1/8/2024 --- "US Education Is in Trouble, Let's Fix It! 22 Reform Proposals" Speaker: Richard W. Garrett (Email: rwgarrett@aol.com) Sponsored By: Self (ID: 1874)This is Dick Garrett's 2nd book on educational reform. The above title was released by publisher Rowman and Littlefield in Aug., 2023. The contents of the book will be introduced in an easy-take 20 minute video produced by book publicist BookTrib. Upon the completion of the video, the balance of the time will be spent answering questions. Mr. Garrett will emphasize the short list of items that should lead the reform parade. (Log In to view our Scribe's Summary of the Presentation.) 1/15/2024 --- Prevention of Gun Violence Speaker: Jon T. Macy (Email: jtmacy@indiana.edu) Sponsored By: M.P. Meisenheimer (ID: 1872)The speaker will review the problems of gun suicide and homicide and discuss his current research in this field. (Log In to view our Scribe's Summary of the Presentation.) 1/22/2024 --- The Silk Road Speaker: William H. Dick (Email: whdick42@tds.net) Sponsored By: William H. Dick (ID: 1866)Nearly all of us know about the Silk Road. But where was it? When did it exist and for how long? This presentation will explain where the Silk Road was, and what was traded on the Road. Plus - there was a surprise visitor in the Road. (Log In to view our Scribe's Summary of the Presentation.) 1/29/2024 --- Building the Pyramids of Giza Speaker: Don Knebel (Email: knebeldonald@gmail.com) Sponsored By: Don Knebel (ID: 1883)Having recently returned from my second trip to Egypt, I will talk about the history of the Pyramids of Giza, including the religious beliefs that motivated their construction. I will look at how they were built and by whom. The talk will include numerous photographs, many of which I have taken. (Log In to view our Scribe's Summary of the Presentation.) 2/5/2024 --- Money, Cryptocurrencies and Blockchain Technology Speaker: Rick Whitener (Email: RWHITENER17@GMAIL.COM) Sponsored By: Rick Whitener (ID: 1885)The talk will cover the role of money in the economic system and how cryptocurrencies are attempting to play a similar role. Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies rely on the relatively new blockchain technology which has the potential to be used in other ways. The talk will cover the basics of this technology and recent news about blockchain. The talk will be half economics and half technology. (Log In to view our Scribe's Summary of the Presentation.) 2/12/2024 --- Neurology Cases of US Presidents-Part 2 Speaker: Robert Pascuzzi MD (Email: rpascuzz@iupui.edu) Sponsored By: Karen Bumb (ID: 1876)As a sequel to Dr. Pascuzzi's presentation in November, he will continue to tell about more US presidents who experienced neurological illness. It is the story of the impact that these disorders can have not only on the presidents as patients but also on our country. Lincoln, Nixon and more...... (Log In to view our Scribe's Summary of the Presentation.) 2/19/2024 --- John Locke - Philosopher and Physician Speaker: Richard Gunderman (Email: rbgunder@IU.edu) Sponsored By: Rick Whitener (ID: 1873)John Locke is well known as the principal philosophical inspiration for the US Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, but far fewer people know that he was a physician and practiced medicine most of his adult life. In fact, many of Locke's great ideas can be traced to his experiences caring for patients, and they have great relevance and even urgency for contemporary medicine and biomedical science. (Log In to view our Scribe's Summary of the Presentation.) 2/26/2024 --- Latest developments in Alzheimer's disease research. Speaker: Sophia Wang (Email: sophwang@iupui.edu) Sponsored By: Russell Judd (ID: 1875)The speaker will cover advances in modifying drugs to combat the disease including lecanemab. She will cover underlining mechanisms and indications as to who might benefit from these drugs as well as their risks. The talk will include discussion about caregiver burdens, neuropsychiatric symptoms, and behavior management.
