As part of the 2014 North Carolina Science Festival in late March and early April — with its theme of “Life is Your Lab” — UNC Charlotte will present a Science and Technology Expo, a seven-event public science lecture series, a four-event film festival and a star party. College of Liberal Arts & Sciences students, faculty and staff are deeply involved with these community events, as presenters and volunteers.

All events are free and open to the public. For event locations, maps and more information, visit NC Science Festival or call 704-687-5743. All events are sponsored by UNC Charlotte in association with the NC Science Festival. University sponsors include UNC Charlotte Research and Economic Development, the College of Computing and Informatics, the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, the College of Education, the College of Health and Human Services and the Graduate School. Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools and Discovery Place are community partners, and WFAE 90.7 fm is a media partner.

As the culminating event, the Expo will close out the Festival on Sunday, April 13, 10 AM to 2 PM, with activities including robotics, motorsports engineering, rocketry, virtual people, exotic plants and high altitude balloons. The event is for the science-curious of all ages, featuring well over 100 hands-on activities and presentations in chemistry, physics, geology, computer science, engineering and biology developed by the university and a host of industry and community organizations.

Star Party – POSTPONED DUE TO WEATHER

POSTPONED DUE TO WEATHER – The UNC Charlotte Observatory has postponed its second annual NC Science Festival Star Party, originally scheduled for April 4, starting at 8 PM. The observatory is part of the Department of Physics and Optical Science in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. The observatory is located near the Police and Public Safety Department building and North Parking Deck. Once a new date is set, it will be announced on the observatory’s website.

The UNC Charlotte Public Science Lecture Series ushers in the festival when renowned science author and New York Times science columnist Carl Zimmer presents in two free public events on Friday, March 28. Zimmer has written 12 books about science and hundreds of articles for magazines such as The Atlantic, National Geographic, Time, Scientific American, Science, and Popular Science. He is one of the world’s leading writers on the marvels of modern biology. At 3 PM, he will lead a panel entitled “What’s Coming in Genomics?” with UNC Charlotte bioinformatics scientists Anthony Fodor, Dennis Livesay and Jessica Schlueter. At 8 PM the same day, he will deliver a free public lecture entitled “You Are Thousands of Species: Discovering The Life Within You.” The lecture is co-sponsored by the North Carolina Science Festival and will be followed by a reception and book signing.

Going from the inner microscopic realm to outer space, on Wednesday, April 2, at 7 PM, spaceflight historian Amy Shira Teitel will present. Teitel, a science journalist and historian who writes the blog “Vintage Space” for Popular Science, holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in the history of science. She is a science journalist who writes about space for such outlets as Discovery News Space, Al Jazeera English, Universe Today and AmericaSpace.

The lecture program also includes a series of engaging public talks by UNC Charlotte faculty, discussing science topics that they are intimately familiar with as researchers.

• On April 1 at 7 PM, Mary Lou Maher, professor and chair of UNC Charlotte’s department of software and information systems, will speak on her research in human-computer interaction in a talk “Tangible Creativity.”
• On April 3 at 7 PM, Michael Walter a faculty member in chemistry who researches the potential of organic compounds for solar energy generation, will speak on “Juice It Up: The Earth-Abundant Approach to Converting Sunlight into Usable Energy.”
• On April 8 at 7 PM, architecture professor and director of the Laboratory for Innovative Housing Thomas Gentry will discuss his research work in the field of social sustainability with at talk entitled “Architectural Agriculture: Science, Technology, and Math in Sustainable Communities.”
• On April 10 at 7 PM, the lecture series concludes with professor of science education Ian Binns speaking on “Defending Science Education in the Tar Heel State.”

Recognizing the role that movies play in creating public interest in science, UNC Charlotte has added a Science Film Series to its Festival offerings for 2014. With questions such as  “Is that something that could really happen? How accurate was the science in that film?” in mind, UNC Charlotte has picked four films, ranging from classic science fiction to modern thrillers, to a sensational documentary and has added articulate authorities on the movies’ subjects to discuss where fantasy and reality either diverge or converge. The screenings are free, discussion is encouraged, and popcorn will be served.

