Special Lectures

Frank Bidart reads from his work on April 23rd, 2015 in honor of National Poetry Month. The first poems are from Metaphysical Dog (Farrar, Straus & Giroux 2013). Bidart finished by reading a few lyric poems from his forthcoming collection Half-light: Collected Poems 1965-2016 (FSG 2016). This talk was held at Wellesley College's Tau Zeta Epsilon society house, and was sponsered by the Wellesley College English Department, The Wellesley Review, Tau Zeta Epsilon, and Zeta Alpha. Frank Bidart is the Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities at Wellesley and Professor of English.

Adele Wolfson, Professor of Chemistry, discusses how in-depth interviews with students reveal information about their understanding of scientific concepts and their ability to integrate knowledge across disciplines. She presents results from two studies. One, from the NECASL longitudinal study of students at liberal arts colleges, examined the experiences of science majors, their pattern of enrollment, and connection of science to non-science courses. The second project explored concepts about energy transformations and the extent to which students are able to transfer knowledge from general chemistry into biochemistry. Both projects have implications for the ways we teach and the ways we organize the curriculum.

Adele Wolfson, Professor of Chemistry, discusses how in-depth interviews with students reveal information about their understanding of scientific concepts and their ability to integrate knowledge across disciplines. She presents results from two studies. One, from the NECASL longitudinal study of students at liberal arts colleges, examined the experiences of science majors, their pattern of enrollment, and connection of science to non-science courses. The second project explored concepts about energy transformations and the extent to which students are able to transfer knowledge from general chemistry into biochemistry. Both projects have implications for the ways we teach and the ways we organize the curriculum.

Psychologist Angela Bahns speaks on how the goal of fostering diverse friendships might best be realized. Research in support of the Contact Hypothesis suggests that exposure to people who are different from ourselves can be an effective strategy for reducing prejudice. And yet research on attraction demonstrates that people often prefer to form friendships with similar others. Using survey-based field methods and multilevel analysis, my lab investigated how individual-level factors such as valuing diversity and community-level factors such population size and human diversity predicts attitudinally diverse friendship information. We found that valuing diversity predicts attitudinally diverse friendships in small, homogeneous settings, and attitudinally similar friendships in large, diverse settings. Valuing diversity may only promote attitudinally diverse friendships in small, homogeneous communities; with greater friendship choice, comes more fine-grained attitude assortment.

Domestic Policy Issues in the U.S. Election: a discussion with Professors Tom Burke, Courtney Coile, and Dan Sichel. Tuesday, October 2nd, 2012. 12:30 - 1:20 Pendleton Atrium, Wellesley College

Jennie Pyers (Psychology) shows how the study of deaf signers can clarify our understanding of the ways in which language and cognition interact. These slides accompany the recording of her lecture, also available on iTunes U. Studies with speakers of spoken languages have demonstrated some relationship between Ianguage and cognitive ability. In this talk, Jennie presents studies with learners of an emerging sign language in Nicaragua, fluent signers of American Sign Language, and children acquiring a sign language to argue that some aspects of human cognition are crucially dependent on learning a language, signed or spoken, and that other aspects are uniquely shaped by learning a sign language.

Jennie Pyers (Psychology) shows how the study of deaf signers can clarify our understanding of the ways in which language and cognition interact. Please download the accompanying PDF (also on iTunes U) to see the slides of her presentation. Studies with speakers of spoken languages have demonstrated some relationship between Ianguage and cognitive ability. In this talk, Jennie presents studies with learners of an emerging sign language in Nicaragua, fluent signers of American Sign Language, and children acquiring a sign language to argue that some aspects of human cognition are crucially dependent on learning a language, signed or spoken, and that other aspects are uniquely shaped by learning a sign language.

Angela Carpenter discusses her linguistics research. Theories of linguistics differ on whether speakers have innate knowledge of linguistic universals or whether generalizations are the product of non-linguistic systems. By studying speakers' ability to learn patterns which occur in natural language versus those patterns which do not, Carpenter found a bias towards naturalness and argued that language learning utilizes an interaction between general and language-specific cognitive mechanisms.