She will also discuss the DICE Approach, a systematic method for understanding, assessing and managing behavioral and psychological symptoms in dimentia. DICE stands for Describe, Investigate, Create, Evaluate. (Log In to view our Scribe's Summary of the Presentation.) 3/4/2024 --- Gene Stratton-Porter: Indiana author, amateur naturalist, feminist, and conservationist Speaker: Philip M Coons, MD (Email: pcoons@iupui.edu) Sponsored By: Linda Karwisch (ID: 1884)This proposed talk is a PowerPoint presentation about the life of Indiana author Gene Stratton-Porter. It traces her life from her formative years on a farm in Wabash County, Indiana, to her two homes in Geneva and Rome City, Indiana, and finally her California years near Los Angeles, California where she was tragically killed in a streetcar accident. The talk is richly illustrated with pictures of Gene, her two homes in Indiana, and her wildlife photography. (Log In to view our Scribe's Summary of the Presentation.) 3/11/2024 --- Solar Eclipse Do's and Don'ts Speaker: Fritz Kleinhans (Email: fkleinha@IU.edu) Sponsored By: Fritz Kleinhans (ID: 1879)Total Solar Eclipses are awesome. There is one coming up on April 8th, 2024, crossing Indiana and the US from Texas to Maine. Any fool can look up, gawk, and be totally amazed by a total solar eclipse. However,a great many phenomena occur in a short period of time; eerie light and colors, planets and stars, temperatures and wildlife, shadow cone, shadow bands, pin hole crescents, Baily's Beads, diamond ring effect, chromosphere, prominences, corona, coronal streamers, crowd ambiance, etc. To catch as many of these phenomena as possible, careful advanced planning is very beneficial. He will also talk briefly about photography. (Log In to view our Scribe's Summary of the Presentation.) 3/18/2024 --- The Science of Museology (Museum Studies) Speaker: Katie Haigh Sponsored By: Benny Ko (ID: 1880)Brief description: Dating back to the 16th century, the science of museology (museum studies) includes the theoretical and practical methods for curating and caring for collections. Kathryn Haigh, President and CEO of the Eiteljorg Museum, has worked in fine art museums for 29 years and will delve into the science of caring for and preserving works of art in small and large museums. She will walk through the process of acquiring a work of art, including the research, analysis and legal and ethical issues that are considered, and discuss basic preventive maintenance and conservation techniques.
(Log In to view our Scribe's Summary of the Presentation.) 3/25/2024 --- News from the Indiana Aviation Hall of Fame Speaker: David Newell (Email: dnewill@inahof.org) Sponsored By: Rick Whitener (ID: 1895)The talk will cover the progress that the INAHOF has made in the last two years in engaging youth in aviation, the upcoming exhibit at the Indianapolis Airport and some information about the 2024 inductees into the Hall of Fame.
The INAHOF in 2022 and 2023 expanded their outreach to young Indiana Aviators with Tuskegee Airmen Scholarship and University Air Race Classic Support.
The 2024 Indiana Aviation Hall of Fame Honorees are:
Joseph P. (“Joe”) Allen IV, PhD, NASA Astronaut
John D. Riddle, Maj. Gen., USAF, decorated Vietnam combat pilot and military commander
Wilbur A. ("Wil") Davis, US Navy veteran, decorated Vietnam pilot and Aviation Entrepreneur
Larry W. Gross, Purdue University Educator, Indiana’s longest-serving FAA Pilot Examiner
Worthe S. Holt, Jr., MD, Maj. Gen., USAF, Physician and Flight Surgeon, and
Edmond Soliday, US Army Veteran, Airline Pilot, System Safety Engineer and Indiana State Representative
(Log In to view our Scribe's Summary of the Presentation.) 4/1/2024 --- The Purdue Nuclear Reactor PUR-1 Speaker: True W. Miller (Email: mill1833@purdue.edu) Sponsored By: Rick Whitener (ID: 1881)PUR-1 reactor facility director, True Miller, will speak about the uses of the Purdue research nuclear reactor. He will present via Zoom. (Log In to view our Scribe's Summary of the Presentation.) 4/15/2024 --- The Great American Songbook's Perfect Harmony - music and mind Speaker: Christopher Lewis and Renee La Schiazza (Email: clewis@thesongbook.org) Sponsored By: Robert Yee (ID: 1891)The presentation will include a general overview of the work of the Great American Songbook Foundation. The organization fulfills its mission to inspire and educate by celebrating the American Songbook by curating a vast Library and archive of items representing some of our country’s greatest songwriters, lyricists, and performers; operating a multimedia exhibit gallery and traveling exhibits; overseeing the Songbook Hall of Fame; offering programs for the public and research opportunities for scholars and artists; and providing educational opportunities for student musicians, including the annual Songbook Academy summer intensive.
