March 2024: Current Events – A Discussion on Reef-Building Corals and Planktonic Larva
The world’s oceans are home to nearly 80% of the planet’s biodiversity, comprised of around 13% of all known species. This month’s Science on Tap will feature two researchers at Penn State that are working to understand marine ecology, evolution, and conservation. Most marine organisms begin life as a microscopic, planktonic larva, which have the potential to float on ocean currents for days or even months. Dr. Eric Crandall will talk about why it is so important that we understand marine larval dispersal, a few different methods for studying it, and how a new NSF-funded project in the South Pacific brings two of these methods together. Our second speaker, Dr. Todd LaJeunesse will focus on reef-building corals. He will discuss his efforts on characterizing the biology of hard corals and his work on understanding how corals and the ecosystems they support may respond to ongoing climate change.
February 2024: Crank it up – Acoustics, what opera aficionados and pickleball players have in common
We are constantly immersed in sound waves but rarely contemplate their nature. During this session of Science on Tap, Dr. Michelle Vigeant-Haas and Dr. Dan Russell, both members of Penn State’s Graduate Program in Acoustics, will discuss two different aspects of the field, architectural and mechanical acoustics. Dr. Michelle Vigeant-Haas is interested in the interaction between humans and the acoustics of their environment. She will discuss examples of these types of interactions based on her research in concert hall acoustics and office noise, which are conducted in a special laboratory facility with 32-loudspeakers for accurate 3D sound reproduction. Dr. Dan Russell studies the sound and vibration of sports equipment with a specific application to player perceptions of feel and performance. This talk will provide an overview on the acoustics of sports equipment with a focus on racket sports, including a current project exploring the contribution of the pickleball paddle to the noise problems associated with pickleball.
January 2024: Local and International Action: Climate Change and COP28
In December, the 28th annual United Nations climate meeting, COP28, closed with an agreement signaling the “beginning of the end” of the fossil fuel era. Over 85,000 participants attended COP28 to share ideas and discuss solutions. Officials from 200 countries came together to develop an action plan to address current climate change forecasts. This month at Science on Tap, we welcome three speakers from Penn State who attended COP28 and participated in important dialogues that will impact international climate action. Brandi J. Robinson, Associate Teaching Professor in Energy and Mineral Engineering and co-director of Penn State’s Local Climate Action Program, discussed the essential role of subnational climate action in achieving global climate goals highlighted at COP28 including her work with municipal governments to reduce emissions and build resilient communities across Pennsylvania. Dr. Mark Ortiz, a postdoc in Geography, spoke on the evolving role of youth and students in climate politics and COP28, and discuss the implications for student climate efforts at Penn State. SPS’s very own Vikrant Sapkota highlighted the key discussion points and outcomes established during the conference.
November 2023: On the Buzz: Efforts in Spreading Awareness for Pollinator Conservation
Most flowering plants use pollinators to reproduce and make fruits, including three-quarters of our global food crops. However, declines in pollinator populations have been reported all across the world, and many species are threatened with extinction. In Pennsylvania, half of managed honey bee colonies die every winter, and several iconic bumble bee species, including Bombus pensylvanicus, are no longer found in Pennsylvania. These declines are due to habitat loss and degradation, which reduces the available flowers that bees depend on for their nutrition, climate change, pesticides, and disease. Dr. Christina Grozinger, director of the Center for Pollinator Research at Penn State and Dr. Shannon Cruz of the Department of Communication Arts & Sciences will discuss strategies that they are developing for increasing awareness of the importance of bees and interest in supporting bee conservation, and tools that the Center for Pollinator Research is creating to help people better manage their landscapes to support diverse pollinator communities in cities, farms, and forests. They will also discuss how media information about pollinator decline can be manipulated by interest groups.
