Chemistry News + Events

Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  A lecture by Michael Tibbetts, Biology program.
What are the genetic bases of the qualities that we think of as uniquely human? Is there a set of “humaness” genes? Large-scale genome sequencing projects in multiple species are generating the kind of data that allow us, for the first time, to seriously ask such big questions. An article published in the September 5 issue of Science Magazine (Human-specific gain of function in a developmental enhancer, by Prabhakar, S. et al.) describes a gene whose human-specific activity may be necessary to form an opposable thumb. The nature of the differences between the human and chimpanzee versions of the gene they identify supports a popular model for how small modifications in genomes can lead to significant changes in physical characteristics. The methodologies employed by these researchers may lead to the discovery of genes important for other human-specific characteristics.

  RKC 111  A lecture by Gregory Landweber, Mathematics program.
In calculus, we teach you how to take derivatives, and then once you're good at that, we tell you about second derivatives. But how do we go in the other direction and try to take HALF a derivative? It turns out that to take a half derivative, your functions need to come in pairs, analogously to how a complex number can be thought of as a pair of numbers, one real and another imaginary. Supersymmetry is the study of such pairings. This talk will discuss different ways that supersymmetry arises, both through explicit constructions, and through the notion of superspace.
**Some exposure to multivariable calculus and linear algebra will be assumed**

Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  A lecture by Dr. Lisa Schwanz, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies.

Parasites negatively impact their host’s fitness, potentially damaging host tissues and impairing host physiological or behavioral performance. In response to parasitic infection, hosts may alter their physiology, behavior or life history in ways that minimize the costs of infection. In this talk, I examine the optimal life history response of hosts when infected with parasites that have varying impacts. In addition, I explore the impacts of schistosome infection in deer mice by examining host physiology, survival and reproductive investment. In accordance with predictions, deer mice infected with this parasite increase their investment in offspring.

RKC 111  A lecture by Robert McGrail, Computer Science program.

L'Hopital's Rule is a useful tool for computing limits with indeterminate forms. In fact, it is too useful. The speaker demonstrates how some of these limits can be computed without this rule. This talk is a shamless ruse designed to introduce the 0-1 law of finite mondel theory as well as expose the unwitting members of the audience to some very beautiful mathematics.

  RKC lobby  Join the SM&C division faculty and students in presenting their summer research

RKC 111  Lecture by Allison Pacelli, Williams College.

How do you divide a candy bar fairly between two people? The most popular solution is known by many and can even be found in the bible: one person divides the bar in half, the other gets to choose which piece she wants. But what happens if three people are dividing the candy? Worse yet, what do you do if you're dividing a collection of indivisible goods? Things like TV's and pianos are not much use cut in half! The idea of fairness itself is considerably more complicated when more than two people are involved, but mathematics can be surprisingly useful in these situations.

  Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  A lecture by Martha F. Hoopes, Mount Holyoke College

Early metacommunity theory emphasized four distinct models to explain the spatial structure, dynamics, and species composition of communities: species sorting, patch dynamics, mass effects, and the neutral model. Several tests of metacommunity theory have focused on these models and on determining their relative importance in explaining spatial community structure. Applying metacommunity theory to invasion ecology redirects the focus to examine how theory on spatial community dynamics can inform our understanding of spatial interactions when all species are not considered equal. This talk examines how a focal species approach affects the interpretation of processes critical to metacommunity dynamics. I offer some preliminary thoughts on conceptual differences between the four conceptual metacommunity models and explore these with three invasion case studies.

Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  A lecture by Matthew Deady, Physics program
The Large Hadron Collider at the CERN laboratory in Switzerland has just been turned on for initial testing. The "Standard Model" of particles and fields has successfully matched theory and experiment for more than 30 years, and results from the LHC will put the model to its most stringent tests yet. The large energies available will also undoubtedly answer questions about extensions of and alternatives to the Standard Model, including supersymmetry, dark matter, dark energy, and string theory. In this lecture, these theories and what might be learned about them from the LHC will be explored. We will also discuss the spurious concerns that the LHC might cause a black hole that would swallow the universe.

This talk will focus on the theories of particles, as a complement to the October 2007 talk which focused on the accelerator technology itself. An edited version of that talk appears in the latest issue of the Bardian.

Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  A lecture by Peter G. Selfridge, Ph.D.

Virtual graphical environments (think Second Life or World Of Warcraft) have a number of real-world applications including training first responders, urban planning, and military training. Technology for creating both “geo-typical” terrain (e.g., a generic small city) and “geo-specific” terrain (e.g., downtown Kingston) has improved dramatically in recent years. What is missing is the ability to create realistic populations of regular people to populate the landscape: people commuting, going to lunch, taking their kids to daycare, et cetera.

This talk will first review some motivating applications, the current state-of-the-art in terrain generation, and the general problem. Approaches to creating realistic agent populations will be reviewed, including crowd modeling, game technologies, and work in AI-style cognitive architectures. Two key challenges will then be described: the creation and maintenance of realistic behaviors, and the idea of scalable cognition or cognition on demand. Some research ideas to address these challenges will be briefly sketched.

Bio:
Peter Selfridge received his Ph.D. in Artificial Intelligence at the University of Rochester and spent 19 years at Bell Labs and then AT&T Bell Labs doing research into sensory robotics, artificial intelligence, knowledge representation, software visualization, interactive database exploration, 3D web technologies, and more. For the last 5 years he has supported the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in their mission of funding revolutionary R&D to help maintain the technological superiority of the United States. He also does independent research in Artificial Intelligence.

  RKC 111  Sylvia Naples - 4:15 p.m.
"An upper bound for the number of graceful labelings of a path with N edges"

Nicholas Michaud - 4:35 p.m.
"Delaunay Realizability of Certain Graphs"

Mona Merling - 4:55 p.m.
"Function Fields with Class Number Indivisible by a Prime 1"

Hegeman 107  Interested in Studying Engineering? come hear about Bard's 3-2 combined plan with Columbia University. Derek Hernandez, former Bard student and current Columbia student, will speak about the program.

RKC 111  A lecture by Charles Doran, University of Alberta.

We'll start by investigating the combinatorial properties of certain lattice polytopes in R^n, specifically reflexive polygons. By reinterpreting these as Newton polygons, we will relate these combintorial objects to algebraic equations naturally defined on complex tori. The vanishing loci of these equations are then elliptic curves, whose basic geometric and topological properties we will discuss. If time permits, we may also describe an application to string theory.

Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  A lecture by Brooke A. Jude, candidate for the open position in Biology.

Investigation into Vibrio cholerae revealed that this organism colonizes both chitinous aquatic surfaces and the human small intestine via GbpA. Sequence analysis has revealed a GbpA homolog in all other Vibrio species that have been sequenced to date. We hypothesize that other aquatic Vibrio, such as Vibrio fluvialis, Vibrio vulnificus, or Vibrio parahemolyticus may also utilize GbpA to bind to environmental and intestinal surfaces. Current investigations include screening of aquatic isolates for attachment potential via GbpA.

  Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  Speakers include:

Cristina Ballantine, College of the Holy Cross
"Expander Graphs: Algebraic and Combinatorial Constructions"

Margaret Bayer, University of Kansas
"Flag Vectors of Polytopes: An Overview"

Debra Boutin, Hamilton College
"The Determining Set: A (Smallest) Set that Identifies Every Vertex in a Graph"

Robert McGrail, Bard College
"Knots, Quandles, and the Constraint Satisfaction Problem"

Ed Swartz, Cornell University
"f-Vectors of Manifolds"

RKC 111  New Biology course for spring semester:
Tropical Ecology

Professor Catherine O'Reilly

Tropical ecosystems are among the most biodiverse, most threatened, and the least studied in the world. This course will examine both practical and theoretical aspects that are unique to tropical ecosystems, including the role of geology, biogeochemical cycling, evolutionary processes and species interactions. In addition, we will discuss issues related to conservation, such as habitat fragmentation and climate change. This course will include lectures, student presentations, and research projects. Students will design, conduct, synthesize, and present a field research project. This course will involve a field trip to La Selva Biological Station in Costa Rica over spring break.

Prerequisites: Moderation, Bio 202 Ecology and Evolution, Permission of the instructor.

Come to the information meeting to learn more about the field trip, acceptance into this course, and the additional costs.

Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  A lecture by Richard A. Gordon, Professor of Psychology.

After the discovery of antidepressant drugs in the 1950s and the burst of research on neurotransmitters that took place in the 1960s, a scientific hypothesis about depression became firmly established in the community of researchers and clinicians: depression was rooted in depleted brain amines, such as norepinephrine and serotonin, a deficit that the antidepressants corrected. The amine hypothesis (known popularly and in pharmaceutical advertising as “chemical imbalance”) guided research throughout the rest of the 20th century. However, by the late 1990s it had become clear that direct research on the metabolism of depressed patients had failed to support the hypothesis. In this lecture I will discuss some exciting recent research that uses sophisticated techniques of brain imaging and has lent new support to the possibility that depleted amines are importantly involved in the chemistry of depression. Further commentary will be offered on the limitations and promise of this work, as well as some of the current thinking on the underpinnings of depression in the brain.

Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  A lecture by Swapan Jain, candidate for the open position in Chemistry.

According to RNA World hypothesis, early life used RNA for information storage and chemical catalysis. Small molecules may have played an important role in this endeavor by assembling nucleic acids during prebiotic evolution. Our results with proflavine and coralyne (small organic ligands) show that reactions carried out by protein enzymes today could have been achieved by non-enzymatic means. Mechanistic studies using hydroxyl radical footprinting have also been instrumental in our understanding of RNA structure. Future work aims to understand the structural changes that occur in riboswitches (noncoding region of mRNA) upon ligand binding. I would also like to investigate whether RNA can be regulated simultaneously by multiple pathways.

RKC 111  Interested in summer research in mathematics?

Come to an REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates) information session.
Hosted by the Mathematics program

Students Sylvia Naples and Tomasz Przytycki and faculty members John Cullinan and Lauren Rose will be speaking on the application process and their own experiences with past REU's.

Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  A lecture by Brett Pellock, candidate for the open position in Biology.

Bacteria use small, non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) to rapidly alter gene expression in response to changing conditions. Bacterial ncRNAs are small and difficult to identify experimentally. We are synthesizing computational and experimental methods to predict and validate the existence of ncRNAs in Shewanella oneidensis, a bacterium that can reduce a wide variety of substrates when grown anaerobically. Of particular interest is the ability of Shewanella to reduce soluble, toxic heavy metals to insoluble, much less toxic forms.

Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  A lecture by Alexis Gambis, The Rockefeller University

Alexis Gambis will speak about the importance of visual imagery and narrative in both science understanding and communication. He will give insight into his current thesis work explaining the mechanisms of cellular death, how to use the fruit fly as a genetic model to study human neurodegenerative diseases, and the fluorescent toolkit to visualize neurons in the fruit fly eye . Using the camera eye, Alexis has also been actively making films with scientific themes during his graduate career. Alexis will talk about his recent films and the importance of visual storytelling in science communication, show a few clips of his film "A Fruit Fly in New York", and share his recent experience pioneering the first science film festival in New York.

Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  A lecture by Jeremy Johnson, candidate for the open position in Chemistry

The mechanism of ribonuclease toxicity toward cancerous cells involves multiple steps, including cellular uptake and evasion of the ribonuclease inhibitor protein. Both of these steps of ribonuclease cytotoxicity are proposed to be controlled by the cationic nature of the ribonuclease and its interactions with the anionic cell membrane and anionic inhibitor. To understand the role that electrostatics play in ribonuclease biology, I investigated the effect that the positive charge of ribonuclease have on their cytotoxicity.

Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  A lecture by Patrick Page-McCaw, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

I will present two stories on how the zebrafish can be used as a model of heart disease.  In the first story, our lab has used genetic, pharmacological and surgical tools to dissect the affect of stress on cardiac output.  In the second story, we have discovered that Serum Amyloid A is required for cholesterol transport early in embryogenesis and that the failure to transport cholesterol results in defects in Hedgehog signaling.

  RKC 111  A lecture by Jim Belk

If you draw a grid on the plane and then zoom out, the empty squares between the gridlines become smaller and smaller until they are lost to sight.  The result is that the large-scale geometry of the plane is essentially the same as the large-scale geometry of an infinite grid.  In the same way, many non-Euclidean geometries can be understood on a large scale using infinite graphs.  In this talk, we will explore the geometry of several graphs that arise in this fashion, and we will discuss the sorts of questions that one might ask about the geometry of an infinite graph.

Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  A lecture by Tracy Kress, candidate for the position in Biology.

From the beginning of transcription, mRNAs are processed in a myriad of ways to specify the correct timing, localization, and quantity of protein synthesized. To ensure the efficiency and accuracy of gene expression, transcription and mRNA processing steps are tightly coordinated both spatially and temporally. Despite their critical importance, few factors that regulate this coordination are known. I identified Npl3 as one such factor, and my work aims to uncover the mechanism of Npl3, and other factors, in this coordination.

Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  A lecture by Jane Liu,  candidate for the open position in Chemistry.

Due to their central role in regulating bacterial pathogenesis, small non-coding RNAs (sRNAs) represent targets with therapeutic potential.  To investigate the entire repertoire of sRNAs in the human pathogen, Vibrio cholerae, we developed a method, sRNA-Seq, to directly clone and analyze whole populations of V. cholerae transcripts, 14 to 200 nucleotides, by high-throughput pyrosequencing.  From over 680,000 reads, 500 new intergenic sRNAs and 127 antisense sRNAs were identified.

RKC 111  A lecture by
Keith O'Hara
candidate for the position in Computer Science

Just as special purpose mainframe computers grew into general purpose personal computers, special purpose industrial robots are evolving into general purpose personal robots.  Drawing on ideas from computer systems architecture such as parallelism, redundancy, heterogeneity, locality, and scaling laws, we propose a "robot systems architecture" perspective on the design of robot computing systems.  From this perspective, two distributed robot systems built for tasks as varied as computing education and mobile robot navigation will be presented.

Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  A lecture by
Sven Anderson
Computer Science program
Telling the difference between human and automated programs such as Web-bots has become important in preventing Web-bot access to e-mail addresses, private information and limited electronic resources. CAPTCHAs, programs that can accurately judge whether a user is human or machine, are the primary line of defense against Web-bot access. For example, Google's Mail program uses CAPTHCAs to prevent Web-bots from creating bogus user accounts from which to launch spam messages. Every day humans solve about 60 million CAPTHCAs. The human "computation" expended has an unintended benefit: it can be recycled to help digitize old printed texts that are unrecognizable using optical character recognizers. This talk, intended for a general audience, will explore the vanishing difference between humans and computer programs on current text CAPTCHAs and outline efforts to keep one step ahead of the intelligent Web-bots. We will also consider other efforts to recycle human computation. 

Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  A lecture by
Lisa Scheifele
candidate for the position in Biology
Mobile DNA presents a considerable challenge to genome stability due to its presence as dispersed repeats.  Could this instability enable adaption and thereby explain why genomes retain high levels of mobile DNA?  Indeed, we have found that following experimental evolution, strains with higher levels of repetitive DNA contain a broader variation in chromosome structure.  The abundance of repetitive DNA must therefore be fine-tuned so that benefit of chromosome rearrangements in promoting genome evolution outweights the potential for lethal damage.

RKC 111  A lecture by
Maria Belk
Mathematics program
Why are some structures rigid, but others fall down?  We'll look at some simple structure and examine their rigidity.  We'll start by considering bar frameworks - place the vertices of a graph in 2 or 3 dimensions, and think of the edges of the graph as bars, forced to maintain their length.  After examining the rigidity of bar frameworks, we'll move to consider tensegrities.  In a tensigrity framework, some of the edges are called struts and are allowed to increase in length while others are called cables and are allowed to decrease in length.  These are tensegrities where the struts are suspended in the air by the cables, and yet the entire structure is rigid.

RKC lobby  Biology program

Fall 2008
Independent Research
Poster Session
Students presenting:
Alex Carlin
Jyoti Dev
Margo Finn
Samuel Israel
Allison James
Anna Josephson-Day
Sarah Mount
Jessica Philpott
Wyatt Shell
Ilya Smirnoff
Rachel Steinhorn
Emma Taylor-Salmon
William Wylie

RKC lobby  The Science, Mathematics & Computing Division presents...

Fall 2008
Senior Project Poster Session

Students presenting:
Priyanka Oberoi
Adviser: Felicia Keesing

"The Effect of Invasive Plant Species, Garlic Mustard Plant (Alliaria petiolata), on Entomopathogenic Fungi, Beauveria bassiana"

Faqir Usman
Adviser: Sam Hsiao

"Using Graphs to Model the Spread and Containment of Fire"

  RKC terrace  Attention all Biology students!!!A chance to do homework, get help with your classes, eat pizza and socialize with your professors and fellow biology students.
Professors Felicia Keesing and Philip Johns will be hosting tonight.

