Science Cafe Rochester (NY)

12/20/2021

The 2022 winter/spring season of the Rochester Science Cafe is cancelled due to the resurgence of Covid-19 infections and concerns over the Omicron variant. We wish everyone a safe winter.

09/06/2021

The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute @ RIT has a number of fall offerings in STEM fields.

05/24/2021

Join us for a unique Science Cafe:

https://rit.zoom.us/j/96028743897?pwd=T3NGV0xUcEtTNzFQTkpUVUwwTXpsUT09

7 pm Tuesday May 25 (Zoom)

Drs. Steven Weinstein, Ph.D. and Nate Barlow, Ph.D.
Departments of Chemical Engineering (SW) and School of Mathematics (NB)
Rochester Institute of Technology

“What is Chemical Engineering and How is it Different From Chemistry"

Chemical engineers develop processes that transform raw materials into useful chemicals that enhance our quality of life. In addition to chemicals found in products used by consumers every day, chemical engineers create novel materials such as nanoscale composites, pharmaceuticals, plastics, fibers, metals, and ceramics. Chemical engineers are trained to design and control chemically reactive processes to achieve desired chemical purity. However, they also use their intricate knowledge of chemistry, engineering principles, and applied mathematics to work in a variety of other applications. These include applied energy systems, biomedical materials and therapies, and strategies to minimize the environmental impact of technological advancements.

A common question that many ask is, “How is chemical engineering different from chemistry?” Typically, chemists create new molecules via chemical reactions, examine the underlying mechanisms involved, and make precise chemical measurements on a bench scale in small volumes. Chemical engineers utilize the initial work of the chemists, but often need to modify the reactions themselves, as they can be too slow to be useful. Additionally, chemical engineers examine how the size of a system affects the chemistry, as both heat transfer and mixing processes get more difficult with increased system size—and the scale need to be larger to meet demand for chemicals. The interaction between size and chemistry is non-trivial and requires bench top and larger scale experimentation in which key parameters are measured. Such parameters are, in turn, inserted into mathematical models to predict larger scales. This is an iterative process and requires intensive chemistry, engineering, and mathematical training to master.

Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: Rochester Science Cafe. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting.

02/21/2021

Join us 7 pm Tuesday February 23rd for a cafe by Dr. Tony Wong.

"Evaluating the Sensitivity of SARS-CoV-2 Infection Rates on College Campuses to Wastewater Surveillance"

Zoom link: https://rit.zoom.us/j/96028743897?pwd=T3NGV0xUcEtTNzFQTkpUVUwwTXpsUT09

Passcode: 732879

Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: Rochester Science Cafe. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting.

02/01/2021

Our February 23rd Science Cafe is in the works. Look for an announcement in the coming days. Look on this page or on the blogspot page. You can request to have your email address added to receive alerts:

Welcome to the blog of Rochester's Science Cafe! Science Cafes are interactive events involving face-to-face conversations with leading scientists about relevant current topics. Ours meets on the fourth Tuesday of the month in the Community Room on the second Floor of the Pittsford Plaza Barnes and....

01/17/2021

Our January Cafe will be Tuesday, January 26, at 7pm.

“Planetary atmospheres: The winds of change in our Solar System”

Dr. Kelly Douglass, Ph.D.
Visiting Assistant Professor of Physics & Astronomy
Department of Physics & Astronomy
University of Rochester
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Join Zoom Meeting
https://rit.zoom.us/j/96028743897?pwd=T3NGV0xUcEtTNzFQTkpUVUwwTXpsUT09
Meeting ID: 960 2874 3897
Passcode: 732879
+1 646 558 8656 US (New York)

Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: Rochester Science Cafe. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting.

12/23/2020

Our January 26 cafe will be announced shortly.

12/04/2020

As usual, because of the holidays there will be no December Science Cafe. The next cafe will be Tuesday January 26. Please be safe.

11/24/2020

For our November Zoom Science Cafe, we are mixing things up a little:

7 pm Tuesday November 24
“2020 Elections: Polarization, Discourse, Democratic Institutions”
Professor Lynda Powell, Ph.D.
University of Rochester Department of Political Science
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Here is what you'll need for next week and all future Zoom meetings of the Science Cafe. If you run into any problems, please reply to this email and I will make sure you can get in.

Join Zoom Meeting
https://rit.zoom.us/j/96028743897?pwd=T3NGV0xUcEtTNzFQTkpUVUwwTXpsUT09

Meeting ID: 960 2874 3897
Passcode: 732879

Dial by your location
+1 646 558 8656 US (New York)

Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: Rochester Science Cafe. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting.

11/19/2020

Why a November 24 cafe on political science? Though not a hard science, PS does use the scientific method to gather and analyze data. Modeling, hypothesis building and testing, and peer review of published results are standard in this academic field. Another reason is that our last two on-line cafes suffered from Powerpoint syndrome and lack of group engagement. Dr. Powell will not use Powerpoint. If the topic of these 2020 elections do not excite and engage our group, then I don't know what will!

11/13/2020

Tuesday November 24th we are pleased to announce that University of Rochester Professor Lynda Powell will present on the 2020 election: "2020 Elections: Polarization, Discourse, Democratic Institutions"

Dr. Powell's academic interests:

American politics. Current research focuses on the influence of campaign contributions in American legislatures and on legislative bipartisanship, polarization and representation. My most recent book, The Influence of Campaign Contributions in State Legislatures: The Effects of Institutions and Politics (University of Michigan Press, 2012) won the Fenno Prize, the best book award of the Legislative Studies Section of APSA, and was the inaugural winner of the Gray Prize, the best book award of the State Politics and Policy Section of APSA. A description of the book can be found here on the publisher's website. Other publications include The Financiers of Congressional Elections (co-authors Peter Francia, John Green, Paul Herrnson, and Clyde Wilcox; Columbia University Press, 2003); Term Limits in the State Legislatures (co-authors John Carey and Richard G. Niemi; University of Michigan Press, 2000); Serious Money: Fundraising and Contributing in Presidential Nomination Campaigns (co-authors Clifford W. Brown, Jr., and Clyde Wilcox; Cambridge University Press, 1995); and articles in journals including the American Journal of Political Science, the Journal of Politics and Legislative Studies Quarterly. Teaches courses in American politics. Directs European Political and Business Internships, Washington Semester Program and local internships, including District Attorney Internships and Public Defender Internships.

11/09/2020

Science! 2 dose Covid-19 Cvaccine. Phase 3 90% effective. Protection produced within 28 days. Could produce 1.3 billion doses in 2021.

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) and BioNTech SE (Nasdaq: BNTX) today announced their mRNA-based vaccine candidate, BNT162b2, against SARS-CoV-2 has demonstrat