October 2023: The Immense Universe of Microbiomes: Exploring the microbes in the ground and in your gut
Everyone and everything has a microbiome, a characteristic yet changing community of bacteria, archaea, fungi, and protists interacting with hosts or micro-niches. Advances in DNA sequencing have helped reveal the compositions of microbiomes and led to discovery of many new microbes whose functions are unknown. During this session of Science on Tap, food microbiologist Darrell Cockburn and soil microbiologist Mary Ann Bruns, both members of Penn State’s One Health Microbiome Center, will talk about microbiomes found in drastically different environments—the human gut and plant-soil interfaces. Dr. Bruns will describe how vegetation in degraded soils can awaken microbial life that in turn fosters further plant growth. Dr. Cockburn will discuss the human gut microbiome and how it interacts with the food we eat.
September 2023: Local Conservation: Musser Gap Greenway
Centre Region’s ridge and valley landscape is of great interest to all of us wishing to connect with its natural beauty. This Science on Tap presentation will offer insight and updates on the current state of Musser Gap and its wondrous connectivity to Penn State, Rothrock State Forest, and the valley lands between that connect town and wilderness. Leaders from Clearwater Conservancy and Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center will share how efforts like these take shape over time, and the partnerships that make them possible. Director Mark McLaughlin and Musser Gap Conservation Director Mike Toolan will discuss Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center’s involvement in the management of Musser Gap. Executive Director Deb Nardone will discuss ClearWater Conservancy’s efforts to protect natural places.
August 2023: Here’s the Scoop: Materials Science of Ice Cream
For many of us, ice cream on the beach or at the fair is an essential part of summer. Others might recall the sense of wonder as a child as you massaged a plastic bag filled with ice and salt and coaxed a cup of sweetened cream to (partially) freeze into a drippy home-made version. However few people recognize the exquisite complexity of ice cream as a material. To a material scientist, ice cream is a polyphasic colloidal material consisting of an emulsion, a foam and a sol (a dispersion of solid particles in liquid). It is formed by an incomplete phase transition and given solid-like properties by two distinct percolating networks. Dr. John Coupland will explain how ice cream works as a physical material and discuss why this nostalgic treat catches the attention of children and scientists alike!
July 2023: The New “Bird’s Eye View”: Investigating Animal Behavior Using GPS
Understanding animal behavior provides key insight for wildlife professionals to make informed conservation and management decisions. While animal behavior is important to research, it can be difficult, time-consuming, and costly to observe. Join Science on Tap this month to learn about how recent advances in technology have allowed researchers to transition from using visual observations to fine-scale data collected from global positioning system (GPS) devices to investigate not only the underlying behavior of wild animals but also habitat associations, home ranges, foraging patterns, dispersal patterns, and/or migration. Katie Gundermann, a PhD candidate in Wildlife and Fisheries Science, will provide a broad overview of past and present techniques and current field capabilities and interests. Dr. Liz Eisenhauer will discuss how these advancements have enabled her research on the movement behavior of golden eagles in the western U.S.
June 2023: For Every Dark Night There’s a Brighter Day: Ground-Based Astronomical Research
Astronomy is one of the oldest natural sciences, and one of the only sciences where amateurs have actively contributed to the field. From discovery and tracking of objects, to understanding how and why phenomena are occurring and what impact they may have on Earth, astronomy research provides integral, and oftentimes, beautiful information on the universe around us. June’s Science on Tap will explore ground-based observatories performing astronomical research. Dr. Chris Palma will discuss his interest in the night sky, astronomy education and outreach, and the importance of preserving the dark sky as a natural resource. Prof. Tim Kane will discuss how solar storms and space weather impact society. Together, they will also discuss how and why locations for ground-based observation are chosen, and how these principles can be used to guide the lens of a hobbyist.
April 2023: Toxify, Fortify, Beautify: A Potpourri of Ways Mushrooms Have Impacted Society
For more than a decade, Pennsylvania has held the title of Mushroom Capital of the World, with Kennett Square producing about half of all the US’s mushrooms. Even closer to home, the Penn State Mushroom Research Center is one of the few research facilities in the world dedicated to mushroom research. This month’s Science on Tap will focus on how the fungi kingdom has helped shape human society and culture from the perspectives of both community science and Penn State research. Charlie Connolly, a PhD candidate in Food Science, will discuss a few mushroom species that can be found in central PA, both in terms of what can be harvested and what should be avoided. Amy Wrobleski, a PhD candidate in ecology will tell us about pathways that folks can use to learn about mushroom hunting including community groups and online resources. Finally, Ed Kaiser, the curator of the mushroom culture collection at Penn State, will talk about how we grow mushrooms, what edible species exist, and exciting uses for mushrooms. Join us to test your trivia and IDing skills and learn more about this interesting kingdom!