RKC 111  A lecture by
Cliona Golden
Mathematics program
Math plays a key role in the workings of many electronic devices we use in day-to-day life: MP3 players, digital cameras, cellphones, .... In this talk, we will discuss two fundamental math tools, Fourier Analysis and Wavelets, for the representation and processing of signals and images.

  Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  Led by
Stephanie Oleksyk (SES '06)
Learn more about the Semester in Environmental Science at Woods Hole, MA.

Study environmental science in an array of ecosystems with researchers at one of the world's premier centers for biological research and education!  The Semester in Environmental Science (SES) is a hands-on semester of courses taught in beautiful Woods Hole by some of the field's top scientists.  The aim of the core curriculum is to study global problems in a local context.  It covers ecosystem biogeochemistry and the biology of coastal bays, ponds, wetlands and forests of Cape Cod.  Students conduct independent research projects and make connections with researchers that can lead to internships and jobs at the MBL.

RKC 102  Dr. Delma-Jean Watts
Bard Class of 1998
Delma-Jean received her M.D. from the Albany Medical College and was a resident, then a fellow in pediatrics at the Hasbro Children's Hospital, Providence, RI.  She is a part-time faculty member at Brown University.

Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  The 2008 Nobel Prize Awards
Christian Bracher, Physics programLecturing on the Nobel Prize in Physics awarded jointly to Yoichiro Nambu for the discovery of the mechanism of spontaneous broken symmetry in subatomic physics and to Makoto Kobayashi and Toshilde Maskawa for the discovery of the origin of the broken symmetry which predicts the existence of at least three families of quarks in nature.
John Ferguson, Biology programLecturing on the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine awarded to Francoise Barre-Sinoussi and Luc Montagnier for their discovery of human immunodeficiency virus.
Michael Tibbetts, Biology programLecturing on the Nobel Prize in Chemistry awarded to Osamu Shimomura, Martin Chalfie and Roger Y. Tsien for the discovery and development of the green fluorescent protein, GFP.

  RKC pod 222  A chance to do homework, get help with your classes, eat pizza and socialize with your professors & fellow biology students!TuesdaysRKC POD 2227 p.m. 

RKC 111  Lecture by
Ethan Bloch
Mathematics Program
The angle defect, which goes back to Descartes, is a very simple way of measuring the curvature at the vertices of a polyhedral surface in Euclidean space.  The angle defect is the polyhedral (and much simpler) analog of Gaussian curvature, as studied in differential geometry.  Although the angle defect is the only plausible definition of curvature at the vertices of a polyhedral surface, it turns out that there is more than one possible way to generalize this definition to arbitrary finite 2-dimensional polyhedra, and to higher dimensional polyhedra.  This talk will present a few different such generalizations, and will discuss a way to compare these different generalizations in dimension 2.  The talk will be elementary, though a willingness to consider higher dimensional polyhedra is required.

  RKC pod 222  A chance to do homework, get help with your classes, eat pizza and socialize with your professors & fellow biology students!TuesdaysRKC POD 2227 p.m. 

RKC 111  A lecture by
John Cullinan
Mathematics program
Dynamical systems have been studied in the context of population modeling, fractal geometry, and topology for much of the 20th century, but it is only recently that they have been studied for their number-theoretic applications.  In fact, many open questions in number theory can be rephrased in terms of dynamical systems.  This talk will be an introduction to the arithmetic of polynomial dynamics and we will also discuss our recent work on the ramification of iterated rational functions.

  RKC pod 222  A chance to do homework, get help with your classes, eat pizza and socialize with your professors & fellow biology students!TuesdaysRKC POD 2227 p.m. 

  Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  A lecture by
Steven Gavlik
Siena College
Most vertebrates pass through two or more distinct life stages. Examples include hatching or birth (larval to juvenile transitions) and puberty (a juvenile to adult transition). Hormones of the endocrine system are primary controllers of the anatomical and physiological changes occurring during these life stage transitions. Fish undergo these transitions as free-living organisms, which allows for interactions between the hormonal control systems and the environment. This talk will present findings about the hormonal controls of two important fish life stage transitions – metamorphosis of Summer flounder and sex determination in American eel. 

RKC 111  A lecture by
Rebecca Ryan
MAT Program in Mathematics
Bard College
In 1973 Fischer Black and Myron Scholes settled a longstanding problem in economics: how to determine the fair value of a stock option. They realized that holding specific positions in stocks and in an option could render a portfolio instantaneously risk-free. Having eliminated the risk, solving for the value of an option became a feasible mathematical procedure. This revolutionary insight sparked the explosion of the now multi-trillion dollar derivatives market.

In this presentation, I will reconstruct the Black-Scholes portfolio from the ground up, assuming basic economic or mathematical knowledge from the audience. First, learn how investors use options, stocks, short positions, and long positions to speculate and to hedge. Then, explore how casinos hedge games to cover payouts. Finally, see how the Black-Scholes portfolio is analagous to a casino's hedging strategy.

  RKC pod 222  A chance to do homework, get help with your classes, eat pizza and socialize with your professors & fellow biology students!TuesdaysRKC POD 2227 p.m. 

Laszlo Z. Bito Auditorium - RKC  A lecture by
Jason Schwarz
Laboratory of Sensory Neuroscience, Rockefeller University
The teleost fish Aplocheilus can locate and capture its insect prey on the surface of the water without any visual input.  An array of mechanosensory organs on the crown of the fish's head, the neuromasts, detect water surface waves in a manner analogous to the detection of sounds by tetrapods.  The fish compares the intensities and latencies of stimuli at various neuromasts to determine the direction of the wave source and analyzes the wave spectrum to determine how far the wave has propagated.  In view of the robustness of the behavior and the accessibility of the nervous system, prey localization by Aplocheilus offers us an experimental system useful in the study of fast neural signal processing.

RKC 111  A lecture by
Peter Golbus, class of 2009
ASC Lab, Bard College
This work presents a method for associating a class of constraint satisfaction problems to a three-dimensional knot. Given a knot, one can build a knot quandle, which is generally an infinite free algebra. The desired collection of problems is derived from the set of invariant relations over the knot quandle, applying theory that relates finite algebras to constraint satisfaction problems. This allows us to develop notions of tractable and NP-complete quandles and knots. In particular, we show that all tricolorable torus knots and all but at most 2 non-trivial knots with 10 or fewer crossings are NP-complete.

  RKC pod 222  A chance to do homework, get help with your classes, eat pizza and socialize with your professors & fellow biology students!TuesdaysRKC POD 2227 p.m. 

Laszlo Z. Bito Auditorium-RKC  A lecture by
Richard S. Ostfeld
Senior Scientist, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies
The rate of species extinctions, both globally and from local communities, continues to accelerate. In recent years, ecologists have asked, to what degree will ecological communities lose their ability to provide “ecosystem services” as biodiversity is lost? This talk will describe how biodiversity loss affects the risk and incidence of zoonotic diseases (diseases transmitted from non-human vertebrates to humans). Zoonotic diseases, including avian influenza, Ebola, SARS, and plague, comprise the majority of so-called emerging infectious diseases. Most zoonotic pathogens can infect several wildlife host species. However, hosts differ strongly in their capacity to support population growth of the pathogen. Some hosts act as reservoirs that amplify pathogens, whereas others act as “dilution hosts” that can absorb but do not contribute pathogens. Therefore, the diversity and species composition of the host community is fundamentally important in determining pathogen transmission and disease dynamics. Reservoir hosts tend to be abundant, widespread species that are resilient to human-caused environmental degradation. In contrast, dilution hosts are often sensitive to environmental degradation, disappearing when biodiversity is lost. This presentation will describe three case studies of diseases – Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome, West Nile virus encephalitis, and Lyme disease – that are exacerbated when biodiversity is reduced. Explorations of the mechanisms that underlie the increase in disease risk with reduced biodiversity suggest that other zoonotic diseases will behave similarly. These case studies show that the current biodiversity crisis is likely to increase human exposure to many infectious diseases. 

Laszlo Z. Bito Auditiorium-RKC  A lecture by
S. James Gates, Jr.
John S. Toll Professor of Mathematics
Director, Center for String and Particle Theory
University of Maryland
Gauge theories seem to describe all of the known forces in Nature...except gravity as it is normally viewed. However, using the Cartan approach to the geometry of curved manifolds, even gravitation is seen to be almost identical to other gauge theories. This talk will be accessible to math and physics majors.

  RKC pod 222  A chance to do homework, get help with your classes, eat pizza and socialize with your professors & fellow biology students!TuesdaysRKC POD 2227 p.m. 

RKC 102  A lecture by
Jeff Suzuki
Brooklyn College

What do a musical scale, a calendar, and the U.S. flag have in common? They are all solutions to the problem of finding a set of whole numbers that match a particular property. The solutions rely on the use of Diophantine equations and continued fractions, which offer the best rational approximation to a given real number.

Laszlo Z. Bito Auditorium-RKC  A lecture by
Cathy Gibson
Skidmore College
As integrators of the landscape, streams are heavily impacted by land-use change such as urbanization.  Changes in ecosystem structure associated with urbanization are well known, but how ecosystem function changes as a result of these structural changes is not well understood.  This talk will examine how urbanization affects nutrient cycling and whole system metabolism in both small headwater streams and large rivers.   Maintenance of downstream water quality depends on the ability of stream to retain and process nutrients.  This talk will examine what drives nutrient uptake in urban streams, how it differs from forested counterparts, and discuss implications for downstream water quality.  In addition, we will look at the impact of hydrological modifications via dams affects these functions, as well.

  RKC pod 222  A chance to do homework, get help with your classes, eat pizza and socialize with your professors & fellow biology students!TuesdaysRKC POD 2227 p.m. 

  RKC pod 222  A chance to do homework, get help with your classes, eat pizza and socialize with your professors & fellow biology students!TuesdaysRKC POD 2227 p.m. 

Laszlo Z. Bito Auditorium - RKC  A lecture by
Michele Caggana, Sc.D, FACMG
Director, New York State Department of Health, Newborn Screening ProgramNewborn screening began in New York State in 1965 with the addition of a single metabolic disorder called phenylketonuria (PKU). If you drink diet soda, you may see the bottle warning phenylketonurics not to drink these beverages. That's because prior to 1965, people who had PKU became mentally retarded and often were institutionalized because their disease was caught too late. With the advent of newborn screening, the Wadsworth Center, New York State's Public Health Laboratory could identify those affected babies at birth, before they suffered significant cognitive impairment by sampling a few drops of blood from a newborn's heel. By limiting intake of phenylalanine and protein in general, affected infants could live and function normally. Newborn   screening has changed a lot over the years. The Program in New York is the largest, most comprehensive free program in the United States. We now screen for 45 disorders and use sophisticated equipment. This discussion will start in the early 60's, bring us to current activities in Albany, and we will glimpse into the future as well. In addition, factors that have impacted newborn screening in recent years will be discussed.  

RKC 111  A lecture by
Robert McGrail
Laboratory for Algebraic and Symbolic Computation
Bard College
The speaker introduces the notion of a quandle, an algebra that arises in knot theory and group theory, as well as the concept of connectedness in algebras. In particular, every finite, connected quandle has an unambiguous permutation cycle structure associated to it. This cycle-structure can be simply and efficiently computed from an operation table for the quandle, and so serves as a useful combinatorial invariant for the classification of finite, connected quandles. The speaker will introduce an improvement to the isofilter program of the Prover9/Mace4 automated deduction suite based upon this invariant. Moreover, he will discuss the implications of this work to the goal of completing a computational classification of the variety of finite quandles. This is joint work with Aleksandar Chakarov (Bard '10).

  RKC pod 222  A chance to do homework, get help with your classes, eat pizza and socialize with your professors & fellow biology students!TuesdaysRKC POD 2227 p.m. 

RKC 111  A lecture by
Kristin Lane
Psychology program
Many mental activities occur automatically or unconsciously, including thoughts that are relevant to social perception, judgment, and action. This talk will present interactive illustrations of mental events that exist outside of conscious awareness or control; I will then show evidence that suggests that these ordinary processes can give rise to systematic social biases, which in turn can influence participation, interest, and performance in science and math domains.  In particular, the talk will consider the gender disparity in science and mathematics in light of these findings from the mind sciences.

Laszlo Z. Bito Auditorium - RKC  A lecture by
Georgia E. Hodes
University of Pennsylvania
Women are twice as likely as men to suffer an episode of depression, but only between puberty and menopause. This suggests a relationship between reproductive hormones and depression in females. However, most theories on the etiology of depression are based on research done solely in males. This talk will focus on current research examining sex differences in the effects of antidepressants on neurogenesis and depression associated behaviors using a rodent model. Additionally, this talk will examine how reproductive hormones influence cognitive function and the response to stress across the lifespan. The understanding of how males and females differ may lead to better treatments for depression in both sexes.    

  RKC pod 222  A chance to do homework, get help with your classes, eat pizza and socialize with your professors & fellow biology students!TuesdaysRKC POD 2227 p.m. 

  RKC 111  A lecture by
Harry Mairson
Brandeis University

 Static program analysis is a form of predicting the future: it's what a compiler does to predict the behavior of your program, so that at run-time, the compiled version of your code runs faster or better.

Control flow analysis (CFA) is a canonical form of static program analysis performed by compilers, where the answers to questions like "can call site X ever call procedure P?" or "can procedure P ever be called with argument A?" are used to optimize procedure calls. In the interest of compile-time tractability, these questions are answered approximately, possibly including false positives. Much experimental work has been done on flow analysis. Here we describe, instead, some analytic characterizations of how hard CFA is.

Different versions of CFA are parameterized by their sensitivity to calling contexts. We show that the simplest version of CFA, called 0CFA, is complete for PTIME. In other words, it is as difficult to solve as any problem requiring polynomial time. A family of generalizations of 0CFA providing better analyses, called kCFA (k a positive integer), has never been implemented efficiently. We prove that this is necessary: the problem solved by kCFA is complete for EXPTIME---it is as difficult to solve as any problem requiring exponential time.

Each proof depends on fundamental insights about the linearity of programs, appealing to ideas from linear logic and the geometry of interaction---a linear logic semantics that is effectively an exact form of control-flow analysis.

This is joint work with David Van Horn (Brandeis University), presented at the 2008 ACM International Conference on Functional Programming.

Laszlo Z. Bito Auditorium-RKC  A lecture by
David Sloan Wilson
Director, EvoS program
Binghamton University
For complex reasons, evolutionary theory was restricted to the biological sciences and avoided for most human-related subjects for most of the 20th century. That is now rapidly changing. The 21st century will witness an integration for the study of humanity comparable to the integration of the biological sciences that took place during the 20th century (and continuing). I will review current trends and how they are embodied in EvoS, a campus-wide evolutionary studies program at Binghamton University that has received NSF funding to expand into a nationwide consortium.  

RKC 111  A lecture by
Gidon Eshel
Physics program
I will first review the concept of stability in the context of variance maintenance by dynamical systems, starting in 1-D and working our way to N-D. I will provide numerous examples, both analytic (i.e., with no physical relevance) and  from physically realizable system such as the jet stream or Spotted Owl survival in response to conservation efforts. I will discuss two methods of obtaining dynamical system's governing linear operator: (1) using analytic linearization of non-linear operators (with the examples of mid-latitude perturbations on the jet, and the Lotka-Volterra equations of population dynamics; and (2) data-based (empirical) derivation using covariance of strobed states. I will then introduce normality (self-adjointness), discuss time-scales, and emphasize the distinction between asymptotic and transient stability. I will conclude with the complete solution of the stability problem, a solution comprising both eigen analysis (and thus asymptotic stability) and Singular value Decomposition of finite time propagators (addressing transient stability).

  RKC pod 222  A chance to do homework, get help with your classes, eat pizza and socialize with your professors & fellow biology students!TuesdaysRKC POD 2227 p.m. 

RKC 111  A lecture by
Catherine O'Reilly
Biology program
and
Simeen Sattar
Chemistry program
In February, NASA launched a rocket on a mission to deploy a new satellite. The rocket malfunctioned, sending the satellite, in development for the past 9 years and part of $273 million dollar system, into the ocean. The rocket was carrying the NASA's new Orbiting Carbon Observatory, a satellite intended to assess carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere. The information from this satellite would have helped researchers understand the distribution of this greenhouse gas, providing data to improve climate models and insights into the 'missing carbon sink'.

