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Where and When
This semester, the Science Cafe will be held on one night in Potsdam only, in the Potsdam Civic Center Community Room at 2 Park Street. Each presentation will begin at 7:15 pm.
Would you like to be added to the Science Café email list? Please send your request or any questions to sciencecafe@clarkson.edu.
Any program changes or updates will be available at clarkson.edu/sciencecafe.
Zooming to a Good Night's Sleep
Potsdam: Wednesday, February 8, 7:15 p.m.
Humans spend nearly 33 years of their lives in bed, with 26 years of those years actually sleeping, but how much sleep do we actually need for adequate functioning? Additionally, what determines when we sleep, how does sleep change with age and what can we do to improve our sleep? Prof. Serge Onyper (Psychology, St. Lawrence University) will deliver a fun, interactive presentation examining these questions. He will also address briefly the issue of how behaviors adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as video conference calls, are associated with changes in sleep.
Family Violence and Self-Regulation in Children
Potsdam: Wednesday, March 1, 7:15 p.m.
Developing behavioral self-regulation–the ability to understand and manage your behavior and your reactions to feelings and things happening around you–is important in children’s first years. But what happens when babies are exposed to violence? In this talk, Prof. Ying Zhang (Psychology, Clarkson) will present her study on the effects of exposure to intimate partner violence on children’s development of behavioral self-regulation. She will specifically address and highlight the issues of if, when, and how violent home environments could alter the onset and development trajectory of self-regulation in children.
Food Banks in the Fight Against Hunger
Potsdam: Thursday, March 23, 7:15 p.m.
Food banks are not-for-profit organizations that aid in surplus food recovery/food rescue and redistribution. They collect donations from individuals, farmers, corporations, retail chains, food industries, and restaurants and distribute them either to charitable agencies or directly to people in need. Having operated for decades in North America, food banks are only now starting up in several European and Asian countries, where people struggle for resources and with local setbacks. In this talk, Prof. Ajinkya Tanksale (Engineering & Management, Clarkson) will share his experience with nascent Indian food banks and his research on improving their effectiveness and efficiency using mathematical programming.
Diversity and Evolution of Sex Chromosomes
Potsdam: Wednesday, April 5, 7:15 p.m.
Sexual differentiation is a central component of reproduction and thus vital to the survival of many species. Despite being a common feature in plants and animals, the development of separate sexes is controlled by a remarkable diversity of genetic mechanisms. Sex chromosomes are often described using a handful of animal-model organisms harboring very diverged sex chromosomes, like the X and Y chromosomes of humans. In this talk, postdoctoral scholar Prof. Caroline Cauret (Botany and Plant Pathology, Oregon State University), will present on the diversity of sex-determining systems and describe how progress in genome sequencing and editing has advanced our understanding of the mechanisms behind the evolution of sex determination.
Fueling Our Future with Clean Energy Conversions
Potsdam: Wednesday, April 19, 7:15 p.m.
The need to significantly reduce the emission of greenhouse gases to forestall climate change is critical and no longer in dispute. It is now imperative that we transition to more environmentally friendly processes, as well as to using sustainable energy sources and alternative fuels for the transportation sector and for stationary systems. Join us for an evening with Prof. Simona Liguori (Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Clarkson), as she discusses her research into clean energy alternative sources and ways to reduce their impact on the environment.
The Science Café Intercollegiate Committee
Daniel ben Avraham, Clarkson University
Alex Schreiber, St. Lawrence University
Kristine Potter, SUNY Canton
Jessica Rogers, SUNY Potsdam
Beth McCarran, Clarkson University
Fall 2021 Recorded Presentations
Professor Suresh Dhaniyala on September 22: Airborne Disease and Aerosol: An Intimate Connection
Please enjoy the recorded presentation
Professor Bethany Garretson on October 6: The Power of Storytelling
Please enjoy the recorded presentation
Professor Ernesto Moralez on October 27: Addressing Health Disparities in the 21st Century: Thinking Further Upstream
Please enjoy the recorded presentation
Ms. Karen Easter on November 10: Crisis Intervention in the North Country
Please enjoy the recorded presentation
Professor Alexander Schreiber on December 1: Unraveling the Mysteries of Frog Metamorphosis
Please enjoy the recorded presentation
Professor Susan Powers on December 6: COP26 - A week in Glasgow: A View from the Inside
Please enjoy the recorded presentation
Spring 2021 Recorded Presentations
Professor Laurel Kuxhaus on January 27: A Bioengineer Goes to Capitol Hill
Professors Liz Brown and Kelly Peterson on February 10: Forensic Science - From the Crime Scene to the Courtroom
PhD Student Alicia Lamb on February 24: Primates and Poop - Non-invasive Data Collection in Wild Animals
Professor Matt Higham on March 10: Statistical Challenges with Ecological Data or Ecological Challenges to Statistical Models?
Professor Jim Fryer on April 7: The “What” and “Why” of Goal Pursuit
Fall 2020 Recorded Presentations
Professor Damien Samways on September 23: The Pharmacology of a Public Health Emergency
Please enjoy the recorded presentation
Professor Beatrice Hernout on October 7: How Is Wildlife Affected by Environmental Pollution?
Please enjoy the recorded presentation
Professor Adam Fox on October 21: New Hope for Solving Problems of Human Behavior
Please enjoy the recorded presentation
Professor Michelle Yoo on November 3: Phylogenomics, Biodiversity, and Medicinal Plants
Please enjoy the recorded presentation
Professor Alan Christian on November 18: The Complex Reproductive Biology of North American Freshwater Mussles
Please enjoy the recorded presentation