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

 

Judges Needed for the Buckeye Science and Engineering Fair

Dear Colleagues:

The Buckeye Science and Engineering Fair (BSEF) is Ohio’s premier STEM competition for students in grades 9-12. More than 120 students will compete for the opportunity to represent the BSEF at the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF). The BSEF will advance a total of six (6) student projects to the ISEF, where they will be joined by 1,700 students from nearly 70 different countries. ISEF students will compete for nearly $4,000,000 in scholarships and awards. The 2019 ISEF will be held in Phoenix from May 12-16.

For the BSEF to operate effectively, we need approximately 60 judges from among a variety of disciplines. Historically, there seems to be a shortage of professionals to represent Biomedical & Health Sciences, Biomedical Engineering, and Translational Medical Science.

The Ohio Academy of Science needs you! Please consider lending your expertise by volunteering as a judge for BSEF 2019. You will be challenged by these high-level projects. But you will also enjoy a great day of fellowship with colleagues from across the state as you evaluate and help develop Ohio’s pipeline of STEM talent. I think you will have fun, be inspired, and leave with a positive outlook on the future.

The BSEF is on April 6, 2019 at the CAS complex (2540 Olentangy River Rd., Columbus, OH 43202). You can register as a judge at this site

 

Annual Banquet and Research Symposium

The Annual Banquet and Research Symposium for our Ohio State chapter of Sigma Xi will be on Thursday, April 18 from 5-9 pm in room 115 of the Biomedical Research Tower (460 W. 12th Ave). Our keynote speaker for this year will be Dr. Omowunmi (Wunmi) Sadik from the State University of New York. The cost for tickets will be $30, with early-bird dinner tickets available until April 1, 2019 for a reduced price of $25. A cash bar will also be available.
Tickets can be purchased by credit card here on Eventbrite (http://go.osu.edu/Cr55). Please contact Dr. Lynette Rogers (Lynette.Rogers@nationwidechildrens.org) for information or to purchase your ticket by check. Additional details on the research symposium will follow separately and all members are welcome to present a research poster. To reserve a poster board or for more information please contact Dr. Noah Weisleder (noah.weisleder@osumc.edu).

E-cigarettes: Not a lucky Strike

Ohio State Sigma Xi and the Ohio State University Libraries sponsor our OSU Science Cafe. These events represent a grassroots movement that exist all over the world. They take place in casual settings, are open to everyone, and feature an engaging conversation with a scientist about a particular topic. More infortmation is at: go.osu.edu/osusciencecafe

Our next science cafe is on “E-cigarettes: Not a lucky strike” on Feb 6th at 6:30pm in the Research Commons, 18th Avenue Library
Despite having been introduced ten years ago, little is known of the impact of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) on human health. ENDS usage is rapidly rising among adolescents and young adults, partially due to a perception that ENDS are safer than cigarettes. The CDC recently reported that 20.4 million individuals have tried ENDS at least once, and that 2.5 million children have used the products as well. This talk will focus on the effects of e-cigarettes on oral health.

The speaker is: Purnima Kumar, Professor of Periodontology, College of Dentistry About our speaker:

Dr. Purnima Kumar is a Professor of Periodontology at The Ohio State University. She received her dental degree from Annamalai University in India and Masters in Periodontology and PhD in Molecular Microbiology from The Ohio State University. She is a Diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology. Dr. Kumar has practiced and taught periodontology in India, United Arab Emirates and the USA. She maintains an active research that is funded through the NIH, NCI and industry.

Announcing the Fall 2018 Grant-In-Aid of Research Awardees

 

Congratulations to the Fall 2018 Grant-In-Aid of Research Winners! We look forward to honouring you at the Annual Banquet in Spring 2019

 

2018 GIAR Awardees:

Swagata Goswami, Cellular and Developmental Biology Graduate Program. Project Title: “Role of p21 in cell cycle and differentiation decisions of myeloid cells in health and disease”

Elif Kolanci, Neuroscience Graduate Program. Project Title: “Exploring the roles of sex and intestinal microbial composition in stress-enhanced anxiety-like behavior

 

Honorable Mentions:

Sunayana Nayak, Biomedical Science Graduate Program. Project Title: “Role of a novel regulator in nutrient acquisition pathways in cancer”

Nguyen “Archie” Tram, Biomedical Engineering Graduate Program. Project Title: “Preventing blindness: A novel vitreous substitute”