March 2023: Human Impacts on Water Quality and How to Mitigate Them
The role of human activities on the environment is a topic of great interest and concern these days. This month’s Science on Tap will focus specifically on water quality issues and watershed restoration efforts, from Pennsylvania all the way down to the Chesapeake Bay. Lara Fowler, interim Chief Sustainability Officer and Director of the Penn State Sustainability Institute, will share a quick background on challenges and opportunities related to water quality in Pennsylvania- there are a lot of positive solutions being implemented right now. Kim Van Meter, Assistant Professor of Geography, will discuss some of the special long-term challenges of meeting water quality goals in an area with such a long legacy of intensive agriculture. She’ll also talk about some of bright spots and opportunities for change, especially related to wetland conservation and restoration. We look forward to a lively discussion about water quality!
Feb. 2023: The Future of the Electronic Materials Industry – And Who’s Paying for It?
Have you ever wondered exactly what it is that makes your phone, computer, modern medical diagnosis tools, satellites, and other electronics come to life? Why your smartphone (and just about every other electronic device) is faster, more powerful, and has more storage than bulky computers that were prominent not 15 years ago? Rapid advancements in both household and more complex devices have been enabled in part by progress in materials science and engineering: the field associated with the discovery and development of materials. Two key players in these powerful devices are semiconductors and ferroelectrics. But who are the major sources funding such research and how do they decide where to invest? Both of this event’s speakers work on federally and industrially sponsored research in electronic materials. Dr. Jon-Paul Maria will discuss who funds U.S. university research, how project goals align with those of their sponsors, and how scientists advocate for financial support. Dr. Susan Trolier-McKinstry will present on some of the far-reaching impacts of her ferroelectric and semiconductor work including disease diagnosis, human health monitoring, and studying the origins of the universe.
Jan. 2023: Behind the Scenes of Map-Making: Principles of Cartography, Old and New
In the modern age of technology, many of us have access to detailed maps of the entire planet at our fingertips through GPS services on smartphones. We may take for granted the science, technology, and art required to produce such accessible maps. Maps can serve many purposes in addition to optimizing driving routes or determining one’s location, e.g. illustrating population density, topography, or the movement of goods. Cartography is the science of map-making and it is constantly evolving as humanity shifts to the digital age. Cindy Brewer, professor of Geography will discuss her research in cartographic design. She is the author of the book “Designing Better Maps” and has worked with the U.S. Geological Survey on updating the design of topographic maps and with the U.S. Census Bureau on mapping population data. She is especially well known for her ColorBrewer online tool that helps mapmakers select map color schemes for their own data representations. Mike Hermann is the founder of Purple Lizard Maps, a company producing outdoor recreation maps to help folks plan adventures. He will discuss how these maps are created from initial data compilation, meeting with locals and land managers, a ground truthing process, content decisions and final publication. The design of Purple Lizard Maps offers a unique approach to unlocking a landscape for deeper exploration by foot, bicycle, boat or car.
Dec. 2022: Where humans and the forest meet: exploring connections between forests and human health
Have you ever been hunting or foraging? Forests are home to an abundance of wildlife and resources critical to the diets and livelihoods of people around the world. However, changes to forest ecosystems due to agriculture and development impact human health in unprecedented ways such as through our diets, nutrition, and diseases. Why are we seeing new diseases in humans? Where are they all coming from? Many recent disease outbreaks and epidemics are rooted in the human-wildlife interface (e.g. monkeypox and COVID-19). Dr. Sagan Friant will discuss the social and ecological dimensions of wildlife hunting and trade – a pathway for the spillover of animal diseases to humans. Further, Dr. Bronwen Powell will present on how our diets change and the effect on nutrition when forests are threatened and new forms of markets and agriculture are introduced. Her recent work investigates the connections between forests and nutrition in Africa and how large-scale agriculture changes diets in Indonesia. Come and learn about the human-forest interface in high-risk areas to human health.