The presentation will focus on a core program of the Foundation, Perfect Harmony®, which provides music resources that help care partners identify appropriate generational music and activities to engage older adults in a shared music experience. Perfect Harmony is a research-based program of therapeutic musical activities designed for people living with Alzheimer’s, dementia, and other neurodegenerative diseases.
The presenters will discuss why the use of appropriate generational music can be an effective tool for engaging seniors. The presenters will discuss their work with music therapists to create and facilitate the Perfect Harmony® program and will share examples of the themed monthly resources.
Comments: This program addresses medical issues, e.g. aging and dementia, and scientific issues, e.g. music and brain.
(Log In to view our Scribe's Summary of the Presentation.) 4/22/2024 --- The Voyagers Speaker: Pat Crimans (Email: pat.crimans@gmail.com) Sponsored By: Pat Crimans (ID: 1894)Subtitle: (How European Fashion and a Rodent Helped Shape a State and Explore and Modernize the American West(. This an important but little known, or taught, story about the earliest explorers of the great American frontier. It starts in the early 1600's and was driven by a fashion trend in Europe.
The talk includes geology and natural history of the area as well as pre-USA history. (Log In to view our Scribe's Summary of the Presentation.) 4/29/2024 --- E-STEM: Meeting New Indiana Academic Standards in Science Speaker: Greg McCauley (Email: gmccauley@granduniverse.org) Sponsored By: Robert Yee (ID: 1893)CATALYST (Purdue Univ.) and Grand Universe have launched an initiative to develop research-based instructional materials for middle school classrooms to meet new Indiana academic standards in science. E-STEM utilizes the rich data-based resoources of NASA's Earth Systems Observatory. It is contextualized in real-world phenomena and uses learning science through the integration of community-engaged engineering design. (Log In to view our Scribe's Summary of the Presentation.) 5/6/2024 --- The Cure For St. Anthony's Fire. Dawn of the Antimicrobial Age. Speaker: William Dick (Email: whdick42@tds.net) Sponsored By: William Dick (ID: 1871)St. Anthony's Fire was an illness caused by Streptococcus germ. It caused a rash, fever and could be fatal. In the 11th century, no one knew the cause. In the early 1900's Sulfa was discovered. It would be until the 1930's before it was used to treat infections and save lives. More antibiotics were discovered and the things were never the same.
(Log In to view our Scribe's Summary of the Presentation.) 5/13/2024 --- TOUR--- Tour of Purdue nuclear reactor PUR-1 at West Lafayette Speaker: True Miller (Email: mill1833@purdue.edu) Sponsored By: Rick Whitener (ID: 1882)True Miller, Reactor Supervisor and N.E Radiation Laboratory coordinator has said Purdue would be happy to provide our club with a lecture and a tour of PUR-1.
The Purdue folks have made arrangements to provide tours of two other scientific labs.
We can have up to 45 people make the trip. We will split into 3 groups of 15 people to tour the PUR-1 lab and the other two labs.
Tour 1 will start at 11:00 AM. Tour 2 will start at 11:50 AM and tour 3 will start at 12:40 PM. We will end all tours at 1:30 and then go to lunch at a nearby restaurant.