Don Elmore discusses membrane proteins, which provide an essential link between the inside of cells and their surroundings. The function of these proteins is impacted by their interactions with the lipid molecules that make up membranes of cells. Elmore discusses how his lab combines computational and experimental approaches to investigate these critical protein-lipid interactions. In particular, the talk focuses on the role of lipid interactions in the gating of mechanosensitive ion channels and the ability of antimicrobial peptides to translocate across cell membranes.

Don Elmore discusses membrane proteins, which provide an essential link between the inside of cells and their surroundings. The function of these proteins is impacted by their interactions with the lipid molecules that make up membranes of cells. Elmore discusses how his lab combines computational and experimental approaches to investigate these critical protein-lipid interactions. In particular, the talk focuses on the role of lipid interactions in the gating of mechanosensitive ion channels and the ability of antimicrobial peptides to translocate across cell membranes. This document shows the slides used during the presentation, which is available to download as audio.

Orit Shaer describes her research developing interaction techniques and software tools for next generation user interfaces. Over the past two decades, Human-Computer Interaction research has generated a broad range of interaction styles that move beyond the desktop into new physical and social contexts. Key areas of innovation in this respect include tabletops, tangible, and embodied user interfaces. These interaction styles leverage users' existing knowledge and skills of interaction with the real non-digital world, thus are often referred to as reality-based interfaces. By drawing on exisiting skills, reality-based interfaces offer the promise of a natural, intuitive, and often collaborative form of interaction. In this talk we will examine the impact of applying reality-based interaction to enhance collaborative discovery and learning.

Jim Besancon and Kathy Moon explore causes, effects, and potential outcomes of the recent events in Japan. The clash of Earth's upheaval with human settlement calls for an analysis that crosses disciplines. Jim Besancon, associate professor of geosciences, and Katharine Moon, Edith Stix Wasserman Professor of Political Science and director of Wellesley's East Asian Studies Program, share their expertise on the subject briefly before the discussion is opened up for audience questions and comments.

Adam Van Arsdale discusses how genomes from extinct populations of archaic humans - “Neandertals” and “Denisovans” - have provided new complexity to our understanding of the origins of contemporary humans. The evolutionary processes that have shaped humans reflect a pattern that extends to the beginning of our genus, Homo, two million years ago. This talk examines the role of on-going research at the Lower Paleolithic site of Dmanisi, Georgia, for our understanding of Pleistocene human evolution, and the expanded, dynamic adaptive niche associated with the emergence and dispersal of early Homo.

Nonnative plant invasions can present substantial environmental challenges that demand our attention, but they also offer tremendous opportunities to examine fundemental ecological questions. Why do some plants dominate here and not there? Why do most invasions fail while others become spectacularly successful? This research examines several aspects of the invasion ecology of Bromus tectorum ('cheatgrass') at different biological, spatial, and temporal scales.

Susan Reverby discusses her research on the infamous Tuskegee Syphilis Study (1932-72) and the immoral government medical study in Guatemala in the late 1940s where men and women were given syphilis. She explores the ways in which melodramatic responses both help us understand what happened and hinder our understandings.

Richard French is an instrument team leader for NASA's highly successful ongoing Cassini mission to Saturn. He takes you behind the scenes of modern rocket science. He presents some of the highlights of the mission and describes how he and his Team Cassini students are investigating the dynamics of Saturn's rings and the atmospheric structure of Saturn and its largest moon, Titan.

Alex Diesl, mathematics professor at Wellesley College, looks beyond the standard decimal representation and sees how mathematics can help us to best approximate our favorite numbers.

Marion Just and Tom Burke, two Political Science professors well-versed in American electoral politics, discuss the 2010 midterm election results and what it means for the 112th Congress and the Obama presidency.

Meg Thompson discusses Avalonia, the tectonic belt stretching from the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland and through Atlantic Canada to southeastern New England. She speaks about how Avalonia was not part of North America when its rock sequences formed 600-700 million years ago. Magnetic signatures acquired when igneous rocks in these sequences cooled from molten magma provide the principal means for establishing Avalonia's original geographic position and its subsequent convergence with North America.

