September, 25 2009
Eric Baer
Will Seattle Skyscrapers Survive the Great Cascadia Earthquake?
Seattle sits just 70 or so miles from one of the largest faults on Earth. What will happen when
that fault breaks? Will our skyscrapers survive? The answer is far harder to get at than you might expect.
We don’t really know what the shaking will be like so close to such a large fault. Also, modern steel
skyscrapers have never been subjected to such shaking so we don’t really know how they will respond. How do
geologists and engineers determine if our skyscrapers are safe or not?
Posted on October, 2 2009
October 2, 2009
Lonnie Sommer
Homo floresiensis "The Hobbit": an update on the most exciting archeological find of the 21st century
Standing only 3 feet tall and having lived as recently as 12,000 years ago, Homo Floresiensis has generated both
excitement and controversy within the archaeological community.
Posted on October, 2 2009
October 9, 2009
Tina Ostrander
Finding Wonderland: Using Alice to Teach Programming and Recruit Women into Computer Science
What are the tools one can use to bring more women into the field of Computer Science. Before he died, Randy Pausch (author of the best selling “The Last Lecture”) created a tool that he thought would make learning programming easier, more fun, and importantly more attractive to women. Note: This seminar will meet in 29-308.
Posted on October, 13 2009
October 16, 2009
Campus Closed
No Science Seminar this week. The Campus is Closed.
No description.
Updated on September, 22 2009
October 23, 2009
Anne Whitson
Food Addictions
Is sugar as addictive as cocaine? Should there be a “sin” tax on soda? Anne Whitson participated in a major conference on food addictions held right here in the Puget Sound. Come find out how recent findings are changing the way experts think about metabolic syndrome, obesity, diet, and government policy.
Updated on October, 26 2009
October 30, 2009
Mayra Hernandez
Statistical Analysis of Megatinomic Data
A metagenome is the combined genetic material from an environment. Mayra Hernadez will discuss how she and
six students, as part of a research team, used statistics to analyze this data and make some amazing discoveries.
If you ever thought research was just for PhDs in white jackets, this talk will help set you straight.
Updated on November, 13 2009
November 6, 2009
Bill Love
Particle Physics on a Budget with CESR
What is matter made of? Most know of molecules, and atoms, but these are also made up of even smaller particles. From 1979 to 2008 the Cornell Electron Storage Ring (CESR) collided electron and positron beams, producing a spray of particles observed by the CLEO detector. Together, CESR and CLEO revealed the important properties of the bottom and charm quarks and the tau lepton. The last years of operation were dedicated to the charm quark in a program known as CLEO-c. The CLEO-c data, now under analysis, delve further into the mysteries of the charm quark, and provide important new information about the strong force, which binds protons and neutrons and governs quark behavior.
Updated on September, 22 2009
November 13, 2009
Kaddee Lawrence
When Whales had Feet
What do whales and Egypt have in common? If you answered 'Nothing', you need to know about Wadi el Hitan (Valley of the Whales)!
Updated on September, 22 2009
November 20, 2009
Rich Bankhead, Gregory Reinemer, Ben Thomas
The 3rd Annual Physics show (Building 7)
Three departments, one science seminar: who will have the most fiery performance? Will the force be with them? Just how shocking will it be? Trust me, you don’t want to miss this one!
Updated on September, 22 2009
November 27, 2009
Campus Closed
The College is Closed for the Thanksgiving Holiday
No description.
Updated on September, 22 2009
December 4, 2009
Steven Swope
Swine Flu
Why is swine flu called “swine flu”? How do you know if you have it? Why is it such a big deal? Could it get worse? Why isn’t there enough vaccine? Why does it seem to be worse in younger people?
Updated on September, 22 2009