Oct. 2022: Climate Change and Community in Alaska
As climate change warms the world, the Arctic is warming even faster than the global average. This has huge and immediate impacts on the people and natural environments of the Arctic region. From permafrost thaw and coastal erosion to food security issues and migration, the Arctic is a dynamic place full of stories of struggles and resilience in the face of climate change. At this event, we will hear from both social and natural scientists who have spent time in Arctic Alaska working with communities and researching climate change impacts.
July 2022: Symmetry in the Universe
Apr. 2022: Can she fix it? Yes she can! GradWIE engineers studying resilience, health, safety, and well-being
Feb. 2022: Craft Chocolate – the scientific, social, and environmental facets of the industry
Jan. 2022: Let there be light – Electromagnetism to illuminate the invisible, big and small
Sept. 2021: Wildlife-Human Conflicts & Wildlife Management in PA
June 2021: Ants and Bed Bugs and Cockroaches, Oh My!
May 2021: Building Climate Resilient Communities with Nature
April 2021: Parasite Pu-Pu Platter – A Sample of PA’s Peculiar Pests
March 2021: Nanomaterials – Thinking small for big ideas
January 2021: Wildfires in a Warming World
October 2020: Fashion’s Footprint – The environmental pricetag of the textile industry
June 2020: Reflections on Racism in the US
May 2020: Vultures – Nature’s Decomposition
Vultures - Nature's Decomposition
How are vultures capable of processing food we wouldn’t dare touch? Why does this ability make them such a valuable member of our shared ecosystem? In this talk, Zoey Greenberg and Jennifer Houtz introduced us to vultures, an underappreciated group of raptors.
April 2020: Mental Well-Being in the Time of COVID-19
Mental Well-Being in the Time of COVID-19
How might we think about social emotions – empathy, outrage, compassion, fear – in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic? Dr. Cameron (Dept of Psychology) discussed this during our Science on Tap – Quarantine Edition via Zoom. In addition, we had a professional from Penn State’s Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) join us to discuss stress and well-being, and offer techniques which can be practiced in our daily lives. If you missed it, click the media player above for a recording of the event!
February 2020: Let’s Talk About Sex, Baby! – Understanding the Factors Shaping Human Sexuality
Some say that February is the month for lovers, and sexuality plays an integral role in our social lives and relationships. Biological sex is an important variable in explaining individual variation in sexual preference and mate selection. How did the differences in male and female voices arise and why do we find certain vocal traits more attractive? What role does genetics play in sexual orientation or the frequency by which women can orgasm? Are men really predisposed to physical competition and how does this relate to mate selection? What do the length of our fingers tell us about our own and others’ sexual orientation? Dr. Puts’ lab seeks to provide greater understanding of sexuality and sex differences by investigating the roles played by hormones and genetics, as well as the reasons for the evolution of these mechanisms. Dr. Dawood has expertise in human sexuality and childhood gender identity.
January 2020: On Bullshit – The Sources of Misinformation Can Be Both Expected and Unexpected
You may have noticed an increase in the amount of BS you face every day in the news, social media, and sometimes even science reporting. The sources of all this misinformation are both expected and unexpected. For example, you might be surprised to learn of the connection between a common probability mistake and “one of the great miscarriages of justice in modern British legal history”. After describing a Penn State course we taught recently on BS (really!), we’ll consider some counterintuitive results that range from amusing to heartbreaking to illustrate how prone our natural tendency to muddle probability makes us to BS.
November 2019: Human Civilization and Expressions of the Heart: The Past, Present, and Future of Glass
A Future of Glass – Dr. Mauro
From glass windows and containers to lenses and optical fiber, glass has proven to be one of the most important materials for enabling the development of contemporary human civilization.