The first film in the series is “Contagion” (Warner Bros., 2011) co-hosted by Discovery Place on Saturday, March 29 at 7 PM. This medical thriller concerning a deadly, rapidly spreading epidemic was widely touted on its release for its scientific accuracy, but the final word on that will be discussed by a panel of authorities, including real-life epidemic tracker and professor of bioinformatics Daniel Janies, Charlotte Observer health reporter Karen Garloch, and professor of science education Ian Binns.

From the scary present, the series then continues by exploring what terrified us in the past with “The Invisible Man” (Universal, 1933, starring Claude Rains), a classic horror-scify film. Adding a modern twist to the screening will be discussion led by professor of optical science Greg Gbur, who is both an authority on classic horror and a well-known researcher in…(you guessed it) invisibility and UNC Charlotte chemist Marcus Jones, who does research in chemistry and… light. The free event will be a Sunday matinee on March 30 at 3 PM.

On Sunday, April 6, the Science Film Series will continue with another 3 PM matinee, this time featuring the speculative scify classic “Jurassic Park,” (Universal, 1993) a film that both excited the public’s imagination about the possibilities of genomics and angered critics with its distortions of science. A panel composed of vertebrate biologist and ecologist Susan Peters, evolutionary biologist Adam Reitzel and genomic researcher Jennifer Weller will examine both the film’s wild speculations and its possible truths.

The series will conclude on Wednesday, April 9, with the screening of the critically acclaimed documentary “Chasing Ice” (2012) at 7 PM. This film looks at the controversial topic of climate change by examining apparent recent and rapid decline of arctic ice. A panel composted of climate researchers Matthew Eastin and Martha Eppes, as well as WCNC-TV meteorologists John Wendel and Meghan Danahey will give their takes on the film’s evidence and participate in a broad discussion of the topic.

Michael Fiddy, professor of physics and optical science and of electrical and computer engineering, has been appointed to a two-year term on The Optical Society Board of Directors, beginning January 2014. Founded in 1916, OSA is the leading professional association in optics and photonics. At present, OSA has more than 18,000 members from 100 countries and nearly 275 student chapters in more than 50 countries. Fifty-three percent of OSA members reside outside of the United States. Over the course of OSA’s nearly one hundred year history, 31 OSA members have been awarded a Nobel Prize in Physics, Chemistry or Physiology/Medicine.

Fiddy also serves as Deputy Editor of OSA’s newly launched open access journal Photonics Research Journal, its first joint publication with China. He chairs OSA’s Meetings Council and is on the Board of OIDA, the Optoelectronics Industry Development Association, which recently became a division of OSA. Fiddy also was founding director of UNC Charlotte’s Center for Optoelectronics and Optical Communications, UNC Charlotte and held the director position from 2002 to 2010. He has been an NSF Industry-University Collaborative Research Center for Metamaterials Site Director since 2011. Fiddy earned his doctorate in physics from the University of London in 1977.

By Mariah Powell, Student Intern
College Office of Communications

In recognition of his efforts to promote diversity, UNC Charlotte Chemistry Professor Daniel Rabinovich received an award from the American Chemistry Society’s Committee on Minority Affairs on Nov. 14.

Rabinovich received the Stanley C. Israel Award during the 2013 Southeast Regional Meeting of the American Chemistry Society in Atlanta. Award recipients receive a medal and a $1,000 grant to support and further their diversity efforts. The award “recognizes individuals and/or institutions that have advanced diversity in the chemical sciences and significantly stimulated or fostered activities that promote inclusiveness within the region,” according to the society.

“Dr. Rabinovich certainly fits this description,” said Rabinovich’s colleague and friend Gregory Grant. “He has engaged Hispanic and African-American students in his research in chemistry at UNC Charlotte.”

Grant, a professor at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, nominated Rabinovich for the award. “His ability to bridge two cultures and speak two languages makes him a natural role model for minority students,” he said.

Rabinovich grew up in Peru, and now is a U.S. citizen. He speaks Spanish and English fluently.

Alison Fout, a former graduate student of Rabinovich who now is an assistant professor of chemistry at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, said that he had influenced her and other students. “Professor Dan Rabinovich is an exceptional mentor and someone I hope to emulate within my own research group,” Fout said.

