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ARCHIVES
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SPRING 2006 Thursday February 9, 2006 Topic: Random Ellipsoids: Statistics
for Diffusion Tensor Imaging Data
Speaker: Armin Schwartzman, Stanford University
Thursday February 9, 2006 Topic: Evolution of HIV Reverse Transcriptase in the Chimeric Virus RT-SHIV Speaker: Dr. Deb Wadford, Postdoctoral Research
Associate, Friday, February 10, 2006 Topic: Two Faculty Seminars Dr. Nancy Gerber Dr. Tomoko Komada Sponsor: Chemistry and Biochemistry Department Monday February 13, 2006 Topic: Black Holes: The Science behind the Science Fiction Abstract: In this talk, I will begin by describing what black holes are (and what they are not!). I will then discuss how black holes are discovered and how they give rise to some of the most remarkable and energetic phenomena in the universe. Speaker: Prof. Eliot Quataert, Astronomy
Dept., Univ. of California, Berkeley Monday February 13, 2006 Topic: Population Intervention Models
Speaker: Alan Hubbard, UC Berkeley
Thursday February 16, 2006 Topic: Ethanol-Induced Virulence of Acinetobacter baumannii Speaker: Dr. Michael Smith, Postdoctoral Fellow,
Dept of Molecular, Thursday February 16, 2006 Topic: Application of Multivariate Statistics
in Modeling Ecosystem Processes
Speaker: Bahrem Momem, University of Maryland Friday, February 17, 2006 Topic: Faculty Mini-presentation: Dr. Raymond Esquerra Sponsor: Chemistry and Biochemistry Department Monday February 20, 2006 Topic: Models of Population Dynamics
Speaker: Elissa Schwartz, UCLA Tuesday February 21, 2006 Topic: Algebraic Invariants of Manifolds
Speaker: Joseph Gubeladze, SFSU Friday, February 24, 2006 Topic: Design of GABA Aminotransferase and Selective Neuronal Nitric Oxide Synthase Inhibitors. Potential Treatments for Epilepsy, Drug Abuse, and Neurodegeneration Speaker: Dr. Richard Silverman, Northwestern
University Monday February 27, 2006 Topic: The Formation of the Earth and Moon - An Overview Speaker: Dr. Eugenio Rivera, University
of California, Santa Cruz and Lick Observatory Tuesday February 28, 2006 Topic: What is a foliation?
Speaker: Slobodan Simic Friday, March 3, 2006 Topic: Mitochondrial proteomics, aging and neurodegenerative disease Speaker: Dr. Brad Gibson, Buck Institute
on Aging Monday, March 6, 2006 Topic: Fierce forces and stunning speeds: the extreme lifestyle of mantis shrimp Speaker: Sheila Patek, University of California,
Berkeley Directions: Click here. Monday March 6, 2006 Topic: SCIENTIST AS DETECTIVE; LUIS ALVAREZ AND THE PYRAMID BURIAL CHAMBERS, THE JFK ASSASSINATION, AND THE END OF THE DINOSAURS Abstract: Luis Alvarez (1911-1988) was one of the great experimental physicists of the twentieth century. He worked in nuclear physics in the 1930's, on radar and the atomic bomb in the '40's, on particle physics in the '50's and ''60's. He made many inventions, most of them involving radar, aircraft navigation and safety, and optics. He won the Nobel Prize in 1968 "for his decisive contributions to elementary particle physics, in particular the discovery of a large number of resonance states, made possible through his development of the technique of using the hydrogen bubble chamber and data analysis." But he will be best remembered for his crucial part in solving the mystery of what killed the dinosaurs and much of the rest of life 65 million years ago. Speaker: Dr. Charles Wohl, Lawrence
Berkeley National Laboratory Thursday March 9, 2006 Topic: Evolutionary Genomics: from Elephants to Viruses Speaker: Dr. Alfred L. Roca, Scientist II, Friday, March 10, 2006 Topic: Effects of Crowding and Hydration on Protein Folding Speaker: Dr. Daryl Eggers, San Jose
State University Monday March 13, 2006 Topic: Lensing Probes of Dark Baryons and Dark Matter Abstract: Gravitational lensing probes the matter content of the universe directly, without the bias of mass-to-light ratio. A wide variety of lensing techniques can be brought to bear to study dark matter (and dark baryons) directly. First: gravitational microlensing is a powerful tool for studying dark stellar-mass objects, including stellar remnants and even primordial black holes. It is known that roughly half of the baryons are missing in the local universe. These may reside in stellar remnants accessible to microlensing surveys and / or in a warm-hot intergalactic medium (WHIM). We discuss such surveys of the local group, local supercluster, and beyond. Second: strong lensing by galaxies and clusters, producing multiple images of background objects, directly probes the matter distribution of the lenses. We discuss preliminary work toward studying rare lens configurations that may appear in large samples of lenses. Such chance alignments are quite sensitive to the structure of the lenses, and may allow more detailed measurements of their properties. Speaker: Dr. Edward Baltz, Stanford
Linear Accelerator Center Tuesday March 14, 2006 Topic: Geometry and Topology of Surfaces
Speaker: Yitwah Cheung, SFSU Thursday March 16, 2006 Topic: Regulation of Adult Stem Cell Self Renewal and Differentiation Speaker: Dr. Margaret Fuller, Professor of Developmental
Biology and Genetics Friday, March 17, 2006 Topic: Rapid Screening of Toxic Elements Via Field-Portable X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry Speaker: Dr. Peter Palmer, SFSU Monday, March 20, 2006 Topic: Poster Social RTC scientist display posters they have presented
at local, national, and international meetings.