Had a ‘Art of Glass – Dr. Cook
While humans (and even hominids, generally) have used glass for tools and art for over a million years, it’s only in the last 3500 years that we’ve had means to melt and shape glass with any intentionality. From ancient amulets and perfume jars to the intricately blown, massively cast, or exquisitely carved works of contemporary artists, glass has shifted its appearance to meet the tastes and needs of cultures across time.
October 2019: Insect Interactions – Hungry Plants, Explosive Beetles, & The Scent of Fear
What is the impact of predation on insects and what does this mean for nature and agriculture? How do plants repurpose defense genes to acquire nutrients and which genes are key for insect defense? Interactions between insects, predators, and plants may be difficult to observe, but they contain powerful clues to how we could save our crops and natural spaces. Enter the world of entomology, where platns and beetles are th emasters of natural chemical weapons and the risk of being eaten is real.
September 2019: Drawdown – The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming
There is a point at which concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere begin to steadily decline and ultimately start to reverse global warming. This point is knownw as Drawdown. Over recent years, a rich database of solutions to reverse global warming was developed by Project Drawdown. These solutions were first shared in the 2017 New York Times bestseller, Drawdown. At this Science on Tap, we learned more about this amazing proposal from two of the leading scientists from Penn State spearheading the project: Dr. Tom Richard and Dr. Justin Schwartz.
August 2019: Big Ag Means Thinking Small – New Agricultural Approaches that Manipulate the Survival of Microorganisms
As humans, we go to almost any length to avoid a stomach bug, and just like us, plants can take extreme measures to avoid disease. As growers, we can aide in this fight. Just like eating a probiotic like kimchi or yogurt, plants can receive similar health benefits from certain microbes found in the soil. How can we manipulate our fields to better assist our green friends?
July 2019: Energy Policy in the Aftermath of Hurricane Maria
After the catastrophe caused by 2017’s Hurricane Maria, many Puerto Ricans were left without electricity for months. Now, what is the best plan to radically reform electricity access on the Caribbean island? Better yet, how can we reform our national and global energy systems to meet the demands of net-zero carbon emissions? Is Puerto Rico the canary in the coal mine or something more?
June 2019: Radical Radiation – Nuclear Applications in Energy, Health, Art, and More
Radiation is useful in our everyday lives and entertainment. Learn about nuclear technology applications, then dive into radiation-induced superhero powers and other myths from movies.
May 2019: Getting Back to Our PA Roots – Mushrooms, Their Genes, and Our Health
Did you know that nearly two-thirds of white button mushrooms consumed in the US come from Pennsylvania? Join us for this month’s Science on Tap event at Federal Tap House where mushroom researchers, Dr. David Geiser and Dr. Margherita Cantorna, will discuss their research to the public. Geiser is a professor of Mycology (scientific study of fungi) and is the Director of the Fusarium Research Center at Penn State. His research focuses on the molecular evolutionary genetics of pathogenic and toxigenic fungi and his lab seeks to classify and understand the biology of different species of fungi.
Cantorna is a distinguished professor of Molecular Immunology and Nutrition and is the Director of the Center for Molecular Immunology and Infectious Disease. She has expertise in immune-mediated diseases such as multiple scerlosis and inflammatory bowel disease and studies the effects of edible mushrooms on the microbiome and glucose control.
April 2019: To Antarctica and Back Again – Tales of Penguins, seals, and otters from the icy south
Antarctica – the dry, windy continent covered by ice 2 km thick (on average) – is a place most humans only see in our imaginations or on PBS documentaries. The Antarctic Ice Sheet holds 90 percent of all the world’s ice and 70 percent of Earth’s fresh water. There is a constant exchange of water between the oceans and the ice sheet. If, as is happening now, that exchange becomes lopsided, with the ice sheets shrinking, then sea level rises.
But how quickly might this occur, and how much will sea levels rise? Penn State’s Sridhar Anandakrishnan and Don Voigt recently traveled to Antarctica, camping in remote locations in order to gain insight about the ice sheet’s conditions and behavior. Dr. Sridhar Anandakrishnan is a Professor of Geosciences, researcher with the Ice and Climate Exploration group, and an associate of the Earth and Environmental Sciences Institute. With most of his fieldwork occurring in Greenland and Antarctica, he uses geophysical tools such as seismology to study glaciers and ice sheets. Dr. Don Voigt is a retired research associate with Penn State’s Ice and Climate Exploration group who still conducts fieldwork in Antarctica and Greenland whenever possible. He has served as the Chief Scientist for an ice core drilling project in West Antarctica and deployed seismic networks across Antarctica.
