In Weekly Seminars, Students Hear Firsthand From Professors Conducting Groundbreaking Research

Faculty in the sciences present scholarly work

In addition to their own lab and scholarly work, the 60 students participating in the College’s rigorous summer research program have a weekly opportunity to hear firsthand from professors conducting groundbreaking studies in an array of disciplines.

The summer seminar series takes place each Wednesday, and the talks include some of today’s hottest research topics, ranging from entomology to atomic physics to neuroscience and behavior.
 
The series, open to faculty and students, is sponsored by the Fisher Summer Research Program

“This is a great opportunity for summer research students to learn about different projects,” says Daniel Bitran, associate professor of psychology and science coordinator. “The series helps students foster broader thinking about a particular research project. It also fosters collaborative projects that might cross disciplinary boundaries.”

Nearly 100 students and faculty members attend the weekly seminars. This year’s series kicked off on June 3 when Gregory DiGirolamo, associate professor of psychology, gave his talk titled “Controlling Behavior: Consciousness, Impulsivity, & Drug Dependence.”

Faculty in the summer research program are from all natural science departments (mathematics and computer science, physics, chemistry, and biology), as well as from some social science departments (psychology, sociology and anthropology, and economics).

The rest of the schedule is:

June 10
Karen Ober, assistant professor of biology
“An Inordinate Fondness for Beetles: Darwin and Discovery”

June 17
Tomohiko Narita, associate professor of physics
“The Power of the Dark Side: Sealing the Fate of the Universe”

June 24
Sarah Petty, assistant professor of chemistry
“Protein Misfolding and Disease”

July 1
Matthew Koss, associate professor of physics
“To Write and Present Science: Some Unsolicited Advice”

July 8
Constance Royden, associate professor of mathematics
“Change Blindness and Inattentional Blindness: Why You Should Not Drive While Talking on a Cell Phone”

July 15
Bianca Sculimbrene, assistant professor of chemistry
“The Story of Vancomycin: Development of Chemical Tools for Understanding and Treating Disease”

July 22
Timothy Roach, associate professor of physics
“Getting (Nearly) to Absolute Zero with Laser Cooling”

July 29
Daniel Bitran, associate professor of psychology and science coordinator
“Is There a Neuroscience of Ethics?”

Related Information:

• Integrated Science Complex 
• Explore: Sciences 
• Explore: Social Sciences