Archive
Science Caf茅s and Caf茅 Conversations are venues for students to informally share their interests during a conversational exchange with faculty, staff, and the community in a friendly setting.
We are working toward live captioning of the cafes for future events. Any individual who needs captioning in order to access a video should contact male-bru@ohio.edu.
Spring 2024
Wed., 7 February, Katherine Jellison, History, "Does a Picture Rally Paint a Thousand Words?,"
Wed., 6 March, Duane Nellis, Geography, "Remote Sensing and Geospatial Analysis for Helping Save Our Earth,"
Wed., 3 April, Sarah Wyatt, Environmental and Plant Biology, "Growing (Plants) Beyond Gravity,"
Fall Semester 2023
Wed., 13 September, Saw Hla, Physics and Astronomy, "Groundbreaking Research: X-Raying just one atom,"
Wed., 11 October, Ryan Fogt, Geography, 鈥淩ecent Extreme Antarctic Sea Ice Decline in a 20th Century Historical Context,鈥�
Wed., 15 November, Hee-Jong Seo, Physics and Astronomy, 鈥淭he Hitchhiker's Guide to the Expanding Universe,鈥�
Spring 2023
Wed. Feb. 8, Jason Trembly, Professor, Mechanical Engineering, "Embodied Carbon an Climate Change,"
Wed, Mar. 8, Steven Evans & Julie Owens, Professors, Psychology,
Wed. Apr. 19, Ronan Carroll & Jan Balbo, Nathan Weyand, Associate Professors, Biology and Assistant Professor, Family Medicine, respectively, "What Happened to Sexually Transmitted Infections during COVID? It might not we what you think!"
Note: this caf茅 is recommended for ages 13 and up as it contains adult language and subject material.
Fall 2022
Wed, Sept. 7, Nate Szewczyk, Professor, Biomedical Sciences, "Worms in Space: Improving Astronaut Muscle Health,"
Wed., Oct. 5, Viorel Popescu, Associate Professor, Biological Sciences, "The Secret Lives of the #RealBobcatsofOhio",
Wed. Nov. 2, Lynn Harter, Professor, Communication Studies, "The Poetics and Politics of Storytelling,"
Wed. Dec. 7, Kim Thompson and David Rosenthal, Associate Professors, Environmental and Plant
Spring 2022
Tues. Feb. 15: Harvey Ballard, Professor, Environmental and Plant Biology, "Globetrotting for Violets," .
Fall 2021
Thurs. Oct. 14, Sarah Wyatt, "Professor, Environmental and Plant Biology, "Plants in Space: Athens, we have a problem,"
Spring 2021
Wed. Feb. 24: Karen Coschigano, Assoc. Professor, Biomedical Sciences and Guy Riefler, Professor, Civil Engineering, "Wastewater: A COVID-19 Early Warning System,"
Wed. Mar. 17: Dustin Grooms, Steven Pfeiffer, Janet Simon, Applied Health Sciences & Wellness, "The Brain, Body, and Biomechanics of Injury Recovery,"
Wed. Mar. 24: Pete Harrington, Professor, Chemistry and Biochemistry, "Chemotyping Natural medicines Using Spectroscopy and Machine Learning," .
Fall 2020
Wed. Sept. 02: Athens City-County Health Department, "College with COVD: One Community, One Mission,"
Wed. Sept. 16, Rob Brannan, Professor, Applied Health Sciences and Wellness, "The North American Pawpaw: Superfruit or Southeastern Ohio Curiosity?",
Mon. Oct. 5, Witmer Lab, (Larry Witmer, Professor, Biomedical Sciences and his lab), "Random Acts of Anatomy- A Live Tour of WitmerLab;"
Wed. Oct. 21: Paul Benedict, Director of Center for Entrepreneurship, "Impact Research-Rallying People and Resources to Your Cause;
Mon. Nov. 16, Geoff Dabelko, Professor, Environmental Studies, "Pursuing climate Change Resilience in Unexpected Places;"
Wed. Nov. 18, Nathan Weyand, Assistant Professor, Biological Sciences, "Microbial Colonies and Protective Blood,"
Spring 2020
Jan. 22: Daniel Karney, Assistant Professor, Economics, "The Future of US Climate Policy,"
Feb. 5: Don Miles, Professor, Biological Sciences, "Will Cool Lizards Succumb to a Hot Climate,"
Feb. 19:Rebecca Snell, Assistant Professor, Environmental and Plant Biology, "How Will Forests Respond to Climate Change?"
