century. This global challenge has interdisciplinary elements ranging from chemical, physical and environmental sciences, to international law, to studies of the role of existing infrastructure and consumer habits. As the world's population increases in the next 50 years concomitant with economic growth in previously undeveloped countries, new methods must be discovered for converting sunlight, biomass, wind, geothermal energy, and nuclear fuels to useful and transportable energy resources. Specifically, solar photochemistry will be discussed as an example of renewable energy with minimal environmental impacts
This presentation focuses on environmental effects of energy consumption. Chemical issues related to the earth temperature and climate will be discussed in an attempt to build bridges between research in energy sciences and environmental sciences.
Roger White
Living in Nature: Integrating the Social and Environmental Sciences in Computer Based Models (G,S)
Many of our most pressing problems are the result of the way society interacts with the natural environment. But a functional integration of the social and natural sciences has remained elusive. Part of the problem is that the social sciences, especially sociology and economics, are largely a-spatial (think of the treatment of market equilibrium by economists), while problems in the natural environment are typically contingent on spatial relations (habitat fragmentation is an example). High resolution models of land cover and land use provide a very functional way of linking the two scientific domains. For example, a demographic model predicts an increase in population in a region. Linking that model to a dynamic land use model allows the latter to show which specific parcels of land are likely to be developed and when; thus a prediction of the future course of habitat fragmentation can be generated. In general, the land use model can be seen as a platform through which models from various disciplines can be linked, so that indirectly, each model is forced to respond to the constraints provided by the output of the others. Several cases illustrate the approach. For example, in The Netherlands, where most nature is not natural (it is not uncommon to see a billboard to the effect of Coming soon on this site: 25 ha of Nature) integrated models of the human and natural systems are being used to explore the future living environment of the Dutch people under alternative policy options. And in Italy, linked land use and hydrological models are being developed to examine the likely impact of future floods in growing urban regions.
Cities and Regions as Complex Self-Organizing Entities: From Dynamical Theory to Planning and Policy Support Tools with Cellular Automata Based Urban Models (P,G,S)
Cities and regions are highly complex but highly ordered entities in which the structure largely emerges spontaneously as a result of innumerable specific actions taken by individuals and organizations. The tools of complexity theory are allowing rapid advances in our understanding of the process by which this occurs. For example, a number of aspects of cities have been shown to have characteristic fractal dimensions, a signature of self-organization. Dynamic simulation models of urban structure, based on cellular automata, generate high resolution predictions of land use patterns characterized by the same fractal dimensions. These advances are of scientific interest in themselves, but they also have practical applications. The models are now being configured to permit planners to perform what-if experiments: what if a new expressway is built on a certain route what will be the impact on the city over the next ten or twenty-five years? What if a commuter rail line is built instead? What if nothing is done? Versions of these models are now being tested by the Spatial Plan Bureau for The Netherlands and the Institute for Environment and Sustainability of the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission. As smart growth policies are contemplated in a number of North American cities, these are the models that will permit the long term impact of various proposed plans to be visualized and analyzed.
High Resolution Prediction of Growth and Change in Urban Regions: Exploding Grid Cellular Automata with Power-Law Spatial Interaction (G,S)
Cities are highly structured, ever changing agglomerations of people and their economic and social activities. Recent years have seen the development of dynamic simulation models that capture local-scale processes. These models are based on cellular automata and reliably predict changing land use patterns. Other, more traditional models, formulated in terms of spatial interaction equations, are used to predict the changing distribution of people and economic activities among larger spatial units like counties; these macro-scale models are less successful. An exploding grid cellular automaton, in which the cell neighborhood includes the entire modeled area, but with lower resolution at increasing distances, makes it possible to include the long distance spatial interaction effects within the cellular framework without sacrificing the computational efficiency of the cellular approach. The result is a single model which is much simpler but gives better results than the two types of model it replaces, providing more accurate and reliable predictions of future spatial structure. The approach also yields a deeper insight into the processes that generate structure in urban regions.
Michael Wolf
How Nature Chooses its Shape: The Mathematics of Soap Films (G,S)
From the time of Leibniz's theological description of this world as the best of all possible worlds, mathematicians have struggled to explain why nature is shaped the way we find it. We introduce the mathematical field of the "calculus of variations", using soapy water experiments to illustrate the richness of examples possible in the mathematical subfield of minimal surfaces -- an aesthetically pleasing area explored nightly by small children in their bathtubs.
The Dreary Comfort of the Mathematics Curriculum (P)
Most high school students and undergraduates take mathematics courses. With a small amount of attention from the lecturer, these courses are inoffensive, relatively easy to take, quite easy to teach, and rather uninspiring -- all but the most passionate of incoming students with an interest in math eventually adopt different majors. Yet this situation certainly doesn't derive from the nature of mathematics, as several U.S. departments have enormous enrollments in their mathematics majors. We make several observations from our perspective of professor, department chair, and director of a mathematical research program for students and most recently, live-in advisor to 300 undergraduates.
Non-Euclidean Geometry and the Shapes of Space (G)
High school geometry is the Euclidean geometry of flat two-dimensional planes. This talk is an introduction to the rich world of the geometry of shapes that are not necessarily two-dimensional, are definitely not flat and are not planes -- yet still retain the appealing aesthetics of abundant symmetry present in Euclidean planes. There has been quite a lot of recent progress in understanding these shapes, and we briefly survey that work.