The cost will be $35 per person for bus transportation there and back. We will leave from the NESC at 9:30 AM and will return around 4:00 PM. (Log In to view our Scribe's Summary of the Presentation.) 5/20/2024 --- Hidden Gems Speaker: Suzanne Stanis Sponsored By: Jeff Rasley (ID: 1900)The talk will describe the history and architecture of historic places in Indiana, as well as the challenges of building restoration. The talk will include photos of Indiana's hidden gems and Landmark projects of homes, restaurants, shops, parks, cemeteries, covered bridges, and museums. (Log In to view our Scribe's Summary of the Presentation.) 6/3/2024 --- Walt Whitman in civil war hospitals Speaker: Richard Gunderman (Email: rbgunder@iu.edu) Sponsored By: Rick Whitener (ID: 1868)Many know Walt Whitman as a great American poet.
Fellow bard Ezra Pound called him “America’s poet,”
writing “He is America,” 1 and the critic Harold
Bloom wrote, “If you are American, then Walt Whitman is
your imaginative father and mother.” United States President
Bill Clinton was in the habit of giving copies of Whitman’s
magnum opus, Leaves of Grass, to people he befriended.
However, what many people don’t know is that Whitman
spent most of the Civil War in hospitals near Washington, DC,
working as a volunteer at the bedsides of thousands of wound-
ed and sick soldiers. For this American greatest poet, life’s
deepest lessons were to be found at the bedside, a lesson that
should not be lost on physicians and patients today
(Log In to view our Scribe's Summary of the Presentation.) 6/10/2024 --- Vasectomy: A History and an Indiana Legacy Speaker: Joel Vilensky (Email: javilensky@yahoo.com) Sponsored By: Rick Whitener (ID: 1901)The talk will cover the history of this procedure which began as a means to reduce the size of the prostate in men with benign prostatic hypertrophy which proved to be ineffective. At the beginning of the 20th century, the eugenics movement led to the use of vasectomy as a procedure for sterilizing men considered unfit to reproduce. Dr. Harry Sharp lobbied for the world's first compulsory sterilization law in Indiana. He performed hundreds of forced vasectomies on prisoners at the Indiana Reformatory in Jeffersonville.
After World War II and the decline of the eugenics movements, vasectomy finally became firmly identified as an effective and safe means of birth control. Between 500,00 and 750,000 procedures are performed each year in the US, but it is still notably less prevalent than female sterilization due to the misguided notions in men that vasectomy reduces sexual ability and orgasm.
(Log In to view our Scribe's Summary of the Presentation.) 6/17/2024 --- Darwin's Dilemma: Evolution of Eyes Speaker: Robert Yee MD (Email: ryee@iu.edu) Sponsored By: Robert Yee MD (ID: 1911)Charles Darwin in his On the Origin of Species discussed the difficulty of believing that natural selection can explain the development of the variety and perfection of complex organs like eyes in the animal kingdom. The PAX6 gene found in animals from zooplankton to humans regulates eye formation and explains mutants. (Log In to view our Scribe's Summary of the Presentation.) 6/24/2024 --- Origin of the Indiana High School Basketball Tourney in Bloomington: 1911-20. Speaker: Roger Robison , MD (Email: hotdog@compuserve.com) Sponsored By: Roger Robison (ID: 1904)The Tourney was the brain-child of the I.U. Booster's Club after I.U. lost 15 of the first 18 games with Purdue. I.U. provided room & board and unique trophies for the participants. The winners were all from a 3-county "cradle" until 1919 when the Flu sent the tourney to Purdue. Bloomington HS with a center named Short & a team averaging 5'7" upset LaFayette for the title. Purdue ended up getting most of the recruits and dominating the Big Ten Championships (#26). (Log In to view our Scribe's Summary of the Presentation.) 7/8/2024 --- Will Social Media Ruin Your Health Care? Speaker: Glenn Bingle (Email: 5844gjb@comcast.net) Sponsored By: Glenn Bingle (ID: 1907)At the conclusion of the talk, the audience should understand: The differences in the definitions of health &, wellness; the molecular hypothesis of disease; the risks and benefits of social media on one’s Health!