Feb. 26: Luke Pittaway, Professor, Management, "Spaces for Entrepreneurship Education: A New Arms Race?",
NOTE: this cafe will be in the CoLab, 3rd floor Alden Library.
Mar. 4: Andrew Weems, Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering, "3D Printing a Better Future: Health Care and Sustainability Considerations,"
Fall 2019
Sept. 18: Guy Riefler, Professor, Civil Engineering, "Cleaning up Pollution by Turning It into Paint,"
Sept. 25: Felipe Aros-Vera, Assistant Professor, Industrial and Systems Engineering, "Interconnected Networked Societies: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly,"
Oct. 2: Rebekah Crawford, Visiting Professor, Social and Public Health, "The Prevalence and Pitfalls of Seeking Emotional Support through Religious Organizations,"
Oct. 16:Shiyong Wu Professor, Chemistry & Biochemistry and Director, Edison Biotechnology Institute, "Solar Ultraviolet Light, Friend or Foe,"
Oct. 30: Shannon Nicks, Assistant Professor, Social and Public Health, "Improving Rural Breast Cancer Inequities: Is Psychosocial Health the Key?,"
Nov. 13: Deb McAvoy, Professor, Civil Engineering, Connected and Autonomous Vehicles: Are We Headed for a Crash?,
Dec. 4: Cory Cronin, Assistant Professor, Social and Public Health, What Does the "Community' in Community Hospital Really Mean?,"
Spring 2019
Jan 23: Doug Clowe, Associate Professor, Physics and Astronomy, A Dark and Lonely Place: Dark Energy and the Future of the Universe,
Feb. 6: Lawrence Witmer, Professor, HCOM -BioMedical Sciences, Digital Dinosaurs-Fleshing Out the Past,
Feb. 20: The OHIO Museum Complex
March 6: Ryan Chornock, Assistant Professor, Physics and Astronomy, Black Holes: Fact and Fiction,
March 27: Jacqueline Wolf, Professor, HCOM Social Medicine, A High Cesarean and Low Breastfeeding Rate: How did we get here?,
April 3: John Kopchick, Distinguished Professor & Goll-Ohio Eminent Scholar Biomedical Sciences, HCOM Is Growth Hormone an Anti-Aging Drug. Yes! Too Much of It Will Kill You,
Fall 2018
Sept 19: Scott Moody, Professor Emeritus, Biological Sciences, Athens, OH 240 Years Ago: A Natural History,
Oct 3: Ronan Carroll, Assistant Professor, Biological Sciences, Vaccine Denial: Facts and Fiction,
Oct 17: Natalie Daniels, Associate Professor, Voinovich School, The Long Road to Recovery from Coal Mining,
Nov 14: Sarah Wyatt, Env. & Plant Biology, Plant Gravity Perception: from Earth to International Space Station,
Dec 5: Julie Suhr, Professor, Psychology, Detecting Deception,
Spring 2018
Jan 24: Viorel Popescu , Assistant Professor, Biological Sciences, Challenges for Conserving Biodiversity in a Changing World,
Feb 7 : Kimberly Rios, Associate Professor, Psychology, Perception of Science and Religion in the U.S. and Beyond,
Feb 21: Jana Houser, Assistant Professor, Geography, Tornadoes: Unraveling the msteries of One of Earth's most Powerful Storms,
March 7: Hans Kruse, Professor and Director, School of Information and Telecommunication Systems, Can You Hear Me Now鈥r Later,
March 21: Ken Walsh, Associate Professor, Civil Engineering, Preparing for the Big One: Protecting Critical Infrastructure,
April 4: Morgan Vis, Professor and Chair, Env. & Plant Biology, Algae: Friend or Foe,
Fall 2017
Sept 20 : Lisa Crockett, Professor, Biological Sciences, Secrets and Perils of the Southern Ocean,
Oct. 11 : Julie Suhr, Professor, Psychology, You Are Getting Sleeepy,
