November 2018
Inoka Widanagamage (University of Mississippi): Mississippi River Water Pollution and Farming.
Mississippi River is considered as the nation's heritage because of numerous usage of the river water to the community who live in Mississippi. The Mississippi River starts the journey in the state of Minnesota. It is flowing and serving a couple of states before reaching the Gulf of Mexico. Mississippi River water fulfills the need of drinking water for the majority of the people that live in state of Mississippi. However, the Mississippi River is one of the most highly polluted rivers in North America. The major source of the pollution has been recognized as the addition of fertilizers to the river water from farm lands. However, farming serves the life of Mississippi. Therefore, it is important to discuss how to protect Mississippi River and the Mississippi farmer while exploring the influence of economic and political factors.
November 13, 2018, 6pm - 7pm Uptown Coffee, 265 North Lamar Blvd, Oxford
October 2018
Susan Diane Pedigo (University of Mississippi): The versatility of wheat in cooking.
Although evidence shows that wild wheat was harvested prior to the advent of cultivation, its genetic rewiring promoted convenience in harvesting and planting. These seemingly simple changes promoted its meteoric rise in importance as a major food in civilization. The dynamic duo of protein and starch provided critical nutrients to consumers. And, as an extra bonus, a plethora of diverse foods were created that exploit these biomolecules to confer specific attributes. This science café will discuss the history of wheat, its commercial processing, and the chemistry of its use in creating specific foods such as bread, pasta, and sauces. Are you a gluten-free dieter? After this talk you should be able to articulate exactly what gluten is.
October 16, 2018, 6pm - 7pm Uptown Coffee, 265 North Lamar Blvd, Oxford
September 2018
Jennifer Meyer (University of Mississippi): Tides on Enceladus.
Enceladus, a small moon of Saturn, has a surface temperature of -200°C (-330°F). Surprisingly, in 2005, the Cassini mission found evidence that this seemingly frigid moon has liquid water under the surface - and jetting out from the surface in geysers more active than any on Earth. If Enceladus was warmed by sunlight only, the moon would be solid ice. The most likely source of the energy powering the geysers and maintaining the subsurface ocean is tidal heating, but scientists are still working on making the numbers add up. In this talk, we'll learn how tides affect the geology and orbit of moons like Enceladus and discuss why Enceladus is one of NASA's prime spots to look for life.
September 18, 2018, 6pm - 7pm Uptown Coffee, 265 North Lamar Blvd, Oxford
April 2018
Chalet Tan (University of Mississippi): Nanomedicine: Less is More.
In his 1959 lecture There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom: an Invitation to Enter a New Field of Physics, the physicist and Nobel Laureate Richard P. Feynman proposed the concept of nanosurgeons and nanodevices, where he urged researchers to develop nanosystems capable of interacting with the body at cellular and molecular level. Today, over fifty years later, nanotechnology has become a vital force behind the development of nanomaterials and their applications in medicine. In this talk, Dr. Tan will discuss how nanomedicine is transforming the detection, diagnosis and treatment of human diseases. In particular, Dr. Tan will explore how nanoscale drug delivery systems can improve anticancer efficacy while minimizing detrimental side effects of chemotherapeutic drugs, a research area being actively pursued in Dr. Tan's laboratory.
April 24, 2018, 6pm - 7pm Lusa Bakery Bistro and Bar, 1120 North Lamar Blvd, Oxford
April 2018
Psyche Loui (Wesleyan University): Why do we enjoy music?
What gives some people a chill when they are moved by a piece of music? How does connectivity in the brain enable or thwart musical perception? Can music be used to help with psychiatric and neurological disorders? These are questions that Dr. Loui tackles in her laboratory, the MIND Lab (Music, Imaging and Neural Dynamics). In this talk, she will explore what musical behavior tells us about emotion and creativity.
April 3, 2018, 6pm - 7pm Lusa Bakery Bistro and Bar, 1120 North Lamar Blvd, Oxford
February 2018
Sandra Spiroff (University of Mississippi): When are we ever going to use this? Some Applications of Mathematics.
In 1623, Galileo Galilei wrote, "Philosophy is written in this grand book-I mean the universe-which stands continually open to our gaze, but it cannot be understood unless one first learns to comprehend the language and interpret the characters in which it is written. It is written in the language of mathematics..., without which it is humanly impossible to understand a single word of it." In this talk, we will explore the mathematics behind some of our everyday experiences. In addition, we will use technology to model the behavior we wish to understand.
February 20, 2018, 6pm - 7pm Lusa Bakery Bistro and Bar, 1120 North Lamar Blvd, Oxford
January 2018
Randy Wadkins and Nathan I. Hammer (University of Mississippi): Harrowing tales of entropy!
ENTROPY! What is it?? Is it in your refrigerator? Yes! Is it in your automobile? Yes! Is it in your body? Yes! Will it destroy the universe? Yes! Ah, entropy, the mysterious phenomenon that has puzzled scientists since its discovery by Rudolph Clausius in the 1850s. Did it drive Clausius mad? Perhaps. But it led to his development of The Second Law of Thermodynamics, FOR WHICH THERE IS NO ESCAPE! Come and hear "Harrowing Tales of Entropy", presented by Drs. Randy M. Wadkins and Nathan I. Hammer of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Nearly 200 years of scientists have struggled with this mind-blowing, senses-shattering physical phenomenon. Now, it’s your turn! With pastries! We can promise you one thing from this evening of thrills and sensations: you will never look at a snowflake the same way again!
January 30, 2018, 6pm - 7pm Lusa Bakery Bistro and Bar, 1120 North Lamar Blvd, Oxford
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