NEWS

Sigma Xi research society announces 2016-2017 Science Café series

Oct 4, 2016 | General News

The Louisiana Tech University chapter of the Sigma Xi research society Chapter is launching its 2016-2017 Science Café discussion series at 5:30 p.m. October 11 in the community room at Gibson’s Natural Grocers in Ruston.
Sponsored by Sigma Xi, Science Café is a series of public “chats” with researchers during the fall, winter and spring academic quarters where members of the campus and local communities can have a conversation with a scientist about their work.  All sessions are free to attend.
SX logo4CbuiltBM“One of the main goals of Sigma Xi is to promote scientific communication and we’d love for everyone to have the opportunity to learn about the exciting research that’s happening at Louisiana Tech,” says Sigma Xi Chapter President Dr. Terri Maness, assistant professor of biological sciences at Louisiana Tech.  “We’re really excited to start this program and, with the diversity of research happening at Louisiana Tech, I’m sure everyone in the community will find topics of interest to them.”
Maness says the idea is for the Science Café to be less formal than a typical lecture, so that people can really engage and feel comfortable asking questions.
Dr. Lee Sawyer, Charles and Newllyn Spruell Endowed Professor of Physics and academic director of chemistry and physics at Louisiana Tech, will kick off the 2016-2017 series on October 11 with a discussion titled, “From Quarks to the Cosmos (Q2C)” which is also the theme of this year’s American Physical Society’s annual meeting.
Sawyer’s discussion will be followed by a discussion with Dr. Jamie Newman, assistant professor of biological sciences; Dr. Mary Caldorera-Moore, assistant professor of biomedical engineering; and Nick Bustamante, chair and associate professor of studio art, on January 24, 2017.  They will hold a session titled, “Visual Integration of Science Through Art (VISTA): Medical Illustration at Louisiana Tech,” which is a very exciting collaborative program between the arts and sciences.
Dr. Heidi Adams, assistant professor of forestry, will conclude the 2016-2017 Science Café series on April 11, 2017 with her discussion titled, “Are Your Deer Picky Eaters? An evaluation of white-tailed deer preference among commercial food plot seed mixes.”
All talks will be in the community room at Gibson’s Natural Grocer located at 1305 Commerce Street in Ruston and begin at 5:30pm.  For more information, contact Dr. Terri Maness at tmaness@latech.edu.