Oct. 18 : Paul Patton, Assistant Professor, Anthropology and Food Studies, Harvest the Past, Feed the Future,
Revised Nov. 1: Zach Meisel, Assistant Professor, Physics and Astronomy, Life after Death: Element Creation in Stellar Explosions,
Revised Nov. 15 : Srdjan Nesic, Professor, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering; Director, Institute for Corrosion and Multiphase Technology, I s Corrosion like Corruption? What's the cost? Can it Be Stopped?,
Dec. 6 : Nancy Stevens, Professor, Biomedical Sciences, and Matthew Borths, NSF Postdoctoral Fellow, Before Lions Were King: Discovering Africa's First Meat-eaters,
Spring 2017
Jan 18: Joseph Shields, Professor, Physics & Astronomy, "The Quest for Supermassive Black Holes,"
Feb 1: Brian Clark, Professor, Biomedical Science, Director OMNI, "Age of Champions: Healthy Aging in the 21st Century,"
Feb 15: John Bowditch, Director, The Game Research and Immersive Design (GRID) Lab, Scripps College of Communication, "Disrupting Reality: Immersive Media at 51乱伦,"
March 15: Gerardine Botte, Distinguished Professor, Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, "Electrons for Sustainable Manufacturing,"
Fall 2016
Sept 7: Daniel Phillips, Physics, "Symmetries in Nature: A Key to the Subatomic World",
Sept 21: Sarah Hormozi, Mechanical Engineering , "The Physics and Future of Cornstarch",
Oct 5: Guy Riefler, Civil Engineering; John Sabraw, Art, "Acid Mine Drainage: From Environmental Disaster to Art",
Oct 19: Claudia Gonzales-Vallejo, Psychology, "Why'd I Do That? Exploring Decision-Making Processes",
Nov 2: Movie Night, "Popped Secret: The Mysterious Origin of Corn"
Nov. 9 : Catherine Early, Biomedical Sciences, "Dinosaurs, dodos and ducks: A bird's-eye view of brain evolution",
Nov 16: Gurgen 鈥淕reg鈥� Hayrapetyan, Mathematics, "Math, Zombie and the Language of the Universe,"
Spring 2016
Jan. 20: Winfried Just, Mathematics, "Spread of Contagions: Diseases, Rumors and Mathematical Models",
Feb. 3: Natalie Kruse Daniels, "The Mining Legacy of SE Ohio: Learning from Past," Mistakes,"Environmental Studies/Voinovich School
rescheduled Feb. 17 Mar. 16 : Ronan Carroll, Biological Sciences, "The Rise of the Superbugs",
Mar. 23: James Thomas, Physical Therapy,
Fall 2015
Sept. 9: Todd Eisworth, Mathematics, "To Infinity... and Beyond!",
Sept. 23: TJ Cyders, Mechanical Engineering, "Rage Against the von Neumann Machine: 3D Printing, the Future, and You",
Oct. 7: Sarah Wyatt, Environmental & Plant Biology, "Anatomy of a Space Flight",
Oct. 21: Nancy Sandler, Physics and Astronomy, "Physics of New Materials: From Lasagna to Pancakes and Back",
Nov. 4: Anne Loucks, Biological Sciences, "Fitness, Fatness, Fractures, Fertility, and Food",
Nov. 18: Jennifer Hines, Chemistry and Biochemistry, "Molecules...Museum...Action!",
Dec. 2: Alicia Stigall, Geological Sciences, "Turning into Stone: a tale from life to death to the ultimate fossil"
Spring 2015
Jan. 21: Carl Brune, Physics and Astronomy, 鈥淐osmic Cooking: the Origin of the Elements鈥�,
Feb. 4: David Rosenthal, Environmental & Plant Biology, 鈥淕lobal Change and Agricultural Productivity鈥�,
Mar. 18: Christopher France, Psychology, 鈥� I'd Like to Give Blood but.....鈥�,
Apr. 1: Elizabeth Gierlowski-Kordesch, Geological Sciences, 鈥淩econstructing a Jurassic Landscape鈥�,
Fall 2014
