Explore UAlbany
August 26, 2011
Explore UAlbany is your opportunity to investigate a topic of interest while connecting with some of UAlbany’s most outstanding faculty! The topic you choose does not have to be related to your intended major. To prepare for your journey on August 26 review the sessions listed below and choose the TOP 3 sessions that interest you the most. You will only attend one session but if your first choice gets closed out it is important to have a backup chosen.
Explore UAlbany Faculty Sessions to choose from:
Anthropolgy
Klingon101: Insights in the Structure of Language
Lee Bickmore, Ph.D.
Lecture Center 2
Klingon, a language constructed for the Star Trek series, raises a number of fascinating questions about the structure of language itself. How unusual could a sound system or syntax be and still be communicative? Could humans acquire it?Art
Keeping it Real: Photographic Veracity in the Age of the Post-Photographic
Danny Goodwin, M.F.A.
Lecture Center 7
Since its invention in 1839, the term "photography" has been expanded to encompass a staggering array of technologies, techniques and media. The digital (especially cell-phone) camera/Photoshop/YouTube/Facebook/Twitter/Flickr/ Tumblr, etc. era has been described by many critics and theorists as "post-photographic". But what does that mean? And beyond the technical and technological shifts in the ways we capture, curate, distribute and consume post-photographic images, what is really at stake for practitioners in the coming years? How have those artists who are working at the "bleeding edge" of photographic theory and technique informed and been informed by the digital (r)evolution?Atmospheric Science
NASA's search for life beyond the Earth
John Delano, Ph.D.
Lecture Center 18
With the discovery of nearly 1600 planets orbiting nearby stars, and the likelihood of additional Earth-like planets being found within the next few months, the stage is being set for learning about Humanity’s context in the galaxy. Will complex life on other planets be common? Or, will it be rare? Is complex life elsewhere in the galaxy likely to have a humanoid appearance? Could the abundance of intelligent, humanoid-like beings on ‘Star Trek’ be exaggerated?Biology
Unraveling the secret lives of apes using DNA
Katy Gonder, Ph.D.
Lecture Center 24
What can chimpanzees tell us about our past? How can we use genetics to trace the sex lives of chimpanzees and to track international wildlife crime? What can chimpanzees in Cameroon tell us about HIV-AIDS? Explore the secret lives of chimpanzees using genetic data from dung collected in tropical forests across Cameroon and Nigeria.Business
Double-Tap for Future
Suraj Commuri, Ph.D.
Lecture Center 5
As the next generation of consumers is growing up relying on their smartphones and social networks, marketing has rapidly evolved to make room. Today's marketing-on-demand bears little resemblance to anything we have seen before. Learn in this lecture what marketing is in the age of social media and smartphones and why the recipe for success is not a lot of money, but a simple idea.
You couldn't Make This Stuff Up! Life Lessons Learned from the Bench
Hon. Joseph W. Sheehan, J.D.
Lecture Center 22
Law Professor and City Court Judge Joseph Sheehan brings his court room experiences to life in business law discussions. Learn how to make good everyday life decisions by learning from other people's mistakes rather than making them yourself!Computer Science
You ain't seen nothing yet: How cheap robots, cameras, and computers are radically changing our lives
George Berg, Ph.D.
Lecture Center 20
Many people think that personal computers linked together via the internet have changed the world. The real changes have barely started. Digital electronics have become increasingly small and inexpensive. This is leading to the use of cameras and sensors in ways that would have been impossible just a few years ago. We are starting to see practical robotic vehicles that can explore land, sea and air. In addition, inexpensive computing power and the ability to store truly amazing amounts of data mean that the data gathered by these devices, as well as just about anything else known about us, can be analyzed and scrutinized. We'll look at several aspects of this. What are the technologies underlying these changes? What is driving the use of these systems? What are the implications for our safety and privacy?Criminal Justice
JurisprUalbany 101
James Acker, Ph.D.
Lecture Center 21
Court cases often make headlines and TV shows are now "ripped from the headlines". Come hear about recent, controversial topics reported in the press that present moral, principled, or practical dilemmas. The topics will embrace constitutional, criminal, and juvenile justice issues and will include the mundane, profane, and inane. All of the issues will lend themselves to legal analysis. You will be encouraged to offer opinions about how the issues should be resolved. Commemorative T-shirts will distributed, as supplies last, to recognize contributions to the discussion. There are no right or wrong answers--only different ones, with different measures of support and justification.
"Ten Things You Thought You Knew About Crime (and Were Wrong)"
Jamie Fader, Ph.D.
Lecture Center 19
Does increased immigration bring higher rates of crime and violence? Do harsh sentences make offenders think twice before committing crime? Does owning a handgun reduce your chance of being a burglary victim (and if not, what does)? Are sex offenders likely to be repeat offenders? Explore leading myths propagated by news coverage and crime dramas.East Asian Studies
What's in Those Manga Speech Bubbles, Anyway?
