Science at the Center
Wednesdays: 12.50 p.m. -1 p.m., Mc.Connell foyer
Science at the Center is a weekly event organized to highlight science and the research interests of the faculty at the science center. Once a week, a short 10 minute presentation by a faculty on a topic will take place. It will be an informal presentation of an idea and/or a demonstration on a topic of interest chosen by the speaker. The goal of the series is to provide a weekly event that brings faculty and students together over a science topic.
September 28
The Energy Dashboard: Who is piloting Smith's energy use?
Judith Cardell, Engineering Program & Computer Science Department
So, you would like to use less electricity, water, steam heat, wouldn't you? You would be happy to
help Smith College meet our sustainability goals, right? But how do you know what you use now, and
how much is too much, just how much do you need to give up? As part of implementing our grand
sustainability and climate action plan (SCAMP), we will soon have an Energy Dashboard, that will
answer all these questions and more! Be one of the first to preview our dashboard and see what it can do
to help our community learn to use fewer resources.
October 5
There is a story in every rock
John Brady, Geosciences Department
Even the most ordinary of rocks contains clues to its history in its shape, texture, mineralogy, and
chemistry. In some cases the history that can be discovered is quite complex and provides insights into
the workings of the earth and its materials. The secrets of a metamorphic rock from Greece will be
revealed. If you wish, bring your own rock and stay after 1pm for a reading of its clues.
October 12
Bell's Theorem
Travis Norsen, Physics Department
Bell's Theorem, discovered in 1964 by physicist John Bell, has been described as "the most profound
discovery of science." It is also regarded by many physicists as irrelevant to physics, and hence relegated
to the footnotes and afterwords of most quantum physics texts. Come learn what Bell's Theorem is, why
it's profound, and why many physicists are flat wrong about its significance!
October 19
How much string do you need to tie a knot?
Elizabeth Denne, Mathematics Department
This talk gives a very brief introduction to geometric knot theory. We'll look at thick knots (knots with
tubes of a fixed diameter about them) and try to answer questions about the shape of thick knots when
their length is minimized (when the knot is pulled tight).
October 26
Jedi Psychokinesis: A demonstration that hoodwinked scientists
George M. Robinson, Psychology Department
Magician James Randi demonstrated that although scientists are experts in analyzing evidence and
critical thinking, they are easily fooled under certain conditions using “empirical Jujutsu,” in which
their strengths are misdirected to become weaknesses. You will see a demonstration that baffled 60 PhD
scientists at the Harvard Center for Astrophysics. Some of them even accepted a fictional explanation
based on vector gauge bosons (Gluons) interacting with Gravitons. As scientists we need to understand
how we can be fooled by nature, by misguided colleagues, by scientific fraud, and even our own
enthusiasm.
November 2
The Bathtub Effect: Why Stabilizing CO2 emissions won't stabilize CO2 levels in
the atmosphere and why that means it's long past time to call the plumber
Nathanael Fortune, Physics Department
The amount of CO2 in the atmosphere is continuing to rise, and with it, the Earth's temperature. We're
already at 390 ppm CO2, and we're rising by about 2 ppm/year. Several target concentrations have been
proposed to avoid runaway climate change, the most common being 550 ppm, 450 ppm or even 350 ppm.
Unfortunately, the most common proposed solution to this problem -- finding a way to stabilize CO2
emissions at or slightly below present levels -- won't keep atmospheric concentrations from continuing to
rise. In 10 short minutes, I'll discuss why, and why that means we need a plumber.
November 9
What is cloud computing? What is it good for? How can I use it? How do I use it?
Dominique Theibaut, Computer Science Department
In this 10-minute talk I will explain what cloud computing is, why we should care about it, how we
use it in our everyday life, and how cloud computing can be useful to scientists for running complex
computations.
November 16
Co-Opting Nature's Strategy: Evolution of Functional Molecules by Unnatural Selection
David J. Gorin, Chemistry Department
Evolution in nature requires that traits for fitness pass from one generation to the next; the preferential
survival of some traits over others occurs by natural selection. Humans have co-opted this strategy
to breed organisms with particular characteristics (e.g. lap dogs). In the last half-century, we have
developed methods for selection and evolution in non-living systems, enabling the discovery of molecules
with desired properties. We will discuss the requirements for evolving functional molecules, notable
successes in this area, and the future promise of evolved molecules.