Sept. 10: Monica Burdick, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, "Stem cells, research and hype. Oh My!",
Sept. 24: Ryan Fogt, Geography, "All Coupled Climate Models are Wrong, Some are Useful"
Oct. 8: Brooke Hallowell, Communication Sciences & Disorders, "Harnessing the Power of the Eyes to Reveal Cognitive & Linguistic Abilities",
Oct. 22: Jason Trembly, Mechanical Engineering & Ohio Coal Research Center, 鈥淲hat the Frac?鈥�,
Nov. 5: Doug Clowe, Physics and Astronomy, 鈥淭he Dark Side of the Universe鈥�,
Nov. 19: Dina Lopez, Geological Sciences, 鈥淩eflections of use of Agrochemicals: Illness versus Food Supply鈥�,
Dec. 3: Justin Holub, Chemistry and Biochemistry, 鈥淏iomimicry: How Nature Inspires Mankind鈥檚 Innovation鈥�,
Spring 2014
Jan. 22 : Sarah Wyatt, Environmental and Plant Biology, 鈥淕rounded by Gravity鈥�,
Feb. 05: Saw Hla, Physics and Astronomy, Nanoscience: Playing Soccer with Atoms and Molecules鈥�,
Feb. 19: Scott Moody, Biological Sciences, Endangered Species of Amphibians: Why Their Survival is Vital to our Health鈥�,
Mar. 19: Mark McMills, Chemistry and Biochemistry, 鈥淢odern Drug Discovery鈥�,
April 02: Julie Suhr, Psychology, Detecting Deception鈥�,
Fall 2013
Sept 11: Janet Duerr, Biological Sciences, "Genes: Are We Just Big, Smart Worms?",
Sept. 25 : Larry Witmer, Biomedical Sciences, "Fleshing out Dinosaurs... in 3D!", ,
Oct. 9: Savas Kaya, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, "Nanoscale & Engineering: Hype or Opportunity?鈥�,
Oct. 23: David Tees, Physics and Astronomy, "Pulling, Pushing and Squeezing: Physics and Adhesion Biology鈥�,
Nov. 6: Alycia Stigall, Geological Sciences, "Fossil Invasion! Studying Ancient Species to Help Predict Consequences of Modern Invasion",
Nov. 20: Deb McAvoy, Civil Engineering, "Roadway Design for Dummies",
Dec. 4: John Kopchick, Biomedical Sciences and Edison Biotechnology Institute, "Growth Hormone: Too Much or Not Enough?鈥�,
Spring 2013
Jan. 23: Jared Deforest, Environmental and Plant Biology, "Chemical Climate Change and Sustainability"
Feb. 6: Bob Klein, Mathematics, 鈥淢athematics: What鈥檚 Rural Got to Do with It?鈥�
Feb. 20: Mario Grijalva, Biomedical Sciences, 鈥淐ombating Tropical Disease through Social Development鈥�
Apr. 3: Geoff Buckley, Geography, 鈥淯rban Sustainability: Challenges and Opportunities for the 21 st&苍产蝉辫;颁别苍迟耻谤测鈥�
Fall 2012
Sept 05: Frank Schwartz, Specialty Medicine, "Socioeconomic Stress, Appalachia and Chronic Disease"
Sept. 19: Art Trese, Environmental & Plant Biology, "Sustainability: Alternative Agriculture"
Oct. 3: Christine Gidycz, Psychology, "Bystander Behavior and Violence on College Campuses"
Oct. 31: Natalie Kruse, Voinovich School, "Sustainability: Mining and Mine Reclamation"
Nov. 14: Tad Malinski, Chemistry and Biochemistry, "The Science of Art Restoration & Identification"
Nov. 28 Joe Shields, Physics and Astronomy, "Hunting Black Holes with the Hubble"
Dec. 5: Martin Kordesch, Physics and Astronomy, "The Physics of Music"
Winter 2012
Jan. 11 : Michael Braasch, Electrical Engineering and Avionics Engineering Center, "Iron Stomachs & White Knuckles - Navigation System Flight Testing"
Jan. 12: , Free Admission
Jan. 25: Molly Morris, Biological Sciences, "Beyond Match.com: Alternative Mating Strategies"
Feb. 08 : Greg Van Patten, Chemistry and Biochemistry, "The Big Deal about Small Stuff"
Feb. 22 : Peggy Zoccola, Psychology, "Stress: Bad Thoughts, Bad Health?"
