Science Webinars

Students will make a helicopter-like Bugsocopter and experiment with factors that affect its speed in flight.

Come enjoy some mental gymnastics and fun critical thinking exercises. All you need is a sheet of paper, a ruler, scissors, pencil and your imagination.

COVID-19 is only the latest viral threat to humanity, following HIV, SARS, MERS, and flu strains like the one that caused the 1918 pandemic. Why are some viruses so deadly? How do new ones arise and spread? Can we draw from experience to defeat this one? This session puts coronaviruses in context, invoking topics in genetics, ecology, evolution, and immunology.

Global warming and its effects are in the news all the time, because scientific consensus links warming to heat waves, droughts, rising sea levels, melting glaciers, stronger hurricanes, and changes in ecosystem function. But climate change is just one way human activities affect the biosphere. Our species has become the single most important driver of global change – which is why so many scientists refer to the present time as the Anthropocene, which means (more or less) “The age of humanity.” This talk will focus on the Understanding Global Change project, which aims to create a conceptual framework to help us get a handle on this complicated and interdisciplinary phenomenon.

Imagining how kinetics applies to your everyday life seems like a monumental task. The reality is that the kinetics of chemical reactions is connected to everything in your everyday life, so it’s tough to narrow it down – but we can try! Have you ever noticed how different medications have different dose timings? Some are taken every 8 hours, some taken every 12 hours, and some medications can even be given all in one dose. The rate law, and specifically the half life of that medication, determines how often it is administered because it determines how long the medication stays in your body. This is also true for chemicals like caffeine and ethanol, where the effect of the rate law can sometimes have a dangerous outcome.

If we only consider the volume of the electrons, protons, and neutrons in your body, then your entire mass would be about the size of a small sugar cube. Your body is mostly empty space. However, everything about you seems pretty solid. When you lean against a wall, you don’t fall through the wall. Why can’t you walk through walls? We’ll explore this surprisingly complex question that crosses both chemistry and physics.

Being a scientist is an exciting profession. The opportunity to investigate and discover the inner workings of the universe provides a deep reward that cannot be put into words. However, for many scientists, what we learn about our many connections to the world, to all living organisms, to the whole planet, to our whole galaxy, also provides an increased sense of purpose. The sense of awe and wonder at the intricacies and complexities of our very existence give many scientists a deep sense of gratitude and empathy with all other forms of life, and deep understanding of our place in the universe that even goes as far as to provide a sense of the meaning of life.

More than 160 years have passed since Charles Darwin published his theory of Evolution by Natural Selection. He wrote his book

Did you know that your teeth dissolve in your mouth? It’s not pleasant to think about, but demineralization (dissolving) and remineralization (precipitation) are ongoing processes that have a big impact on oral health. The combination of chemicals in toothpaste are chosen to not only clean teeth but also to protect them from the demineralization process by making them less soluble. Come learn about how solubility equilibria and Le Châtelier’s Principle play a role in keeping your teeth intact.