Category: scientists

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Learn about the Higgs Boson with Dr. Heather Gray (Cal/LBL) Wed. 1/9/19

Title: “The Higgs Boson” with Dr. Heather Gray of UC Berkeley

Date, Time, Location: Wednesday, January 9th, 2019; 7:30 – 8:30 pm at Terra Linda HS in San Rafael, Room 207

Description:  In 2012, the Higgs boson was discovered at the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva, Switzerland. I will explain what this Higgs boson is and why it is so important that we spent 10 billion dollars to build an enormous collider (and detectors) to find it. I’ll introduce the complex experiments that we use to study the Higgs and explain how we actually go about measuring its properties. I will also review what we currently do and don’t know about the Higgs, while focusing on some of its weird features. We’ll conclude with a short discussion about what the Higgs boson might tell us about the future of the universe.

Professor Heather Gray of UC Berkeley

Heather Gray is an Assistant Professor in physics at UC Berkeley/Lawrence Berkeley Lab. She splits her time between Berkeley and Geneva while working on the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. She specializes in the Higgs boson and also works on silicon pixel detectors and algorithms to figure out the paths of particles based on the information they leave in detectors. Heather is originally from Cape Town, South Africa, where she did her undergraduate degree and spent 7 years working for CERN in Switzerland. When not at work, she can usually be found in the mountains or the ocean.

RSVP on Facebook here.

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Natalie Ciaccio, PhD

Title: “The Pharmacy of Genes: Drug Development for Genetic Diseases” with Natalie Ciaccio Ph.D. of Biomarin

Date, Time, Location: Wednesday, October 3rd, 2018; 7:30 – 8:30 pm at Terra Linda HS in San Rafael, Room 207

NEW Watch Dr. Ciaccio’s presentation in VR below!

Bio: Dr. Ciaccio is a Sr. Scientist working in Formulation Development at BioMarin Pharmaceutical, Inc. in Novato, Ca. Prior to joining BioMarin, Dr. Ciaccio completed her Postdoctoral training in the Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences at the University of California San Francisco, where she explored the application of drug delivery technologies for sustained release of biologics. Previously, Dr. Ciaccio obtained her PhD in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from the University of Kansas, where she investigated mechanisms of protein degradation and aggregation. She obtained her BS in Pharmacy from Purdue University and spent three years working in Quality Control at Eli Lilly and Co., supporting insulin manufacturing prior to attending graduate school.

Watch Dr. Ciaccio’s presentation in Virtual Reality (VR) below! Use your keyboard arrows or click and drag to visit the Marin Science Seminar classroom.

The Pharmacy Of Genes from Marin Science Seminar on Vimeo.   Video by MSS intern Satvik Namburu

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Join us and learn! – Back to the Marin Science Seminar calendar

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“Wild Worms and Mineral Mosaics” – An Interview with Jennifer Runyan of the Lawrence Hall of Science

by Shoshana Harlem, Terra Linda High School

Jennifer Runyan is a Science Communication Fellow and works for the Ocean Exploration Trust. She received BS in Marine Biology and an Environmental Studies degree. She explores the organisms and nutrients in the ocean and has went to many places such as the Gulf of California.

1. What made you want to study hypothermal vent communities?

I applied for a Science Communication Fellowship to be able to learn new ways to communicate science and thought exploring the deep sea and hypothermal vents would be a great way to go.

2.  What are the best parts of your job?

Working with people from diverse backgrounds and responsibilities on the ship, from video engineers, Remotely Operated Vehicle pilots, to the scientists.

3. What are the worst parts of your job?

The late night watch shifts can be a bit challenging for me to stay up for!

Mysterious Purple Orb

4. What organisms and nutrients do you find deep down in the ocean?

We have found many organisms from various types of tube worms, fish, octopi, deep sea jellies, and other invertebrates. We have found some very exciting organisms such as the mysterious purple orb, a dead whale fall, and the adorable googly eyed stubby squid. As for nutrients, it depends on the location and what kind of geological or biological activity is present.

5. What was your favorite deep sea adventure?

I enjoyed getting a chance to see the biological diversity of life around differing hypothermal vents within the Gulf of California.

Wednesday, January 17, 2018 at Terra Linda High School from 7:30 PM – 8:30 PM in Room 207
http://www.marinscienceseminar.com/speakers/jrunyan.html

Follow Jennifer Runyan’s deep sea adventures on https://nautiluslive.org/.

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“The Fountain of Youth” – An Interview with Chong He of the Buck Institute, Novato

by Shoshana Harlem, Terra Linda High School

Dr. Chong He works at the Buck Institute in Novato. She received a PhD in Chemistry at Peking University. She studies the lifespan of worms and yeasts and solutions in how to improve their lifespan. One of her most recent discoveries was that ibuprofen can help yeasts and worms live a longer life.

1.       What made you want to study diseases and medicine?

My parents are medical doctors. My mom specializes in internal medicine and my dad is a surgeon. Growing up in a medical doctor environment, I became very interested in how the human body works. And that’s why I decided to study medicine and aging.

2.       What are the best parts of your job?

The best part of my job is that I can get to find answers to questions that no one else in the world knows how to solve. I get to be the first one in the world who can make discoveries to prove my hypothesis. This makes me feel very special.

3.       What are the worst parts of your job?

There are more failures than successes in scientific research.

4.       How does ibuprofen help create a longer life?


One of my aging animal models is yeast. When I gave yeast ibuprofen, it seems that ibuprofen makes the yeast uptake less nutrition, such as tryptophan, which is an amino acid that can help our body to make more protein. Even though our body needs tryptophan, too much might not be beneficial for longevity.
5.       How can life be extended?

The worm is another animal model commonly used by scientists to study aging. We can measure the health of worms by measuring how fast they can move. The movement decreases during aging. But when we fed worms ibuprofen, we found that ibuprofen can make old worms move faster. This made us think that ibuprofen might extend healthspan.

Want to learn more about Dr. Chong He and aging? Join us on Wednesday, January 31, 2018 at Terra Linda High School from 7:30 PM – 8:30 PM in Room 207!
http://marinscienceseminar.com/speakers/che.html




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Mathematical Models Help Tell the Future of Animals That Are Living in the Ocean

by Shoshana Harlem, Terra Linda High School

The future of animals in the ocean is unknown. But,
mathematical models can help scientists predict 
information about the circumstances of animals lives in the ocean.

The future of our oceans and the future of the animals living is unpredictable. This is where scientists use math to figure out what is going to happen. Changes in temperature affect animals living in the water. The temperature of the water determines which animals will do well in the water and thrive, and which will struggle, die, and become extinct. There is a range of temperatures an organism can survive in. Each organism has a thermal death point. Certain temperature ranges help an animal reproduce and have more of one organism. There is a range in which species can function which is at or near optimum. When the species are not at or near their optimum point, it is a sign of physiological stress which can cause problems in the organism.

Scientists, including graduate students, researchers, and post-docs in the life sciences and mathematics, often use mathematical models. A mathematical model is a complex model that represents relationships in mathematical form that is used to study the behavior of a certain organism to make reasonable conclusions. Mathematical models can solve problems relating to biology and many other fields.

Scientists, such as Alma Yesenia Ceja who is
speaking at the next seminar, studies and will
talk about what data she finds through mathematical
models about the future lives of crabs.
To learn more about how scientists use math to predict the future of crabs and other animals, come to the Marin Science Seminar in room 207 on Wednesday, March 29, 2017. Alma Yesenia Ceja of the Romberg Tiburon Center for Environmental Studies and SFSU will be speaking. Join us and learn!

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