The next Science Lecture Series will be during the Spring 2011 semester. For more information visti: http://www.saddleback.edu/mse/lectures2011.html

Friday,
April 16th

10:30am
to noon
in SM313

Series Finale

Professor Karen Christman, Ph.D., UC San Francisco, 2003
University of California in San Diego, Associate Professor
Bioengineering Department at the Jacob's School of Engineering
Will speak on: "Healing the Heart with Biomaterials"
The Christman lab is interested in multi-scale, interdisciplinary approaches for regenerative medicine and biomaterials, with a main focus on the treatment of myocardial infarction and heart failure. Current projects include the development of biomaterials for preventing heart failure following a myocardial infarction, injectable polymers for in situ regeneration of the myocardium, and multi-scale surface patterning for directing cell differentiation. Projects involve a variety of approaches and tools including polymer chemistry, stem cells, nanotechnology, mechanics, cell biology, and imaging.

Friday,
April 9th

10:30am
to noon
in SM313

Michael Shermer, Ph.D., Claremont Graduate University, 1991
Claremont Graduate University, Adjunct Professor
Founding Publisher of Skeptic magazine, the Executive Director of the Skeptics Society, a monthly columnist for Scientific American, and host of the Skeptics Distinguished Science Lecture Series at Caltech.
Author: The Mind of the Market, Why Darwin Matters, The Secrets of Mental Math, and many more.
Will speak on: "Why Darwin Matters". The Bayard Brattstrom Lecture.
www.michaelshermer.com/

Friday,
March 5th

10:30am
to noon
in SM313

Professor Marc Madou, Ph.D., Rijksuniversiteit, Belgium, 1978
University of California in Irvine, Chancellor's Professor
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Author: Fundamentals of Microfabrication and Nanotechnology
Will speak on: "Biomimetics in Engineering"
Biomimetics is the study of how nature, through eons of time, has developed materials, structures, and processes to inspire and improve the design of artificial materials and man-made structures. Throughout history, biomimetics has been attempted but often with less-than-satisfactory results. For example, aircrafts were not designed by observing bird flight, but rather through mathematical expressions from aerodynamics. As a consequence, from the middle of the eighteenth century to about 30 years ago, engineers were tempted to engineer around nature’s obstacles rather than be inspired by nature itself. Today though, in fields ranging from artificial intelligence to micro-and nanotechnology, and smart materials, the perceived advantages of bottom-up designs and manufacturing are convincing many scientists to research natural, biomimetic approaches and manufacturing methods. In this talk we sample many different examples of biomimetics in design, materials and engineering.
http://www.eng.uci.edu/user/180

Friday,
February 26th

10:30am
to noon
in SM313

Professor Francisco J. Ayala, Ph.D., Columbia University, 1964
National Medal of Science, 2001
University of California in Irvine, Professor
Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
Will speak on: "The Biological Foundation of Morality".
Dr. Ayala was a member of the US President's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology from 1994 to 2001. He was President and Chairman of the Board of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and President of Sigma Xi. In 2003, he was appointed University Professor, the highest title at the University of California; moreover, Ayala is the only professor currently holding this title at UC Irvine. In 2002, President George W. Bush presented him with the 2001 National Medal of Science at the White House.
In this lecture, Ayala will advance two propositions: (1) that the capacity for ethics is a necessary attribute of human nature; and (2) that moral norms are products of cultural evolution, not of biological evolution.
http://www.faculty.uci.edu/profile.cfm?faculty_id=2134

Friday,
February 19th

10:30am
to noon
in SM313

Professor Sepehr Eskandari, Ph.D., UC Los Angeles , 1999
California State Polytechnic University Pomona, Associate Professor
Biological Sciences Department
Will speak on: "gamma-Aminobutryic Acid Transporters: Molecular Machines that Regulate Inhibitory Neurotransmission"
Research in this laboratory focuses on the brain gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) transporters. These molecules are involved in the regulation of inhibitory neuronal signaling in the brain and, in addition, are the targets of several important experimental and clinical drugs. Because GABA is the most abundant inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain, the GABA transporters are implicated in the treatment of epileptic seizures, and in the control of the devastating consequences of stroke. Our goal is to elucidate a comprehensive understanding of GABA transporter structure and function. In addition, we are interested in the nature of drug interaction with the GABA transporters.
http://www.csupomona.edu/~seskandari/sepehr_eskandari_cv.html

Friday,
February 5th

10:30am
to noon
in SM313

Professor Robert Rubin, Ph.D., UC Irvine,
Pacific Manta Research Group
Santa Rosa College, Professor
Department of Biology
Will speak on: "Flying Carpets of Ebony Silk, A Natural History of the World's Largest Ray"
Drawing on information gathered from over 20 years of field studies in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, Dr. Rubin will discuss his research and the ecology and evolutionary biology of these strangely magnificent animals.

This lecture can be viewed on Saddleback College Cable TV (Ch.39).
Watch this lecture on the web at Saddleback TV Productions Website

Friday,
January 29th

10:30am
to noon
in SM313

Friday,
January 22nd

10:30am
to noon
in SM313

Nobel Laureate Kary B. Mullis, Ph.D., UC Berkeley, 1972
Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1993
Altermune LLC.
Author: Dancing Naked in the Mind Field and
The Polymerase Chain Reaction
Will speak on: "Science is a Rocky Road"
Dr. Mullis received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his invention of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The process, which Mullis concep-tualized in 1983, is hailed as one of the monumental scientific techniques of the 20th century. For more information visit:
http://www.karymullis.com/
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1993/mullis-autobio.html

This lecture can be viewed on Saddleback College Cable Television (Ch.39) on February 5-7, 2010 at noon and 7pm.
Watch this lecture on the web at Saddleback TV Productions Website

Friday,
January 15th

10:30am
to noon
in SM313

Professor Anthony Huntley, Ph.D., UC Santa Cruz , 1984
Saddleback College, Professor
Department of Biological Sciences, Chairperson
Will speak on: "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Elephant Seals...but Were Afraid to Ask"
The elephant seal may be the most extreme example of diving ability among the marine mammals. These animals routinely dive for up one hour at depth exceeding one mile. In addition, the surface intervals following dives are extremely short, usually two to three minutes.  This unique behavior requires extreme physiological adaptations.  In this talk we will investigate how evolution has pushed the elephant seal to the brink of a physiological precipice and how this might impact the future of the species.