Laszlo Z. Bito Auditorium-RKC  A lecture by
Kathy Corrado
Director, Onondaga County Crime Lab
Forensic DNA analysis is used extensively in criminal investigations to either associate or exonerate individuals from leaving their DNA at crime scenes. The Director of the Onondaga County Crime Lab in Syracuse NY will provide insight into the real life workings of a forensic DNA lab including the types of evidence typically encountered, current technologies being utilized in the field, the significance of DNA matches, and examples of interesting cases. The benefits and concerns of the use and expansion of forensic DNA databases will also be discussed. 

  RKC pod 222  A chance to do homework, get help with your classes, eat pizza and socialize with your professors & fellow biology students!TuesdaysRKC POD 2227 p.m. 

RKC 111  A lecture by
Megumi Harada
McMaster UniversityThe motivation for symplectic geometry comes from classical physics, but the modern theory is related to many other areas of mathematics (not just physics) such as combinatorics, representation theory, topology, algebraic geometry, and many others. I will give a "mosaic" glimpse of this exciting field of research by briefly discussing the following inter-related topics, all of which appear (in one way or another) in my current work: 1) From classical physics to symplectic geometry: the magic of Hamiltonians;2) Horn's problem: how linear algebra and symplectic geometry yield polytopes and combinatorics;3) Getting topology out of a function: a bit of Morse theory;and finally, time permitting, I will say a few words about how the themes (1)--(3) come together  in my current work on the study of the topology of hyperKahler Hamiltonian quotients. 

  RKC pod 222  A chance to do homework, get help with your classes, eat pizza and socialize with your professors & fellow biology students!TuesdaysRKC POD 2227 p.m. 

  RKC 111  Mona Merling
4:15 p.m.

Ezra Winston
4:40 p.m.

Dexin Zhou
5:05 p.m.

  RKC 111  Nicholas Michaud
4:15 p.m.

Sylvia Naples
4:40 p.m.

Tomasz Przytycki
5:05 p.m.

Zhechao Zhou
5:30 p.m.

Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  Young Eun Choi
"Developing a reversible and cell-specific system for inhibiting
protein synthesis in C. elegans"

Trillian Gregg
"Development of a Novel Method of Macromolecule Delivery into Cells"

  RKC pod 222  A chance to do homework, get help with your classes, eat pizza and socialize with your professors & fellow biology students!TuesdaysRKC POD 2227 p.m. 

  RKC 111  Serena Randolph
4:15 p.m.

Tina Zhang
4:40 p.m.

Scott McMillen
5:05 p.m.

RKC lobby  Join us in celebrating our graduating seniors as they present posters outlining their work.

RKC lobby  Join us in celebrating our graduating seniors as they present posters outlining their work.

RKC lobby  Students presenting:

Algebraic & Symbolic Computation Laboratory
Adviser: Robert McGrail
Jacqueline Bow
Aleksandar Chakarov
Bella Manoim
Georgi Smilyanov
Adina-Raluca Stoica
Petar Stojanov

Biology Independent Research Students
Advisers: Ken Howard, Philip Johns & Michael Tibbetts
Elena Dragomir
Rosa Levin
Jessica Philpott
Jega Jananie Ravi
Hannagh Shapero
Ilya Smirnoff
Rachel Steinhorn

Math Independent Research Students
Advisers: James Belk, Maria Belk & Lauren Rose
Julia Bennett
Adam Chodoff
Liz Jimenez-Martinez

Tropical Ecology class
Adviser: Catherine O'Reilly
Erik Badger
Tessa Dowling
Genevieve Howell
Allison James
Hannah Liddy
Chantal Ludder
Elizabeth Lund
Sarah Mount
Loralee Ryan
Wyatt Shell
Marta Shocket

Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  A lecture by
Sandy Simon
Laboratory of Cellular Biophysics
Rockefeller University
Most studies in biology focus on the "averaged" behavior. Either the average behavior of a molecule (which we study by its biochemical activity), the average behavior of a cell (which we study by its physiology) or the average behavior of an individual (which we study by population dynamics). However, important lessons can be learned from studying single events. Examples will be given from our work on a number of projects ranging from studying single HIV viruses as they assemble, single vesicles as they are release by a cell to signal or internalized into a cell, single cells as they die and single tumor cells as they metastasize through the body. 

Reem-Kayden Center, Room 101  A seminar by
John B. Ferguson
Health Professions Advisor

RKC lobby  "Ice cream is happiness condensed"
-Jessi Lane Adams


Come to the Science, Mathematics & Computing Division
ICE CREAM SOCIAL

Stop by to ask questions about courses being offered or find out more about majoring in the programs.  Faculty members from each program will be there to answer questions.

Reem-Kayden Center 

Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  Creating Devices and Performing Analyses at the Micro-Scale
A lecture by
Christopher LaFratta
Candidate for the position in Chemistry

Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  Watching Rust Dissolve:
Ultrafast X-Ray Absorption Measurements of the Reductive Dissolution of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles

A lecture by
Jordan Katz
Candidate for the position in Chemistry
The reduction of Fe(III) is one of the most important chemical changes that takes place in the development of anaerobic soils and sediments, and the reductive dissolution of iron-bearing minerals by microbes plays a critical role in this process. Despite its importance in biogeochemistry, many questions remain about the mechanism of this electron transfer reaction, in part because the speed of the fundamental chemical steps renders them inaccessible to conventional study. Ultrafast time-resolved x-ray spectroscopy is a technique that can overcome this limitation and measure changes in oxidation state and structure occurring during chemical reactions that can be initiated by a fast laser pulse. We use this approach with ~100 ps resolution to monitor the speciation of Fe atoms in maghemite nanoparticles following photo-induced electron transfer from a surface-bound photoactive dye molecule.

RKC 102  A talk by
Professor John Ferguson
Health Professions Adviser
Professor Ferguson will introduce the pathways leading to post-baccalaureate degrees in the health professions, including allopathic medicine, osteopathic medicine, veterinary medicine, dentistry, optometry, etc. etc.  The discussion will be tailored to the interests of the audience.  If you are interested in a health profession, but have not attended a similar previous discussion, you should attend this one.

Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  Molecular Shapes and Molecular Interactions:
Insights from Infrared Spectroscopy

A lecture by
Timothy Vaden
Candidate for the position in Chemistry

Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  2009 Nobel Prizes

Swapan Jain
lecturing on the Chemistry prize
Awarded to Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, Thomas A. Steitz, and Ada E. Yonath
"for studies of the structure and function of the ribosome"

Michael Tibbetts
lecturing on the Physiology or Medicine prize
Awarded to Elizabeth H. Blackburn, Carol W. Greider, and Jack W. Szostak
"for the discovery of how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase"

Christian Bracher
lecturing on the Physics prize
Awarded to Willard S. Boyle and George E. Smith
"for the invention of an imaging semiconductor circuit - the CCD sensor"

RKC lobby  Students presenting:
Denise Feng
Adviser: Michael Tibbetts

Genevieve Howell
Adviser: William Maple

Paul Jordan
Advisers: Craig Anderson and Michael Tibbetts

Paul McLaughlin
Adviser: James Belk

Sarah Mount
Adviser: Catherine O'Reilly

Jacob Pooler
Adviser: Peter Skiff

Wyatt Shell
Adviser: Philip Johns

Sarah Wegener
Adviser: William Maple

Yi Xiao
Adviser: Michael Tibbetts

RKC 102  Attention all biology and chemistry students!!!Attendance at the Lab Training Session is required of all students working in the lab. 

If you previously attended a lab training session, you do not need to attend again.  If you are unsure, please contact Maureen O'Callaghan-Scholl at [email protected].

Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELED.
A re-schedule date will be announced 
A Science on the Edge lecture by
William Maple
Biology program
Charles Darwin, Thomas Huxley and hundreds of biologists, paleontologists and anthropologists throughout the 19th and 20th centuries confronted the question of human origins without adequate fossil evidence. The similarity of apes and humans was clear but the links were missing. Even as more fossil, anatomical and biochemical evidence illuminated ape-human relationships, the mystery remained of accounting for the evolution of typical hominid bipedal locomotion from the knuckle-walking and arboreal locomotion of the African apes. The last 100 years of hominid fossil discoveries gradually pushed the age of our ancestry back to as much as 3+ million years (Australopithecus), but all were terrestrial bipeds. The discovery in the Ethiopian Afar Rift region of fragments (including a partial female skeleton) of a hominid now known as Ardipithecus ramidus clearly (at least to some) suggests a species that moved with both ape-like climbing and human-like bipedality. Recovery of other fossil vertebrates, invertebrates and plants in the same site clarified the ecological habitat as patchy forest.

The elucidation of the place of Ardipithecus in hominid evolution was named breakthrough of the year by Science Magazine.

Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  A Science on the Edge lecture by
Philip Johns
Biology program
The Y chromosome is the chromosome that determines the development of males in humans and most other mammals.  It is a small chromosome with very few genes. Evolutionary biologists have hypothesized the causes of its "degenerate" evolution.  One prediction of how Y chromosomes degenerate is that the genes on Y chromosomes should evolve slowly.  In a recent study titled, "Chimpanzee and human Y chromosomes are remarkably divergent in structure and gene content", Jennifer Hughes and her colleagues at MIT found that, contrary to expectations, genes on the Y chromosome have evolved incredibly quickly since humans and chimps diverged. We will discuss recent human evolution, how scientists have used the Y chromosome to make startling discoveries about humans in the past, and what the implications are that the Y chromosome is evolving as quickly as it is.

  Reem-Kayden Center  The Bard Summer Research Institute supports campus based summer research by undergraduate students in empirical/quantitative fields - anthropology, biology, chemistry, computer science, economics, mathematics, physics, psychology, and sociology. Faculty propose research projects related to their own research that are appropriate for undergraduates participation and faculty act as mentors for the students. Each student selected to participate in BSRI receives a $2,500 stipend for the eight-week program. 
JUNE 7-JULY 30
APPLICATION DEADLINE-Monday, March 29th
Students applications should be submitted via e-mail to Megan Karcher, [email protected], using the attached form.


Download: BRSI student application poster S10.pdf

  Reem-Kayden Center  CONFERENCE PROGRAM

Poster Session
3:30-5:00 p.m.
RKC lobby

Keynote address
5:30 p.m.
Campus Center Multipurpose Room

"Advances in Carbon-Hydrogen Bond Activation"Dr. Richard Puddephatt
The University of Western Ontario

The activation of the carbon-hydrogen bonds in alkanes and arenes by transition metal complexes is an important topic in chemistry.  It has potential to contribute to energy efficiency, for example by catalytic conversion of methane to methanol, or to green synthesis, for example in carbon-carbon coupling reactions.  This talk will give an overview of current research, especially using organoplatinum compounds for C-H bond activation.

  Reem-Kayden Center  Students presenting:Erik Badger
Oni Banks
Jacqueline Bow
Alex Carlin
Aleksandar Chakarov
Cedric Cogell
Joseph Corey
Ivelina Darvenyashka
Jyoti Dev
Tessa Dowling
Jacob Ezerski
Sarah Farell
Jonathan Fivelsdal
Wui Ming Gan
Jun Harada
Xian He
Sam Israel
Nina Jankovic
Liz Jimenez-Martinez
Huaizhou Jin
Emanuel Krantz
Leah Ladner
Shun-Yang Lee
Hannah Liddy
Jason Mastbaum
Robert McNevin
Alison Mutter
David Polett
Hannah Quay-de la Vallee
Adrita Rahman
Viriya Ratansangpunth
Che Ruisi-Besares
Dale Simmons
Fang Song
Petar Stojanov
Corinna Troll
Alexandru Vladoi
Nicholas Wilton
Yu Wu
William Wylie
Xinyuan Xu

Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  A lecture by
Abby Drake
College of the Holy Cross
Candidate for the visition position in biology
Proponents of Intelligent Design claim that the boundaries between species are impassable. They assert that the patterns of diversity we observe on macroevolutionary scales can not by produced microevolutionary processes. Indeed, it is often difficult to provide evidence to the contrary because evolution happens on such a large time scale.  Using three-dimensional shape analysis of canid cranial morphology I will discuss intraspecific variation, macroevolution, hopeful monsters and phylogenetic novelty. Has the evidence been lying at our very feet (and bringing us our slippers)?

RKC 102  An information session led by
Professor John Ferguson
Professor Ferguson will introduce the pathways leading to post-baccalaureate degrees in the health professions, including allopathic medicine, osteopathic medicine, veterinary medicine, dentistry, optometry, etc. etc.  The discussion will be tailored to the interests of the audience.  If you are interested in a health profession, but have not attended a similar previous discussion, you should attend this one.

RKC lobby  Come to the Science, Mathematics & Computing Division
ICE CREAM SOCIAL
Stop by to ask questions about courses being offered or find out more about majoring in the programs.  Faculty members from each program will be there to answer questions.

Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  **REQUIRED OF ALL STUDENTS WORKING OR DOING RESEARCH IN THE LAB**
If you previously attended a lab training session, you do not need to attend again.  If you are unsure, please contact Maureen O'Callaghan-Scholl with questions at [email protected]

RKC lobby 

Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  A lecture by
Professor Nicholas Leadbeater
University of Connecticut
Microwave heating can be used as a tool for cleaner, greener organic chemistry. By interfacing it with spectroscopy, microwave heating can also be used for studying reaction mechanisms. This seminar will show work that our group have performed in both of these areas as well as showing applications in biofuels production. 

Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  A lecture by
Philip Johns
Biology ProgramOne of the most elegant ideas in evolution is the notion that organisms cooperate with relatives because relatives share genes. Mutations that lead to relatives cooperating can spread through populations even if the altruistic individuals do not themselves leave offspring. This process is called kin selection. It is difficult to overstate how influential this idea has been over the last half century.  But in the last 15 years modern genetics revealed that some of the most impressive examples of animal cooperation -- eusocial insects with sterile working castes -- involve animals that are not necessarily closely related. In fact, in some groups, cooperating animals may be unrelated.  In August, Martin Nowak, Corina Tarnita, and Edward Wilson published a model explaining how relatedness, per se, is not necessary for the evolution of eusociality.  This paper is enormously controversial.  Fifty prominent scientists have reportedly signed a letter protesting its publication in Nature.  In this talk, we discuss the elements of the model and why it is so controversial.  

  Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  Chemistry
Making the Connections – The 2010 Nobel Prize in Chemistry Palladium Catalyzed Carbon-Carbon Coupling   The formation of carbon-carbon bonds has been a challenge that, for many years, only nature has been able to accomplish effectively. With the ability to assemble carbon-containing molecules into more complex structures, a multitude of new materials and biologically active compounds can be prepared.   This year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to Richard F. Heck, Ei-ichi Negishi and Akira Suzuki for their development of and contributions toward the field of transition-metal promoted reactions to create new carbon-carbon bonds.Lecture  by Emily McLaughlin
Chemistry Program Physics
“for groundbreaking experiments regarding the
two-dimensional material graphene”
Awarded to Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov  
Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize in physics for “producing, identifying and characterizing graphene”, a sheet of carbon atoms arranged in hexagons. Since Geim and Novoselov revealed their absurdly simple method for making graphene in 2004, thousands of papers about this material have been published. Graphene’s two-dimensionality gives rise to unusual properties of fundamental and practical interest, including its electrical conductivity, strength and flexibility. In this talk, we’ll take a look at how graphene was made and characterized and some of its significant properties.Lecture by Simeen Sattar
Physics Program 

Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  A lecture by
John Ferguson
Biology Program
In July J. Craig Venter and his colleagues at the J. Craig Venter Institute announced the creation of a "synthetic cell" whose 1.08–mega–base pair genome was created from digitized genome sequence data. This was the first report of a viable cell created with a completely chemically-synthesized genome, although previous investigators had constructed functional viral particles from a chemically-synthesized genome. We will see how Venter's latest achievement fits in with his previous work and his future ambitions for "synthetic biology.” 

  Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  A lecture by
James Morris
Class of 2007

  Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  A lecture by
Mahmud Hussain, PhD
Bard class of 2005

  All current students concentrating in biology, chemistry, computer science, mathematics or physics are eligible to apply for a Distinguished Scientist Scholar (DSS) Award. These awards are given to exceptional students who have distinguished themselves academically in one of the disciplines in the division of Science, Mathematics and Computing. Please note that this is a very competitive process and only a few awards will be given out each year.  To apply for a DSS award (commencing in the fall), a student must meet the following eligibility criteria:
o   Concentrating in one of the programs in the SM&C Division (Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Mathematics or Physics). o   Not currently receiving a DSS scholarship or award.o   Cumulative GPA of 3.0 overall in the college. o   Cumulative GPA of 3.5 in courses in the SM&C Division.

For complete application guidelines, please see the attached document.