March 2019: Detecting Ripples in the Fabric of Spacetime – The present and future of gravitational wave astronomy
Gravitational waves are cyclic disturbances in spacetime caused by events such as neutron star and black hole mergers, among others. Predicted back in 1916 by Einstein, they were recently directly detected for the first time by LIGO (the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) in 2015. Several more detections have followed, and plans for a space-based gravitational wave detector – LISA (the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna) – are under way. Detection of gravitational waves at frequencies much lower than what LIGO can reach will help in studying phenomena not easily accessible by other means, such as merging supermassive black holes and events that occurred shortly after the Big Bang.
Dr. Bangalore Sathyaprakash is the Elsbach Professor of Physics and a Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics. His research focuses on cosmology, including gravitational wave detection and tests of general relativity. Dr. Michael Eracleous is a Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics and a member of the Center for Particle and Gravitational Astrophysics. His research focuses on accretion power and high energy astronomy, including active galactic nuclei and interacting binary stars.
February 2019: The Really, Very Improbable Series of Events that Lead to Your Birth – Reflections on the enigma of viviparity
Penn State’s Science Policy Society’s February Science on Tap will host Dr. Troy Ott, who will be discussing viviparity.
Viviparity is the development of an embryo inside the body leading to birth of a live offspring. Live birth is thought to have evolved from oviparity or egg laying animals. One of the central enigmas of viviparity is why the mother’s immune system does not reject the embryo, which is immunologically distinct due to the genetic contributions of the father. In fact, it is thought that some infertility is a result of a maternal immune reaction to the embryo in the uterus. Warning: Sexual content…..actually the whole talk is about sex!
Troy Ott is a Professor of reproductive biology in the Department of Animal Science and Associate Director in the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences. His research focuses on the maternal immune response to the early embryo and factors that contribute to infertility. You can follow him on Twitter @TroyOttAg or learn more about this research here: https://animalscience.psu.edu/directory/tlo12
January 2019: Mosquito-B-Gone! – Will gene editing change the world for better or worse?
Dr. Rasgon, a member of the Entomology Department at Penn State, will be talking about his research that studies how genes in mosquitos can be edited in different ways, including preventing the spread of various mosquito-borne diseases like malaria. Gene editing is being investigated across the world to make our lives better by eliminating diseases, growing better and more crops, and much more!
The talk starts at 7 but come early to grab a drink and a seat with other attendees.
November 2018: Research in Humanitarian Crises
This November, Penn State Science Policy Society is hosting Dr. Ferrari, Dr. Bharti, and Alexandre Blake at Federal Taphouse as they talk about our vaccines, public health research, and how doctors without borders fits into all of it!
Dr. Ferrari is an Associate Professor in Biology that uses math and statistics to understand disease patterns, Dr. Bharti is an Assistant Professor in Biology that investigates vaccines, and Alexandre is a graduate student in Dr. Bharti’s lab! The talk starts at 7 but come early to grab a seat and a drink!
October 2018: The Data Imperative
This October, Penn State Science Policy Society is hosting Dr. Honavar, Dr. Brick, and Ariana Winder at Federal Taphouse as they talk about our health data, how it is used by hospitals, companies, and other institutions, and how it is protected.
Dr. Honavar is a professor in Information Sciences and Technology, Ariana is the Research Accrual Specialist for our partner CTSI, and Dr. Brick is an assistant professor of Human Development and Family Studies. The talk starts at 7 but come early to grab a seat and a drink!
Also, we will be adding a second standup speaker in the back of the restaurant so that our whole audience can hear the wonderful researchers speaking that evening!