Rabinovich also mentors high school students through the American Chemical Society’s Project SEED, a summer program focused on under-represented minority students. Lizeth Hernandez, one of Rabinovich’s former Project SEED students and now a senior chemistry student at UNC Charlotte, worked in Rabinovich’s lab as a high school student. She credits Rabinovich’s guidance with helping her realize she wanted to pursue graduate school and make chemistry her career.

“Without open-mindedness, students are unlikely to participate and everyone loses with that,” Rabinovich said. “That’s why diversity is a way of promoting participation and integration, and that’s the key to success.”

Yanqing Sun, professor of statistics in UNC Charlotte’s Department of Mathematics and Statistics, in June was named a fellow of the American Statistical Association (ASA), the nation’s preeminent professional statistical society.

To be recognized as a 2013 ASA Fellow, each honoree must make outstanding professional contributions to and have exhibited leadership in the field of statistical science. Sun was honored for outstanding contributions to statistical research on survival and event history data, competing risks data and longitudinal data; for excellence in applications of statistical methodology in biomedical research; and for outstanding service to teaching and the profession.

“I love my job as a statistician and as a professor,” Sun said. “Being elected as an fellow of the American Statistical Association is a great honor. I am very happy about this recognition. I would like to thank my colleagues for their support and UNC Charlotte for providing me a working environment that made this possible.”

Sun will receive her award at a ceremony on August 6 at the annual Joint Statistical Meetings in Montréal, Québec, Canada.

Sun’s research interests are in survival analysis, parametric and nonparametric methods, estimation and hypothesis testing. She has 45 publications and is a member of the American Statistical Association and the Institute of Mathematical Statistics, elected member of the International Statistical Institute, and permanent member of the International Chinese Statistical Association.

Sun earned her Ph.D. in 1993 and her master’s degree in 1990 from Florida State University. She came to UNC Charlotte in 1994. She was a Visiting Scientist at Frontier Science Foundation in Boston in 2002, and an assistant professor on leave from 1995 to 1996 as a contract statistician for the vaccine safety project at the Centers for Disease Control.

She was a visiting professor at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark in 2005 and a visiting scientist at Frontier Science Foundation in Boston in 1998, 2001, and 2002. Sun has been the principal investigator or a co-principal investigator on eight grants funded by the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.

Members of the America Statistical Association serve in industry, government, and academia in more than 90 countries, advancing research and promoting sound statistical practice to inform public policy and improve human welfare. Their peers in the association membership nominate individuals for this honor.

To be honored, nominees must have an established reputation and have made outstanding contributions in statistical science. The Committee on Fellows evaluates each candidate’s contributions to the advancement of statistical science and places due weight to published works, the position held with their employer, ASA activities, membership and accomplishments in other societies and other professional activities.

Words by Kendall Cook

UNC Charlotte Chemistry Assistant Professor Juan Vivero-Escoto has received the 2013 Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award from Oak Ridge Associate Universities, a 109-member university consortium affiliated with Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Vivero-Escoto was among 30 winners in a pool of 147 applicants from the university consortium. Only two faculty members per institution were permitted to apply. Applicants underwent a highly competitive peer-review process organized by ORAU among its members.

Vivero-Escoto’s research interests include the design and synthesis of novel hybrid inorganic-organic materials for biomedical applications. This award will support his research on the development of novel, silica-based, hollow nanoparticles as efficient platforms for intracellular protein drug delivery. This work aims to develop effective protein delivery systems, which are needed to enhance the clinical use of therapeutic proteins. Vivero-Escoto will collaborate on this project with Sheng Dai, group leader of the Nanomaterials Chemistry Group at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

More information is available on the 2013 Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award.

In current health lore, antioxidants are all the rage, as “everybody knows” that reducing the amount of “reactive oxygen species” — cell-damaging molecules that are byproducts of cellular metabolism — is critical to staying healthy. What everyone doesn’t know is that our bodies already have a complex set of processes built into our cells that handle these harmful byproducts of living and repair the damage they cause.

