From the latest imaging methods to DNA sequencing to the brain’s visual system, the upcoming Director’s Seminar Series at Beckman for 2010-11 will reflect the diversity of research interests at the Institute.
Alek Aksimentiev will open this year’s series with a talk titled “Sequencing a DNA Molecule Using a Nanopore” on Sept. 8. Aksimentiev, a member of Beckman’s Theoretical and Computational Biophysics group, is part of a project seeking to create a cheaper, faster method for sequencing DNA.
Longtime Beckman faculty member Zhi-Pei Liang of the Bioimaging Science and Technology group will present his talk “Fast Imaging with Sparse Sampling: Getting More with Less” on Oct. 27. Liang is a leader in improving magnetic resonance imaging techniques.
Umberto Ravaioli of the Computational Multiscale Nanosystems group will give the final presentation of the fall portion of the series. Ravaioli, whose research focuses on transport simulation in nanostructures, will give a talk titled “Charge Transport Simulation: From Transistors to Ion Channels.”
The spring semester portion of the series begins with a talk by Michael Oelze of the Bioacoustics Research Laboratory on January 26, 2011. Oelze’s research interests include ultrasound/tissue interactions. His talk is titled “The Role of Quantitative Ultrasound for Cancer Diagnosis and Monitoring and Assessment of Cancer Therapy.”
The series will next shift gears to psychology with a talk by Diane Beck of the Cognitive Neuroscience group. Beck’s research into the human visual system will be highlighted in the talk “Making Sense of Our Visual World: Our Proficient but Limited Visual Brain” on Feb. 23.
The Director’s Seminar Series at Beckman will once again close out with presentations from Beckman Fellows. On March 16, Joel Voss will present “Neural Systems for the Dynamic Use of Memory” while Agustin Mihi will give the talk “Enhancing the Light Harvesting Efficiency in Dye Sensitized Solar Cells Coupled to Photonic Crystals.” On April 20 Amy Shih will give a presentation titled “The Influence of Lipid Membranes on Protein Structure” while Edward Wlotoko will present “Brain Reading: A Multimodal Approach to Understanding the Neural Mechanisms of Language Comprehension.”
