Seminars

Upcoming Seminars / Seminars This Week



Mon 2/2/15 11 am	Abelson 307
String Theory Seminar
Guido D'Amico (New York University)
Photon-Axion conversion in cosmic light
Hosted by Albion Lawrence
Mon 2/2/15 11 am	Volen 201
Computational Neuroscience Journal Club
NO Journal Club
POSTPONED due to weather
Bevil Conway (Wellesley) Color: a tool for understanding neural computations underlying perception and cognition
Hosted by Steven Van Hooser
Mon 2/2/15 12 noon	Rosenstiel 118
Special Seminar (Quantitative Cell Biology Faculty Search)
Stephanie Weber (Princeton University)
Inverse size scaling of the nucleolus by a concentration-dependent phase transition
Lunch (Pizza!) will be served
Hosted by Piali Sengupta and Zvonimir Dogic
Mon 2/2/15 4 pm	Gerstenzang 121
Chemistry Department Colloquium
NO Colloquium
POSTPONED due to weather
Jeffrey Moore (Illinois) Self-Healing Polymers
Hosted by I. Epstein
Tue 2/3/15 11 am	Abelson 131
Special Seminar (Biochemistry Faculty Search)
Robert McGinty (Penn State)
Chemistry, crystallography and nucleosome ubiquitylation
Pizza Lunch Provided
Tue 2/3/15 12:30 pm	Gerstenzang 121
Neurobiology Journal Club
Heather Panic (Dizio)
Identification of a brainstem circuit regulating visual cortical state in parallel with locomotion
Bo-mi Song (Garrity Lab)
Neuroepithelial circuit formed by innervation of sensory enteroendocrine cells
Tue 2/3/15 4 pm	Abelson 131
Physics Department Colloquium
Dustin Kleckner (University of Chicago)
Vortex Knots in Fluids and Superfluids
Linked and knotted field lines appear as important features in many physical fields, e.g., tangled vortex lines in turbulent flows or braided loops of plasma on the surface of the sun. In idealized examples, the topology (knottedness) of these field lines may never change, and is associated with a conserved quantity. Real dissipative fields, however, go through Ôreconnections' which may untie knots and raise difficult questions about the role of topologically conserved quantities. I will describe novel techniques we have developed to generate vortex knots in experimental fluids and simulated superfluids. Our first glimpses into the behavior of these elemental knots show that their dynamics can be understood in terms of system-independent geometric principles.
Hosted by Zvonimir Dogic
Wed 2/4/15 12 noon	Shapiro Science Center 3-37
Theory IGERT Seminar
Anatoli Polkounikov (Boston University)
Emergent non-adiabatic dynamics and geometric response in interacting systems
I will overview relations between the non-adiabatic response and the geometric tensor. In particular, I will show how the Berry curvature (imaginary part of the geometric tensor) and the topological phase transitions can be engineered and measured using non-adiabatic response and discuss recent experiments in superconducting qubits. The real part of the geometric tensor (Fubini-Study metric) can be measured through noise or imaginary part of the linear response susceptibility. In turn this metric can be used to construct new geometric and topological invariants based on the Euler characteristic. In the last part of the talk I will show that the Newtonian or Hamiltonian dynamics is emergent from the non-adiabatic response and that the notion of the mass is closely related to the metric tensor. I will discuss leading corrections beyond the Hamiltonian dynamics. I will demonstrate general results using simple examples of particles or photons confined to a cavity.
Hosted by Albion Lawrence
Wed 2/4/15 12 noon	Shapiro Science Center 1-03 Library
Special Seminar
Elizabeth Ferry
Bridging The Two Cultures
Wed 2/4/15 4 pm	Gerstenzang 121
Joint Biology/Neuroscience Colloquium (Bauer)
Diane Lipscombe (Brown University)
Neuronal Calcium Channel Cell Specific Splicing: Patterns and Properties
Hosted by Eve Marder & Sue Paradis
Thu 2/5/15 11 am	Rosenstiel 118
Special Seminar (Biochemistry Faculty Search)
Tijana Ivanovic (Harvard University)
Viral membrane fusion: Leading the way with influenza, virion by virion
Pizza Lunch Provided
Thu 2/5/15 12 noon	Rosenstiel 118
Psychology Department Brown Bag
Diana Rosa-Leyra (Face Perception Lab)
Attractive faces move us. But, can ugly faces move us as well?