For example, few of us realize that, while our cells’ DNA is constantly being damaged by reactive oxygen species (as well as by other forces), there are also complex mechanisms that constantly assess that damage and make repairs to our fragile genetic material at least 10,000 times a day in every cell in our bodies. The vital biochemical processes by which this constant DNA repair takes place are still only partially understood because of their complexity, speed, and the difficulty of studying complex interactions within living cells. Moreover, it remains unknown how cells sense the oxidatively damaged DNA in the first place.

In an article published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) a research team from University of North Carolina at Charlotte announced that they had uncovered a previously unknown surveillance mechanism, known as a DNA damage checkpoint, used by cells to monitor oxidatively damaged DNA.  The finding, first-authored by UNC Charlotte biology graduate student Jeremy Willis and undergraduate honors student Yogin Patel, was also co-authored by undergraduate honors student Barry L. Lentz and assistant professor of biology Shan Yan.

“DNA damage is the underlying pathology in many major human diseases, including cancers and neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, so arriving at a full understanding of the sophisticated mechanisms that cells usually employ to avoid such disastrous outcomes is important,” Yan noted.

Two biochemical pathways, known as ATM-Chk2 and ATR-Chk1, govern the cell’s response and repair of double-strand DNA breaks and other types of DNA damage or replication stress respectively. The molecular mechanisms underlying the ATR-Chk1 checkpoint activation include the uncoupling of DNA helicase and polymerase activities and DNA end resection of double-strand breaks.

“The significance of what we have found is that there is a third, previously unknown trigger for ATR-Chk1 checkpoint pathway, and this novel mechanism is discovered in the context of oxidative stress,” Yan said.

In particular, Yan’s team discovered that under conditions of oxidative stress (in the presence of hydrogen peroxide) a base excision repair protein known as APE2 plays unexpected roles in the checkpoint response: single-strand DNA generation and Chk1 association. The protein was previously known to be involved in the DNA repair of oxidative damage, but not to extent revealed in the study’s findings. The distinct role of APE2 in the single-stand DNA generation in 3’ to 5’ direction is referred to as single-strand break end resection (“SSB end resection”) by the authors.

The study involved experiments performed with Xenopus laves (the African clawed frog, a species commonly used as a lab animal) egg extracts – an experimental system that Yan’s lab has developed for studying DNA repair and checkpoint mechanisms in a cell-free conditions. Xenopus is useful because it is a vertebrate (and thus quite similar to humans in cell biology), and its egg cells can be easily produced and manipulated.

Yan is hopeful that this research will open new avenues to pharmacological strategies in drug development for cancer and neurodegenerative diseases.

The article appeared in the June 10, 2013 print edition of PNAS:  http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2013/06/06/1301445110.abstract. The Yan laboratory at UNC Charlotte is funded in part by the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and a National Institute of General Medical Sciences/National Institutes of Health grant, number R15GM101571.

Source: Shan Yan, 704-687-8528, shan.yan@uncc.edu

Two lecturers who are known for their dedication to students have been named recipients of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences awards for teaching excellence among lecturers. The award winners are Topher Gee, Department of Biology, who received the Full-time Lecturer Award for Teaching Excellence; and Carol Higham, Department of History, who received the Part-time Lecturer Award for Teaching Excellence.

A reception on Monday, April 29 honored Gee and Higham and the other nominees for the awards. Other nominees for the full-time lecturer award were Debbie Kilby Baker, communication studies; Pedram Leilabady, physics and optical science; Shep McKinley, history; Mary Michael, psychology; and Susan Michael, chemistry.

Other nominees for the part-time lecturer award were Sarah Minslow, English; Monica Rabinovich, chemistry; and Ellyn Ritterskamp, philosophy.

Department chairs and program directors in the college nominate lecturers for these annual awards. The selection committee comprises committee Chair Jamie Strickland, Department of Geography and Earth Sciences; Lawrence Calhoun, Department of Psychology; Isaac (Ike) Heard, Department of Geography and Earth Sciences; Harold Reiter, Mathematics and Statistics; and Joanne Robinson, Religious Studies.

