Past Topics 2006
February 22 - Human Embryonic Stem Cells
Veit Bergendahl, assistant scientist, Genomics Center of Wisconsin
March 15 - Antibiotic Resistance and the Search for New Drugs
Bryan Glaser, researcher in the McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research
March 22 - Behavior Research on Promoting Fruits and Vegetables to Young Adults
Susan Nitzke, professor in Nutritional Sciences
April 5 - University Campuses: Battlegrounds in the Culture Wars?
Solon Simmons, an advanced graduate student in Sociology
April 19 - Influenza: A Perennial Epidemic and A Potential Pandemic
Dr. Peter Shult, State Laboratory of Hygiene
April 26 - DNA Microarrays as Windows into Cellular Development: Figuring Out When and Where Genes are Turned On
Sandra Splinter BonDurant, Director of the Gene Expression Center
May 3 - “Exploring the Molecular World: Keys to Understanding the Avian Flu”
Tim Herman and Alan Wolf, MSOE
June 14 - "A Tribute to General Science:" The Washburn Observatory, 1876-1958
Peter Susalla, History of Science
June 21 - “New Green Revolution:" Recent Advances in Plant Genetic Analysis and Biotechnology
Juan Zalapa, Department of Forestry/Horticulture
June 28 - Age Landscapes of Wisconsin: A Geological Perspective Ice
Thomas Hooyer, Geology and Geophysics
July 12 - Advanced Powered Wheelchair Systems
Jay Martin, Mechanical Engineering and Communicative Disorders
July 19 - Promoting a Healthy Heart and Decreasing Stress Through Mind-Body Techniques
Shilagh A. Mirgain, PhD, clinical psychologist/clinical assistant professor, Department of Orthopedics and Rehabilitation
July 26 – Proteins and Protein-Like Molecules: Extrapolating from Nature
Samuel H. Gellman, Department of Chemistry
August 2 – Wisconsin Biofuels Initiatives -- Growing Alternatives for Wisconsin
Maria Redmond, Alternative Fuels Policy Analyst, Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
August 9 – The UW Zero-Gravity Team: Experiments Onboard NASA's Flying
Ben Longmier, Engineering Physics
August 23 – Africa's Giant Eye: the Southern African Large Telescope
Linda Sparke, professor of Astronomy
August 30 - MRI: Magnetic Resonance Imaging or Might Really be Injured
Walter Block, PhD, Biomedical Engineering
September 6 - Producing Industrial Enzymes in Transgenic Alfalfa
Tom Ziegelhoffer, PhD, associate researcher, UW Biotechnology Center
September 13 - Making child care better: Testing a state government policy with field research
Dave Riley, associate dean and professor, Human Development and Family Studies, SoHE
September 20 - Toward an Environmentally Friendly Chemical Industry: Selective Chemical Oxidation with Molecular Oxygen
Shannon Stahl, associate professor, Department of Chemistry
September 27 - Mercury in the Environment: Local issues, Global Concern
James P. Hurley, assistant director, UW Sea Grant Institute
October 4 - Construction with Composites: Building Bridges with Fibers
Lawrence Bank, professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering
October 11 - Seeking and Creating Ways to Connect Public to Research
John Durant, director, MIT Museum, MIT
October 18 - Ethical Issues Arising from Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research
Robert Streiffer, associate professor, Philosophy and Bioethics
November 1 - Putting Microbes to Work
Katherine McMahon, associate professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering
November 8 - Ants, Agriculture, and Antibiotics
Cameron Currie, assistant professor, Department of Bacteriology and Zoology
November 15 - From conception to birth: unraveling the role of the immune system in pregnancy
Julie Kessel, assistant professor, Pediatrics, School of Medicine and Public Health
November 29 - Increasing Public Understanding of Research: Reinventing a University Natural History Museum
Scott Lanyon, director, Bell Museum, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
December 13 – See for yourself: South African science education
Laurel Norris, research assistant and graduate student, Life Sciences Communication
December 20 - Festive Food Night!
JoAnne Robbins, professor, School of Medicine and director of SWAL ADE, and Rich Hartel, professor, Department of Food Science
January 3 - How Secure is Our Food Supply in the U.S.?
Brent McCown, professor of Horticulture and director of the Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems
January 10 - Traveling to Antarctica – The Life of an Antarctic Scientist
Shelley Knuth, research specialist, Space Science and Engineering Center
January 17 - Thrips transmission of Tomato spotted wilt virus: What do we know and why do we care?
Tom German, professor, Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology
January 24 - The Democratization of Cartography
Mark Harrower, assistant professor of Geography and associate director of the UW Cartography Lab
February 21 - The Nature of Liquid Water and Hydrogen Bonding
Frank Weinhold, professor, Department of Chemistry
February 28 - The Ground Beneath Your Feet: Soils and Global Change
Teri Balser, assistant professor, Department of Soil Science
March 7 - Research for Keeping Minority Students in Science
Angela Byars-Winston, assistant professor UW Department of Counseling Psychology, director, Sloan Project for Diversity in STEM Retention
Juan Zalapa, research assistant/fellow Forest Ecology and Management College of Agricultural and Life Sciences
Juan Zalapa, research assistant/fellow Forest Ecology and Management College of Agricultural and Life Sciences
March 14 - The Making of the Fittest: What the DNA Record Reveals About Evolution
Sean Carroll, professor, Department of Genetics, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences
March 28 - The UW Dairy Barn as a Cradle of the Discovery of Vitamins
Arnold Alanen, professor, CALS and the Gaylord Nelson Institute; and David Nelson, professor of Biochemistry and director of the Center for Biology Education
April 4 - Ion Propulsion and Plasma Rockets, the Future of Space Travel
Ben Longmier, research assistant, Engineering Physics