Download: DSS application memo 11-12.pdf

Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  Sunaina Singh
candidate for the visiting position in Chemistry
Porphyrins with appended sugar moieties are found to be quite selective and effective PDT agent in vitro using several cell lines, such as MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells. Tetrakis(pentafluorophenyl)porphyrin (TPPF20) can be used as an efficient platform for the synthesis of chlorins and isobacteriochlorins, and bacteriochlorins can be obtained as well. The reaction of the thioglucose to these core porphyrinoid platforms goes in high yields to give an array of conjugates to target various tissues, cell types, and cellular structures. The synthesis, characterization and properties of these non-hydrolysable thioglycosylated chlorin (CGlc4), isobacteriochlorin (IGlc4), and bacteriochlorin (BGlc4) will be presented. The remaining 16 F groups impart oxidative stability and further enhance the photonic properties. Similarly, zinc perfluorophthalocyanine derivative, ZnPcF16, can serve as a model core platform, wherein the derivatives with 16 or eight substituents can be pure compounds without isomers. The photonic properties of perfluorophthalocyanine systematically changes as the fluoro groups are replaced with thioglucose. These core platforms will enable rapid development of new multifunctional agents for specific targets. The appended targeting motifs will also facilitate the development of effective probes for fundamental biochemical/biophysical studies.

  Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  Tanay Kesharwani
candidate for the visiting position in Chemistry
In the last few years, electrophilic cyclizations of alkynes using halogens and organometallic reagents, particularly those derived from palladium and copper, have emerged as a useful tool for the synthesis of many heterocyclic ring systems. Electrophilic cyclizations using iodine and bromine as electrophiles introduce a halide moiety into the heterocycle at positions which are difficult to obtain by other methodologies. These halide-containing heterocycles can then be subsequently functionalized using metal exchange reactions or transition metal-catalyzed coupling reactions. The synthesis of benzo[b]selenophenes, selenophenes and 2H-Benzopyrans using electrophilic cyclizations will be presented. In addition, Palladium-catalyzed C-H bond activation by “Through Space” migration will be included. These unique palladium migration reactions provide a unique way to activate a carbon-hydrogen bond and introduce palladium at various positions in the molecule, which are difficult to achieve otherwise.

RKC lobby  Students presenting:
Raed Al Abassee
Daniela Anderson
Diane Borden
Samantha Brechlin
Nicole Camasso
Sara Doble
Amy Eisenmenger
Jose Falla
Madison Fletcher
Abby Fuchsman
Nicole Kfoury
Amy List
Brian Liu
Max McKee
Samantha Monier
Rachit Neupane
Liana Perry
Max Robb

Reem-Kayden Center  Students presenting:
Thomas Anderson, Gregory Backus, Lionel Barrow, Julia Bennett, Alexandra Carver, Sebastien Cendron, Adam Chodoff, Sara Director, Elena Dragomir, Anastassia Etropolski, Margo Finn, Alexandros Fragkopoulos, Zoe Johnson-Ulrich, Melanie Kenney, Robert Kittler, Bella Manoim, Travis McGrath, Leandra Merola, Jules Moreau de Balasy, Olivia Nathanson, Angela Potenza, Nazmus Saquib, Madeline Schatzberg, Benjamin Selfridge, Erik Shagdar, Lisa Silber, Nathan Smith, Abigail Stevens, Adina-Raluca Stoica, Jacqueline Stone, Maksim Tsikhanovich, Zhexiu Tu, Regina Vaicekonyte, Stavros Velissaris, Michael Walker, Anshul Zota

RKC lobby 

RKC lobby  Students participating:
Raed Al Abassee, Tedros Balema, Sheneil Black, Ke Cai, Nicole Camasso, Abhishek Dev, Erin Hannigan, Nabil Hossain, 
Matt Hughes, Nicole Kfoury, Youseung Kim, Thant Ko Ko, Brian Liu, Andres Medina, Jonathan Naito, Jessica Philpott, Eric Reed, Laura Schubert, Eva Shrestha, Nathaniel Steinaur, Joshua Tanner, Isabelle Taylor, Jasper Weinrich-Burd, Michael Weinstein, Will Wisseman, Dimin Xu, Yongqing Yuan, Feifan Zheng

Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  Celebrating the International Year of Chemistry

A lecture by
Davit Zargarian
Department of Chimie
Universite de Montreal
Pincer complexes based on tertiary amine or phosphine ligands are easy to synthesize and handle, robust in ambient atmosphere, and fairly stable at high temperatures. Moreover, certain P- or N-based pincer complexes are excellent pre-catalysts while others are known to promote unusual stoichiometric reactivities. Professor Zargarian’s group studies the chemistry of pincer-type nickel complexes featuring tertiary phosphine, phosphinite, or amine moieties, including the catalytic effectiveness of these compounds in hydroamination and hydroalkoxylation of acrylonitrile derivatives, Corriu-Kumada type coupling, and Kharasch additions. Recent investigations have focused on the chemistry of POCN-Ni complexes based on secondary amine ligands and the dimeric complexes derived from them. This presentation will describe the redox chemistry and reactivities of various pincer-type complexes studied in Dr. Zargarian’s research group.

Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  A lecture by
Peter Skiff
Physics Program
The discovery of an unexpected acceleration of the expansion of the cosmos led to the awarding of the 2011 Nobel Prize to Saul Perlmutter, Brian Schmidt, and Adam Reiss. While cosmic expansion (the continuous separation of galaxies and clusters) is neatly described by the use of Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity and Gravity, this acceleration is not (quite).  The most popular of the current speculations involves a mysterious “dark energy” that was somehow lurking undetected in the13.5 billion year old cosmos until about 7 billion years after the origin, inflation, and “big bang” events began the evolutionary track.  Apparently this dark energy comprises about 75% of the total matter and energy of the universe.  This talk will review the expansion models and the techniques used to measure the galactic motions that led to this discovery, including the theory and observation of type Ia Supernovae. It will be descriptive (no mathematics), in order to be accessible to a general audience.

Bertelsmann Campus Center, Multipurpose Room  A lecture by
Nadrian C. Seeman
Margaret and Herman Sokol Professor of Chemistry
New York University

DNA, the fundamental building block of life, has the potential to be a highly precise and programmable molecular entity. DNA nanotechnology is a branch of science that uses the basic properties of DNA to create complex three-dimensional structures with wide-ranging applications in DNA computing, DNA robotics, nanoelectronics, and medicine.


Considered the “Father of DNA Nanotechnology,” Nadrian C. Seeman received the prestigious Kavli Prize from the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters in 2010. He also has won the 2011 ISNSCE Nanoscience Prize, 2008 William H. Nichols Medal, 2004 Tulip Award in DNA Computing, and 1995 Feynman Prize in Nanotechnology.

Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  **THIS LECTURE HAS BEEN CANCELED AND WILL BE RESCHEDULED AT A LATER DATE**
A lecture by
Christopher LaFratta
Chemistry Program
Nature has mastered the art of storing and using information using chemical messages.  Here we present two simple demonstrations of alternatives ways that information may be stored and transmitted using chemical reactions.  The first example uses the "infofuse" where a combustion reaction is used to create pulses infrared radiation that travel from sender to receiver.  The second example uses an assortment of e.Coli engineered to express different fluorescent proteins to create a steganographic message.  The bacteria-encoded messages can only be revealed when the growth conditions and illumination conditions are just right.  Both of these techniques to encode and transmit messages using chemical/biochemical reactions will be described as along with a brief describe about how these projects came about.

Reem-Kayden Center  Students presenting:
Soloman Garber
Yulia Genkina
Nabil Hossain
Anirban Joy

  RKC 114  The last lab safety training workshop has been rescheduled for
Wednesday, February 15th at 12 p.m. in RKC 114.

Bertelsmann Campus Center, Multipurpose Room  13th Annual Mid-Hudson ACS Undergraduate Chemistry Research Symposium

Plenary Lecture

Nicholas V. Hud
Professor of Chemistry
School of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Georgia Institute of Technology
NSF-NASA Center for Chemical Evolution
NASA Astrobiology Institute Center for Ribosome Evolution

A leading hypothesis for the nature of early life on Earth is that RNA once stored genetic information and catalyzed chemical reactions, before the appearance of DNA and protein enzymes. Despite considerable enthusiasm for this “RNA world” hypothesis, it is difficult to imagine how RNA was formed without the aid of protein enzymes. Persistent challenges to an acceptable prebiotic route to RNA polymers include the lack of a robust process for nucleobase selection (How were Watson-Crick base pairs chosen?), nucleoside formation (What reaction joined the nucleobases to ribose?), and nucleotide polymerization (How did the backbone of RNA form without a highly evolved polymerase?). As a possible solution to these challenges, we are investigating the possibility that RNA was preceded by a polymer that would have assembled more easily than RNA, being comprised of a different backbone and different nucleobases, and with its synthesis aided by other molecules present on the prebiotic Earth. Our experimental studies have demonstrated that small molecules that intercalate nucleic acids, similar to dye molecules commonly used to visualize DNA, can greatly facilitate the polymerization of short oligonucleotides. Results from other studies are showing how reversible backbone linkages would have facilitated polymer growth and early sequence evolution of the earliest RNA-like polymers.

Reem-Kayden Center  Graduating Seniors:
Daniela Anderson, Lilah Anderson, Nadya Artiomenco, Conor Beath, Rachel Becker, Jeannette Benham, Matthew Boisvert, Samantha Brechlin, Ke Cai, Nicole Camasso, Curtis Carmony, Deven Connelly, Shellie Ann Dick, Sara Doble, Siyao Du, Madison Fletcher, Briana Franks, Abigail Fuchsman, Kira Gilman, Erin Hannigan, Lucas Henry, Andrew Hoffman-Patalona, Maxwell Howard, Yunxia Jia, Adriana Johnson, Axel Kammerer, Nicole Kfoury, Sankalpa Khadka, Youseung Kim, Sining Leng, Emily Mayer, Stergios Mentesidis, Mariya Mitkova, Samantha Monier, Jessica Philpott, Jega Jananie Ravi, Laura Schubert, Lindsey Scoppetta, Evan Seitchik, Hannah Shapero, Abhimanyu Sheshashayee, Eli Sidman, Gabriella Spitz, Veronica Steckler, Joshua Tanner, Emma Taylor-Salmon, Isabelle Taylor, Giang Tran, Will Wisseman, Kimberly Wood, Zhiwei Wu, Dimin Xu, Jing Yang, Yongqing Yuan, Changwei Zhou

  RKC 114  REQUIRED OF ALL STUDENTS WORKING OR DOING RESEARCH IN THE LAB
If you previously attended a lab training session, you do not need to attend again.  If you are unsure, please contact Dwane Decker with questions at [email protected].
Tuesday, September 25 12:30-1:30 RKC 114
Wednesday, September 26 12:00-1:00 RKC 114
Thursday, September 27 5:00-6:00 RKC 114

Reem-Kayden Center  Students presenting:Michael Anzuoni, Tedros Balema, Amanda Benowitz, Cara Black, Sheneil Black, Max Brown, Celeste Cass, Matteo Chierchia, Nikesh Dahal, Francesca DiRienzo, Leila Duman, Jose Falla, David Goldberg, Sumedha Guha, Nabil Hossain, Linda Ibojie, Lena James, Seoyoung Kim, Thant Ko Ko, Lila Low-Beinart, Yuexi Ma, Keaton Morris-Stan, Mark Neznansky, Matthew Norman, Ian Pelse, Liana Perry, Min Kyung Shinn, Olja Simoska, William Smith, Nathan Steinauer, Xiaohan Sun, James Sunderland, Weiqing Wang, Michael Weinstein, Clare Wheeler, Sara YilmazAdvisers: Craig Anderson, Christian Bracher, John Cullinan, Swapan Jain, Philip Johns, Brooke Jude, Tanay Kesharwani, Christopher LaFratta, Barbara Luka, Emily McLaughlin, Keith O’Hara, Lauren Rose

Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  A lecture by
Charlie Sykes
Tufts University
In stark contrast to nature, current manmade devices, with the exception of liquid crystals, make no use of nanoscale molecular motion. In order for molecules to be used as components in molecular machines, methods are required to couple individual molecules to external energy sources and to selectively excite motion in a given direction. Significant progress has been made in the construction of molecular motors powered by light and by chemical reactions, but electrically-driven motors have not been demonstrated yet, despite a number of theoretical proposals for such motors. Studying the rotation of molecules bound to surfaces offers the advantage that a single layer can be assembled, monitored and manipulated using the tools of surface science. Thioether molecules constitute a simple, robust system with which to study molecular rotation as a function of temperature, electron energy, applied fields, and proximity of neighboring molecules. A butyl methyl sulphide (BuSMe) molecule adsorbed on a copper surface can be operated as a single-molecule electric motor. Electrons from a scanning tunneling microscope are used to drive directional motion of the BuSMe molecule in a two terminal setup. Moreover, the temperature and electron flux can be adjusted to allow each rotational event to be monitored at the molecular-scale in real time. The direction and rate of the rotation are related to the chiralities of the molecule and the tip of the microscope (which serves as the electrode), which illustrates the importance of the symmetry of the metal contacts in atomic-scale electrical devices.

Reem-Kayden Center  Students Presenting:
Stephanie Dunn

Adviser: Felicia Keesing

Justin Gero

Adviser: Felicia Keesing

Liza Miller

Adviser: Brooke Jude

Keaton Morris-Stan

Adviser: Philip Johns

Megan Naidoo 

Adviser: Philip Johns

Jonah Peterschild 

Adviser: Felicia Keesing

Damianos Lazaridis Giannopoul

Adviser: John Cullinan

  Reem-Kayden Center  REQUIRED OF ALL STUDENTS WORKING OR DOING RESEARCH IN THE LAB

If you previously attended a lab training session, you do not need to attend again. If you are unsure, please contact Dwane Decker with questions at [email protected].

Tuesday, February 12
5:30-7:00
RKC 112

Wednesday, February 13
5:30-7:00
RKC 112

Friday, February 15
4:00-5:30
RKC 126

Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  A lecture by Swapan Jain, Chemistry Program, and John Ferguson, Biology Program

  A General, Stereoretentive Pd-Catalyzed Stille Cross-Coupling Reaction of Secondary Alkyl Azastannatranes and Aryl Halides
RKC 115  We report the development of a general Pd-catalyzed process for the stereoretentive cross-coupling of secondary alkyl azastannatrane nucleophiles and aryl electrophiles. This reaction displays no dependence on the electronic characteristics of either coupling partner and occurs with minimal concurrent isomerization of the secondary alkyltin nucleophile. Aryl chlorides, bromides, iodides, and triflates are all viable electrophiles in this process. Additionally, optically-active secondary alkyl azastannatranes undergo cross-coupling reactions with retention of absolute configuration using this method. This process constitutes the first general method to employ secondary alkyltin reagents in cross-coupling reactions. Overall, the combined generality of the transformation and stability of optically-active stannatranes result in a process that should accommodate the broad use of optically-active nucleophiles.

  Website  Anyone who is interested in submitting a scientific research paper or scientific review to be peer-reviewed should send in their submissions to [email protected] by March 1st.

For more details on our submission guidelines, check out our tumblr at bardsciencejournal.tumblr.com or email us and ask for a pdf copy.

  Synthesis of the Antimitotic Agent Podophyllotoxin via Pd(II)-Catalyzed Reactions
RKC 115  A lecture by
Jason Abrams
Candidate for the Position in Chemistry

This talk seeks to highlight new routes toward the construction of the aryltetralignan podophyllotoxin (Figure 1).  Podophyllotoxin (1) is a precursor for clinically employed chemotherapy drugs such as etoposide and teniposide, and itself exhibits a mechanistically understood antineoplastic effect.  Understandably these architecturally intriguing compounds have gained the attention of the scientific community and have resulted in several syntheses.  However, with poor solubility and increasing drug resistance, there exists a need to develop new complementary approaches towards these important therapeutic agents. 

In this regard, the synthetic route towards podophyllotoxin has been crafted to be flexible, and amenable to analog development.  A common theme for the newly developed route involves exploitation of the unique reactivity of alkynes, by incorporating recently developed methods into novel reaction sequences.  Beyond the preparation of an important natural product with antineoplastic activity, the rationale for research as highlighted in the talk is an expansion of the utility of a unique Pd(II)-catalyzed enyne cyclization method by highlighting its utility towards natural product synthesis.  In addition to a first and second generation route towards the ABCD ring system of podophyllotoxin, proposed future plans will be discussed including podophyllotoxin end-game completion, modifications to the biologically crucial E-ring, elaboration of an unusual tetralone byproduct, among others.

