|
Video Gallery of Past Events
If you missed any one of the Distinctive Voices lectures the past seasons or the most recent one, you now have an opportunity to view these informative, thought-provoking, and entertaining lectures here on our Video Gallery page.
Click on a title and watch our great talks from past Distinctive Voices seasons. Our topics are diverse and cover a wide range of different subjects.
|
Our Changing Climate: Myths and RealitiesExamine the evidence of temperature increases, greenhouse gases and disappearing arctic sea ice. Learn how to decipher opposing views of climate science and discern healthy skepticism from deceptive arguments in the media and current events related to global climate change.
William J. Gutowski, Iowa State University
|
 |
|
Cooking, Health, and Climate: The Surprisingly Large Impacts of Humanity’s Oldest Daily TaskExamine the relationships among environmental quality, health, resource use, climate, development, and policy in developing countries including health effects in women and children from indoor air pollution due to household fuels. The speaker will discuss his research in the development of smart, cheap, portable electronic monitors for exposure assessment in developing countries.
Kirk R. Smith, University of California, Berkeley
|
|
|
Catalyzing Communities to Prevent ObesityThis talk will explore how researchers and practitioners in the field are fighting the childhood obesity epidemic. Attendees will learn about some of the cutting edge research in the field, particularly looking at multi-level, community based interventions that show promising results. Attendees will also learn about guidelines, recommendations, and standards currently being employed to promote and sustain charge.
Christina Economos, Tufts University
|
 |
|
Greening the Internet of Things: Smart Products in a Smart GridEvery electronic appliance or device as the potential now to be a node in the Smart Grid, yet most of these appliances and the built environments that house them are designed as independent systems. What if we equipped these appliances and their environments with the ability to communicate, sense and optimize their energy efficiency and use as a system? This talk addresses the potential to "green" the "Internet of Things". Examples will include smart lighting with wireless sensor networks and NASA's Sustainable Base.
Alice Agogino, University of California, Berkeley
|
 |
Deepwater Horizon: What Came out of the Pipe is Not What You See in the EnvironmentOver 171 million gallons of crude oil was released from the broken riser pipe in the Gulf of Mexico following the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Nature changed the oil's composition as it traveled 5000 feet to the surface and floated in the Gulf of Mexico. Whereas its much harder to find traces of the disaster one year later, petroleum hydrocarbons continue to exist and provide invaluable clues on how nature responds to uninvited guests. Come see recent work on sand patties collected on the Gulf of Mexico beaches--What compounds are present, what is left, how did it happen, and why is this important?
Christopher Reddy, Senior Scientist, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
|
 |
The Scientist as AdvisorThis lecture will address the problems facing a scientist advising a high level public official using case histories of successes and failures. More than ever before, Science Advisers must operate in a volatile political environment, as they serve to help their employer succeed in office while maintaining their personal integrity.
Frank Press, The Washington Advisory Group
|
 |
|
Is Regenerative Medicine Hype or Hope?We live in exciting times. A cure for diabetes, which afflicts millions of people around the world, is within our grasp. Treatments for Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s seem possible within a decade or two. Accidents which would have paralyzed us, like “Superman” Christopher Reeve, may become treatable in the future, and diseases like muscular dystrophy, which slowly rip children from their parents, may be reversed. Heart failure may be reversed or prevented by minimally invasive delivery of stem cells. The promise for regenerative medicine therapies is vast. As we navigate our way through this complex field, it is important to understand that behind all scientific advancements lie years of research. Regenerative medicine - hype vs. hope?
Alan J. Russell, University of Pittsburgh
|
 |
| |
|
2010
|
A Nutritional Nightmare: From Famine to Feast, Why Science and Technology?The tremendous increase in life expectancy in the developed world has resulted from a safer, more varied and healthier food supply. Nevertheless, today we are experiencing increases in age related diseases and obesity. How does science and technology play a role in our health friend or foe?
Fergus Clydesdale, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
|
|
|
Why are We Living Longer? Insights from Aotearoa New ZealandAlistair Woodward, Ph.D. is the Head of the School of Population Health at the University of Auckland. His training is in medicine and public health, and his research interests include tobacco, radio-frequency radiation and health, transport and injury, and climate change. He has worked for the World Health Organization throughout the Pacific, and was on the writing team of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th assessment reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Since 2009 he has been an editor of the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health.
Alistair Woodward, University of Auckland
|
|
|
In Search of Lost Time: Ancient Eclipses, Roman Fish Tanks and the Enigma of Global Sea Level Rise What do ancient eclipse records kept by Babylonian, Chinese, Arabic and Greek scholars, and fish tanks, built by wealthy Romans during100BC-100AD, contribute to our understanding of modern climate change? Dr. Jerry X. Mitrovica will describe the important role these archaeological treasures have played in the understanding of sea-level rise and how they help scientists both “fingerprint” sources of recent sea level changes and make more accurate projections of future sea levels.
Jerry Mitrovica, Harvard University
|
|
|
Newton and the CounterfeiterOne of the world's greatest scientists, Isaac Newton, changed careers to manage England's Royal Mint at a time when the preponderance of fake money in circulation caused a financial crisis. The story of Newton’s fierce pursuit of the master counterfeiter William Chaloner is woven in a description of the mechanics of minting in the late 17th century and Newton’s management of the Mint.
Thomas Levenson, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
|
 |
|
Test Your Tongue: The Science of TasteA leading expert in taste looks at our understanding of the science of taste and the chemical underpinnings of flavors and foods. Learn about your own tastebuds by sampling miracle fruit, artichokes, fruit strips, and more!
Linda Bartoshuk, University of Florida
|
 |
Click here to view videos from Distinctive Voices@The Beckman Center.
|
|
|
