 |
 Pathways to Knowledge: A Lecture Series for Undergraduates
Spring 2002
Playing with War Toys while Earning a Ph.D.
Karen Hall
Ph.D. Candidate
Department of English
|
Karen Hall is a local activist in the Syracuse area peace and justice community. She has combined her interests in American popular culture, queer, gender and race theories, literary criticism, and textural analysis in her dissertation, "War Games and Imperial Postures: Spectacles of Combat in U.S. Popular Culture, 1942-2000."
Ms. Hall will discuss her scholarly work and the span of her graduate career which began with a Master's degree in twentieth century literature from Ohio State University.
|
Molecular Genetics and Evolution of UV Vision
Yongsheng Shi
Ph.D. Candidate
Department of Biology
|
Many fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals have UV vision. However, it is not understood how and why they can see UV light.
Mr. Shi has tried to address this problem using a novel approach that combines evolutionary analysis and molecular and biochemical assays. His study revealed the molecular mechanisms by which these animals achieve UV sensitivity and how their vision evolved in the past.
Could the ancestors of human beings see UV light? Come to this presentation and find out.
|
Fusion or Fission?
The Geologic Growth of North America 1.8 To 1.7 Billion Years Ago
Barbara M. Hill
Ph.D. Candidate
Department of Earth Sciences
|
The present North American continent looked quite different 1.8-1.7 billion years (Gy) ago. The predecessor of today's North American continent is called Laurentia and its southern margin 1.8 Gy ago is now located in central Colorado. The rocks found there represent the tectonic regime present on that margin at that time. It is thought that they formed in a geologic setting much like what we see in Indonesia today and that the continent grew in area as those rocks were tectonically squeezed onto the existing continent.
A closer examination of the chemistry of the volcanic rocks suggests otherwise. Ms. Hill will explain how she used tiny grains of the mineral zircon from the volcanic and plutonic rocks from central Colorado to precisely date different episodes of continental crustal growth which suggest an alternative explanation of the origin of these rocks.
|
|
|
|
Back to Top
Printable Version
Email to Friend