ADULT PROGRAMS - Needham Public Schools

HUMANITIES, MATH & SCIENCE
HUMANITIES, MATH
& SCIENCE
OLIN COLLEGE LECTURE SERIES
Back by popular demand! The Olin College
Lecture Series has received terrific feedback
for the last eight years, with many enthusiastic
requests to continue the program. We are
very pleased to offer this series of informative
lectures again – thanks to the generosity of the
participating Olin faculty members. Since its
official opening in the fall of 2002, Olin College
has been recognized as a leader in technology
and innovation. We in Needham Community
Education know the Olin faculty and students to be
extremely generous with their time and talents and
are grateful for their presence in our community.
For more information on Olin College, or on the
faculty members presenting these lectures, visit
the Olin website at www.olin.edu
NEW
“AIRFOILS, BRAINS, AND
3D PRINTING”
Christopher Lee, Associate Professor Mechanical
Engineering
What in the world do airfoils, brains, and 3D
printing have to do with each other They are
some of the many research projects ongoing at
Olin College. This talk will describe the motivation
and work performed for three of those projects.
The first deals with the idea of converting energy
that is available in the environment (e.g., heat,
vibration) into electricity to power simple electronic
sensors that, for example, could be used to
monitor and evaluate the ‘health’ of a bridge. In
this case, energy is harvested from an airstream
using an airfoil. The second project deals with
traumatic brain injury. We are developing computer
simulations to evaluate the damage done by
impacts or explosive loading on the human head.
A required input for the simulations is the material
properties of brain tissue that we measure with a
novel optical instrument. A 3D printer can create
complex physical objects. We can print 3D models
from human anatomy that have been generated
from sets of MR images. The focus of the third
project is on creating patient-specific prostate
models to be used for individualized surgical and
radiation therapy treatment planning.
11041 $10
1 Wednesday @ Olin College Academic Center,
Room 328 7-8:30pm
October 2
“MICROBIAL DIVERSITY:
THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND
THE AMAZING”
Jean J. Huang, Associate Professor of Biology
Do creatures that can eat iron nails for lunch, are
square-shaped, or thrive at over 200 degrees
Fahrenheit sound like science fiction These are, in
fact, just some examples of the amazing microbial
characters that live right here on earth! There is a
vast, diverse world of microbes in the environment.
The majority of these microbes do not cause harm,
but carry out a variety of biochemical reactions
that enable the cycling of nutrients vital for the
functioning of the ecosystem. Other bacteria
are important as symbionts in our gut providing
vitamins and aiding our digestion. Through their
metabolisms, bacteria also produce foods that we
enjoy such as yogurt, cheese and sauerkraut. Yet
other bacteria may someday help to efficiently
turn materials such as cornhusks into ethanol or
hydrogen gas and play a vital role for our future.
Studying the microbes can help us in solving
environmental challenges from waste remediation
to energy production. This presentation will
discuss the genetic, biochemical and morphological
diversity of environmental bacteria, the tiny majority.
NOTE: Those who attended this lecture last fall
are encouraged to join us again, since much of the
content will be different from last year’s lecture,
though touching on the same themes.
11037 $10
1 Thursday @ Olin College Academic Center,
Room 113 7-8:30pm
October 10
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NEEDHAM COMMUNITY EDUCATION