About the honorees:

Topher Gee is the recipient of the College’s Full-Time Lecturer Award for Teaching Excellence. Gee has been a full-time lecturer in the Department of Biology since 2007. In addition to the undergraduate courses he teaches, he has taught Developmental Biology at the 4000/5000 level, as an elected associate member of the Biology Graduate Faculty.

He has focused on recruiting, retaining and graduating biology majors through enrichment and senior seminars and direct advising. He serves on Honor’s Research and Master’s Research committees, including that of a student who was one of five in North Carolina to win the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship.

He participates in campus and community outreach, such as with the Center for Teaching and Learning, Majors’ Day, the North Carolina Academy of Sciences, WFAE and community colleges. He led the department’s undergraduate committee and is part of program and curriculum reviews. In those roles, he has initiated the revamping of lab offerings and the development of a seminar to improve scientific reading and writing for newly declared majors. He received the 2011 “Building Educational Strengths and Talents, Outstanding Faculty Award” and was named a National Academies Education Fellow for 2012-2013. He also presented a paper at the Introductory Biology Project Meeting in 2012, which was invitation only.

Carol Higham is the recipient of the College’s Part-time Lecturer Award for Teaching Excellence. Carol is an adjunct instructor in the history department, from 2009 to today, and earlier from 2003 to 2006. She is an experienced teacher, having been an assistant professor at Texas A&M University. She is a superb instructor who connects extremely well with students and who teaches a variety of courses focused primarily on Native American history and the West.

One colleague who visited one of her classes noted that she had “created a very open and inviting learning environment” and that “the vast majority of students appear very motivated and eager to learn, especially so for an 8 a.m. class.”

She regularly receives high marks from students for her effectiveness and for the amount they have learned. In one methodology course that is required of all history majors, students learn how to “do history.” They learn how to research and write effectively, how to interpret primary documents, and how to understand historians’ arguments and develop their own. Carol received three perfect scores from students and an almost perfect score in the fourth class she taught.

She also is a scholar, with an active research agenda that enriches her teaching. She publishes regularly, including co-authorship of a textbook on frontier history. Her colleagues describe her as being “adept at challenging and connecting” with students.

About the full-time lecturers nominees:

Debbie Kilby Baker has been a lecturer in communication studies for 12 years. Her peers and students describe her as energetic, knowledgeable and personable, while also being demanding and challenging of her students. She weaves service in the community into her classes, which have assisted non-profits such as A Child’s Place, Second Harvest Food Bank and the Humane Society. She took the lead in creating the Communication Studies Student Association and developed a departmental Adjunct Faculty Handbook. She also has facilitated workshops with the Summer Diversity Institute, the Office of Disability Services and other efforts. Peers say she embodies the philosophy of teacher-citizen.

Pedram Leilabady has been on the faculty in the Department of Physics and Optical Science since 2004 and currently holds the rank of senior lecturer. He has led the departmental efforts on large course redesign, which has been implemented in all four of the department’s large introductory courses. He invested significant effort in developing on-line components and problem-solving exercises for these classes. Students have benefited from his efforts, as seen by the reduction in the percentage of D, F and W grades and improvement of learning outcomes. He also brings his technical expertise to the department, as someone who has through his career amassed over 75 technical publications and 11 patents.

Shep McKinley is a lecturer in history and has been at UNC Charlotte for 10 years. He has led in incorporating new technologies, developing on-line courses and working with the College of Education to meet the needs of prospective history teachers. He has stepped up in an advisor role, including coordinating the Patterson Prize for best undergraduate paper, running the History Honors Society and advising students with idiosyncratic forms and those assigned to a faculty member on leave. He was a founding member of the Charlotte Teachers Institute and a leading participant in the Teaching American History grant with Cleveland County Schools. He has published one co-authored book and is close to finishing another manuscript.

Mary Michael joined the Psychology Department in 2007, teaching some of the more demanding and intensive content courses. She has regularly expanded class sizes to accommodate student demand, while maintaining favorable evaluations. She mentors in research 6 to 9 undergraduates each year. Her active lab researches individual differences in cognitive processing, and her students regularly present at conferences and submit research for publication. She also has led the study abroad program to Kingston, England for two years, which has encouraged others to follow her lead. She serves on committees focused on issues such as curriculum and study abroad and has edited an undergraduate journal for three years.

