This is a short reminder of two presentations this week that are of interest to our Ohio State Sigma Xi membership:

1) Our next Science Cafe presentation will be “Science and Wikipedia: What You Didn’t Know” by Jonathan McMahon, President, of OSU Wikipedia Connection. The presentation will be on February 7th at 6:30pm at the Research Commons (18th Avenue Library, 175 W 18th Ave, Columbus, OH 43210). More information is available here:
library.osu.edu/news/science-cafe

2) Sigma Xi supports the COSI After Dark program by providing speakers from our membership for their events. On February 8th from 6pm to 10pm there will be a COSI After Dark with a theme of the COSI Olympics. During this session Noah Weisleder will present a short talk on “Bigger, Faster, Stronger: Changes in optimal performance in Olympian over the years”. More information is available here:
cosi.org/adults/cosi-after-dark

If you are interested in serving as a speaker in future COSI After Dark events please contact Kelly Crowe (Kelly.Crowe@nationwidechildrens.org).

The next Science Cafe presentation is meant to topple some of the more common misconceptions about using and editing Wikipedia. In the process, it will also introduce you to how the Wikipedia community is working to dispel those myths and improve itself by embracing modern technology and getting the community involved. We’ll also highlight some of Wikipedia Connection’s activities in light of those larger project goals. We’ll finish up with some key ways you, as scientists, are in a special position to help improve the world’s largest free encyclopedia.

Our speaker will be Jonathan McMahon, President of the OSU Wikipedia Connection. Jonathan McMahon is a third year student currently studying chemical engineering. He grew up near Cleveland, Ohio and was interested in science, computers, and related topics as a youth. He became involved with Wikipedia  at OSU after having experience with other wiki-style projects in the past.
The presentation will be on February 7th @ 6:30pm at the Research Commons (18th Avenue Library). Please see the attached flyer and distribute in your area as appropriate.

For more information please contact Daniel Dotson (dotson.77@osu.edu).

Our monthly seminar series – Science Cafe – has been featured in a recent article in The Lantern! Click here to read the full article.

Distinguished University Professor Clark Larsen will present an interactive Science Café on his studies of one of the first large cities, Çatalhöyük in central Turkey, on Wednesday, November 1 at 6:30 pm in the Research Commons (3rd Floor, 18th Avenue Library). Dr. Larsen’s team has studied human remains, household artifacts and ecology to interpret urban life and the impact of plant and animal domestication during the highly dynamic period of 8,000 to 9,000 years ago. Click here to read more!