RKC 100  A lecture by
Chris LaFratta
Chemistry Program, Bard College

In an effort to explore the interface between chemistry and information science, we have constructed a system to send a message that is powered by a combustion reaction. Our system uses the thermal excitation of alkali metals to transmit an encoded signal over long distances. A message is transmitted either through the burning of methanol-soaked cotton string or a fuse that is embedded with combinations of potassium, rubidium, and/or cesium ions. By measuring the intensity at the characteristic emission wavelength of each metal in the near IR, unique signals can be distinguished. We have detected these signals from 1 km away, and the signal is detectable for tens of minutes. Potential applications of this platform include covert messaging for defense applications or remote self-powered environmental sensors. This work, which seeks to encode and transmit information using chemistry instead of electronics, is part of the new field of “infochemistry”.

  RKC 115  A lecture by
Uzma Zakai
Candidate for the visiting position in ChemistryVarious cancer cell types display elevated expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression. Patients with elevated COX-2 that receive a COX-2 inhibitor have demonstrated improved survival.  Indomethacin (IM) is a COX-non-selective inhibitor with demonstrated anticancer activity in patients.  The anticancer effects of IM are related to inhibition of COX-2 as well as COX-independent targets. Herein the synthesis and activity of novel IM-sila- amide derivatives where strategic silicon addition results in COX-2 selective IM derivatives that are devoid of the COX-1 associated toxicities is discussed.

Moreover, both pharmaceutical and chemical modifications aimed at improved solubility will be reviewed. A synthetic methodology incorporating a heteroatom in the amino-functional silane has been developed and used to generate second-generation sila-IM derivatives that could have improved pharmacological properties.  The polyether linkages can in the silane side chain can be expanded to accommodate varying degrees of hydrophilicity. Lastly, the use of key synthetic intermediates in evaluating the Bruker SMART X2S bench-top system as a means to making X-ray crystallography more mainstream in the undergraduate classroom will be related.

  RKC 115  A lecture by
Jessica Geer
Candidate for the position in Chemistry
Aromatic oligoamide foldamers are synthetic oligomers that adopt stable secondary structures in solution and can be designed to have therapeutic applications. The design process draws on the principles that govern biopolymer shapes and thus leads to structures that mimic motifs found in biochemical systems. Among many strategies used in foldamer design, hydrogen bonding (H-bonding) has served as a very effective designing tool due to the strength and directional characteristics. We investigate various intramolecular H-bond patterns, with a focus on the influence that one H-bond has on the strength of another, shared one.

A comprehensive ab initio study followed by a Natural Bond Orbital (NBO) analysis has been performed on diarylamide model compounds.  Our analysis demonstrates to what extent cooperativity between shared H-bonds exist in these types of foldamer units. Using our torsional profile and NBO analysis, we will discuss cooperativity of the shared H-bonds. In addition, a realistic assessment of the torsional distributions is necessary to accurately describe the behavior of the model compounds in various environments.

Therefore, following quantum mechanic analysis, molecular dynamic simulations were performed in the gas phase, methanol, chloroform and water solvent systems.  Torsional parameters obtained from ab initio calculations were applied to the general AMBER force field (GAFF).

  EXTENDED DEADLINE
Applications due Tuesday, April 30

All current students concentrating in biology, chemistry, computer science, mathematics or physics are eligible to apply for a Distinguished Scientist Scholar (DSS) Award. These awards are given to exceptional students who have distinguished themselves academically in one of the above-mentioned disciplines in the division of Science, Mathematics and Computing. The exact amount of each award is determined by the Financial Aid office, on average $5000 for each academic year, and includes the opportunity to apply for a summer research stipend to participate in NSF or NIH sponsored summer research programs at other institutions, if the student is not already eligible for federal funding. Like other science students at Bard, DSS recipients are also eligible for BSRI funding for summer research at Bard. Please note that this is a very competitive process and only a few awards will be given out each year.Eligibility: To apply for a DSS award (commencing in the fall), a student must meet the following eligibility criteria:o   Concentrating in one of the following programs: Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Mathematics or Physics.o   Not currently receiving a DSS scholarship or award.o   Cumulative GPA of 3.0 overall in the college.o   Cumulative GPA of 3.5 in courses in the SM&C Division. Application Procedure:o   Write a letter of request to the DSS Committee. The letter should discuss your plan of study in biology, chemistry, computer science, mathematics, and/or physics.o   Write an essay about an experience in science or math that you found particularly interesting.o   Ask two Bard faculty members to write you letters of recommendation. At least one of these faculty members must be in the SM&C Division. They should submit their letters directly to Megan Karcher.o   Submit this information as attachments via e-mail to the SM&C Division secretary, Megan Karcher ([email protected])Selection Criteria:  Awards will be granted to students showing exceptional qualifications in their areas of study and based upon the following:o   College academic records.o   Letters of recommendations from the faculty.o   A strong interest in working in biology, chemistry, computer science, mathematics, or physics.o   Availability of funds.Deadline: Applications must be submitted no later than Friday, April 12th, 2013.The DSS Committee will meet shortly after that, and will make recommendations to the Director of Financial Aid, who will determine the final awards. You should receive word of whether you have been selected to receive a DSS award by early May. Questions?  Contact Sven Anderson, Chair of the Division of Science, Math and Computing, [email protected].

  Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  A lecture by
Tom Tullius
Professor of Chemistry and Director of Bioinformatics

Boston University

In the age of genomics, DNA is most often depicted as a string of letters. While this is useful for representing the large amount of information encoded in a genome, the underlying molecular nature of DNA is obscured. Readout of genetic information is based on protein binding to specific sites in genomic DNA, but proteins cannot "read" DNA letters – they discriminate between potential DNA binding sites via the principles of molecular recognition. To introduce a structural dimension to genome analysis, we have developed a database of DNA structural patterns, ORChID, based on hydroxyl radical cleavage of DNA. We used ORChID to produce a topographical map of the variation in DNA structure throughout the human genome. I will present recent work in which we use ORChID to assess how DNA topography contributes to the binding of proteins and small molecules to DNA.


Tom Tullius conducts research in genomics, structural biology, and biophysical chemistry. In addition to Chemistry, he is the Professor of Pharmacology and Professor of Experimental Therapeutics in the Boston University School of Medicine. He is an elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

  RKC 122  Join Matthew Symer, a soon-to-be graduate of Stony Brook University School of Medicine, School of Medicine, in discussing his experiences during school.

  RKC 115  A lecture by
Marc Koyack
Candidate for the position in Chemistry

  Reem-Kayden Center  Students presenting:
Adenike Akapo, Raed, Al-Abbasee Ammar Al-Rubaiay, Perry Anderson, Michael Anzuoni, Jeremy Arnstein, Nina Bar-Giora, Ian Barnett, Brendan Beecher, Abhinanda Bhattarcharyya, Cara Black, Sheneil Black, Laura Bradford, Cameron Brenner, Ross Cameron, Emily Carlson, Matteo Chierchia, Diana Crow, Kierstin Daviau, Jonathan De Wolf, Ha Phuong Do Thi, Katharine Dooley, Alexia Downs, Kimara DuCasse, Amy Eisenmenger, Jose Falla, Margo Finn, Joseph Foy, Prabarna Ganguly, Nabil Hossain, Matthew Hughes, Linda Ibojie, Miles Ingram, Lena James, Blagoy Kaloferov, Sun Bin Kim, Thant Ko Ko, Ruth Lakew, Hsiao-Fang Lin, Sam Link, Amy List, Weiying Liu, Julia Lunsford, Iliana Maifeld-Carucci, Claire Martin, Andres Medina, Jose Mendez, Tiago Moura, Jonathan Naito, Anam Nasim, Rachit Neupane, Mark Neznansky, Jeffrey Pereira, Liana Perry, Anisha Ramnani, Lydia Rebehn, Nolan Reece, Jonah Richard, Loralee Ryan, Perry Scheetz, Joy Sebesta, Erin Smith, Will Smith, Frank Stortini, James Sunderland, Oliver Switzer, Jacqueline Villiers, Weiqing Wang, Jasper Weinrich-Burd, Michael Weinstein, Layla Wolfgang, Fanya Wyrick-Flax, Sara Yilmaz, Anis Zaman, Wancong Zhang, Feifan Zheng

  Bard College Campus 

  Olin Hall  A lecture by Dr. Robert Grubbs, Nobel Laureate, 2005

Bard Hall  Following on Wofford College’s successful Fall 2012 Thinking Like a River Conference, Thinking Like a River moves north—to Bard College. John Lane—poet, naturalist, southern nature writer and river rat—launched the first Thinking Like a River weekend and he will be on campus to lead discussions and canoe outings over the course of the weekend. With him will be poets, writers, activists, naturalists and river lovers discussing rivers in an interdisciplinary manner. The weekend will kick off on Thursday September 26 at 6 in Bard Hall with music, poems and local food!  Bard graduate Chris Rubeo will sing river songs in the tradition of Pete Seeger and Betty and the Baby Boomers and talk about his environmental work. Art from Lisa Sanditz’s art class will grace the walls along with photographs from Tim Davis’s color photography class.  Guests John Lane and Elizabeth Bradfield will read poems and they will be joined by Bard College faculty Celia Bland and Phil Pardi. Come think about rivers and learn more about Bard’s Environmental and Urban Studies Program.

  Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  A lecture by Dr. Robert Grubbs, Nobel Laureate, 2005

Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  Friday 4-5PM: Bard student presentations: Gleb Mikhalev will show films he created of salmon on our western rivers, Christina Baal will share paintings of the natural life of the Hudson River and Bard CEP student Ashely Brinkman will discuss her work with the EPA on the Ohio River. 

Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  Friday Sept. 27 at 2 in RKC 103 Think Like a River with John Lane, Wofford College; John Cronin, activist and professor at Pace University and Clarkson University; Liz Bradfield, founder of Broadsided Press, naturalist, and Jacob Ziskind Visiting Poet-in-residence at Brandeis University; and Emma Rosi-Marshall, acquatic ecologist at the Cary Institute. After a short break with refreshments students will present their work. Gleb Mikhalev will show films he created of salmon on our western rivers, Christina Baal will share paintings of the natural life of the Hudson River and Bard CEP student Ashely Brinkman will discuss her work with the EPA on the Ohio River.

  Reem-Kayden Center  Students presenting:
Emin Atuk, Tedros Balema, Griffin Burke, Kathleen Burke, Desi-Rae Campbell, Kody Chen, Yan Chu, Matt Dalrymple, Tom Delaney, Georgia Doing, Leila Duman, Colyer Durovich, Matthew Greenberg, Sumedha Guha, Asad Hashmi, Emily Hoelzli, Nushrat Hoque, Seoyoung Kim, Muhsin King, Midred Kissai, Julia Les, Lei Lu, Yuexi Ma, Katherine Moccia, Gavin Myers, Van Mai Nguyen Thi, Matthew Norman, Molly North, Nathaniel Oh, Ian Pelse, Linh Pham, Christina Rapti, Joanna Regan, Diana Ruggiero, Iden Sapse, Clara Sekowski, Sabrina Shahid, Min Kyung Shinn, Anuska Shrestha, Eva Shrestha, Shailab Shrestha, Olja Simoska, Ingrid Stolt, Henry Travaglini, Shuyi Weng, Clare Wheeler, Noah Winslow

Advisers: Craig Anderson, Sven Anderson, Paul Cadden-Zimansky, John Cullinan, Olivier Giovannoni, Swapan Jain, Brooke Jude,  Christopher LaFratta, Robert McGrail, Emily McLaughlin, Keith O’Hara, Bruce Robertson, Lauren Rose, Rebecca Thomas

RKC 115  A lecture by
Jonathan G. Rudick, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, Stony Brook UniversityNanoparticles carrying three or four different cargos at their surface have emerged as leading solutions for targeted delivery of therapeutic and imaging agents. Enhanced permeation and retention of nanometer-sized materials in diseased tissues (e.g., tumors) offers a passive mechanism to improve the efficacy of drugs and imaging agents. Multivalent materials that accumulate in diseased tissues deliver locally high concentrations of the drug or imaging agent. Adding chemical markers to nanoparticles loaded with drugs or imaging agents offers a mechanism for selectively targeting the cargo to diseased tissues, and reduce side effects of the treatment. Biomedical technologies that combine targeting, therapeutic, and imaging modalities on a single theranostic nanoparticle are currently sought to simultaneously treat and image diseased tissues. A critical challenge for translating theranostic technologies based on polyvalent nanoparticles from the lab to the clinic is that each modality added to the nanoparticle creates heterogeneity and batch-to-batch variability of the product(s). We have developed a synthesis strategy to prepare a novel class of multivalent nanoparticles called multiblock dendrimers, which can incorporate three or four modalities and resolve the issues of heterogeneity and batch-to-batch variability. We further anticipate that this synthesis strategy will yield novel materials for use in “bottom-up” nanofabrication. The key to our approach is to synthesize the multiblock dendrimers from component dendrons via multicomponent reactions (e.g., the Passerini three-component reaction). The presentation will include a proof-of-concept for the synthesis strategy and report our progress toward multiblock dendrimers useful in biomedical and nanotechnology applications.

  RKC 111  A lecture by
David Mattingly
Candidate for the position in Physics

Quantum gravity, a theory that consistently incorporates both quantum mechanics and general relativity, has been an outstanding problem in physics for almost 80 years.  Most of the progress on quantum gravity has been theoretical and, as a result, there are a number of different models for quantum gravity and the fundamental nature of space and time.  Only in the last decade have experimental advances made it possible to test some of these models and construct a phenomenology.  In this talk we will explain, in a fairly non-technical manner, what goes into a quantum theory of gravity, why models have traditionally been so difficult to test, and aspects of the now rich phenomenology.   As an example, we will concentrate on how new ultra-high energy cosmic ray data can differentiate between models of quantum gravity.

  RKC 122  CANCELED
A lecture by Manuel Palacios from General Electric

Reem-Kayden Center  Students presenting:
Julia Les
Maxwell McKee
Lydia Meyer
Eric Reed

Reem-Kayden Center 

  RKC 101  Professor Frank Scalzo
Health Professions Adviser, Bard CollegeProfessor Scalzo will introduce the pathways leading to post-baccalaureate degrees in the health professions, including allopathic medicine, osteopathic medicine, veterinary medicine, dentistry, optometry, etc. etc. The discussion will be tailored to the interests of the audience.  If you are interested in a health profession, but have not attended a similar previous discussion, you should attend this one.

The Science, Mathematics & Computing Division will be sending a bus down to the New York Hall of Science in Queens, NY on Saturday, September 20. Space on the bus is LIMITED. The bus will depart RKC promptly at 9 a.m. and return to campus at approximately 7 p.m.

Tickets to get into the Faire and a spot in the van are $30.00.  

CASH ONLY, EXACT CHANGE ONLY.
Reservations will be accepted until Friday, September 12

TO RESERVE YOUR TICKET AND A SPOT IN THE VAN, 
PLEASE SEE MEGAN KARCHER, RKC 219. Office hours are Monday-Friday, 8:00-4:00 p.m.

  Reem-Kayden Center  Join faculty and students who participated in this year's Bard Summer Research Institute in presenting their work!

A lecture by Brooke Jude, Biology Program and Christopher LaFratta, Chemistry Program
Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  The Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 2014 was awarded to Drs. Hell, Moerner and Betzig for their work in extending the resolution limit of optical microscopy. This lecture, aimed at the general audience, will discuss some of the basics of traditional microscopy and will give insight into how the new types of super-resolution microscopy work. Professors LaFratta and Jude will also be detailing some of the new microscopes that will be purchased for Bard as part of a new Sherman Fairchild Grant received this past spring.