September 2018: The Anthropology of Alcohol
Alcohol consumption is widespread and takes on various forms and cultural meanings across the globe. It has also played a central role in almost all human societies. Although this social practice may negatively affect human health, universal alcohol consumption has persisted throughout human evolution, suggesting that drinking must have had some adaptive benefit. French, an anthropological archaeologist at Penn State and co-host of the Discovery channel series Artifact or Fiction says, “I’m interested in understanding the social and economic impact of small-scale alcohol production in various cultures around the world.” Sholtis is an award-winning home brewer and received his doctoral degree in anthropology at Penn State in 2008. He is currently a science writer for the Eberly College of Science at Penn State and will be joining in on the discussion.
July 2018: Lymelight: The Spread of Lyme Disease, Ticks, and How It Can Be Stopped!
Dr. Erika Machtinger, assistant professor in the department of Entomology, discussed the nature of the blacklegged tick, also known as the deer tick, and how it transmits Lyme Disease. Dr. Machtinger mentioned, “With 300,000+ cases a year, Lyme disease is one of the most common conditions caused by germs spread by arthropods in the U.S. It is only transmitted by blacklegged (deer) ticks, and Pennsylvania has the highest number of Lyme disease cases each year! Over the past few years, these blacklegged ticks are becoming more common and their presence is expanding. However, avoiding blacklegged tick bites can be done with knowledge of risks and how to control deer tick populations.” She also discussed how to identify a blacklegged tick, how to remove one safely, and the ecology behind blacklegged tick populations.
June 2018: Practical Plants: The Effects of Medical Marijuana
The event featured Dr. Daniel Morgan, assistant professor in the department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine at Penn State Hershey. He and the community discussed how medical marijuana works in the human body, what diseases it is being used to treat, and the future of medical marijuana in PA and the country as a whole.
May 2018: Pathways to Successful Aging
The discussion featured Dr. Alyssa Gamaldo, Dr. Orfeu Buxton, and Dr. George Etzweiler discussing how certain behaviors and actions (such as sleep and diet) can affect the quality of aging, paired with Dr. Etzweiler’s anecdotal evidence of his own longevity. Dr. Orfeu Buxton is an associate professor in the department of Biobehavioral Health and researches the health consequences of sleep deficiency, and Dr. Alyssa Gamaldo is an assistant professor in the department of Human Development and Family Studies and researches identifying sensitive measures, health indices, and socio-demographic factors associated with cognitive functioning in older adults. Dr. George Etzweiler is a retired professor of Electrical Engineering, State college community member, and an active road race runner at the age of 98 years old.
April 2018: Ethics of Athletic Recruitment
The discussion featured Dr. Francisco Javier Lopez Frias and Coach Russ Rose. Dr. Frias is an assistant professor of kinesiology whose research focuses on the ethics of doping and the use of human enhancement technologies in sport, as well as sport ethics overall. Coach Russ Rose is the Head Coach of the Women’s Volleyball team at Penn State.
March 2018: Social and Cultural Learning Through Video Games and Tech: Two Sides of the Coin
The discussion featured Dr. Gabriela Richard and Dr. S Shyam Sundar. Dr. Richard is an assistant professor of learning, design, and technology in the college of education. Dr. Sundar is a distinguished professor of advertising/public relations and media studies, and is also the Co-Director of the Media Effects Research Laboratory. Richard said that live-streaming gaming events on Twitch or e-sport competitions can provide various areas of individual and collaborative learning benefits. On the other side of the coin, Richard said “Limited in-game cultural representations and perceptions of gaming in the wider culture have helped perpetuate gender and racial stereotypes”.
February 2018: Power, Gender, and Responses to Uppity Women
Dr. Theresa Vescio, a professor of psychology, focuses her research on power, sexism, racism, heterosexism, and ageism. She is interested in the relation between power and stereotyping. She is primarily interested in gender and how gender intersects with other meaningful social group members (like race, class, sexual orientation, and age) to influence powerful people’s reactions to low power women and men. Much of her research examines three questions: (1) when do powerful people stereotype low power people, (2) how do powerful people behave toward the low power men and women they stereotype and (3) how do the stereotypic behaviors of the powerful influence the emotion, self-definition, motivation, and performance of low power women and men.