Susan Michael has taught a variety of lecture and laboratory course, serving as a part-time lecturer from 1999 to 2007 and a full-time visiting lecturer the following year. When hired as a full-time lecturer in 2008, she immediately took on the role as coordinator of the introductory organic chemistry laboratories while continuing to teach. She updated the laboratory manuals and supervised the graduate students teaching the labs. Susan worked with other faculty in large course redesign of CHEM 1251, creating videos and quizzes to improve student learning and reduce the percentages of D, F, and W grades. She also participated in the Top 40 Freshman Success Academy and served as Advising Coordinator.

About the part-time lecturers nominees:

Sarah Minslow began teaching in the English Department as a part-time faculty member in 2011. She has quickly established herself as a versatile and highly professional faculty member who can teach a variety of English courses well. She also teaches for the Department of Global, International and Area Studies, focused on war, genocide and refugees as reflected in literature and film. She has drawn from her participation in the Silberman Seminar, sponsored by the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. Sarah also has extended her involvement to the community, serving as a keynote speaker for a Charlotte Mecklenburg Library “Banned Books Week” event and a panelist during an event focused on strong women in literature, film and popular culture.

Monica Rabinovich has taught in the Chemistry Department since 1997. She has instructed labs for pre-nursing majors and for science, engineering and pre-health majors. She also has taken on responsibility for a course that prepares graduate students to teach introductory chemistry labs. In this role, she mentors the graduate assistants and deals with the management of the labs, including manuals, equipment, supplies and problems. The graduate students meet weekly to discuss the next week’s experiment, conduct it themselves and take turns presenting the pre-lab lectures, so she can advise them on improvements. Last fall, she oversaw 38 sections, affecting over 1,200 undergraduate students’ experiences.

Ellyn Ritterskamp has taught Introduction to Philosophy and Ethical issues in the Philosophy Department for 10 years. She balances her teaching with a full-time job with The Charlotte Observer and has several times stepped in to teach extra classes when other faculty could not. Her students praise her skillful use of class discussions, group work and presentations, use of videos and clear presentation. As one student said, “Class discussions are always interesting. When talking about any topic, she encourages all views and makes everyone feel as though their opinion matters.” Ellyn shows support for students in other ways as well, including the development and support of a scholarship for philosophy majors.

UNC Charlotte on Sunday, April 21 will host a free, public Science and Technology Expo on the lower campus mall, facing the Student Union. The expo, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., will feature a wide variety of activities for the science-curious of all ages, including hands-on educational presentations and fascinating displays developed by UNC Charlotte science faculty, engineering demonstrations, lab tours and tours of the UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens.

Research Journeys Kicks Off Month of Events

Who’s afraid of the Higgs boson? Or metamaterials? Bioinformatics? Big bad data? Or dark energy? Chances are, you are. Modern science, both theoretical and applied, gives us amazing new views of our world and our universe, but, whenever we try to understand what the researchers have found, it seems that we can get really, really lost.

Maybe we just need someone who can help us navigate the new knowledge in a way that doesn’t require a doctorate in astrophysics to understand. A series of five free community talks, called “Research Journeys,” is sponsored by UNC Charlotte Research and Economic Development and the Charlotte Research Institute, with support from the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, its science departments and other colleges.

The topics range from exploring wild new discoveries in subatomic physics to looking at how governments use postage stamps to teach science; from using computer technology in preventing global flu outbreaks — or in conducting dazzlingly complicated experiments, to making science fictional invisibility cloaks a reality.

Sean Carroll Talk

Prominent in the series is a special guest lecture by California Institute of Technology theoretical physicist Sean Carroll, who will deliver a talk entitled “The Particle at the End of the Universe” on Wednesday April 10, at 7 p.m. in EPIC G256.

