Other Events, 2007
 
65th Compton Lectures: Elizabeth Hays, "The Quest for Gamma Rays: Exploring the Most Violent Places in the Universe"
March 24 - June 2, 2007 | 11:00 AM | Room 106, Kersten Physics Teaching Center
Nine free lectures at the University of Chicago will explore how black holes, remnants of exploded stars and other exotic celestial objects emit streams of powerful gamma rays.

Related Links:
KICP Members: Elizabeth Hays

 
SPT Analysis Working Group Meeting
May 14 - 16, 2007 | LASR 152


Related Links:
KICP Members: John E. Carlstrom
Scientific projects: South Pole Telescope (SPT)

 
SPT Full Collaboration Meeting
May 17 - 18, 2007 | LASR 152


Related Links:
KICP Members: John E. Carlstrom
Scientific projects: South Pole Telescope (SPT)

 
Cafe Scientifique: Mark Osadjan, "Is it in the Genes or Just the Jeans? The Biology of Gender"
June 18, 2007 | 7:00 PM | The Map Room 1949 N. Hoyne
Do we learn to be male/female, or are we programmed that way? Anatomical differences are obvious, but an increasing body of research also shows that the sexes think differently, perceive pain differently, and even encode memories differently. In the next Cafe Scientifique we will discuss the biology of the sexes, from genes to behavior and beyond. We will explore what research says about how these distinctions arise from the moment of conception on. Is it just an X or Y chromosome? Who is smarter? More emotional? How does attraction work? Is there a gay gene? What about hermaphrodites? Should men worry about plastics in landfills? Join us to see what science says about these questions and more.

 
SPT Collaboration Meeting
July 5 - 6, 2007 | 1:30 PM | LASR 152


Related Links:
KICP Members: John E. Carlstrom
Scientific projects: South Pole Telescope (SPT)

 
Big Bang Smackdown
September 24, 2007 | 12:00 PM | AAC 123
WHEREAS we already have too many seminars, journal clubs, and such
WHEREAS adding another will be in the noise
LET IT BE RESOLVED that there should be a weekly
*** BIG BANG SMACKDOWN ***
Organizational meeting at High-Noon, Monday, September 24, in AAC 123.

If you are interested in early-universe cosmology, the SMACKDOWN is for you!!! Even observers are welcome.
Spread the word.

Rocky Kolb

Related Links:
KICP Members: Edward W. Kolb

 
Cafe Scientifique: Jake Socha, "How Flying Snakes Fly a.k.a. Functional Morphology & Biomechanics"
October 29, 2007 | 7:00 PM | The Map Room: 1949 N. Hoyne, Chicago
Picture: Cafe Scientifique: Jake Socha, How Flying Snakes Fly a.k.a. Functional Morphology & Biomechanics
Online Materials (PDF)

Think about animals that are least likely to be able to fly, and the phrase "when pigs fly" may come to mind. Snakes seem equally unlikely to take to the sky, but that's just what one group of specialized snakes is able to do. Technically, flying snakes glide and can't fly upward, but it's amazing just the same. We'll discuss the science of how they do it and the struggles of research involved in trying to make stubborn animals perform. See videos in advance at http://www.flyingsnake.org/