(Log In to view our Scribe's Summary of the Presentation.) 7/15/2024 --- Habitat for Humanity - The History, the Engineering and the future. Speaker: Ted Mosey and Wes Greem (Email: tmosey@indyhabitat.org) Sponsored By: John Peer (ID: 1903)The talk will cover the mission of Habitat for Humanity, Indianapolis, and how that makes Habitat different from a typical builder. It will talk about the need that the organization is filling.
Most of the talk will describe how Habitat's method of building is different in order to accommodate volunteers and provide a high quality and durable product. (Log In to view our Scribe's Summary of the Presentation.) 7/22/2024 --- How Scientech Foundation Support has affected STEM Education at Stout Field Elementary School Speaker: Tim Wickard Brandon Gilliam (Email: tim.wickard@wayne.k12.in.us) Sponsored By: Douglas Sherow (ID: 1908)The Scientech Foundation has provided support for Stout Field Elementary school to upgrade the infrastructure for teaching STEM subjects. Mr. Wickard and Mr. Gilliam will discuss the the historical impact this support has had, how it is impacting current programming and the vision they have for the school and the district. (Log In to view our Scribe's Summary of the Presentation.) 7/29/2024 --- Teacher Industry Experiences in Indiana. Bridging the classroom with the dynamic world of industry. Speaker: Chris Edwards (Email: scientechsummer@gmail.com) Sponsored By: Jeff Rasley (ID: 1918)Chris Edwards will describe the Teacher Industry Experiences in Indiana (TIE-IN). This state funded program is open to all Indiana-licensed PK-12 teachers. He will be joined by Dr. Andrew Melin who is heading the project at the Indiana Department of Education.
This project is a direct offshoot of work done by the Scientech Foundation. (Log In to view our Scribe's Summary of the Presentation.) 8/5/2024 --- Designing and developing a world class home for chimpanzees at the Indianapolis Zoo Speaker: Sarah Edwards (Email: swarner@indyzoo.com) Sponsored By: Rick Whitener (ID: 1917)Sarah Edwards will talk about the planning, engineering, and execution involved in going from an idea to reality for the growing group of chimpanzees that now call the Indianapolis Zoo home. She will talk about the challenges of making this exhibit work for the animals, staff and visitors to the Zoo. (Log In to view our Scribe's Summary of the Presentation.) 8/12/2024 --- Cochlear Implants Speaker: Audra Shestak (Email: audraharker@gmail.com) Sponsored By: Greg Harker (ID: 1906)Modern day cochlear implants help both kids and adults with hearing loss. Let's explore the science of how it works and what we've learned from the astounding evolution of this amazing technology over the last 40 years. (Log In to view our Scribe's Summary of the Presentation.) 8/19/2024 --- Bone healing after fracture or joint replacement challenges Speaker: Dr. Janet Hock (Email: jhock@jhock.com) Sponsored By: jhock@jhock.com (ID: 1902)Overview of bone biology, osteoporosis pathology and bone repair after fracture or joint replacement therapy. Overview of what patients can do to help themselves and how to think about available therapies. (Log In to view our Scribe's Summary of the Presentation.) 8/26/2024 --- Oak forest regeneration studies at CILT preserves in Indiana. Speaker: Cliff Chapman (Email: cchapman@conservingindiana.org) Sponsored By: Christopher Moore (ID: 1912)The Central Indiana Land Trust (CILT) manages twenty-two (22) land preserves in central Indiana. With the acquisition of each preserve, CILT develops a conservation program to enhance and protect each preserves natural features.
Many times one of the preserve objectives is to convert existing farm fields to oak forests. CILT president & CEO Cliff Chapman will review CILT scientific studies aimed at regenerating oak forests at many of the CILT properties as improved habitat for animals, birds, insects, and the preserves bio diversity.
(Log In to view our Scribe's Summary of the Presentation.) 9/9/2024 --- 2023 Nobel Prizes in Physics and Chemistry Speaker: Alan Schmidt and Philip Sowders (Email: alan.schmidt@att.net) Sponsored By: Rick Whitener (ID: 1898)Dr. Alan Schmidt will present the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2023 awarded to Moungi Bawendi, Louis Brus, and Aleksey Yekimov for the discovery and synthesis of quantum dots. Ekimov and Brus suceeded in creating quantum dots, and Bawendi revolutionized the chemical production. Quantum dots now illuminate computer monitors and television screens based on QLED technology.