A respected and wide-ranging research scientist whose work includes both the fields of cosmology and particle physics, Carroll has also built a second career as an explainer and spokesman for science, particularly for modern physics. Carroll specializes in telling the story of the weirdest and most challenging areas of human knowledge. It is not out of order to compare him to the late astronomer Carl Sagan, though where Sagan’s challenge was to introduce the public to the “billions and billions” of stars in the known universe, Carroll has the unenviable task of helping non-scientists understand and appreciate new, otherworldly physics that includes such difficult concepts as the Higgs field, cosmic inflation, and “dark energy.”

Carroll’s talk at UNC Charlotte will be on the Higgs boson, the topic of his newest book on physics for popular audiences. Long theorized by contemporary physics, the Higgs boson was only recently proven to exist by experiments at the Large Hadron Collider, a 17-mile-long, $9 billion Swiss-French facility expressly built to find it.  The Higgs is quite literally the particle that puts the mass in matter – and that makes the universe (as we know it) possible.

About Carroll’s book on the Higgs, the actor and science show producer Morgan Freeman said: “Carroll tells the story of the particle that everyone has heard of but few of us actually understand. After you read his book — an enticing cocktail of personal anecdote, clever analogy, and a small dose of mind-bending theory — you will truly grasp why the Higgs boson has been sought after for so long by so many. Carroll is a believer in big science asking big questions and his beliefs are infectious and inspiring.”

In addition to “The Particle at the End of the Universe” (Dutton, 2012), Carroll is the author of a book about time and the beginning of the universe, “From Eternity to Here” (Dutton, 2010), two video lecture series on modern physics and dark matter/dark energy, and a very popular science blog. As a researcher, he has published more than 60 research articles in many of the top science journals. He is also the author of a textbook on General Relativity.

Carroll’s efforts to foster public engagement in science are impressive, but he is by no means the only active researcher willing to take time away from lab and grants to do outreach. In celebration of this year’s North Carolina Science Festival, four members of UNC Charlotte’s research faculty have also volunteered to do public presentations.

Daniel Rabinovich Talk

On Friday, April 5,  UNC Charlotte professor of chemistry Daniel Rabinovich will talk on “Hydrogen to Copernicium:  The World of Chemistry on Postage Stamps” at 3 p.m. in Grigg Hall 132. Rabinovich, an active researcher in inorganic chemistry, has developed a side fascination with the way stamps have been used as a vehicle for communicating the science of chemistry to the public, and has long edited a column for Chemistry International  on stamps and chemistry.

Rabinovich notes that a surprisingly large number of stamps have been issued to commemorate scientific discoveries or to honor well-known scientists in the chemical field.  His talk will feature postage stamps and other philatelic materials pertaining to the history of chemistry, the discovery and sources of the elements, chemical structures and formulas, laboratory equipment, biochemistry, and various aspects of the chemical industry — and show how science creeps into public awareness through unexpected means.

Mirsad Hadzikadic Talk

On Monday, April 8, software professor and former dean of UNC Charlotte’s College of Computing and Informatics Mirsad Hadzikadic will speak on “Learning How to do e-Science in a Virtual World” at 7 p.m. in Bioinformatics 105.

Hadzikadic, who is currently the director of the Complex Systems Institute, is developing an academic program at UNC Charlotte in doing eScience, an emerging discipline that is already having a major impact in numerous fields, from the social sciences through the life sciences and physical sciences. eScience’s basic premise is that in addition to the two accepted scientific inquiry methods —  theoretical/mathematical formulation and experimentation — computational simulation/modeling has become a third method for doing science.  eScience introduces the application of computational methods to scientific exploration and discovery.

Greg Gbur Talk

On Monday, April 15 associate professor of physics and optical science Greg Gbur will speak on ” How Not to Be Seen: The History and Science of Invisibility” at 7:30 p.m. in Bioinformatics 105.

Gbur is an active researcher in invisibility and other related areas in optics, but he is also, like Carroll, a prominent science blogger, and also the author of popular essays and books on science.  In addition to science, Gbur is also an authority on the history of science, and science/horror fiction, both of which, he argues, can give current researchers valuable perspective on their work.

He notes: “In the past few years, invisibility cloaks have moved from science fiction to an active field of scientific study.  Though we don’t have cloaks yet, there are a lot of fascinating developments in the science of invisibility.”  Professor Gbur will talk about both the history of invisibility in fiction and science as well as the most recent exciting developments.

