April 21, 2017
Wainwright Joseph (Mathematics)
What does a Fibonacci Number look like?
The Fibonacci numbers are ubiquitous in nature and mathematics. For example, these numbers can be used to describe rabbit breeding habits or the count the number of spirals in a sunflower plant. In this talk we will discuss some of the basic properties of the Fibonacci numbers, the connection between Fibonacci numbers and the golden ratio, and we will discuss a recent paper by Persi Diaconis in which he encodes the Fibonacci numbers as a binary string and uses probability to answer the question of what a Fibonacci number looks like.
April 28, 2017
Karleigh Knorr and Deb Moore (Library)
Tackling Fake News: Is This News Real?
Social media and other online sources provide us with instant, and often intriguing, eye-catching, news. With so much variety in the types of resources we have access to and the overwhelming amount of information being produced, there has become an increased need to verify and determine the accuracy of information in order to sort fact from fiction. As we discuss the variety of news and fake news sources, the filter bubble, and fact checking strategies, we will learn more about how to become better evaluators of information.
May 12, 2017
Eric Baer
Under a Mile of Ice
The glacial history of the Puget Sound and how it impacts us to this day Most of what we live and work on (including the ground underneath Highline) was left there by a gigantic glacier. The consequences of this are ever present and far reaching - from the difficulty in traveling East to West, the problems with Bertha, the water we drink, our yearly landslides, and more.
May 19, 2017
Mark Kerr (U. S. Army Corps of Engineers)
HERA XII: Life as a terrestrial Astronaut
Mark Kerr will be sharing his experience as a NASA Human Research Subject during a Human Space Analogue study for NASA at the Johnson Space Center. The study, officially known as HERA (Human Exploration Research Analog) is a high fidelity mockup of the International Space Station (ISS). For 30 days, while in isolation from the outside world, except for routine Mission Control communication, crewmembers performed various activities and operational tasks which parallel closely the workday tasks, general housekeeping and maintenance of the ISS.
May 26, 2017
Darin Smith (Physical Education)
Searching for the Fountain of Youth
"Everybody wants to live forever, but no one wants to grow old" - Jonathan Swift. Unfortunately, one of the inevitable truths of life is that we are destined to age (if we are lucky), and with those advancing years we can expect declines in the structure, function, and health of the mind and the body. The good news is that exercise holds the key to slowing many of these age-related declines, reversing some of the changes that may have already occurred, and increasing the length and quality of our lives. Come find out more about how exercise affects the aging process and why it may be the closest thing we have to the fountain of youth.
June 2, 2017
Savio Pham with Juliet Deng
Data Science: A Pathway to STEM for Women
Data Science has been a buzz word since 2013 and the literature has shown attention to its exponential growth. Similar to the digital revolution of the internet just a little over 20 years ago, data science is considered the next big thing as the abundance of data (in many forms) helps lower the uncertainty of the future. Come to this talk and see how Data Science is shaping the next digital wave and why it is a preferable pathway to STEM for women.