  Reem-Kayden Center  Students presenting: 

Oliver Bruce, Michael DiRosa, Jacob Fauber, Andy Huynh, Caitlin Majewski, Henry Meyers, Cameron West, Clare Wheeler

Advisers:
Rebecca Thomas, Matthew Deady, Keith O’Hara, James Belk, Csilla Szabo, Sven Anderson, Sarah Dunphy-Lelii, Christopher LaFratta

  Applications are due to Megan Karcher, [email protected], by Friday, April 3
Reem-Kayden Center  Distinguished Scientist Scholar (DSS) AwardGuidelines and Application Instructions All current students concentrating in biology, chemistry, computer science, mathematics or physics are eligible to apply for a Distinguished Scientist Scholar (DSS) Award. These awards are given to exceptional students who have distinguished themselves academically in one of the above-mentioned disciplines in the division of Science, Mathematics and Computing. The exact amount of each award is determined by the Financial Aid office, on average $5000 for each academic year, and includes the opportunity to apply for a summer research stipend to participate in NSF or NIH sponsored summer research programs at other institutions, if the student is not already eligible for federal funding. Like other science students at Bard, DSS recipients are also eligible for BSRI funding for summer research at Bard. Please note that this is a very competitive process and only a few awards will be given out each year. ·             Eligibility: To apply for a DSS award (commencing in the fall), a student must meet the following eligibility criteria:o   Concentrating in one of the following programs: Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Mathematics or Physics.o   Not currently receiving a DSS scholarship or award.o   Cumulative GPA of 3.0 overall in the college.o   Cumulative GPA of 3.5 in courses in the SM&C Division. ·             Application Procedure:o   Write a letter of request to the DSS Committee. The letter should discuss your plan of study in biology, chemistry, computer science, mathematics, and/or physics.o   Write an essay about an experience in science or math that you found particularly interesting.o   Ask two Bard faculty members to write you letters of recommendation. At least one of these faculty members must be in the SM&C Division. They should submit their letters directly to Megan Karcher.o   Submit this information as attachments via e-mail to the SM&C Division secretary, Megan Karcher ([email protected]) ·             Selection Criteria:  Awards will be granted to students showing exceptional qualifications in their areas of study and based upon the following:o   College academic records.o   Letters of recommendations from the faculty.o   A strong interest in working in biology, chemistry, computer science, mathematics, or physics.o   Availability of funds. ·             Deadline: Applications must be submitted no later than Friday, April 3rd, 2015. The DSS Committee will meet shortly after that, and will make recommendations to the Director of Financial Aid, who will determine the final awards. You should receive word of whether you have been selected to receive a DSS award by early May.  Questions?  Contact Robert McGrail, Chair of the Division of Science, Math and Computing, [email protected].



Download: DSS application memo 15-16.pdf

  Kevin Zhang, Bard Class of 2013
Harvard Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology Center
Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  The symptoms of diabetes are mainly caused by diabetics’ inability to regulate their blood glucose level. This is due to their lack of functioning beta cells, which secrete a hormone called insulin in response to elevating glucose level, which in turn signals the body’s cells to uptake glucose. In order to manage the disease, most diabetics utilize a combination of glucose monitoring device and intramuscular insulin injection. To bypass the hassle of multiple daily injections as well as the discontinuous nature of the system, we seek to invent an alternative solution by engineering patient’s own tissue to continuously report blood glucose level to an implanted insulin pump, thereby serving as an artificial pancreas. 

Reem-Kayden Center  Join the graduating seniors in the Science, Mathematics and Computing Division in presenting and celebrating their senior project work

  RKC 103  Interested in applying for a Fulbright Grant, a Watson Fellowship, or another postgraduate scholarship or fellowship? This information session will cover application procedures, deadlines, and suggestions for crafting a successful application. Applications will be due later this month, so be sure to attend one of these two sessions!

  Olin 102  Interested in applying for a Fulbright Scholarship, a Watson fellowship, or another postgraduate scholarship or fellowship? This information session will cover application procedures, deadlines, and suggestions for crafting a successful application. Applications will be due later this month, so be sure to attend one of the  two information sessions!

  Reem-Kayden Center 

Jeffrey D. Winkler
Merriam Professor of Chemistry
University of Pennsylvania
Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  5:00 pm EST/GMT-5

Professor Frank Scalzo
Health Professions Adviser
Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  6:00 pm EST/GMT-5
Professor Frank Scalzo will introduce the pathways leading to post-baccalaureate degrees in the health professions including, traditional medicine, allopathic medicine, osteopathic medicine, veterinary medicine, dentistry, optometry, etc. etc. The discussion will be tailored to the interests of the audience. If you are interested in a health profession, you should attend this discussion.  
 
For more information, please contact Professor Frank Scalzo at [email protected].

  Reem-Kayden Center  6:30 pm EST/GMT-5

  Please see the link below for information on applying for a Distinguished Scientist Scholar Award.
Application deadline is Friday, April 1


Download: DSS application memo 16-17.pdf

Rodrigo Vinluan
University of Texas, Dallas
Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  4:30 pm EDT/GMT-4

Dr. Aaron Engelhart
Harvard University
RKC 115  4:30 pm EDT/GMT-4
The emergence of homeostatic mechanisms that enabled maintenance of an intracellular steady-state during growth was critical to the advent of cellular life. Here, I will present our results showing that concentration-dependent reversible binding of short oligonucleotides, of both specific and random sequence, can modulate ribozyme activity. In both cases, catalysis is inhibited at high concentrations, and dilution activates the ribozyme via inhibitor dissociation, thus maintaining near-constant ribozyme specific activity throughout protocell growth.

In a second portion of the talk, I will show our results demonstrating that model protocell vesicles containing an encapsulated enzyme that promotes the synthesis of simple fatty acid derivatives become stabilized to Mg2+, which is required for ribozyme activity and RNA synthesis. The synthetic transformation requires both the catalyst and vesicles that solubilize the water-insoluble precursor lipid. We suggest that similar modified lipids could have played a key role in early life, and that primitive lipid membranes and encapsulated catalysts, such as ribozymes, may have acted in conjunction with each other, enabling otherwise-impossible chemical transformations within primordial cells.

Shuai Sun, University of Alberta
RKC 102  3:30 pm EDT/GMT-4
Quantum chemistry is a powerful tool to investigate photophysical and photochemical processes in biological and inorganic molecules. In this presentation, we will focus on a few quantum chemical studies in photobiology and material science.

First, we will learn about the short-time dynamics of nucleobases, such as uracil (and its derivatives), under the influence of UV-light. When UV radiation interacts with DNA and RNA bases, the potential photochemical and photophysical processes may lead the nucleobases to further photodamage.1–4  The initial (short-time) dynamics of the nucleobases on the excited electronic state can be experimentally probed by resonance Raman spectroscopy. 5  In this research, the resonance Raman spectra of uracil (and its derivatives, including 5-halogenated (F, Cl, Br) uracils and thymine) were simulated, using quantum-chemical approaches, e.g., density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT (TD-DFT).6,7  These quantumchemical computations not only establish the peak assignments of the resonance Raman spectra, but also reveal important information, such as vertical excitation energies and excited state gradients, regarding excited state dynamics.

Second, we will talk about the phosphorescent process in tellurophenes. Tellurophenes and their polymeric analogues have attracted attention due to their potential applications in organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technologies.8–10  The TD-DFT simulations are performed to understand the phosphorescence mechanisms, and provide interpretations on different colours of emission of two phenyl/BPin substituted tellurophene isomers.11  Finally, we will discuss how quantum chemistry can be a basis for undergraduate research projects, and how it could benefit the learning of undergraduate students. Two proposed undergraduate research projects will be discussed.
 

Reem-Kayden Center  6:00 pm EDT/GMT-4

  Justin Foy
SAMS Research Group
Institut Charles Sadron-CNRS
Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  3:30 pm EDT/GMT-4
In recent years, researchers in the field of synthetic molecular machines have designed cooperative systems of multiple, stimuli-responsive molecules that work in tandem. These molecular ensembles offer advantages over those based on a single functioning component because it follows more closely how macroscopic and biological machines operate with the many individual subunits working together to produce a mechanical output. In certain cases, these synthetic systems are now able to perform tasks that were only observed previously in biological macromolecular systems, such as unidirectional motion and transport. This presentation will focus on the theme of multistep activation in my research and the integration of stimuli-responsive molecules in polymer entanglements. At the end of the presentation we will discuss some projects based on stimuli-responsive materials that could be explored at Bard College.

  Required of all students working or doing research in the lab
Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  5:00 pm – 6:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
You must attend a full laboratory safety training session before you can work in the laboratory. If you have questions, please contact Maureen O’Callaghan-Scholl with questions at [email protected].

THURSDAY Sept 1, 5pm in RKC 103
TUESDAY Sept 6, 5pm in RKC 103

  Required of all students working or doing research in the lab
Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  5:00 pm – 6:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
You must attend a full laboratory safety training session before you can work in the laboratory. If you have questions, please contact Maureen O’Callaghan-Scholl with questions at [email protected].

THURSDAY Sept 1, 5pm in RKC 103
TUESDAY Sept 6, 5pm in RKC 103

  We want you to participate in trying out a new Science Literacy assessment developed here at Bard!

Assessment sessions are being held on Sunday, September 11 at 3 p.m. and on Monday, September 12 at 7 p.m.
RKC second floor pods  7:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
The assessment is done in pairs, takes a little more than 90 minutes to complete, is designed to see how you go about finding the answer to a science-related question, and is pretty fun to do! Treats provided for all who participate!

**science majors are always welcome!**

Bring a laptop for the assessment

  Reem-Kayden Center  6:00 pm EDT/GMT-4

  Hegeman 204  2:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
Rebecca Schiavo, Senior Assistant Director from Columbia's Office of Undergraduate Admissions, will be coming to talk about the 3+2 and 4+2 BA/BS Combined Plans. This is an ideal opportunity to get definitive answers to your specific questions. She visits only once in two years, so don't miss her talk.  

 

  Professor Frank Scalzo
Health Professions Adviser
 
Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  4:30 pm EST/GMT-5
Professor Frank Scalzo will introduce the pathways leading to post-baccalaureate degrees in the health professions including, traditional medicine, allopathic medicine, osteopathic medicine, veterinary medicine, dentistry, optometry, etc. etc. The discussion will be tailored to the interests of the audience. If you are interested in a health profession, you should attend this discussion.  
 
For more information, please contact Professor Frank Scalzo at [email protected]
 

  Reem-Kayden Center  6:30 pm EST/GMT-5

Zammy Diaz
Columbia University Institute of Human Nutrition
Campus Center Lobby  11:00 am – 1:00 pm EST/GMT-5
Join Zammy Diaz, IHN Communications Center, to learn why the one-year MS Program in Nutrition Science may be a great gap or glide year for you.

Helen Epstein, Professor of Human Rights and Global Public Health
RKC 115  5:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
Are you interested in becoming a doctor, nurse, social worker, psychologist, medical/epidemiological researcher or public health official?  Please come to an informational session to learn more about these careers and how to prepare for them.

Matthew Lampeter, class of 2017
RKC 111  4:30 pm EDT/GMT-4

  Ludovico Cademartiri, Assistant Professor, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Iowa State University
Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  3:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
In this seminar I will discuss the apparent correlation between impact – whether academic, technological, or scientific – and simple solutions. While defining “simplicity” is a notoriously poorly defined problem that is maybe more suited to philosophy than science, defining “simple solutions” can be, we contend, done effectively and, more importantly, usefully: i.e., it can be defined in a way that facilitates its pursuit. For example, simple solutions can be defined in terms of their potential virtues, e.g., low cost, reliability, and “stackability” (i.e., they can be combined and compounded with little increase in complexity).
If you believe that impact is correlated with “simple solutions” and that we now have a useful way to define them, the question becomes “how do we pursue them?”. While simple solutions can be easily distinguished when first used, it is notoriously hard, especially in research, to devise a systematic approach to pursuing them. Over the past 5 years we have been interested in developing simple solutions for materials science or through materials science: we have witnessed first-hand the difficulty of this task and our experience might be valuable to those that have similar interests.
In this talk I will therefore describe what we have learnt about the pursuit of simple solutions by discussing examples (published and unpublished) of simple solutions from our own laboratory concerning five problems of general scientific and technological interest:
1. How do we produce materials with completely programmed nanostructure?
2. How do we synthesize nanomaterials on a large, industrial, scale?
3. How do we produce superhydrophobic coatings on large areas outdoors?
4. How do we produce transparent soil to enable the study of the soil environment?
5. How do we redesign the Petri dish to enable the study of organismal interactions?

Reem-Kayden Center  6:30 pm – 8:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
Join Science, Mathematics & Computer graduating seniors in presenting their senior projects.

  Antonios Kontos, Physics program
Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  3:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
With three detections and counting, the Advanced LIGO gravitational-wave observatories have opened a new window into the Universe. For now, all the detected gravitational-waves originated from collisions of two black holes. The effect that these gravitational-waves have as they pass through space is to stretch and compress space-time, much like sound waves stretch and compress the air. To understand the challenge of detecting this effect here on Earth, imagine (if you can) that a reasonably strong gravitational wave changes the length of one kilometer by one thousandth of a proton's diameter. At this level of sensitivity, quantum mechanics and the Heisenberg uncertainty principle start playing a significant role and if we want to listen further into the Universe, we need to manipulate the quantum nature of light to our advantage. In this talk I will give an overview of gravitational waves, how LIGO detects them, and why quantum mechanics matters when measuring distances with such precision.

Jeremy R. Manning, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Psychological & Brain Sciences
Dartmouth College
Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  3:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
Our memory systems leverage the statistical structure of the world around us (context) to organize and store incoming information and retrieve previously stored information.  This enables us to recognize the situations we are in and to adapt our behaviors accordingly.  For example, your might choose to behave differently on a road trip with close friends versus commuting into work with your boss, even though many aspects of your perceptual experience are preserved across those two scenarios.  You might also remember different aspects of conversations from those trips when asked about them later.

In my talk, I will explore the extent to which (and the circumstances under which) these sorts of processes may be manipulated to influence memory.  I’ll begin by exploring these processes using a simple word list learning paradigm.  I’ll show how we can influence memory performance (specifically, how many words people remember and the order people remember the words in).  Then I’ll talk about how these same ideas can be applied to “naturalistic” memories, such as memories for scenes in a movie or concepts learned in the classroom.

  Ilya R. Fischhoff
Postdoctoral Associate
Cary Institute for Ecosystem Studies
Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  3:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
Ilya Fischhoff is a postdoctoral fellow with The Tick Project (www.tickproject.org). The Tick Project is a 5-year study to determine whether controlling ticks at the neighborhood scale reduces tick-borne diseases in people. One of the tick control methods that The Tick Project is evaluating is Met52, a biopesticide containing spores of a tick-killing fungus. In assessing Met52, it is important to evaluate not only its efficacy in reducing tick-borne disease but also its impacts on non-target organisms. Ilya will present results from an experiment he conducted last summer to assess the effects of Met52 on non-target arthropods in lawn and forest habitats typical of residential yards. Ilya sampled arthropods on treatment and control plots, before and after spray with Met52 on the treatment plots or water on the control plots. Ilya used multivariate models to analyze the data on arthropod abundance in 25 taxonomic orders. There were significant effects of plot location, period (before vs. after spray) and habitat (lawn vs. forest), but no effect of treatment (Met52 vs. water). A retrospective power analysis showed that the study had an 80% chance of detecting a reduction in arthropod abundance of 55% or greater. Based on these results, Ilya and his collaborators concluded that the use of Met52 in suburban yards is unlikely to cause meaningful reductions in the abundance of non-target arthropods. Finally, Ilya will also talk briefly about a microcosm experiment he is setting up to examine interactions among Met52, ticks, and brush-legged wolf spiders, a natural enemy of ticks.
 

Required of All Students Working or Doing Research in the Lab
Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  4:00 pm – 5:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
If you previously attended a lab training session this year, you do not need to attend again. If you are unsure, please contact Maureen O’Callaghan-Scholl with questions at [email protected].

Friday, September 8, RKC 103, 4 p.m.
Friday, September 15, RKC 103, 4 p.m.

Required of All Students Working or Doing Research in the Lab
Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  4:00 pm – 5:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
If you previously attended a lab training session this year, you do not need to attend again. If you are unsure, please contact Maureen O’Callaghan-Scholl with questions at [email protected].

Friday, September 8, RKC 103, 4 p.m.
Friday, September 15, RKC 103, 4 p.m.

Reem-Kayden Center  6:00 pm – 8:00 pm EDT/GMT-4

  Dr. Robert G. Bozic, Columbia University
RKC 122  12:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
Our Scientist to Engineer (S2E) program is an intensive, accelerated Master of Science in Chemical Engineering program designed especially for new MS students lacking a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering. This program covers the essentials of the entire curriculum, followed by a standard MS program, typically accomplished in three semesters. A flexible curriculum includes technical elective selection from other branches of engineering or graduate subjects. This presentation will provide details on the structure of the program to include information about the core courses, technical electives, MS colloquium, and research opportunities.

Pizza and refreshments will be served


 

Scott J. Miller
Irenee du Pont Professor of Chemistry
Yale University
RKC 115  5:00 pm EST/GMT-5
Performing site-selective reactions upon molecules with many functional groups presents unique challenges for catalysis.  Functional group tolerance is a persistent challenge, but so too is functional group selectivity when addressing multiple occurrences of functionalities that can react, individually, in a controlled manner with the catalyst.  In this sense, site-selectivity – within a substrate – becomes a major issue.  This lecture will describe recent developments in our efforts to develop low-molecular weight catalysts for reactions that present these challenges.  Over time, our view of complexity has ebbed and flowed, with foci on enantioselectivity, site-selectivity and chemoselectivity.  Most recently, we have been studying enantioselectivity as a prelude to extrapolation of principles to more complex stereochemical settings where multiple issues are presented in a singular substrate.
 

