November 2014
Kathy Gates et al. (University of Mississippi): In-Memory Databases and Big Data
We live in a world saturated with mobile devices, environmental sensors, social media channels, and more—all of which constantly generate vast amounts of data. Deriving meaningful insights and actionable information from these data sources presents challenges for computer scientists. Find out how in-memory databases such as HANA are helping to address the challenges of big data. This Science Café presentation will focus on the hardware and software features of in-memory databases and will include live demonstrations by Ole Miss Information Technology (IT) staff members and their children.
November 11, 2014, Lusa Pastry Café, 6pm - 7pm.
October 2014
Ryan Garrick (University of Mississippi): Applications of genetics to Galápagos tortoise conservation
Molecular genetics offers conservation biologists critical information upon which to design efficient, effective management strategies. Galápagos tortoises are flagships in this respect, because captive breeding programs have been largely facilitated by genetic tools. Recent work on this group has revealed that, occasionally, past hybridization can actually generate positive outcomes for conservation. Indeed, this is the case for Chelonoidis elephantopus, a species that was thought to have been extinct over 150 years ago. However, the reverse is also true. For another pair of evolutionarily distinct lineages of Galápagos tortoises, on-going hybridization is likely to lead to a net loss of biodiversity via lineage collapse and replacement with a hybrid swarm.
October 21, 2014, Lusa Pastry Café, 6pm - 7pm.
September 2014
Shivaraj Kandhasamy (University of Mississippi): The Big Bang and its cosmic messengers
In 1929 Edwin Hubble discovered that most of the galaxies are receding with velocities proportional to their distances from the Milky Way. This observation suggests that the universe was once very small in size and has expanded ever since. The beginning of the expansion (or "explosion") is what we now call the Big Bang. If the universe started with a Big Bang, traces of the primordial explosion should be observed in the form of electromagnetic radiation, gravitational waves and neutrinos across the sky. The cosmic (microwave) background of electromagnetic radiation was first observed by Penzias and Wilson in 1964. Recently, the BICEP2 experiment reported some indirect evidence for the presence of cosmological primordial gravitational waves. The next generation of gravitational-wave ground- or space-based detectors may directly detect these gravitational waves.
September 23, 2014, Lusa Pastry Café, 6pm - 7pm.
August 2014
Larry Walker (University of Mississippi): Plants as Medicines: New Insights on Old Remedies
Medicinal plants have been staples in most human societies for all of recorded civilization. Plants and plant-derived preparations shaped the medical pharmacopeias of Indian, Chinese, Arabic, native Americans, and many other ancient cultures. In the 19th century, the framing of the modern discipline of experimental pharmacology was largely based on observations of the effects (often toxicity) of plant-derived alkaloids. Our constructs of the sympathetic nervous system, neuromuscular transmission, pain pathways and cardiac contractile mechanisms, among many others, were developed in this way. In the 20th century, though the face changed, most of our modern pharmaceuticals were natural products or natural product-derived. In the post-genome era, plant constituents are emerging as important tools for understanding complex cellular signaling pathways, and in a number of exciting developments, new therapeutics are being developed based on plant-derived products. Understanding these elegant and complex pathways and their modulation by natural products holds rich promise for the future.
August 19, 2014, Lusa Pastry Café, 6pm - 7pm.
April 2014
Greg Easson (University of Mississippi): Energy Production in Mississippi through Hydraulic Fracturing
Hydraulic Fracturing, also known as fracking, is the process of enhancing the characteristics of an oil and/or gas well to increase production. While hydraulic fracturing is not a new process, advances in technology have made it possible to drill horizontal wells through previously unproductive geologic units and fracture the rock to economically produce the energy resources. Hydraulic fracturing or fracking has received considerable news coverage of late as concerns about water use, contamination from produced water, earthquakes, and other concerns. The presentation will include a discussion of drilling and hydraulic fracturing history, environmental issues associated with the processes, water use issues, and a discussion of activities in southwest Mississippi.
April 15, 2014, Lusa Pastry Café, 6pm - 7pm.
March 2014
Cecille Labuda (University of Mississippi): Sound: It's So Much More That What We Hear
Much like we can only see a small range of frequencies of light, we can only hear a small range of frequencies of sound. The generation and transmission of sound in the audible and inaudible range will be discussed. Particular focus will be placed on ultrasound transmission and applications of ultrasound in medicine and industry.
March 25, 2014, Lusa Pastry Café, 6pm - 7pm.
February 2014
Dr. Jonathan Wurtele (University of California, Berkeley): Synthesizing, Trapping and Probing Antihydrogen
The anti-electron, known as a positron, was first predicted in 1931 by Paul Dirac and discovered experimentally by Carl Anderson in 1932. It was not until 1955 that Emilio Segre and Owen Chamberlain discovered the antiproton. Since then antimatter has captured the public's imagination; work at Geneva's CERN as imagined by novelist Dan Brown was a focus of his bestseller, Angels and Demons, and the popular movie based on it. Antihydrogen is composed of a positron and an antiproton. I will describe what really happens at CERN when physicists create, trap and probe antihydrogen, and future plans for precision measurements of its properties.
February 18, 2014, Lusa Pastry Café, 6pm - 7pm.
January 2014
Dr. Theresa Levitt (University of Mississippi): A Short Bright Flash: Augustin Fresnel and the Invention of the Modern Lighthouse
In 1822, France's most creative and unconventional physicist, Augustin Fresnel, invented a new lens that transformed not only the way lighthouses operated, but the very possibility of what they could do. Previously, lighthouses used metal mirrors and could typically be seen from 5 to 8 miles away, which was not quite far enough for shoals that often stretched up to 10 miles into the sea. This talk covers Fresnel's solution to this problem using an innovative design of glass prisms, his struggle to meet the engineering challenges of the demanding technology, and the rise of the golden age of lighthouses.
January 20, 2014, Lusa Pastry Café, 6pm - 7pm.
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