Kenneth Pitts (Health Lab)
TBA
Thu 2/5/15 1 pm	Abelson 131
Special Physics Department Colloquium
Karen Kasza (Sloan-Kettering Institute)
Spatiotemporal control of the active forces that shape living tissues
The ability of multicellular tissues to physically change shape, move, and grow is a key feature of life. These behaviors are often accomplished by local movements or rearrangements of cells within the tissues. Many cell movements are actively driven by contractile forces generated in cells by the motor protein myosin II. During embryonic development, these forces are patterned to orient cell movements, resulting in changes in tissue shape and structure that build functional tissues and organs. To uncover how force-generation by myosin drives cell movement and determines the physical behavior of tissues, I use the fruit fly embryo as a model system, where polarized patterns of myosin activity orient cell movements and rapidly elongate the embryo. I will discuss how studying embryos generated with engineered myosin variants allows us to dissect mechanisms underlying tissue behavior. In particular, I will describe how myosin variants with enhanced activity accelerate cell movement but, surprisingly, also alter the spatial pattern of forces and result in reduced tissue elongation. These experiments reveal that the levels and patterns of forces are controlled by the same biological cue and suggest a trade-off between the speed and orientation of cell movements within tissues. These studies of how forces shape the fruit fly embryo shed light not only on physical principles at work in active, living materials but also on how defects in cell movements contribute to human birth defects and tumor metastasis.
Hosted by Zvonimir Dogic
Fri 2/6/15 11:30 am	Abelson 131
Biochemistry-Biophysics Friday Lunchtime Pizza Talks
Doro Kern (Biochemistry Dept., Brandeis)
Protein Kinase Allosteric Activation; 2.5 Billion Years of Evolution
Fri 2/6/15 12:30 pm	Gerstenzang 123
Molecular and Cell Biology & Neuroscience Student Seminars
Marissa Donovan (Marr Lab)
Adriane Otopalik (Marder Lab)
Mon 2/9/15 11 am	Abelson 307
String Theory Seminar
Tracy Slatyer (MIT)
TBA
Hosted by Albion Lawrence
Mon 2/9/15 12 noon
Special Seminar (Quantitative Cell Biology Faculty Search)
Aaron Christopher Groen (Harvard Medical School)
Hosted by Bruce Goode and Zvonimir Dogic
Mon 2/9/15 4 pm	Gerstenzang 121
Chemistry Department Colloquium
Jianghong Rao (Stanford University)
Development of a biocompatible condensation reaction for biological imaging
Hosted by B. Xu
Tue 2/10/15 11 am	Abelson 131
Special Seminar (Biochemistry Faculty Search)
Scott Bailey (Johns Hopkins University)
RNA-mediated immunity in Bacteria: the CRISPR-Cas system
Pizza Lunch Provided
Tue 2/10/15 4 pm	Abelson 131
Physics Department Colloquium
Scott Forth (Rockefeller University)
TBA
Hosted by Zvonimir Dogic
Wed 2/11/15 9:30 am	Abelson 307
MRSEC Executive Committee Meeting
( )
Wed 2/11/15 4 pm	Gerstenzang 121
Joint Biology/Neuroscience Colloquium
BJ Casey (Director and Sackler Professor, Sackler Institute, Department of Psychiatry)
Self Control and the Teen Brain: Arrested Development or Adaptive Evolution?
Hosted by Angela Gutchess
Thu 2/12/15 11 am	Rosenstiel 118
Special Seminar (Biochemistry Faculty Search)
Maria-Eirini Pandelia (Penn State)
Unraveling Nature's mechanisms: Complex metalloclusters with fascinating chemistry
Pizza Lunch Provided
Thu 2/12/15 1 pm	Gerstenzang 122
Special Physics Colloquium
Wylie Ahmed (Institute Curie)
Note change of location.
