OSU prepares to celebrate research

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

Oklahoma State University prepares to celebrate research with activities focused on science and the arts the week of Feb. 20-24, 2006.

The event, officially proclaimed by Gov. Brad Henry as OSU Research Week, is sponsored by the Office of the Vice President for Research and Technology Transfer at OSU. The public is welcome to attend and all events are free (unless otherwise stated).

Monday, Feb. 20

Dr. John Mowen, Regents Professor in OSU’s Department of Marketing, kicks off the week by delving into the complicated relationship between science and society and an anti-science movement that Mowen believes could render researchers irrelevant.

Mowen proposes that researchers take a proactive role in communicating their findings to the public through a new “Center” created to communicate with passion and clarity the importance of science, research and technology for all humanity.

Professor Eve Levin, University of Kansas, an internationally renowned scholar of medieval and early modern Russia and Eastern Europe, will explore the clash of cultures when new Western medicine was imported into Russia. Western-style medicine practiced exclusively by men, primarily for men, took hold in the early 18th century, creating hostility to folk healing or ‘witchcraft’ and spiritual healing or ‘superstition.’ Levin’s talk is part of the Tornado Alley Russian History Lecture series funded by the Fae Rawdon Norris Endowment’s Fund for the Humanities.

Tuesday, Feb. 21

Dr. Rafael Fierro, Brent Perteet and James McClintock, OSU’s School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, will demonstrate three robotic games — Marco Polo, Hide and Seek, and Search and Rescue — designed for Native American children between the ages of 6 and 10. The project uses robotics games to encourage underrepresented cultural groups to consider engineering as a career. Research shows that undergraduate enrollment in engineering has dropped steadily since the 1950s, a trend that could dramatically reduce scientific innovation and expansion in this country.

Wednesday, Feb. 22

Dr. Roland Fryer, Harvard economist and rising star in the academic world, examines the condition of Black America and the racial achievement gap in education. Fryer is considered one of the country’s best young economists today, but his personal passion for better understanding the underlying causes of the achievement gap comes from having survived a challenging and tumultuous childhood. The following lecture and reception are part of the OSU Research Symposium on Feb. 22-24.

Thursday, Feb. 23

Pulitzer-Prize winning author Jared Diamond will look at past societies and discuss the more recent belief that their collapses were partly due to environmental problems, much like those experienced today. Easter Island, the Anasazi, the Lowland Maya, Angkor Wat and Great Zimbabwe are all victims. Other societies, though, did not collapse, and self-inflicted environmental damage inevitably interacts with climate change and relations with friendly and hostile neighbors.

What makes certain societies especially vulnerable? Why didn’t their leaders perceive and solve their environmental problems? What can we learn from their fates, and what can we do differently today to avoid collapse? A book signing follows the presentation, which begins at 7 p.m. in the Click Alumni Hall at the OSU Alumni Center.

Friday, Feb. 24

The OSU Center for Health Sciences research symposium showcases the translational research at OSU-CHS. Over 40 presentations will highlight work performed by the Center for Integrative Neuroscience and the Center for Biomedical Sensors and Integrative Diagnostics. Dr. Rosemarie Booze will give the keynote address on “Neurobiology of HIV Dementia and Substance Abuse,” followed by a panel discussion of her work with particular emphasis on women’s health and substance abuse.

Many more activities are scheduled throughout the week. Refer to the schedule for times and room numbers and visit the website for speaker information and descriptions of all activities planned during the week.