ANTHROPOLOGY
Presenter: Michael Glassow and others
Description: A tour of the Repository for Archaeological and Ethnographic Collections and a talk about different kinds of artifacts and what archaeologists are able to learn from them. A visit to a laboratory where archaeological collections are washed, sorted, and catalogued.
Intended Grade Level: All
ASTRONOMY
BIOLOGY
Title: Eggs to Embryos to Animals:
The Beauty of Development
Presenter: Kathy Foltz
Description: This talk can be tailored to match the grade level and inlcudes many photographs and hands on props. Which came first - the chicken or the egg? Developmental biologists study how a single cell - an egg - becomes a complex organism comprised of many specialized cells - some of which become the sperm or eggs for the next generation. I'll select a few model systems (sea urchins, fruit flies, frogs and mice) and talk about some of the common as well as unique aspects of their development. For more advanced students, methodology and the research process will be incorporated. However, even the youngest students will also get a sense of the scientific method.
Intended Grade Level: All
Title: Brave New Worlds - FAQs
about Stem Cells and Cloning
Presenter: Kathy Foltz
Description: What is "cloning"? What are the key scientific questions regarding stem cells? Where can I go to get reliable information about the current technology, science and ethics concerning cloning and stem cells? A short prepared talk is followed by a Q & A session, supplemented with illustrations and a handout for students to take with them.
Intended Grade Level: All
Title: Viruses: What They Are and Why We
Study Them
Presenter: Charles Samuel
Description: Several infectious diseases that afflict humankind are caused by animal viruses. Hepatitis, AIDS, flu and the common cold are examples of viral diseases now commonly seen in our society. In addition, new viruses and viral diseases can emerge, as recently illustrated by SARS respiratory syndrome and West Nile virus encephalitis that were not earlier seen in the USA. These contrast to diseases such as smallpox and poliomyelitis that have been eradicated in the USA through the use of effective viral vaccines. This presentation discusses the nature of animal viruses, using disease agents such as poliovirus and human immunodeficiency virus as examples. In addition to their medical importance, contributions that viruses have made as simple model systems for the study of basic problems in molecular cell biology will be discussed.
Intended Grade Level: All
Title: Estimating Ecological Effects
of a Development
Presenter: Allan Stewart-Oaten
Description: Suppose there is to be a development on the coast. It could be an oil platform, a power plant, a sewage outfall, a pier, a breakwater, etc. After it is built and has been in place for a few years, we will want to know if it has harmed any species. For example, we might want to know if it has reduced the number of sea urchins in the area. To find out, we could take samples of sea urchins before the development is built, and take more samples after it is built, and see if the numbers went down. But sea urchin numbers vary naturally over time. How do we decide if a decrease was due to the development? The main answer is to compare the size of the decrease with the size of natural variation. This means we need to measure the size of natural variation. To do this, we need several samples taken at different times before the development is built, and another set of samples taken at different times after the development is built. We also need a formula for measuring the size of natural variation. There is a standard one, but it may not work here. For example, suppose you take one sample on each day of January. If you apply the standard formula to these results, you will underestimate the size of natural variation. The reason is that these samples show only part of the natural variation, not all of it. They show day-to-day variation, but not month-to-month, or year-to-year. The talk is about this problem, and how to avoid it by using "control" sites in the study, or how to deal with it if you can't avoid it.
Intended Grade Level: All
BLACK STUDIES
CHEMISTRY
NO CURRENT ENTRIES
COLLEGE AND CAREER PLANNING
Title: ASAP Program
Presenter: College of Letters and Science
Description: The College of Letters and Science coordinates an exciting program that admits high-achieving local students to UCSB before they have graduated from high school. Through the Accelerated Study Access Program (ASAP), students begin university studies even while they continue work toward a high school diploma. Scheduling: Please call (805)893-5207 for additional information, or if you wish to arrange for a presentation to students or their parents.
Intended Grade Level: High School
Title: What Does It Take to Succeed
in College?
Presenter: College of Letters and Science
Description: A presentation about the personal and intellectual qualities that are most important in college work.
Intended Grade Level: Middle and High School
Title: College and Career Planning
Presenter: College of Letters and Science
Description: A discussion of college majors, their curriculum, and where they lead.
Intended Grade Level: Middle and High School
COMMUNICATION
NO CURRENT ENTRIES
DRAMA
NO CURRENT ENTRIES
Ecology Evolution Marine Biology
NO CURRENT ENTRIES
EAST ASIAN LANGUAGES AND CULTURAL STUDIES
ECONOMICS
ENGLISH
NO CURRENT ENTRIES
ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES
Title: Environmental Law and Justice
Presenter: Marc McGinnes
Description: A presentation on issues pertaining to environmental law, environmental policy, and environmental dispute resolution. Audience-tailored in order to feature issues that are current as well as appropriate for age level.
Intended Grade Level: All
FRENCH
FILM AND MEDIA STUDIES
NO CURRENT ENTRIES
GEOGRAPHY
EARTH SCIENCES
NO CURRENT ENTRIES
GERMANIC, SLAVIC, AND SEMITIC STUDIES
GLOBAL AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
HISTORY
NO CURRENT ENTRIES
HISTORY OF ART & ARCHITECTURE
NO CURRENT ENTRIES
LINGUISTICS
NO CURRENT ENTRIES
MATHEMATICS
Title: "Six Degrees of Separation"
and the Structure of U.S. Society
Presenter: Eugene Johnsen
Description: Two people are socially linked if they know each other. Now think about everyone in the U.S. (or a region of the U.S.) together with all these links. What does this social structure look like? Such social structure matters since it is involved in, for example, the spread of certain kinds of information (e.g., job availability) and of certain kinds of diseases (e.g., HIV/AIDS). We present various attempts to obtain information about the structure of U.S. society and its implications.
Intended Grade Level: High School
Title: Mathematics in the Social Sciences:
Trying to Count Hard-To-Count Populations
Presenter: Eugene Johnsen
Description: We present an approach to estimating the sizes of populations in the U.S. that are socially important (e.g., for social policy reasons) but that cannot be counted or estimated by the usual survey methods (for various reasons discussed during the presentation). Examples of such populations are all people who are HIV+ and all people who are homeless during a particular time period. Suitable for students with some background in algebra.
Intended Grade Level: High School
MILITARY SCIENCE
NO CURRENT ENTRIES
MUSIC
NO CURRENT ENTRIES
PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES AND RECREATION
PHYSICS
NO CURRENT ENTRIES
POLITICAL SCIENCE
PSYCHOLOGY
NO CURRENT ENTRIES
RELIGIOUS STUDIES
NO CURRENT ENTRIES
SOCIOLOGY
SPANISH
STATISTICS and APPLIED PROBABILITY
Title: Careers in Statistics
and Related Fields
Presenter: S. Rao Jammalamadaka
Description: This talk introduces students to some basic ideas in statistics and describes careers in statistics and related fields, like actuaries and finance.
Intended Grade Level: High School
FEMINIST STUDIES
NO CURRENT ENTRIES