Hosted by Zvonimir Dogic
Fri 2/13/15 11 am	Abelson 131
Biochemistry-Biophysics Friday Lunchtime Pizza Talks
Dan Oprian (Biochemistry Dept., Brandeis)
Fri 2/13/15 12:30 pm	Gerstenzang 123
Molecular and Cell Biology & Neuroscience Student Seminars
Jason Osik (Van Hooser Lab)
Josef Clark (Lau Lab)
Tue 2/17/15 4 pm	Abelson 131
Special Physics Department Colloquium
Alvaro Sanchez (Harvard University)
TBA
Hosted by Zvonimir Dogic
Fri 2/20/15 11 am
Biochemistry-Biophysics Friday Lunchtime Pizza Talks
No Seminar
No seminar, Midterm Recess
Mon 2/23/15 11 am	Abelson 307
String Theory Seminar
Aron Wall (IAS)
Hosted by Matthew Headrick
Mon 2/23/15 12 noon
Special Seminar (Quantitative Cell Biology Faculty Search)
Chuan-Hsiang Huang (The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine)
The WAVE Regulatory Complex Links Diverse Receptors to the Actin Cytoskeleton
Hosted by Piali Sengupta
Mon 2/23/15 4 pm	Gerstenzang 121
Chemistry Department Colloquium
Qian Wang (University of Carolina)
Self-assembled Protein Nanoparticles for Chemistry and Biomedical applications
Hosted by B. Xu
Tue 2/24/15 4 pm	Abelson 131
Physics Department Colloquium
Xuefeng Wang (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champagne)
TBA
Hosted by Zvonimir Dogic
Wed 2/25/15 4 pm	Gerstenzang 121
Joint Biology/Neuroscience Colloquium
Jack Horner (Museum of the Rockies)
Dinosaur Behaviors
Hosted by Griffith
Thu 2/26/15 12 noon	Rosenstiel 118
Psychology Department Brown Bag
Veronica Flores (Behavior, Learning & Electrophysiology Lab)
TBA
Yile Sun (Vision Lab)
TBA
Thu 2/26/15 1 pm	TBA
Special Physics Colloquium
Ben Rogers (Harvard University)
TBA
Hosted by Zvonimir Dogic
Fri 2/27/15 11 am	Abelson 131
Biochemistry-Biophysics Friday Lunchtime Pizza Talks
Joe Howard (Yale)
Hosted by Prof. Gelles, Prof. Goode & Prof. Kondev
Fri 2/27/15 12:30 pm	Gerstenzang 123
Molecular and Cell Biology & Neuroscience Student Seminars
Cara Pina (Lovett Lab)
Nate Miska (Turrigiano Lab)
Mon 3/2/15 11 am	Abelson 307
String Theory Seminar
Sarah Harrison (Harvard University)
TBA
Hosted by Albion Lawrence
Mon 3/2/15 12 noon
Special Seminar (Quantitative Cell Biology Faculty Search)
Bing He (Princeton University)
From molecular determinants to physical principles: how genetically patterned forces change cell shape
Hosted by Paul Garrity
Mon 3/2/15 4 pm	Gerstenzang 121
Chemistry Department Colloquium
Alan Goldman (Rutgers)
Catalytic Alkane Conversion Reactions with Pincer-Iridium Complexes. Mechanism and Selectivity
Hosted by C. Wade
Thu 3/5/15 12 noon	Lurias, Hassenfeld Conference Center
Psychology Department Colloquium
Mieke Verfaeille (Boston University School of Medicine)
TBA
Hosted by Angela Gutchess
Thu 3/5/15 12 noon
Special Seminar (Quantitative Cell Biology Faculty Search)
Reza Farhadifar (Harvard)
Hosted by JanŽ Kondev and Piali Sengupta
Fri 3/6/15 11 am	Abelson 131
Biochemistry-Biophysics Friday Lunchtime Pizza Talks
Third Graduate Student Rotation Talks
Fri 3/6/15 12:30 pm	Gerstenzang 123
Molecular and Cell Biology & Neuroscience Student Seminars
Aaron Bergman (Katz Lab)
Daniel Stoddard (Nicastro Lab)
Mon 3/9/15 11 am	Abelson 307
String Theory Seminar
Matthew Headrick (Brandeis University)
TBA
Hosted by Albion Lawrence
Mon 3/9/15 12 noon	Rosenstiel 118
Molecular Genetics Journal Club
Kevin Eggan (Harvard University Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology; Howard Hughes Medical Institute)
Hosted by Genetics Training Grant Students
Tue 3/10/15 12:30 pm	Gerstenzang 121
M.R. Bauer Distinguished Guest Lecture Series
Eric Herzog (Washington University)
Wed 3/11/15 12 noon	Shapiro Science Center 3-37
Theory IGERT Seminar
Brad Marston (Brown University)
TBA
Hosted by Albion Lawrence
Fri 3/13/15 11 am	Abelson 131
Biochemistry-Biophysics Friday Lunchtime Pizza Talks
Sun Hur (Harvard Medical School)
Hosted by Prof. Timo Street
Fri 3/13/15 12:30 pm	Gerstenzang 123
Molecular and Cell Biology & Neuroscience Student Seminars
Mikael Garabedian (Goode Lab)
Nicole Amichetti (Wingfield Lab)