Reem-Kayden Center  6:30 pm – 8:00 pm EST/GMT-5
Join our December graduating seniors in presenting their senior projects

  Friday 2/2, Monday 2/5, Thursday 2/8
Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  5:00 pm EST/GMT-5
Required for all lab use excepting lab courses

  Friday 2/2, Monday 2/5, Thursday 2/8
Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  5:00 pm EST/GMT-5
Required for all lab use excepting lab courses

  Friday 2/2, Monday 2/5, Thursday 2/8
Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  5:00 pm EST/GMT-5
Required for all lab use excepting lab courses

  Guidelines and Application Instructions

Download: DSS application memo 18-19 .pdf

  Ivan Aprahamian
Dartmouth College
 
RKC 111  4:00 pm EDT/GMT-4

  Olja Simoska, class of '15
University of Texas, Austin
RKC 122  3:30 pm EDT/GMT-4

Discover how brain scanning offers new pathways for education
Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  4:30 pm EDT/GMT-4
John Gabrieli
Investigator, McGovern Institute, MIT
Grover Hermann Professor, Health Sciences and Technology; Professor, Brain and Cognitive Sciences

John Gabrieli is the director of the Athinoula A. Martinos Imaging Center at the McGovern Institute. He is an investigator at the Institute, with faculty appointments in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and the Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, where he holds the Grover Hermann Professorship. He also has appointments in the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital and the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and is the director of the MIT Integrated Learning Initiative. Prior to joining MIT in 2005, he spent 14 years at Stanford University in the Department of Psychology and Neurosciences Program. He received a PhD in behavioral neuroscience in the MIT Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and a BA in English from Yale University. In 2016 he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Join Science, Mathematics & Computer graduating seniors in presenting their senior projects.
Reem-Kayden Center  6:30 pm – 8:00 pm EDT/GMT-4

8:30 pm – 10:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
Buses leave from Kline South stop at 8:30 pm.

Join us at the Montgomery Place visitor center for a short talk by Prof. Antonios Kontos on the science of Jupiter—from the days of Galileo to the latest NASA missions—followed by telescope viewing of Jupiter and its moons, a guided tour of the night sky, and a round of ask-a-physicist-anything.

 

Jennifer L. Carter, SUNY Albany
Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  3:30 pm – 4:30 pm EDT/GMT-4
The idea that worlds exist beyond our solar system, exoplanets, dates back to the Greek times, but it was not until 1992 that the first exoplanet discovery was accepted by the scientific community. Detections of exoplanets continued at a crawl until the Kepler mission began in 2009. To date, over 3,700 exoplanets have been confirmed using a variety of techniques. The types of exoplanets detected range from incredibility hot, Jupiter-size exoplanets to Earth-like exoplanets that may be habitable for life.
                                                                                                         
First, we’ll discuss the motivation behind exoplanet science and explore the subject from a historical perspective. We will investigate how some of the detection methods work and discuss their relative successes. Finally, we will conclude by exploring the reflected light of exoplanets in more detail and will discuss two methods of modeling that light.
 

  **required for all lab use excepting lab courses**
Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  4:00 pm – 5:00 pm EDT/GMT-4

  **required for all lab use excepting lab courses**
Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  4:30 pm – 5:30 pm EDT/GMT-4

  **required for all lab use excepting lab courses**
Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  3:00 pm – 4:00 pm EDT/GMT-4

  Required for all lab use excepting lab courses
RKC 115  5:00 pm – 6:00 pm EDT/GMT-4

  Reem-Kayden Center  6:00 pm – 7:30 pm EDT/GMT-4
Join faculty and students who participated in this year’s program in presenting their work.

  Dr. Kathryn E. Stein ’66
Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  5:00 pm – 7:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
Kathryn Stein ’66, PhD, an immunologist with more than 30 years of experience, received the John and Samuel Bard Award in Medicine and Science from Bard College.

  Professor Helen Epstein,Global Public Health Concentration
and
 Professor Frank Scalzo, Health Professions Adviser
RKC 111  5:00 pm – 6:00 pm EST/GMT-5
Professors Epstein and Scalzo will introduce the Bard Global Health Concentration and pathways leading to post-baccalaureate degrees in the health professions. The discussion will be tailored to the interests of the audience. If you are interested in a health profession, you should attend this discussion. 

  Join our December graduating seniors in presenting their senior projects
Reem-Kayden Center  6:00 pm – 7:30 pm EST/GMT-5
Light refreshments will be served.

Required for all lab use excepting lab courses
RKC 200  4:00 pm – 5:00 pm EST/GMT-5

Required for all lab use excepting lab courses
RKC 102  5:00 pm – 6:00 pm EST/GMT-5

Required for all lab use excepting lab courses
RKC 200  5:00 pm – 6:00 pm EST/GMT-5

  RKC 102  2:00 pm – 3:00 pm EST/GMT-5
Required for all lab use (with the exception of lab courses).

Swapan Jain, Chemistry & Biochemistry Program
Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  12:00 pm – 1:00 pm EDT/GMT-4

  Professor Frank Scalzo
Health Professions Adviser
 
RKC 111  4:30 pm – 5:30 pm EDT/GMT-4
Professor Frank Scalzo will introduce the pathways leading to post-baccalaureate degrees in the health professions including, traditional medicine, allopathic medicine, osteopathic medicine, veterinary medicine, dentistry, optometry, etc. etc. The discussion will be tailored to the interests of the audience. If you are interested in a health profession, you should attend this discussion.  

For more information, please contact Professor Frank Scalzo at [email protected]
 

Reem-Kayden Center  6:00 pm – 7:30 pm EDT/GMT-4
Join our seniors in presenting their Senior Project research!

  Reem-Kayden Center  3:30 pm – 4:30 pm EDT/GMT-4
Come meet your fellow summer researchers and have some snacks!

  Seann P. Mulcahy
Providence College
Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  3:30 pm – 4:30 pm EDT/GMT-4
Research in the Mulcahy group at Providence College spans synthetic organic chemistry and chemical biology. This seminar will describe the group’s efforts to synthesize and elucidate the mechanism of action of the natural product eudistomin U, a naturally-occurring β-carboline metabolite from a marine tunicate. Further work will highlight the synthesis of a library of unnatural 1-aryl-β-carbolines and the structure-function relationships that result when evaluated against protein receptors in the brain.

  Peer-led Chemistry study space
RCK Chemistry pods  5:00 pm – 10:00 pm EDT/GMT-4

  Peer-led Chemistry study space
RCK Chemistry Pods  12:00 pm – 2:00 pm EDT/GMT-4

  Peer-led Chemistry study space
RCK Chemistry pods  5:00 pm – 10:00 pm EDT/GMT-4

  Peer-led Chemistry study space
RCK Chemistry pods  5:00 pm – 10:00 pm EDT/GMT-4

  Peer-led Chemistry study space
RCK Chemistry Pods  12:00 pm – 2:00 pm EDT/GMT-4

  Dr. Sameer Sonkusale
Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Tufts University
RKC 122  4:00 pm – 6:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
This talk will explore the new realm of using threads as an ultimate platform for flexible and stretchable bioelectronics. Threads offer unique advantages of universal availability, low cost, material diversity and simple textile-based processing. Interestingly, threads also provide an ideal platform for passive microfluidic sampling and delivery of analytes. In this talk, I will report reel-to-reel fabrication of functional smart threads for variety of sensing and electronics application. I will report on nanomaterial-infused smart threads for sensing strain and temperature.  Nano-infused threads will be presented for sensing pH, glucose, lactate, ammonium and other chemical and biological biomarkers directly in biological fluids such as sweat or wound exudate. Beyond sensing and microfluidics, I will present our recent work on making super-thin transistors and electronics directly on threads. This new toolkit of highly flexible thread-based microfluidics, sensors, transistors and electronics makes it possible to realize smart surgical sutures and flexible smart bandages for chronic wounds. Our recent work on using threads for closed loop spatiotemporal dosage controlled drug delivery will also be presented.  If there is time, I will present some related research activities on ingestible devices for studying the gut microbiome, and on flexible microneedles for transdermal drug delivery.

  Peer-led Chemistry study space
RCK Chemistry pods  5:00 pm – 10:00 pm EDT/GMT-4

  Peer-led Chemistry study space
RCK Chemistry pods  5:00 pm – 10:00 pm EDT/GMT-4

  Peer-led Chemistry study space
RCK Chemistry Pods  12:00 pm – 2:00 pm EDT/GMT-4

  Peer-led Chemistry study space
RCK Chemistry pods  5:00 pm – 10:00 pm EDT/GMT-4

  Peer-led Chemistry study space
RCK Chemistry pods  5:00 pm – 10:00 pm EDT/GMT-4

  Peer-led Chemistry study space
RCK Chemistry Pods  12:00 pm – 2:00 pm EDT/GMT-4

  Peer-led Chemistry study space
RCK Chemistry pods  5:00 pm – 10:00 pm EDT/GMT-4

  Peer-led Chemistry study space
RCK Chemistry pods  5:00 pm – 10:00 pm EDT/GMT-4

  Reem-Kayden Center  4:00 pm – 6:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
Join faculty and students who participated in this year’s program in presenting their work

  Peer-led Chemistry study space
RCK Chemistry Pods  12:00 pm – 2:00 pm EDT/GMT-4

  Peer-led Chemistry study space
RCK Chemistry pods  5:00 pm – 10:00 pm EDT/GMT-4

  Peer-led Chemistry study space
RCK Chemistry pods  5:00 pm – 10:00 pm EDT/GMT-4

  Peer-led Chemistry study space
RCK Chemistry Pods  12:00 pm – 2:00 pm EDT/GMT-4

  Peer-led Chemistry study space
RCK Chemistry Pods  12:00 pm – 2:00 pm EDT/GMT-4

  Peer-led Chemistry study space
RCK Chemistry pods  5:00 pm – 10:00 pm EST/GMT-5

  Peer-led Chemistry study space
RCK Chemistry pods  5:00 pm – 10:00 pm EST/GMT-5

  Peer-led Chemistry study space
RCK Chemistry Pods  12:00 pm – 2:00 pm EST/GMT-5

Campus Walk Above Kline  9:30 am – 1:00 pm EST/GMT-5
In a rare occurrence, the planet Mercury will pass in front of the Sun on the morning of November 11. However, this is not a celestial event that one can view by looking to the heavens with an unaided eye, since

a) Mercury is very small compared with the Sun, and

b) You shouldn't look directly at the Sun.

In order to view the transit (clouds permitting) the Physics Program will have a telescope with a solar filter set up on Campus Walk, just up the hill from Kline. Drop by anytime from 9:30am until the transit ends at 1pm to check out this planetary alignment for yourself.

Note the next chance to view a Mercury transit from Bard will be on May 7, 2049.

  Peer-led Chemistry study space
RCK Chemistry pods  5:00 pm – 10:00 pm EST/GMT-5

  Peer-led Chemistry study space
RCK Chemistry pods  5:00 pm – 10:00 pm EST/GMT-5

  Peer-led Chemistry study space
RCK Chemistry Pods  12:00 pm – 2:00 pm EST/GMT-5

  Peer-led Chemistry study space
RCK Chemistry pods  5:00 pm – 10:00 pm EST/GMT-5

  Peer-led Chemistry study space
RCK Chemistry pods  5:00 pm – 10:00 pm EST/GMT-5

  Peer-led Chemistry study space
RCK Chemistry Pods  12:00 pm – 2:00 pm EST/GMT-5

  Peer-led Chemistry study space
RCK Chemistry pods  5:00 pm – 10:00 pm EST/GMT-5

  Peer-led Chemistry study space
RCK Chemistry pods  5:00 pm – 10:00 pm EST/GMT-5

  Peer-led Chemistry study space
RCK Chemistry Pods  12:00 pm – 2:00 pm EST/GMT-5

  Peer-led Chemistry study space
RCK Chemistry pods  5:00 pm – 10:00 pm EST/GMT-5

  Peer-led Chemistry study space
RCK Chemistry pods  5:00 pm – 10:00 pm EST/GMT-5

  Peer-led Chemistry study space
RCK Chemistry Pods  12:00 pm – 2:00 pm EST/GMT-5

  Peer-led Chemistry study space
RCK Chemistry pods  5:00 pm – 10:00 pm EST/GMT-5

  Professor Frank Scalzo
Health Professions Adviser
RKC 111  3:30 pm – 4:30 pm EST/GMT-5
Professor Frank Scalzo will introduce pathways leading to post-baccalaureate degrees in the health professions and offer suggestions for pursuing a career in the health professions. The discussion will be tailored to the interests of the audience and questions about Spring 2020 course selections are welcome.

  Peer-led Chemistry study space
RCK Chemistry pods  5:00 pm – 10:00 pm EST/GMT-5

  Peer-led Chemistry study space
RCK Chemistry pods  5:00 pm – 10:00 pm EST/GMT-5

  Reem-Kayden Center  6:00 pm – 7:30 pm EST/GMT-5
Join our December graduating seniors in presenting their senior projects.
Light refreshments will be served

  Peer-led Chemistry study space
RCK Chemistry pods  5:00 pm – 10:00 pm EST/GMT-5

For underrepresented students in STEM.
https://meet.google.com/azc-hvgc-cus  6:00 pm – 7:30 pm EDT/GMT-4
Join us for a conversation on virtual learning and internships in math and the sciences. 

  Mary Watson, University of Delaware
Online Event  3:00 pm – 4:00 pm EST/GMT-5
Join via Zoom: https://bard.zoom.us/j/83983618275?pwd=bkJtdk04L0VjWm55czkrZm9wTHVoQT09

Thomas R. Cech, PhD, University of Colorado Boulder
Online Event  6:30 pm – 8:00 pm EST/GMT-5
In the past, Ribonucleic Acid (RNA) was considered to be mostly an intermediary between the genetic code in DNA and the proteins that do most of the work in biology; DNA makes RNA makes protein. The discovery of catalytic RNA (Nobel Prize, 1989) opened our eyes to RNA having more exciting functions. But the thrill of RNA was just getting started. Gene editing now uses guide RNAs to recruit the CRISPR genome editing machinery to specific sites of action on chromosomes, with exciting medical potential (Nobel Prize, 2020). And the coronavirus pandemic is now a battle of RNA against RNA: an RNA virus being fought with messenger RNA vaccines.

Thomas R. Cech, PhD, is Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry; investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute; and director of the Interdisciplinary Quantitative Biology PhD Program at the University of Colorado Boulder. After earning his PhD in chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley, and postdoctoral research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Dr. Cech joined the faculty of the University of Colorado Boulder in 1978.  In 1982 Dr. Cech and his research group discovered self-splicing RNA in Tetrahymena, providing the first exception to the long-held belief that biological reactions are always catalyzed by proteins. Because RNA can be both an information-carrying molecule and a catalyst, perhaps a primordial self-reproducing system consisted of RNA alone. Dr. Cech became a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator in 1988 and Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry in 1990. From 2000 to 2009, he served as president of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, which is the largest private biomedical research organization in the U.S. In 2009, Dr. Cech returned to full-time research and teaching at the University of Colorado Boulder. Dr. Cech's work has been recognized by many national and international awards and prizes, including the Heineken Prize of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences (1988), the Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award (1988), the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1989), and the National Medal of Science (1995). In 1987 Dr. Cech was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and also awarded a lifetime professorship by the American Cancer Society.

You are invited to a Zoom webinar.
When: Feb 17, 2021 06:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Topic: The Magic of RNA: from CRISPR Gene Editing to mRNA Vaccines

Please click the link below to join the webinar:
https://bard.zoom.us/j/89546778854?pwd=VXNIaXRZUUVYS293Z1FiZk9HMDFUQT09
Passcode: 340591
Or iPhone one-tap : 
    US: +16465588656,,89546778854#,,,,*340591#  or +13017158592,,89546778854#,,,,*340591# 
Or Telephone:
    Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):
        US: +1 646 558 8656  or +1 301 715 8592  or +1 312 626 6799  or +1 346 248 7799  or +1 669 900 9128  or +1 253 215 8782 
Webinar ID: 895 4677 8854
Passcode: 340591
    International numbers available: https://bard.zoom.us/u/kccdtBxiuF

 

Thomas R. Cech, PhD
Online Event  12:20 pm – 1:30 pm EST/GMT-5
Earlier in the 21st century, the human genome was thought to consist of islands of important genes, coding for proteins, surrounded by a vast sea of “junk DNA.” But we now know that much of the vast noncoding part of the genome is also transcribed into RNA – noncoding RNA. Many hundreds of research laboratories are now engaged in observing and interrogating this dark matter of the genomic universe. Dr. Cech will describe two examples, catalytic RNA and telomerase RNA.

Dr. Thomas R. Cech is Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry; Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute; and Director of the Interdisciplinary Quantitative Biology PhD Program at the University of Colorado Boulder.