Directions: Click
here.
Monday March 20, 2006 Topic: Rocky Worlds Orbiting Other Stars Abstract: Rocky planets in general remain poorly understood, including their formation, orbital dynamics, interior structure, and their acquisition of volatiles such as water. Programs are underway to detect rocky exoplanets using both spaceborne and ground-based telescopes. Several planets under 20 Earth-masses have recently been detected. At Lick Observatory, construction has begun of the "Automated Planet Finder" telescope (APF) that will be dedicated to detecting planets under 20 Earth masses in tight orbits. It will determine their occurrence, masses, orbits, and possibly radii, including detectability of planets in the habitable zone around low mass stars.. Speaker: Dr. Geoffrey Marcy, Professor
of Astronomy, Univ. of California, Berkeley and Adjunct Professor of
Physics and Astronomy, SFSU
Tuesday March 21, 2006 Topic: The Modular Surface
Speaker: Matthias Beck, SFSU
Thursday March 23, 2006 Topic: Genomic Diversity and its Functional Effects in Natural Populations Speaker: Dr. Douda Bensasson, Postdoctoral Fellow Monday March 27, 2006 Topic: Rocky Worlds Orbiting Other Stars Speaker: Dr. Adrian Lee, UC Berkeley
Thursday April 13, 2006 Topic: Analysis of Microarrays for the Study and Treatment of Cancer Speaker: Dr. Thomas Wu, Senior Scientist Monday April 17, 2006 Topic: Ultrashort-Pulsed Solitons and the Revolution of Optical Clocks Abstract: Recent breakthroughs using ultrashort-pulsed mode-locked lasers have revolutionized the field of frequency metrology, making optical clocks possible. In the past few years, the stability of optical clocks has surpassed that of the best atomic clocks. This progress has application to fundamental physics, such as measurement of variations in the fine-structure constant, and technology, such as GPS navigation. Control of the carrier-envelope phase slip of the pulses plays a key role in this breakthrough. We analyze the phase slip using a dispersion and nonlinearity-managed Nonlinear Schrodinger equation, which models pulse propagation in the laser cavity. A simple asymptotic formula is derived for the nonlinear phase slip, which is in excellent agreement with direct numerical simulations. Additionally, recent experiments using mode-locked Ti:sapphire lasers demonstrate remarkable agreement with theory. Speaker: Prof. Boze Ilan, Physics Dept.,
University of California, Merced Wednesday April19, 2006 Topic: Why Do We Fight? A Game Theoretic Analysis ABSTRACT: Fighting is endemic to our
world. Animals fight primarily for food, mates, or territory. Humans,
tribes, gangs, and nation-states fight for endless reasons over anything
ranging from the possession of a valued asset to the setting of social
norms. But why would rational actors fight when they could negotiate
a settlement in peace? Bargaining under the threat or the actual imposition
of violence is a central topic of game theory that assumes rational
decision making. I will review some basic concepts of bargaining and
game theory. I will then discuss some recent advances that offer new
insights into why people and institutions prefer to fight rather than
settle peacefully.
Speaker: Jean-Pierre P. Langlois, SFSU Wednesday April 26, 2006 Topic: A proof of Sharkovsky's theorem ABSTRACT: The talk will present Sharkovsky's
remarkable theorem about periodic points of continous maps of the real
line. The theorem is particularly interesting because its proof is surprisingly
elementary. It requires nothing more than the intermediate value property
of continuous functions. Sharkovsky's intial argument was long and complicated,
but modern proofs are accessible to undergraduates and even high school
students. The talk will outline what I believe is the clearest version
of the proof so far developed. This is joint work with Boris Hasselblatt.
Speaker: Keith Burns, Northwestern University
Monday May 1, 2006 Topic: Ultrashort-Pulsed Solitons and the Revolution of Optical Clocks Abstract:In the colloquium, I will set the stage for a discussion of a subset of fundamental-symmetry tests using the methods of atomic, molecular, and optical physics carried out by our group, including: 1. Measurement of parity violation in atomic ytterbium 2. Exploratory work towards a condensed-matter experiment searching for a parity- and time-reversal-violating nuclear Schiff moment 3. Search for temporal variation of the fine-structure "constant" with radio-frequency transitions in atomic dysprosium 4. Search for a small violation of Bose-Einstein statistics for photons in two-photon transitions in atomic barium Speaker: Prof. Dmitry Budker, Physics
Dept., Univ. of California, Berkeley
Wednesday May 10, 2006 Topic: Modeling the Pheromone Signaling System in Yeast Speaker: Joyce Macabea, UC Berkeley Monday May 15, 2006 Topic: The Cosmic Landscape: String Theory and the Illusion of Intelligent Design Abstract:Widely recognized as the father of string theory, Leonard Susskind will discuss his book - "The Cosmic Landscape: String Theory and the Illusion of Intelligent Design " (Little, Brown, & Co., 2006), which aims to reinvent our concept of the known universe and man's unique place within it. The beginning of the 21st century is a watershed in modern science, a time that will forever change our understanding of the universe, Dr. Susskind contends. Susskind introduced the revolutionary concept of string theory to the world of physical science. In doing so, he inspired a generation of physicists who believed that the theory would uniquely predict the properties of our universe. Now, Susskind argues that the very idea of such an "elegant theory" no longer suits our understanding of the universe, and that our narrow 20th-century view of a unique universe will have to give way to the much broader concept of a gigantic cosmic landscape: a megaverse, pregnant with new possibilities. (The book is available at the SFSU Bookstore, and Dr. Susskind will likely be willing to autograph.). Speaker: Dr. Leonard Susskind, Physics
Dept., Stanford University
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