By Sean Colvin Staff writer
Three Susquehanna professors from the neuroscience, political science and chemistry departments held a series of “360-second” lectures on March 28 as part of the initiative of the honors program, namely junior business major Anya Dunn in Degenstein Meeting Rooms four and five.
Students heard lectures from Kathleen Bailey, associate professor of psychology, Michelle DeMary, associate professor of political science and Lou Ann Tom, associate professor of chemistry.
The lectures were in their respective fields, which, according to Dunn, is to help to promote cross-discipline integration for students.
Though they were called “360-second” lectures, the talks generally went on for longer than six minutes due to technical difficulties, but also because of the interest of the speakers and questioning from students and peers assembled in the audience.
Bailey first presented on the questions raised by functional MRI technology, which highlights the parts of the brain that are active during certain tasks.
Specifically, Bailey was interested in tests where participants were known to be either lying or telling the truth, and the potential legal questions raised.
A collection of brain scans from approximately 25 people seemed to show consistencies in the parts of the brain, which are active when we are being honest or not.
Her question was this: How will we use these “maps” of brain activity responsibly for legal proceedings?
She also raised questions of whether these functional MRIs can tell us anything about adjudication of blame for the underdeveloped brains of juveniles convicted of crimes.
Bailey said, “People are going to serve on juries, or at least assess media’s claims about what neuroscience can tell us about what the brain is doing.”
She continued, “If you don’t have any background, its very easy to believe in this over identification of what neuroscience is good for and also what it simply can’t do.”
Next, DeMary gave the students in attendance a short run-down of the Electoral College, an institution that, she said, many people in the United States do not understand.
Originally, the Electoral College was developed by Alexander Hamilton, who doubted the ability of the people to elect their own leader in an informed way.
The Electoral College is essentially a way of concentrating voting power through the election by the people of state legislators, who then choose our electors, who then elect our president.
According to DeMary, the main reason why a candidate may lose the popular vote, but win the electoral vote, and therefore the election, is that in our system, 49 out of 51 voting states have winner-take-all systems, where if 50.1 percent of a vote is won by a candidate, they will receive all of the electoral votes of that state. Hence, the 2016 election.
DeMary said, “I teach American politics, so I’ve always taught about the Electoral College, but it’s been a particular pertinence to the general public. I’ve spent a lot of time arguing with people about the fact that we do have a legitimate winner, whether you like that winner or not, and they played by the rules of the game.”
She added, “An informed electorate is a better electorate and ultimately we’ll make the right decision, so it’s my job to help people understand it.”
Tom presented on the responsible disposal of pharmaceuticals, which are not accepted back by pharmacies and the companies that produce them.
It’s unacceptable to flush them down the toilet or throw them in the trash because their toxicity to the environment, specifically to water supply.
Her recent work in the chemistry department has been with developing a way to dissolve the pills quickly and in a way that will not leave a more toxic result that what is started with.
Dunn said that these 360-second lectures, which the honors program hosts once every semester, are so that students can get a glimpse into the projects of other departments to promote a more integrated education.
Dunn said: “We wanted to get to know professors that are outside of our majors. The honors program is all about getting yourself out there and learning different subjects that you didn’t cover in your classes.”
Dunn described the lectures as a snapshot of the goings-on of different departments.
“It’s beneficial for the professors to talk about their research, but also for the students to get a more integrated education,” she said.
Senior Emily Leboffe said, “The 360-second lecture series is one of my favorite events hosted by the honors council because it provides a unique opportunity to hear from professors you may or may not otherwise interact with.”
She continued, “I always come away from them learning something I was not expecting to.”