Jeremy Wilmer asks what are the strengths, weaknesses, and limits of what can be tested on the web?

Nathalie Rouland - Russia & Contemporary Performing Arts; Adam Van Arsdale - Reflections on Georgia; Ivan Arreguin-Toft - Russian miltary reform; Nina Tumarkin- Legacy of Soviet Past; Marshall Goldman- Summer 2010 heat wave.

Should the U.S. generate more nuclear energy? Nancy Kolodny argues "yes", describing the current consumption of energy, how nuclear power is produced, other fuel sources, and the barriers to increasing the use of nuclear energy.

Phil Levine notes that recent economic events call into question the ability of older workers to get by in retirement. He examines the factors behind workers who cannot afford to retire and those who will be forced to do so due to a weakened labor market.

Lynne Viti outlines Cass Sunstein's four categories of judicial thought: fundamentalism/originalism, perfectionism, majoritarianism, and minimalism She then explains how these categories come into play in 5-4 U.S. Supreme Court decisions.

Parkinson's Disease is characterized by selective loss of dopamine-producing neurons. Aggregation of alpha-synuclein is thought to be a key causative event. Julia reviews efforts in her lab to identify aggregation-prone regions of this protein.

Four Wellesley College professors read poems in honor of the Ancient Greek poet Sappho: Marjorie Agosin (Spanish); Dan Chiasson (English); Liz Young (Classical Studies); and Ifeanyi Menkiti (Philosophy).

Locomotion is energetically expensive. For many animals, daily energy budgets are dominated by the costs of fueling their muscles. David explores the performance limits and efficiency of locomotor systems in fish, guinea fowl, and other animals.

GIS-based geomorphologic analyses of the distribution of marsh features at the Great Marsh, MA, study area quantitatively support qualitative field observations. Process-driven models will be increasingly important as sea-levels rise.

Susan Reverby discusses her book Examing Tuskegee, focusing on myths about the study, how scientific knowledge about syphilis matters, why the study has become a metaphor for medical racism and mistrust, and why it continues to be so culturally powerful.

Roxanne Euben discusses how and why she came to study political theory and Islamic political thought, and how the events of 9/11 changed the context for, and the reception of, her work on Islamist political thought.

Barbara Beltz notes how new nerve cells are generated in the brains of many adult organisms, including humans. Adult-born neurons appear to play a role in learning and memory. The Beltz lab has been using the crustacean brain to explore the process of adult neurogenesis.

The resolution of two current problems in the history of the solar system and in the history of the ancient earth may depend upon a small isotopic effect in the spectra of carbon monoxide and of sulfur dioxide, respectively.

Scientific understanding of wisdom has been impeded by uncertainties about its definition and measuerment. Data from a 60-year old longitudinal study demonstrates the implications of two types of wisdom for psychosocial functioning in adulthood.

Olga Shurchkov presents the state of the economy; Eric Hilt discusses reform proposals past and present; Akila Weerapana looks at developments in international economics; and Joe Joyce examines changes in international economic governance.

Jon Imber's book, Trusting Doctors: The Decline of Moral Authority in American Medicine examines public perceptions about the role of physicians from the middle of the 19th century to the present. He observes how certainties evolved into probabilities.

Many believe organic food is better. Many also believe genetically engineered foods pose greater risks to human health and the environment. Yet the scientific consensus is just the opposite. Why is it so widely ignored?

Adam Van Arsdale gives an overview of the Ardipithecus fossil skeleton (what was found, where, how old it is). Jeremy DeSilva (Anthropology Professor at Boston University) describes his work as a functional anatomist of locomotion and upright walking.

Adam Weiner discusses Nabokov; Phil Kohl discusses tensions in the Northern Caucasus; Adam Van Arsdale discusses Georgia; and Marshall Goldman discusses the Russian economy.

Nolan Flynn describes how he uses infrared spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, and electron microscopy. Projects include hydrogels and microchips for drug delivery, and nanotechnology for wound healing.

Panagiotis "Takis" Metaxas, Professor of Computer Science, explains the origins of the Web and the history of search engines. He sees the Web as a technical construct, a social phenomenon, and a growing organism.