Philip Sowders will present the Nobel Prize in Physics 2023 for flashes of light short enough to take snapshots of electrons' extremely rapid movements. Anne L'Huillier discovered a new effect from laser light's interaction with atoms in a gas. Pierre Agostini and Ferenc Krausz demonstrated that this effect can be used to create shorter pulses of light than were previously possible.
(Log In to view our Scribe's Summary of the Presentation.) 9/16/2024 --- Nobel Prize winners for 2023 in Physiology or Medicine and in Economic Sciences Speaker: Glenn Bingle and Ruth Schmidt Sponsored By: Rick Whitener (ID: 1897)Ruth Schmidt will cover the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences. The prize was awarded to Claudia Goldin “for having advanced our understanding of women’s labour market outcomes”.
Glenn Bingle will cover the Noble Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine “for their discoveries concerning nucleoside base modifications that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19”.
(Log In to view our Scribe's Summary of the Presentation.) 9/23/2024 --- Current Alzheimer research Speaker: Sophia Wang.Anglina Polsinelli (Email: Sophwang@iupui.edu) Sponsored By: Russell Judd (ID: 1892)Caregivers` challenges. Various lines of research and their results. (Log In to view our Scribe's Summary of the Presentation.) 9/30/2024 --- History of American Sign Language Speaker: Glen Carlstrand (Email: carlstrandgs@gmail.com) Sponsored By: Linda Karwisch (ID: 1909)The history of American Sign Language will be explored: what country created it first, and where did it stem from, who created it, who decided the characters to be used, and are there other sign languages used.
How long is the program to become a certified sign language interpreter.
(Log In to view our Scribe's Summary of the Presentation.) 10/7/2024 --- The Indiana Mesonet Speaker: Dr Beth Hall (Email: hall556@purdue.edu) Sponsored By: Don Cummings (ID: 1910)The Indiana Mesonet is a collaboration between the Purdue Mesonet (Indiana State Climate Office) and the Indiana Water Balance Network (at IU). These combined sensing networks, when expanded with new installations, will support more accurate and more local weather, water, and soil data for decision-making, forecasting, and research by clients as varied as the public, farmers, event organizers, researchers, recreational facility managers, utilities, and educators.
(Log In to view our Scribe's Summary of the Presentation.) 10/14/2024 --- La Brea Tar Pits: “The World’s Only Ongoing Urban Ice Age Excavations" Speaker: James Lowery (Email: JLowery2@gmail.com) Sponsored By: Dr. Alan Dale Schmidt (ID: 1878)This presentation will describe the La Brea Tar Pits and the George C. Page Museum located in an urban public park in Los Angeles. The presenter visited the tar pits in May 2014 and again in May 2017. The second visit included a “behind the scenes” tour including the processing lab and the active excavations. The presentation also will include information about the many types of Ice Age fossils that have been and continue to be extracted from the active asphalt formations and seeps in the park. There have been over 3.5 million fossils collected from the tar pits that are in the Page Museum collection. Views will be included of the representative fossils on display inside the museum. (Log In to view our Scribe's Summary of the Presentation.) 10/21/2024 --- Environmental disaster in the nation’s heartland: Tar Creek and the ghost town of Picher Oklahoma. Speaker: Robert Horn Sponsored By: Ruth Schmidt (ID: 1919)Picher, Oklahoma is often referred to as the most toxic town in America and it is a 21st century ghost town. It is the site of one of the largest EPA superfund sites in the country due to decades of lead and zinc mining that has left the land unstable and contaminated the soil and ground water. The government bought out all the homeowners because it was cheaper than trying to clean up the area. All that remains are empty buildings and huge chat piles. This talk will cover the history of mining in the area, how it became so contaminated, as well as what is being done to clean up the area. (Log In to view our Scribe's Summary of the Presentation.) 10/28/2024 --- Restoring and Enhancing the White River Speaker: Scott Salmon (Email: scott@friendsofwhiteriver.org) Sponsored By: Christopher Moore (ID: 1921)This presentation will be an overview of the natural and human history of the White River, the Great Flood of 1913, the ecological impacts and public safety hazards of low-head dams, the 1999 White River fish kill and subsequent restoration, current water pollution threats such as erosion and combined sewer overflows, and ongoing restoration projects including the Dig Indy tunnel and Emrichsville Dam removal. (Log In to view our Scribe's Summary of the Presentation.) 11/4/2024 --- Invasive Plants in Indiana - The Harm and The Response Speaker: Laura Graf (Email: landscapesbylaura1@gmail.com) Sponsored By: Judy Weitzman (ID: 1870)Laura is a very talented landscape artist and horitculturist. She is passionate about the very real harm caused by invasive plants in Indiana.