Dan Janies Talk

Concluding the lecture series on Wednesday, April 17, Dan Janies, Carol Grotnes Belk Distinguished Professor of Bioinformatics and Genomics, will speak on “Weather Maps for Infectious Disease” at 7 p.m. in Grigg Hall 132.

Janies is the lead developer of the Supramap Project,  a software system that links enormous quantities of real-time genomic data on pathogens (such as influenza viruses) with geography to help epidemiologists combat disease epidemics. Traditionally, epidemiologists study the rise and fall in the number of cases of diseases that share symptoms.  “Now with genomic data and geographic information systems we can study the evolution and spread of specific bacteria and viruses that cause disease over space, time, and various hosts,” Janies says. The results are an interactive visualization akin to a weather map for infectious diseases.

In addition to the Research Journeys series, UNC Charlotte is also presenting a number of other North Carolina Science Festival events, including a Star Party on April 5 and a large Science and Technology Expo on April 21.

For a complete listing of events and other information, see http://ncsciencefestival.uncc.edu

Faculty Featured:

• David Goldfield, history, was quoted on Friday, March 29, 2013, in The Charlotte Observer, in “Confederate flag at old NC Capitol coming down.”
• Greg Gbur, physics, was a guest on Friday, March 29, 2013, on News14 to discuss science and the UNC Charlotte Science and Technology Expo.
• Todd Steck, biology, was a panelist on WFAE’s Charlotte Talks on Friday, March 29, 2013, on “Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria and Hospitals.”
• James Tabor, religious studies, had a column in The Huffington Post on Thursday, March 28, 2013 on “Weeping Through Easter: An Alternative Tradition.”
• Karen Cox, history, was quoted on Wednesday, March 27, 2013 in The San Jose Mercury in “Duck Dynasty”: why Is this show so popular?”
• Steven Rogelberg, organizational science, was featured on Monday, March 25, 2013 in Men’s Health News in “Your Worst Work Habit” about his study in the European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology.
• James Walsh, political science and public administration, was quoted on Sunday, March 10, 2012 in The Washington Post in “Most Americans approve of foreign drone strikes.”
• Gregory Weeks, political science and public administration, was quoted on Wednesday, March 6, 2013, on FOX NEWS.com in “Nations that rely on Chavez’s generous oil terms have much to lose if it slows to a trickle.”
• John Szmer, political science and public administration, was a panelist on Wednesday, March 6, 2013 on WFAE’s Charlotte Talks on “How We Choose Judges in North Carolina.”
• Gregory Weeks, political science and public administration, was quoted on Wednesday, March 6, 2013, by the Associated Press in “Venezuela petro-allies nervous over Chavez’s death.”
• Gregory Weeks, political science and public administration, was quoted on Tuesday, March 5, 2013 by The Seattle Times in “Venezuela’s polarizing president dominated its political life.”
• Gregory Weeks, political science and public administration, wrote an article that was published on Friday, March 1, 2013 in Foreign Policy, titled “A cautionary tale for election boycotts.”

Students Featured:

• Sarona Bedwan, an anthropology student, was featured in The Charlotte Observer South Charlotte News on Friday, March 1, 2013 in “Charlotte student determined to make the world better.”

Much like a phoenix rising from the ashes, the McMillan Greenhouse at UNC Charlotte’s Botanical Gardens has experienced a rebirth following a minor fire in April 2012.

“We’re really known for our orchids, and people love them,” said Paula Gross, assistant director of the Botanical Gardens, which is part of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. “So when we had to rebuild our damaged room, we thought about how we could do even more to showcase orchids.”

John Denti built a display to illustrate how orchids grow in the wild. Clare Duschl-Hagenbuch, a Botanical Gardens donor, helped fund some of the changes to the Orchid Room in memory of her late son Douglas Duschl, who was an avid orchid enthusiast.

“Prior to the fire in the other greenhouse wing, we had already been considering changes to the conservatory – the room with the upstairs and downstairs – which is a favorite for many because of its jungle-like feel,” Gross said. “The conservatory was established in the late ’80s, and the soil hadn’t been changed out since.”

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