Susanna Fessler, Ph.D.
Lecture Center 3C
Have you been looking manga for years, even though you don’t read Japanese? How come some of the squiggles in the speech bubbles look simple, and some look complex, and some just look like someone took a knife and slashed the page? What’s up with the written Japanese language? Come find out about the origins of written Japanese, how the language has evolved, and why it is written the way it is today.Education
What Matters in College?
Kevin Kinser, Ed.D.
Lecture Center 1
Your goal is to be successful in college, right? But with so many different options and paths you can take over the next four years, it is difficult to know what are opportunities for personal and intellectual growth, and what are distractions that can prevent you from getting the most out of your college experience. In other words: What matters in college? We’ll examine the research that has been done on this question, and discuss various ways that you can both enjoy college life and maintain your commitment to success.History
Is Race Real?
Rick Fogarty, Ph.D.
Lecture Center 25
Of course it is! What a silly question. It’s as simple as black and white. Or is it? Like many subjects we think we know a lot about, we’ll find that the reality is far more complex and interesting than we often assume. Using examples and research from a wide variety of fields of study, we’ll see that the “reality” of race—what it means in different times, places, and contexts—is far more subject to change, variety, and debate than many people think. Examining diverse ideas about race and the different forms racism has taken in different cultures, both in the past and today, we’ll see that “black and white” is only part of the story. This lecture is just one example of how your college education will take you deeper into everyday problems, broadening your horizons and challenging you to think in new ways.Nanoscale Science
Nanobioscience: A new frontier for human health
Scott Tenebaum, Ph.D.
Lecture Center 3B
The College of Nanoscale Science & Engineering (CNSE) represents a $5.5 Billion world-class nanotechnology research facility that has more than 200 companies and 2,600 employees on site. Although the traditional focus has been on the semi-conductor industry, Nanobioscience represents the new frontier that will shape life-science and human health. It is being used to study, diagnose and cure cancer, study the human genome, develop better drug delivery systems and understand how the brain works! Come learn about this new and exciting frontier.Psychology
Where did i leave my car? Or did i even have a car? The Creation of False Beliefs and False Memories
Jeanette Altarriba, Ph.D.
Lecture Center 6
Have you ever misplaced your keys, forgotten someone’s name, or struggled to recall what you did last night? The phenomenon of memory reconstruction and the development of false memories and beliefs is a “hot topic” in cognitive and memory research. But just how can we demonstrate the existence of such memories? And, when we do forget, what are some techniques to try to remember? Learn about what the research tells us regarding false memories, their impact in your decision making, and what to do to decrease their prevalence.
Welcome to Your Brain
Christine Wagner, Ph.D.
Lecture Center 23
You use your brain 24/7… all day, every day. Did you ever wonder what’s really going on in there? We take for granted how this amazing “stuff” in our heads mediates everything we do… from basics like sleeping and eating to how we perceive our environment, feel emotion and learn something new. What happens in the brain when things go awry in disorders like depression, schizophrenia, and drug addiction? By exploring how the brain functions, we’ll discuss what neuroscientists know about how the brain controls behavior. We will also see just how much we have yet to learn about this remarkable “stuff” that allows us to do what we do.Public Health
To What’s all the Fuss about Health Care Reform?
Diane Dewar, Ph.D.
Lecture Center 3A
What’s wrong with the health care system in the U.S.? Why are there over 15 million people without health insurance? What’s being done to improve the health of the U.S. population? Will President Obama’s health care reform legislation work? Explore the answers to these questions and more as you analyze the federal health policy process, getting beyond the hype and heated rhetoric and diving into the issues in all their complexity.Social Welfare
What do social work, Ethiopia and health disparities have to do with being a freshman?
Robert Miller Jr., Ph.D.
Lecture Center 14
So you've chosen a University whose brand includes: “A World Within Reach." International education within a social work context has core elements of self-determination, advocacy, social justice and a real sense of loving great food that has a spicy kick. It also has to do with using your inherent skills sets of being self-aware, appreciating your surroundings and thinking critically about how you use your background. What are your core identities? What are your experiences with health outcomes of your family and your community? How do you juxtapose those ideas in exploring the world, downtown Albany, the UAlbany Podium or the Quads to get through your first semester as well as begin crafting a plan to make a difference in "the world within reach?" This interactive lecture will invite you to think about how you got here and what you will do with the opportunity you've been afforded.Sociology
Beyond Blame: a sociological perspective on the financial crisis
Dr. Aaron Major, Ph.D.
Lecture Center 4
Greed, laziness, stupidity--the conventional wisdom about "how we got into this mess" reads like the seven deadly sins, all pointing their finger at individuals and their failings. Taking a sociological perspective we can step back and view individuals in the context of powerful social forces that encouraged risky financial behavior.
