Category: Presentations and Talks

The Department of Biological Sciences invites campus to its next departmental seminar at 4 p.m. Monday, Sept. 30 in 218 Hubbard Hall with guest speaker Dr. Matt Wilkins, CEO of Galactic Polymath, on “Societal Impacts: How to win grants, do outreach, and connect science to the unengaged”

Abstract:

It has never been more essential for scientists to connect their work to the public in meaningful ways — particularly those funded by NSF, with Broader Impacts requirements. In recent years, we have seen an upsurge in disinformation, and sophisticated efforts to undermine science, just as the planet faces myriad human-caused threats such as climate change, plastic pollution and the extinction crisis. Yet it has never been harder to reach audiences that aren’t already connected to STEM.

Over more than 15 years of concerted outreach effort, I have encountered these challenges firsthand — from writing blogs in graduate school, to starting and running a scicomm conference and Nerd Nite chapter as a postdoc, to teaching middle school in Nashville, and finally founding Galactic Polymath Education Studio (GP) — to facilitate the flow of knowledge and diverse perspectives from academia to K-12.

GP helps researchers perform outreach on funded projects with the power of a professional team backing them, and win grants by having stellar Broader Impacts proposals. GP specializes in translating current research into mind-expanding, open-access lessons and videos aimed at middle and high school classrooms. Since founding GP in the depths of the pandemic with my own savings, we have been part of 14 funded grant proposals, leading to the production and release of 12 educational units comprising 41 lessons, 55 videos, three web apps and two card games. Topics range from chemical engineering to photonics to conservation to ethnobotany.

In this talk I will highlight specific strategies and outstanding challenges for funding, performing and measuring outreach impact. I will also invite you to share some of your experiences and (hopefully) leave you feeling empowered to take action. We live in a time when mobilizing academic knowledge and growing public STEM engagement is absolutely vital, and our individual impacts will be magnified by working together.

Wilkins bio:

Matt is an evolutionary biologist who has won multiple awards for science communication, including the “Impact Goals Award” from NSF’s Center for Advancing Research Impact in Society. He taught middle school in Nashville, Tennessee for over 4 years and used this firsthand experience to found Galactic Polymath Education Studio (GP).

Join physics for the next Physics Seminar at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 2 in 226 Jabara Hall featuring Dr. Dmytro Bozhko from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. There will be cookies and coffee at 1:30 p.m. in 030 Jabara Hall prior to the seminar.

The title of Bozhko’s talk will be “Nonlinear Effects in Magnetic Systems: From Nano to Macro Scales.” The National Science Foundation (CAREER, DMR-2338060) and the Department of Energy (FAIR, DE-SC0024400) fund his experimental studies in the areas of linear, nonlinear and quantum magnonics.

The Physics Seminar Series brings speakers to campus several times each semester and is funded by the Eddy and April Lucas Fund.

Please join mathematics and statistics for a public lecture by Brett Kotschwar from Arizona State University. The lecture, titled “Noncompact shrinking Ricci solitons and their asymptotic geometry” will take place at 3 p.m. Friday, Oct. 4 in 372 Jabara Hall.

Refreshments will be available at 2:30 p.m. in 353 Jabara Hall.

The Barton School of Business is thrilled to welcome Byron Knight, president of Koch Disruptive Technologies, as its distinguished keynote speaker. This exciting fireside chat, titled “Harnessing Disruption: Pioneering the Future of Innovation and Growth in the Business World,” will take place from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 23 in 110 Woolsey Hall, Frank A. Boettger Auditorium. The event is open to the public and will include a networking opportunity for attendees afterward.

“Under Byron Knight’s visionary leadership, Koch Disruptive Technologies is at the forefront of investing in groundbreaking innovations that are reshaping industries globally,” said Dr. Larisa Genin, dean of the Barton School of Business. “Hearing Byron share his insights on current investments and future industry trends will provide invaluable knowledge for anyone interested in business and the evolving landscape of innovation.”

Come hear from experts about the different ways that AI can impact our electoral system at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 26 in 209 Hubbard Hall. The panel consists of Dr. Alexandra Middlewood, associate professor of political science and department chair; Dr. Shruti Kshirsager, association professor of computer science; and Dr. Justin Keeler, clinical associate professor in business analytics.

Join Campus Recreation in welcoming NCAA/NJCCA sport official and Wichita State alumnus, John Blazek, as he shares how to make officiating a lucrative business and where it can take you. All are welcome to hear him speak at 11 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 26 in 218 Hubbard Hall.

Blazek will talk about how officiating is a business, not a hobby, and is centered around people, and how Shockers can start officiating now through WSU intramural sports.

Blazek, who was the starting LB and 1975-76 MVP for the Shockers, is also the supervisor of officials for the D1, D2 National Junior College Basketball Tournament; current NCAA DII National coordinator and NJCAA National official consultant; and the former KCAC and KJCCC men’s basketball supervisor of officials.

Join the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry for its next weekly colloquium, which takes place every Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. in 224 McKinley Hall. This week, it is honored to host Thomas Szyperski, professor from the University at Buffalo, who will present a seminar titled “Energy Landscapes of Designed Cold Unfolding 4-Helix Bundles (DCUBs): Tackling the Uncharted Territory of Low Energy / Low Entropy Protein States and their Transitions.”

The Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce is discussing mental wellness in the workplace with a presentation from Dr. Jessica Provines, WSU’s chief psychologist. at 8 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 25 in the Crown Uptown Theatre.

Participants will discover how to improve workplace mental wellness through strategic approaches and simple exercises. They’ll also learn about Suspenders4Hope resources for supporting mental health in their organizations.

Join Campus Recreation in welcoming NCAA/NJCCA sport official and Wichita State alumnus, John Blazek, as he shares how to make officiating a lucrative business and where it can take you. All are welcome to hear him speak at 11 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 26 in 218 Hubbard Hall.

Blazek will talk about how officiating is a business, not a hobby, and is centered around people, and how Shockers can start officiating now through WSU intramural sports.

Blazek, who was the starting LB and 1975-76 MVP for the Shockers, is also the supervisor of officials for the D1, D2 National Junior College Basketball Tournament; current NCAA DII National coordinator and NJCAA National official consultant; and the former KCAC and KJCCC men’s basketball supervisor of officials.

Join the Department of Mathematics and Statistics and the Department of Mechanical Engineering for a seminar at 3 p.m. Friday, Sept. 20 in 211 Engineering Building. The seminar features Anne Dowling, Wichita State alumna and current Ph.D. candidate at the University of Notre Dame, speaking on “Tides: A Unique Contributor to the Fog Lifecycle.”

Marine sea fog is defined as regions of suspended water droplets over shallow oceans away from coastal influence that reduce the visibility to less than one kilometer. Even though highly prevalent and extensively researched, it remains an enigma to scientists and subsequently is difficult to predict with weather models. To that end, the Fog and Turbulence Interactions in the Marine Atmosphere (FATIMA) Project launched two field campaigns: the Grand Banks off the coast of Novia Scotia (FATIMA-GB) and the Yellow Sea off the coast of South Korea (FATIMA-YS). During FATIMAYS (June 20 to July 9, 2023) there was a long-lasting fog event from 9:21 p.m., UTC, July 2 to 11:04 p.m. UTC July 03. The seminar will focus not only on the atmospheric conditions that allowed for fog formation of this event, but also the contribution of tidal activity through turbulent mixing. It will also shine a light on how mechanical engineering and similar disciplines can provide a foundation for studying the world around us.