Edna Alfaro Inocente, Entomology Graduate Program. Project Title: “Discovery of natural drimane sesquiterpenes from Madagascan medicinal plants (Cinnamosma spp.) with insecticidal and repellent activities against mosquitoes”

Thomas Bodnar Biochemistry Graduate Program. Project Title: “Downstream proteins that facilitate sarcolemma membrane repair have potential as therapeutics for Duchenne muscular dystrophy” 

Julia Zezinka, Undergraduate Student in Speech and Hearing Science. Project Title: “Outcomes measurement in augmentative & alternative communication device interventions”

Jenna Wilson, Undergraduate Student in Cognitive Neuroscience. Project Title: “A new thrombolytic to prevent or attenuate myocardial infarction”

 

Join us on the next Suds n’ Science Tour – OSU Driving Simulation Laboratory

The Ohio State University Driving Simulation Laboratory offers a state-of-the-art facility for measuring driver behavior. The facility provides tools for evaluating in-vehicle systems for infotainment and vehicle guidance to ensure conformance with National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) driver distraction guidelines. They also investigate attention, stress, cognitive workload and other factors in the driving task; and measure driver preference for braking, steering, and other vehicle handling characteristics. The lab works with a variety of partners from the automotive industry, as well as with researchers at Ohio State, other universities and the Ohio Supercomputer Center. Come and learn more about this amazing facility, and then join Sigma Xi researchers from a variety of disciplines at Meister’s (1168 Chambers Rd, Columbus, OH 43212) for further discussion.

All are welcome to attend.

November 1st, 2018 4:00-5:00PM

The Ohio State University, 1305 Kinnear Rd, Suite 194, Columbus, OH 43212

Please RSVP to Bailey Dye (bailey.dye@nationwidechildrens.org) by October 29th

 

 

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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Recent Sigma Xi Presentations

On August 9th, Dr. Barbara Ryden from the OSU Department of Astronomy presented as part of the COSI After Dark – Time Travel program! Sigma Xi supports the COSI After Dark program by providing speakers from our membership for their events. If you are interested in serving as a speaker in future COSI After Dark events please contact Bailey Dye.

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On September 5th, 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. Alex Oliszewski, an OSU Associate Professor of Media Design gave a talk entitled: “Disciplinary Illusions: Enter the TransDisciplinary”. During his talk, Dr. Oliszewski discussed how transdisciplinary approaches and efforts are crucial to solving the worlds big problems!

 

Vote of our next Suds n’ Science event

The final opportunity to vote of a time for our next Suds n’ Science event is this Friday, August 31st, The event will be held at 4 pm in the evening later this fall on a date you can help determine. Please take a few moments to complete the doodle poll with your availability for the listed dates.  doodle.com/poll/ms4vwsqcnpi7w59q

 

As a reminder, Suds n’ Science is a free, biannual Sigma Xi program in which a host scientific group presents their research, and guides a tour of their facilities to 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. This fall we will be touring the OSU Driving Simulation Laboratory, featuring simulators, software and systems for obtaining physiological measurements, all working together to measure driver behavior.  More information about this facility can be found at http://drivesim.osu.edu

Additional event information will be communicated once the date is set.  Please email Bailey Dye (bailey.dye@nationwidechildrens.org) with any questions.

Science Cafe: “Disciplinary Illusions: Enter the TransDisciplinary”

Science Cafes represent a grassroots movement that exist all over the world. They take place in casual settings, are open to everyone, and feature an engaging conversation with a scientist about a particular topic.Our first OSU Science Cafe of this year will be on “Disciplinary Illusions: Enter the TransDisciplinary”. It will occur September 5th @ 6:30pm in the 18th Avenue Library (175 W 18th Ave, Columbus, OH 43210) Research Commons (3rd Floor). More information can be found at: library.osu.edu/news/science-cafe

Our speaker will:
• Describe and then argue for transdisciplinarity approaches and efforts as being crucial to solving to the worlds big problems of the day.
• Provide examples from my work and research.
• Describe a design process he has been developing that supports and fosters transdisciplinary creations.

The speaker will be Alex Oliszewski, Associate Professor of Media Design Alex Oliszewski’s specialization is in theatrical media design + devising. His technical knowledge includes sound, lighting, stagecraft, and performance in video, musical, dance, play, and interactive forms. His MFA graduate studies in Interdisciplinary Digital Media and Theatre at Arizona State University. His interdisciplinary work includes online training resources for women in STEM, dementia care training, public art, and course development work.