You are invited to a Zoom webinar.
When: February 18, 2021, at 12:00 pm Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Topic: Shedding Some Light on the Dark Matter of the Genomic Universe

Please click the link below to join the webinar:
https://bard.zoom.us/j/87656848909?pwd=L1ZoTERnTnpzM0U3Y0pMak9WcmFiUT09
Passcode: 645895
Or iPhone one-tap : 
    US: +16465588656,,87656848909#  or +13126266799,,87656848909# 
Or Telephone:
    Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):
        US: +1 646 558 8656  or +1 312 626 6799  or +1 301 715 8592  or +1 669 900 9128  or +1 253 215 8782  or +1 346 248 7799 
Webinar ID: 876 5684 8909
    International numbers available: https://bard.zoom.us/u/kdNzUccMMt

Join our graduating seniors in presenting their research!
Main Commencement Tent  5:30 pm – 7:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
Please see the abstract booklet below for full descriptions of students' research.


Download: Senior Project Poster session booklet S21.pdf

  Dani Schultz
Merck Pharmaceuticals
Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  12:10 pm – 1:10 pm EDT/GMT-4
Aspects of this session will highlight my journey from a small town in northern Wisconsin to the bustling east coast where leaning into discomfort has been critical in driving my career at Merck and the chemistry that I have pursued. Throughout my career, I have tapped into my ability to forge meaningful collaborations, internally and externally, to challenge the status quo and drive disruptive thinking – both in chemistry but also in improving STEM culture. I’ll briefly touch upon some recently completed academic-industrial research collaborations that aimed to empower early-career female professors and provide a platform to mentor and train female professors and students in pharmaceutical research. Throughout all of this, I have a passion for diversity, equity and inclusion and will share how I’ve navigated raising important, and at times difficult, topics and how to influence workplace culture. I’ve learned a lot through failed experiments along the way and I am looking forward to an active discussion with fellow changemakers!

Dani Schultz received her PhD from the University of Michigan working with Professor John Wolfe and was an NIH postdoctoral fellow at the University of Wisconsin-Madison with Professor Tehshik Yoon. Since joining Merck in 2014, Dani has been a member of Process Chemistry and Enabling Technologies in Rahway, NJ and as of 2021 became the Director of the Discovery Process Chemistry group in Kenilworth, NJ. Throughout her time at Merck, Dani has been involved in the development of synthetic routes for drug candidates spanning HIV and oncology – forging meaningful collaborations, both internally and externally, to address the synthetic challenges that occur during pharmaceutical development. Most recently, she has served as co-host to the Pharm to Table podcast that aims to elevate the people and stories behind #MerckChemistry.

Join our students in presenting their summer research!
Reem-Kayden Center  4:00 pm – 6:00 pm EDT/GMT-4

Reem-Kayden Center  4:00 pm – 5:30 pm EST/GMT-5

Reem-Kayden Center  5:00 pm – 6:30 pm EDT/GMT-4
Abstract booklet below!


Download: Senior Project Poster session booklet S22-1.pdf

  Reem-Kayden Center  4:00 pm – 6:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
Join our summer research students as they present their work!


Download: BSRI abstract booklet F22-3.pdf

Reem-Kayden Center  4:00 pm – 5:30 pm EST/GMT-5
Join our December graduating seniors as the present their work!

Professor Patrick Walsh, University of Pennsylvania, Department of Chemistry
 
Olin Auditorium  6:00 pm – 7:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
The umpolung synthesis of diarylmethylamines via palladium-catalyzed arylation of 2-azaallyl anion intermediates and related reactions and enantioselective versions will be presented. Next, the observation that that 2-azaallyl anions can behave as organic super-electron-donors (SED) will be introduced. Such unique behavior is illustrated in (i) generation of 2-azaallyl radicals from single-electron-transfer (SET) between 2-azaallyl anions and neutral ketimines, which then couple with vinyl bromides; (ii) generation of 2-azaallyl radicals from SET of 2-azaallyl anions with aryl and alkyl electrophiles, which generate aryl and alkyl radicals leading to formation of C–C bonds.  Finally, some novel organocatalysts based on sulfenate anions (ArSO) will be described.

Patrick J. Walsh was born in San Diego, California.  He received his B.A. from University of California, San Diego in 1986, and Ph.D. in 1991 from University of California, Berkeley with Prof. Robert G. Bergman.  He moved back to San Diego for a postdoc with Prof. K. B. Sharpless (two-time Nobel laureate in Chemistry) at Scripps (1991–1994).  From 1994–1999 he was an assistant professor at San Diego State University and professor at Centro de Graduados e Investigación, Instituto Tecnológico de Tijuana (1996–1999).  In 1999 he moved to the University of Pennsylvania where he is Professor of Inorganic Chemistry.  With Prof. Marisa Kozlowski, he co-authored Fundamentals of Asymmetric Catalysis.  Prof. Walsh enjoys extensive collaborations with labs around the world.  Over his career Prof. Walsh and his team have worked in several areas of organic, organometallic, and inorganic synthesis and catalysis.  Major focuses of their work include early research on organozinc- and titanium-based catalysts.  Later the Walsh group became interested in late-transition metal- and lanthanide-based catalysts for C–S and C–C bond formations.  Recent directions include development of sulfur-based organocatalysts and exploration of the unexpected reactivity of azaallyl anions.  A commonality of this work has been a strong desire to elucidate reaction mechanisms. In 2016 Prof. Walsh won the undergraduate mentoring award and is currently the PI of the NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates at Penn.
 

Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  5:00 pm – 7:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
Majoring (or interested) in science or math but unsure about whether grad school is right for you?  

The Bard Interdisciplinary Science Research Accelerator is sponsoring a panel discussion, Q&A, and networking event with admissions administrators and faculty from across the region.  

We’ll talk about what master’s and PhD programs are out there, what they are like, and how to optimize the rest of your time spent at Bard.  

Panelists:

Delilah Gates
Gravity Initiative Postdoctoral Associate Research Scholar, Princeton University

Andrew Harder
Director of Graduate Admissions, Mathematics Department, Lehigh University

Emily Harms
Senior Associate Dean, The Rockefeller University

Felicia Keesing
David and Rosalie Rose Distinguished Professor of Science, Mathematics, and Computing, Bard College

Chris Lafratta
Professor of Chemistry, Bard College

Chuck Doran
Distinguished Visiting Professor of Mathematics and Physics, Bard College

Open to all Bard students, especially those moderated in mathematics or the sciences.

Reem-Kayden Center  4:00 pm – 6:00 pm EDT/GMT-4

Reem-Kayden Center Lobby  5:00 pm – 6:30 pm EST/GMT-5
Join us in celebrating our December graduating seniors as their present their work!

Geillan Aly, Compassionate Math
Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  1:30 pm – 3:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
The field of STEM offers many personal and professional rewards. However, emotions may stand in the way of such rewards. In this workshop, we will explore imposter syndrome and other socioemotional phenomena which may affect one’s ability to engage with and succeed in a field as competitive and demanding as those in STEM. Participants will have an opportunity to explore and reflect on their feelings towards studying STEM. Participants begin by reflecting on and sharing their previous learning experiences to place these experiences in context, learning that: (1) they are not alone; (2) their experiences are likely not tied to them as an individual, but are a result of sociohistorical forces. This allows students to think deeply and critically about how they approach their studies. Participants then reorient themselves based on these new realizations and their motivation to succeed. This reorientation includes strategies and tips for studying, focusing on learning mathematics in particular. Finally the workshop gives participants an opportunity to work on a mathematical problem, setting the stage for a positive opportunity to engage with mathematics and their other studies. All participants are encouraged to participate in small-group and whole session discussions throughout the program, reducing the “I’m alone” stigma and forming bonds with others in the group. They are also encouraged to continue working and studying together after the workshop is completed.

Dr. Geillan Aly, the Founder of Compassionate Math, is a math educator who centers the socioemotional factors that contribute to success in mathematics. She holds the fundamental assumption that learning math is both an emotional and cognitive endeavor. A former award-winning Assistant Professor who has taught for over fifteen years, Dr. Aly transforms math classrooms through engaging professional development and student-focused workshops that center emotions while establishing a culture of engaging with rigorous mathematics. She received her PhD in Teaching and Teacher Education and Master’s in Mathematics from the University of Arizona. Underlying Dr. Aly’s work is a dedication to equity and social justice. She enjoys traveling and seeing live music and is an avid chef, wife, and mother to a beautiful boy.

  RKC Chemistry Egg  7:00 pm – 9:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
A great place to study chemistry, meet with your study group, and consult with a chemistry tutor.

  RKC Chemistry Egg  6:00 pm – 8:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
A great place to study chemistry, meet with your study group, and consult with a chemistry tutor.

  RKC Chemistry Egg  7:45 pm – 9:45 pm EDT/GMT-4
A great place to study chemistry, meet with your study group, and consult with a chemistry tutor.

  RKC Chemistry Egg  7:00 pm – 9:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
A great place to study chemistry, meet with your study group, and consult with a chemistry tutor.

  RKC Chemistry Egg  7:00 pm – 9:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
A great place to study chemistry, meet with your study group, and consult with a chemistry tutor.

  RKC Chemistry Egg  6:00 pm – 8:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
A great place to study chemistry, meet with your study group, and consult with a chemistry tutor.

  RKC Chemistry Egg  7:45 pm – 9:45 pm EDT/GMT-4
A great place to study chemistry, meet with your study group, and consult with a chemistry tutor.

  RKC Chemistry Egg  7:00 pm – 9:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
A great place to study chemistry, meet with your study group, and consult with a chemistry tutor.

  RKC Chemistry Egg  7:00 pm – 9:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
A great place to study chemistry, meet with your study group, and consult with a chemistry tutor.

  RKC Chemistry Egg  6:00 pm – 8:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
A great place to study chemistry, meet with your study group, and consult with a chemistry tutor.

  RKC Chemistry Egg  7:45 pm – 9:45 pm EDT/GMT-4
A great place to study chemistry, meet with your study group, and consult with a chemistry tutor.

  RKC Chemistry Egg  7:00 pm – 9:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
A great place to study chemistry, meet with your study group, and consult with a chemistry tutor.

  RKC Chemistry Egg  7:00 pm – 9:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
A great place to study chemistry, meet with your study group, and consult with a chemistry tutor.

  RKC Chemistry Egg  6:00 pm – 8:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
A great place to study chemistry, meet with your study group, and consult with a chemistry tutor.

  RKC Chemistry Egg  7:45 pm – 9:45 pm EDT/GMT-4
A great place to study chemistry, meet with your study group, and consult with a chemistry tutor.

  RKC Chemistry Egg  7:00 pm – 9:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
A great place to study chemistry, meet with your study group, and consult with a chemistry tutor.

  RKC Chemistry Egg  7:00 pm – 9:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
A great place to study chemistry, meet with your study group, and consult with a chemistry tutor.

Reem-Kayden Center  5:00 pm – 6:30 pm EDT/GMT-4

Download: Senior Project Poster session booklet S24-FINAL CO

  RKC Chemistry Egg  6:00 pm – 8:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
A great place to study chemistry, meet with your study group, and consult with a chemistry tutor.

  RKC Chemistry Egg  7:45 pm – 9:45 pm EDT/GMT-4
A great place to study chemistry, meet with your study group, and consult with a chemistry tutor.

  RKC Chemistry Egg  7:00 pm – 9:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
A great place to study chemistry, meet with your study group, and consult with a chemistry tutor.

Sylvester James Gates, Jr.
Clark Leadership Chair in Science, Distinguished University Professor, and Regents Professor at the University of Maryland
Blithewood  5:00 pm – 6:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
In 1995 Edward Witten, described by Brian Greene as “a million times smarter than we are,” proposed a solution to the “quantum gravity problem” that evaded Stephen Hawking. Until 2020, no solution consistent with Richard Feynman’s view of quantum theory had been found. Einstein believed “...science and art tend to coalesce,” and following this connection the speaker and two PhD students found the first such solution. This talk describes how artwork solved a mathematics problem. Reception to follow

The inaugural MathScape combines an international workshop on cutting-edge research in mathematics with a public lecture linking to the arts and humanities.  MathScape 2024 features the mathematics used by the physicists in their quest to create a “theory of everything”.  

MathScape 2024 is supported by Chuck Doran, Distinguished Visiting Professor of Mathematics and Physics

Donna G. Blackmond, The Scripps Research Institute
Olin Auditorium  4:45 pm EDT/GMT-4
The single chirality of the amino acids and sugars that make up the building blocks of life has fascinated scientists and laymen alike since Pasteur’s first separation of the enantiomorphic crystals of a tartrate salt over 150 years ago. In the past several decades, a number of theoretical and experimental investigations have helped to delineate models for how one enantiomer might have come to dominate over the other. Professor Donna Blackmond will speak about how her research hilights mechanisms that include either chemical or physical processes, or a combination of both. While much of the scientific driving force for this work arises from an interest in understanding the origin of life, research focusing on mechanisms for the enantioenrichment of chiral molecules has the potential to impact a wide range of applications, most notably in the synthesis and formulation of pharmaceuticals.

Professor Donna Blackmond is the John C. Martin Endowed Chair of the Department of Chemistry at Scripps Research. She is an elected member of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering, and has received the Chemical Pioneer Award from the American Institute of Chemists.Professor Blackmond was honored with the 2023 James Flack Norris Award in Physical Organic Chemistry “for fundamental investigations of complex organic reaction mechanisms in practical organic synthesis and breakthrough studies of the emergence of biological homochirality.”

Supported by The Jean Dreyfus Lectureship for Undergraduate Institutions Award.

Donna G. Blackmond, The Scripps Research Institute
Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  12:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
Reaction progress kinetic analysis streamlines pharmaceutical process development by exploiting the extensive data sets available from accurate in-situ monitoring of global reaction progress under practical operating conditions. This methodology involves the graphical manipulation of a critical minimum set of carefully designed experiments that permits rapid extraction of key information about the reaction’s driving forces and its robustness. While classical kinetic analysis can provide concentration dependences, RPKA provides the only in-situ method readily available for probing catalyst deactivation. Professor Donna Blackmond will speak about her research on the RPKA process and its advantages, as well as how studies of RPKA may help inform the direction of further reaction optimization.
 

Professor Donna Blackmond is the John C. Martin Department Chair of the Department of Chemistry at Scripps Research. She is an elected member of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering, and has received the Chemical Pioneer Award from the American Institute of Chemists. Professor Blackmond was honored with the 2023 James Flack Norris Award in Physical Organic Chemistry “for fundamental investigations of complex organic reaction mechanisms in practical organic synthesis and breakthrough studies of the emergence of biological homochirality.”

Supported by the Jean Dreyfus Lectureship for Undergraduate Institutions Award
 

Reem-Kayden Center  4:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
Join our summer research students as they present their work!

Reem-Kayden Center  5:00 pm EST/GMT-5
Join our December graduating seniors as they present their senior project research!

A talk by Dr. André Isaacs, Associate Professor of Chemistry, The College of the Holy Cross
Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium  1:10 pm EDT/GMT-4
Dr. Isaacs's research is centered on a very reliable organic reaction: the copper-catalyzed cycloaddition of sulfonyl azides and terminal alkynes (CuAAC) commonly known as ‘click chemistry’. This fragmentation creates reactive intermediates which can be intercepted to synthesize nitrogen heterocycles, important structural components in a majority of pharmaceutical drugs. This seminar will also discuss strategies that capitalize on the learning styles and culture of the younger generation to broaden participation in STEM.

Dr. André Isaacs (he/him/his) is an Associate Professor of Chemistry at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA. He moved to the US upon finishing high school in Kingston, Jamaica and received his BA from the College of the Holy Cross and his PhD from the University of Pennsylvania. He then worked as a postdoctoral research associate at the University of California, Berkeley before accepting his current faculty position. In addition to teaching courses in Organic Chemistry, he conducts and publishes research in the area of copper-mediated organic reactions and synthesis. He is a faculty advisor to numerous student groups including the Caribbean African Students’ Assemblage and is a member of the college’s LGBTQ+ Faculty and Staff Alliance. He uses his online platform to challenge the normative STEM culture and demonstrate what an inclusive space could look like for the next generation of scientists, primarily those with marginalized identities.

Reem-Kayden Center  5:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
Join our graduating seniors as they present their work!


Download: Senior Project Poster session booklet S25-1.pdf

Reem-Kayden Center  5:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
Join our graduating seniors as they present their work!


Download: Senior Project Poster session booklet S25-1.pdf

Reem-Kayden Center  4:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
Join our summer research students as they present their work! Please see the attached abstract booklet for more information on the summer research projects!


Download: BSRI abstract booklet F25-2.pdf