January 2018: Animal Stress: Humans and Our Canine Companions
Nancy Dreschel, an instructor in the animal science, studies stress in animals, particularly in dogs, and runs the local service dog training organization, and Chad Shenk, associate professor of human development and family studies whose research focuses on service animals in trauma-focused therapy. The event will be held at Liberty Craft House in downtown State College at 7 p.m. on January 16. Shenk noted that service animals may improve a type of therapy for children who may have experienced
maltreatment.
“Child maltreatment exerts a significant risk for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) is the only well-established intervention for children experiencing maltreatment” said Shenk, “One way to improve TF-CBT may be through the inclusion of service animals, as they can facilitate relaxation and make the discussion of trauma less distressing.”
October 2017: Decoding the Athlete’s Mind: Mentally Training Penn State’s Top Athletes
The discussion featured Dr. David Yukelson and Dr. William E. Buckley, both of whom work with Penn State’s athletic teams. Yukelson is a sports psychologist with the Morgan Academic Support Center for Student-Athletes, and Buckley is a professor of exercise and sport science and health education in the College of Health and Human Development.
Yukelson said that mental training is a critical addition to a physical training regiment for Penn State’s athletes. “The mental game is about teaching athletes how to stay focused and in the present moment when competing,” said Yukelson, “We target confidence, belief, concentration, composure, self-awareness, effective thinking, and self-control.”
September 2017: Fracking in PA: Should We or Shouldn’t We?
The discussion will feature Dr. Frank Dorman and Dr. William Burgos, both of whom study the impacts of hydraulic fracking on local water resources. Dorman is an associate professor in the Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Molecular Biology. Burgos is a professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Dorman said that it’s important to discuss the potential environmental impacts of fracking in a public forum. “Renewed interest in shale gas exploration has highlighted the division between scientific understanding and popular opinions,” said Dorman, “and what potential exposure issues are associated with this important economic opportunity.”
August 2017: The Evolution and Many Meanings of Skin Color
July 2017: Rolling in the Deep Sea: Going Beyond Shark Week
The discussion will feature Dr. Charles Fisher, who studies deep water corals in the Gulf of Mexico. Fisher is a professor of biology and an associate dean in the College of Science at Penn State University.
Andie Chan, a doctoral student at Penn State and a Science on Tap organizer, said that studying deep sea corals before and after ecological disasters is very important. “When the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill occurred, thick material covered the corals and smothered them,” said Chan, “because these corals were so old and grow so slowly, it is not known how many centuries it will take for these ecosystems to recover.”
Fisher added that studying the human impacts on the deep sea has been a rewarding experience.“Over the last decade, I’ve spent more and more of my time studying the impact that man has on the deep sea,” said Fisher, “I’ve learned that doing basic science, even in the most remote environments, is a service to society.”
June 2017: Unwrapping the Power of Solar Energy
The discussion will feature Dr. John Asbury, who studies the chemical processes that occur when light strikes solar panels, and Dr. Jeffrey Brownson, who studies how solar power can be integrated into new technologies. Asbury is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry, while Brownson is an Associate Professor in Earth and Mineral Science Energy Institute.
Asbury said that although current solar panels are cost-effective and efficient, there is still more work to be done.” While silicon solar cells are great, we must look to new technologies if we want solar power to move beyond the niche into the main stream,” said Asbury.
Brownson added that solar power will soon be incorporated into every aspect of our lives. “Very soon, we will all have light included along with temperature, wind speed, and rainfall in our phone apps for weather forecasts,” Brownson said, “society will change dramatically with the input of light.”
May 2017: The Evolution of Our Gene-eration
The discussion will feature Dr. Kenneth Weiss, who studies the genetic origins of disease susceptibility. Weiss is the Evan Pugh Professor Emeritus of Anthropology and Genetics.
Weiss said that although lots of scientific breakthroughs in genetic sciences have occurred, they haven’t yet transformed the way diseases and other illnesses are treated. “For 25 years we’ve been promised miracles from genetic medicine, but these miracles haven’t really happened. Why is that, and what should we do about it?” said Weiss.