Mar. 07 : Madappa Prakash, Physics & Astronomy, "Extreme States of Matter from Explosive Events in the Universe"
Spring 2012
April 04 : Willem Roosenburg, Biological Sciences, "Turtles: Why Girls are Hot and Boys are Cool"
April 18: Keith Milam, Geological Sciences, "Virtual Geology: Unraveling Planetary Secrets from Afar"
May 02: Darlene Berryman, Applied Health Sciences and Wellness, "Big Fat Myths: What You Didn't Know about Obesity"
Fall 2011
Sept. 14: Brian McCarthy, Environmental & Plant Biology, "From the Brink of Extinction: the American Chestnut"
Sept. 28: Erin Murphy, Biomedical Sciences, "Bacteria: The Good, the Bad and the Resistant"
Oct. 12 : Dave Bayless, Mechanical Engineering, "Powering the World with Pond Scum"
Oct. 26 : James Lein, Geography, "The Geography of Tomorrow: The Science of Futures Research"
Winter 2011
Jan. 12: Martin Mohlenkamp, Associate Professor, Mathematics, "Developing in silico Methods to do Virtual Science."
Jan. 26: Stephen Bergmeier, Professor, Chemistry and Biochemistry, "Chemistry, the class you love to hate, and Drug Discovery."
Feb. 9: Dan Hembree, Assistant Professor, Geological Sciences, "The Secrets of Burrowing Biota: Understanding Ancient Traces of Life through Modern Organisms."
Feb. 23: Kelly Johnson, Associate Professor, Biological Sciences, Voinovich School, "Mayflies, Minnows, and Acid Mine Drainage: The Science of Stream Restorations."
March 9: Brook Marcks, Assistant Professor, Psychology, "From Thoughts to Obsessions: A Closer Look at Obsessive Compulsive Disorders."
Spring 2011
March 30: Alycia Stigall, Associate Professor, Geological Sciences, OHIO Center for Ecology and Evolutionary Studies, "Overturn of the Biotics: Predicting Biodiversity Change with Fossils"
April 13: Harvey Ballard, Associate Professor of Environmental and Plant Biology, "How Violets will Change the World"
April 27: Jolie Cizewski, Professor of Physics, Rutgers University, "The Magic Numbers of Maria Goeppert Mayer: From the Manhattan Project to the Future"
Winter 2010
Jan. 13: Doug Clowe, Physics and Astronomy, "The Dark Side of the Universe"
Jan. 27: Julie Suhr, Psychology, "Measuring your Mind"
Feb. 10: Morgan Vis, Environmental & Environmental Plant Biology, "Red Algae-Tree of life, huh?"
Feb. 24: Damian Nance, Geological Sciences, "From Grains of Sand to Supercontinents: Reconstructing Earth's Geographic Past"
March 10: Jeff Rack, Chemistry & Biochemistry, "Chemical Chameleons"
Spring 2010
April 7: Stephen Reilly, Biological Sciences, "The Biology of Walking and Running"
April 21: Ken Hicks, Physics & Astronomy, "From Quarks to the Big Bang"
May 5: Susan Williams, Biomedical Sciences, "Food for thought: the Evolution and Ontogeny of Feeding Mammals"
May 19: Ronaldo Vigo, Psychology, "Molecules of the Mind"
June 2: Maarten Uijit de Haag, Engineering/Avionics, "Navigation: Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere鈥�
Fall 2010
Sept. 22: Gar Rothwell, Environmental & Plant Biology, "Paleobotany and Plant Evolution"
Oct. 6: Shawn Ostermann (EECS), Hans Kruse (Information & Telecommunications Systems), Phil Campbell (Information & Telecommunications Systems), "Wireless Networking in Challenging Environments: the Barbarism of Baker to the Perils of Pluto"
Oct. 20: Julie Owens, Psychology, "Evaluating Treatments for ADHD: A Multi-Dimensional Approach"
Nov. 3: Eric Stinaff (Physics and Astronomy),"Where's my iQuanta: Is quantum information processing the future of computers?"
