| College of Sciences Newsletter | Edition 21 | June 10, 2004 |
Distinguished Lecture Series
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The Physics Department hosted the first of two speakers as part of the Dean's Distinguished Lecture Series from the College of Sciences. The lecture series is open to all who are interested. The first set of seminars was March 2, 3, 16, and 17 in the Oceanography / Physics Building. The first speaker was Professor James Bower of the Research Imaging Center, University of Texas Health Center at San Antonio. Dr. James M. Bower received his Ph.D. in neurophysiology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. After a postdoctoral fellowship at NYU and the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Dr. Bower was a professor at the California Institute of Technology for 17 years. In 2002, he moved to a joint position as Professor of Computational Biology at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, and the University of Texas San Antonio. Dr. Bower's research is focused on both the cerebellum and the mammalian olfactory system using a wide variety of experimental and computational techniques. His laboratory also invented the neural-simulation system GENESIS and pioneered techniques in multi-single unit neuronal recording. Dr. Bower also has a long-standing interest and involvement in science education at all levels, having founded several international courses in computational neuroscience and established the annual CNS (computational neuroscience) meetings. He is also the founder of the website Whyville.net, which is one of the most popular educational websites from children on the Internet. Dr Bower has published more than 100 scientific articles and has authored several books. He spoke on the following: Title: "Does the Olfactory System Detect Chemicals or Odors?" Abstract: In 50 BC the Greek philosopher / scientist Lucretius postulated that agreeable odors were produced when the olfactory system encountered "smooth" particles, while disagreeable, harsh odors were generated by "hooked" particles. For the subsequent 2,000 years, the assumption that the olfactory system analyzes molecules based by attaching significance to general chemical characteristics (e.g. carbon chain investigations of olfaction. Based on an analysis of the descriptors used by humans to classify how molecules smell, we now suspect that classification in the olfactory system is not, in fact, organized along a metric of chemical characteristics. I will also present results obtained using computer simulations of olfactory receptor molecules that are consistent with this assertion. The results have important implications for studying the olfactory system at all levels. Title: "Whyville and Inquiry-Based Learning on the World Wide Web: A Town Hall Meeting" Abstract: Whyville.net is an inquiry / constructivist virtual learning community that has attracted 700,000 registered users, average age 13 and 68% female. With an average log in of 60 minutes per user per visit, Whyville is also one of the stickiest sites on the Internet and was nominated for a Webby Award in 2003 as one of the five best sites for children on the World Wide Web. In this presentation, Dr. Bower, one of the site's four original founders, will discuss its history as well as the challenge of managing the learning and social experience of hundreds of thousands of pre and early teenage children. The presentation will also include a town hall meeting for Whyvillians living in and around Southern Virginia. The second speaker was Professor R. Stephen Berry of the University of Chicago, Chemistry Department. Title: "The Bizarre Phase Changes of Tiny Particles" Abstract: Very small particles, from 5 or 10 to perhaps several million atoms or molecules, exhibit some properties very different from those of bulk matter. Some of the most striking are the phenomena associated with phase equilibria and changes of phase, e;g. of freezing and melting. Naive first impressions might make one think that such behavior, such as the coexistence of two (or more) phases over a band of temperatures and pressures, violates the laws of thermodynamics. In fact, the resolution of this paradox is not with any violation of thermodynamic laws but with the implicit constraints we apply when we use thermodynamics to describe ordinary bulk matter. We will examine the phase equilibria of small particles and see how this gives us new insights into the nature of phase changes of bulk matter, as well as of small particles. Title: "Thermodynamics: Paradigm of the Mystery and Power of Science " Abstract: Thermodynamics is one of the oldest sciences, and is probably the most universal, in its domain of applicability. It is remarkable in many ways. One is the very small number of variables one uses to describe systems of great complexity. But even more amazing is the capacity of the human mind to invent or discover those variables. Energy is perhaps the most striking, insofar as it encompasses such a range of apparently unrelated kinds of human experience. The development of the subject is a paradigm of a fundamental, basic science evolving from needs to solve very practical problems, a process virtually opposite to the direction we have been taught to expect. We shall examine the concepts on which thermodynamics rests, a little of how they evolved, and some of what we learn about nature by using these variables. For example, we shall see how thermodynamics sets limits on how well any process can perform, and how the subject offers new opportunities for potential exciting advances. Please check the Physics Department Colloquium webpage for more information: http://www.physics.odu.edu/seminars/ There will be additional speakers in the fall. Other stories in College News Section.. Phyllis
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