Laura is teaching me how to identify invaders and how to effectively eliminate them. I learn something from her every time we meet. (Log In to view our Scribe's Summary of the Presentation.) 11/11/2024 --- There's More To Vision Than Meets The Eye: Visual Agnosia Speaker: Robert Yee MD (Email: ryee@iu.edu) Sponsored By: Robert Yee MD (ID: 1915)The human eye and brain's visual system do not function like a camera, as is commonly believed. In the retina, viewed images stimulate light-sensitive cells (rods and cones) and help brain cells in the first parts of visual system to break down the seen image into light/dark contrasts at different spatial frequencies, and detect edges and orientation of lines. Beyond these basic visual brain regions, other higher-order areas respond to motion, color, faces, objects and text/numbers. Injury to these latter areas, from strokes, infections or dementia, produce selective deficits (visual agnosias) for identifying and detecting particular image features - such as not being able to perceive or recognize faces (prosopagnosia). The many different types of visual agnosias demonstrate the intricate and complex arrangement of brain functions in the so-called "association areas" of the visual system. (Log In to view our Scribe's Summary of the Presentation.) 11/18/2024 --- Seeing Your Way Around The Brain: Brain Mapping Speaker: Aina Puce PhD (Email: ainapuce@indiana.edu) Sponsored By: Robert Yee MD (ID: 1916)The human brain's visual system is a mosaic of brain regions with different specializations, which can manifest as selective visual deficits in focal brain injury. Non-invasive brain mapping methods can study these specialized brain regions in detail in healthy people and patients alike. It is possible to measure changes in focal brain blood flow [functional MRI] and magnetic fields or electrical activity at the scalp surface[magnetoencephalography and electroencephalography]. Electrical activity may also be recorded invasively from inside the brains of neurosurgical patients. Studying the functions of the brain's "grey matter" are only part of the story: the information carrying pathways formed by the brain's "white matter" help ferry the grey matter's communications to other parts of the brain. I will present examples from all of these methods to discuss how our brains make sense of the face and body movements of others. (Log In to view our Scribe's Summary of the Presentation.) 12/2/2024 --- Inside the Bird Brain: Training Birds of Prey Speaker: Donna Riner (Email: Donna.Riner@Indy.Gov) Sponsored By: Karen Bumb (ID: 1913)Join Donna Riner, for a presentation about her experience attending Avian Behavior International's Bird of Prey Workshop in Escondido, California. During this presentation you will get an inside look at how avian behavior science and progressive training techniques from this experience are applied at the Ornithology Center within their raptor ambassador program.
(Log In to view our Scribe's Summary of the Presentation.) 12/9/2024 --- Annual Meeting and Update on the Scientech Foundation Speaker: Andy Ratermann, Jeff Rasley, and Doug Gettelfinger Sponsored By: Rick Whitener (ID: 1896)The annual meeting will be held to elect officers for 2025. This meeting is required by the bylaws of our club. After the elections, Jeff Rasley will give an update on the activities of the Scientech Foundation. Doug Gettelfinger will give an update on the Foundations first full year as a public charity. (Log In to view our Scribe's Summary of the Presentation.) |