Fall 2009
Sept. 30: Gerri Botte, Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, "Alternative Energy: The Search for Fuel"
Oct. 14: Larry Witmer, Biomedical Sciences, "Fleshing Out Dinosaur Evolution鈥�
Oct. 28: Justin Weeks, Psychology, "Social Anxiety: The Fear of Positive Evaluation"
Spring Semester 2019
Feb. 13: Julie Owens, Psychology, Community-engaged Research: Why It Matters, Fall Semester 2018
Sept 26: Laeeq Khan, Assistant Professor, Media Arts and Studies, Competing with Data Analytics in a Social World,
Oct. 24: Julie Paxton, Professor, Economics, The Economics of Kindness,
Spring Semester 2018
Jan. 31: Jeff Russell , Assistant Professor, Applied Sciences and Wellness; Director, SHAPE Clinic, Keeping Artists in SHAPe: Why Performers Need Specialized Health Care,
Cancelled Feb. 28 : Laeeq Khan, Assistant Professor, Media Arts &Studies; Director, Social Media Analytics Lab, TBD, video
Mar. 28 : Tania Basta, Professor, Social and Public Health, An Honest Discussion about HIV: Combating Misconceptions,
Spring 2017 Schedule
Jan. 25: Rajko Grlic, Distinguished Professor, "The Constitution and How I Wrote It,"
Mar. 22: Andy Alexander, Scripps Howard Visiting Professional, Journalism. "President Trump and the Battle for a Free Press,"
Fall Semester 2017
Sept 27: Colin Gabler, Assistant Professor, Marketing, To Buy or Not to Buy, That is the Question,
Spring 2016 Discussions:
Feb. 24: Brian Schoen , History, "The US civil War and Global Crisis: Then and Now,"
Mar. 9: Josh Sosin, Classical Studies, Duke University, "Ancient Texts in a Modern Age: The Promise and Perils of Digital Scholarship,"
Mar. 30: Loren Lybarger, Classics and World Religions, "Radical Islam: What's Religion Got to Do with It?",
Fall 2016 Schedule:
Sept. 28: David Mould, Professor Emeritus, Media Arts and Studies, Publish (maybe) Perish: The Dangers of Journalism in Shady Regimes,
Oct. 26: Aimee Edmondson, Associate Professor, Journalism; John Grimwade, Assistant Professor, Visual Communication. Inside the 2016 Election: Data Visualization,
Spring 2015 Discussions
Feb. 11 : Chester Pach, History, "1980s: the Age of Reagan and Madonna ", video
Mar. 11 : Katherine Jellison, History, "Unelected Leaders: America's First Ladies",video
Fall 2015 Discussions:
Sept. 30 : Richard Vedder, Economics, "America's Leaders: You're Harming Our Future",
Oct. 28 : Stan Alost, Visual Communication, "Nobody Wants to See That- Images that Disturb and Our Freedom to Know",
Spring 2014 Discussions
Feb. 26: Haley Duschinski, Sociology and Anthropology, 鈥淚magining International Justice鈥�,
Mar. 26: Roger Cooper, Media Arts and Studies, "The Power of Humor in Organizations",
Fall 2014 Discussions
Sept. 17 : Paschal Younge, Music, "African music, a big bowl of salad: the interdisciplinarity of the musical arts of Ghana",
Oct. 15: Loreen Giese, English, 鈥淐ourtship and Cruelty鈥�
Nov. 12: Geoff Dabelko, Environmental Studies, 鈥淭he Environment, What鈥檚 Security Got to Do with It?鈥�,
Spring 2013 Discussions
Feb. 27: Michele Morrone, Social and Public Health, 鈥淭he Science? of Fracking鈥�
Mar 20: John Sabraw, Art, Fluid Potential: Why Scientists and Artists Should Get Together鈥�
Mar. 27: Tom Hodson, Journalism, 鈥淭he Future of Media鈥�
Fall 2013 Discussions
Sept. 18: John Gilliom, Political Sciences "The Death of Big Brother and the Rise of the Surveillance Society",
Oct. 16: Bill Condee, Interdisciplinary Arts, 鈥淔racking the Opera House鈥�,
Fall 2012 Discussions
Sept. 26: Andre Gribou, Music, "The History of Rock and Roll"
Oct. 24: Tom Vander Ven, Sociology and Anthropology, "Why Students Drink Too Much and Party So Hard"