Suds n’ Science: Orton Museum Tour

Join us for the next Sigma Xi Suds and Science event to be held on Tuesday, April 30th at 5 pm at the Orton Geological Museum (155 Oval Dr S, Columbus, OH 43210) where we will explore rocks, minerals and fossils from Ohio and around the world! The Orton Geological Museum was founded in 1893 by Edward Orton, Sr., a geologist and the first President of The Ohio State University. Originally the Museum contained about 10,000 specimens from Dr. Orton’s teaching collection. Today the Orton Geological Museum holds more than 54,000 numbered specimens and is visited by scholars from around the world. The displays and collections are an important part of many Ohio State University courses and the Museum is also open to the public (https://ortongeologicalmuseum.osu.edu/).

 

As a reminder, Suds n’ Science is a free, biannual Sigma Xi program in which a host scientific group presents their research, and/or guides a tour of their facilities for other science and research professionals within the Ohio State community. The tour group and host group then generally adjourn to a campus pub for further discussions. These events provide an excellent opportunity to learn more about key research groups on campus and establish interdisciplinary collaborations.

Following this session, the tour group will then adjourn to a location TBA for further discussion.

This event is free to attend but space is limited, so please RSVP by email to Bailey Dye (bailey.dye@nationwidechildrens.org) by April 23rd. Please contact her with any additional questions you might have.

The Next Science Cafe is April 3rd

Surviving South African Apartheid

April 3, 2019  –  6:30 PM

Research Commons – 3rd Floor, 18th Avenue Library

 

Professor McKee lived in South Africa from 1986 to 1996, a time period spanning a ‘state of emergency’ to the end of apartheid and the beginning of a true democracy. His paleoanthropological research led him to ‘homelands’ created by ‘grand apartheid,’ where he got to know local customs and ways of life. There he witnessed the true costs of racism and bigotry, but also learned the resilience of the human spirit. This presentation is an anthropological look at apartheid, told through personal experience.

About our speaker:

Jeffrey K McKee, Department of Anthropology, The Ohio State University

Professor McKee got his BA degree from Miami University and his MA and PhD from Washington University (St. Louis). He then spent a decade teaching at the University of the Witwatersrand Medical School (Johannesburg,South Africa) and leading excavations at the early hominin fossil sites of Taung and Makapansgat. He returned to Ohio in 1996, conducting research on paleoecology, modeling of evolutionary processes, and contemporary biodiversity and demography. He is now learning to play bass guitar.

Sponsors:

Sigma Xi – The Ohio State University Chapter
The Ohio State University Libraries

 

Photos from the October Science Cafe

On October 3rd, The Ohio State Chapter of Sigma Xi and Ohio State University Libraries hosted a seminar at our monthly “Science Cafe” on the 3rd Floor of the 18th Avenue Library in the Research Commons. Our speaker was Dr. Marie-Catherine de Marneffe who is an assistant professor in Linguistics at OSU and her talk was entitled – Linguistics and “Big Data” Learning from Each Other.

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Upcoming Science Cafe Seminars

Join us tomorrow (June 20th) and on June 28th for our Science Cafe Public Seminars!

Cool Chemistry

Talk by Angie Miller (Demonstration Lab Supervisor in OSU Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry)

Wed June 20th 7-8pm in Old Worthington Library

Ice that never melts, a gas that’s colder than Antarctica, and what would happen to a marshmallow in outer space, – everything can be explained by chemistry! Learn about all this and more during this fun program, presented in partnership with OSU Libraries. You bring the kids, we bring the chemistry. The Chemistry Demonstration lab provides models and demos for undergraduate chemistry classes. We also provide, perform, and facilitate upwards of 50 outreach events each year, from demo shows to hands-on tables to experiments. Angie has been the supervisor in the Demo Lab since 2010, and she estimates she has made at least 200 marshmallow people and used 1000L of liquid nitrogen.

 

Ohio Animals

Talk by Amanda Kriner (Director of Education and Volunteers, Richland County Park District)

Thurs June 28th 7-8pm in Northwest Library

Frogs and turtles and snakes, oh my! This presentation will talk about the cool creatures you can find in Ohio natural areas, including your own backyard. Participants will have opportunities to see, touch, and hold native wildlife during and after this presentation. This family friendly program will be fun and educational for all ages. Amanda has a bachelor’s degree in biology and environmental science from Ashland University and uses it daily as the Education Director for the Richland County Park District. No animal is too big or too small to escape her interest, and she loves talking to people about them all.

 

 

May 10th Suds n’ Science at Byrd Polar

The next Sigma Xi Suds n’ Science tour will take place on May 10th at 4 pm at The Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center (BPCRC). This facility at The Ohio State University is recognized internationally as a leader in polar, alpine, and climate research. Research programs are conducted throughout the world. The Center is named in honor of Admiral Richard E. Byrd, America’s most famous polar explorer. There are ten research groups at BPCRC, along with a Library, Archival Program, the Polar Rock Repository, and a team of support staff. Research at the Center focuses on the role of cold regions in the Earth’s overall climate system and encompasses geological sciences, geochemistry, glaciology, paleoclimatology, meteorology, remote sensing, ocean dynamics, and the history of polar exploration. If you would like to join us for this special tour, please RSVP (preferably by April 19th) by emailing Bailey Dye (bailey.dye@nationwidechildrens.org). Click here to locate Byrd Polar.

Photos from April 4th Science Cafe Seminars

On April 4th, The Ohio State Chapter of Sigma Xi and Ohio State University Libraries hosted two seminar speakers at our monthly “Science Cafe” on the 3rd Floor of the 18th Avenue Library in the Research Commons.

Our first speaker was Dr. Emily De Los Reyes from Nationwide Children’s Hospital & OSU College of Medicine. Her talk was titled: “Neurological Disease, Alternatives to Care”. Our second speaker was Dr. Kerry Dhakal from OSU Health Sciences Library. Her talk was titled: “Exposing Fake News about Cannabinoids”.

If you are interested in speaking at future Science Cafe Seminars and have a topic in mind, please contact email scicafe@osu.edu

Dr. Emily De Los Reyes presents at Science Cafe (04.04.18)

Dr. Kerry Dhakal presents at Science Cafe (04.04.18)

 

Sigma Xi nominated speaker, Randolph Roth to present at COSI After Dark

On April 5th, don’t miss this COSI After Dark talk by Sigma Xi nominated speaker, Professor Randolph Roth entitled “How Violent Was the Old West?” Most Americans believe the Old West was a violent place. Not surprisingly, however, historians have engaged in a heated debate over the years over exactly how violent the Old West was. But thanks to the careful work of scholars over the past forty years—and the help of a little introductory statistics—we now know the answer. If you’d like to know the odds on whether you and your loved ones would have survived a decade or two in the Old West, please attend!