THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2013
LOCAL
Casual lectures promote scientific discussion
PAGE 3
REID EGGLESTON
reggleston@kansan.com
It started off as a whim, really. An optimistic thought with the intent of bringing together the KU and Lawrence community over a pint and a discussion on the scientific discoveries KU faculty had to offer.
Now, Jenny Humphrey and Chuck Magerl, co-founders of the program Science on Tap, look at how the lecture series has transformed its regular attendees, its host bar and its city.
Science on Tap began three years ago as a collaborative public outreach initiative between the KU Natural History Museum and Free State Brewery, 636 Massachusetts St., to bring the wonder of scientific discoveries made atop the hill to an engaged Lawrence community.
"Our topics have ranged over everything from dark energy and black holes to evolution and the fossil record to human sexuality", Free State Brewery owner and Science on Tap co-founder Chuck Magerl said.
With the strategy of dropping a bit of knowledge between a meal and a few drinks, Science on Tap entices the attendee to learn something new from scientific hot topics in an open, relaxed environment.
"I just went for the sheer interest," said Madison Outlaw, a freshman from Overland Park. "The fact that it's normal people going to hear about a topic that matters
inside and outside the academic level helped spur my decision to go."
And it's not just students who are benefiting. Two years ago, Michael Vitevitch, a cognitive psychology professor and an advocate of addressing the simple questions that will help solve psychology's stickiest issues, presented at Science on Tap on the role of language in establishing human networks.
"The people who came made some interesting comments," Vitevitch said. "People raised issues that my colleagues and I would overlook — issues that we started to look into further."
Vitevitch acknowledges that the scientific process is "not a straight line", and that a wide array of resources must be tapped in order to gain meaningful and far-reaching discoveries.
"It really made me want to be the one to lead my field," Vitevitch said. "It made me want to take a basic finding and make it more tangible."
"A lot of the set-up comes from the scientists themselves," Magerl said. "These scientists around the community acknowledge that many of the intuitive developments don't come from a cubicle or hunched over a lab bench, but in a group of people, just talking and sharing time together."
Of course, at the heart of Science on Tap's campaign is the growth and awareness of the viewer. With a turnout of about 50 engaged
spectators each month. Science on Tap allows for a complex interplay between all those fascinated by the topic, whether they are experts in the field or laymen intrigued by the implications of a scientific topic.
"People could ask whatever they wanted, and, of course, these are doctors and researchers, so they know how to address a question, but they help everyone there understand what their take on a certain
"We're taking advantage of the best the University has to offer and where it leads us."
CHUCK MAGERL Science on Tap Co-Founder
For Maldonado, the appeal isnt just having questions answered, though. It's also about realizing the applicability of skills and knowledge gained over three years of college experience.
issue is," said Kacey Maldonado, a junior from Hutchinson.
"The program raises questions, but it also helps reinforce what you already know," Maldonado said. "You can be confident going into it that you'll learn something, but you'll also feel comfortable in that what you knew before coming in can be applied to something in the future."
One of the major draws of the program is the opportunity to knock down a Free State burger while spending time in a back-and-forth discussion on a pressing topic.
"Well, of course, I wish I would have ordered food during it, because seeing it being walked around on an empty stomach was brutal." Outlaw said. "If you're interested in a topic, you should definitely go to ask questions."
The idea of providing academic dialogue in a nonconfrontational setting has extended to universities and other centers of learning across the United States. Magerl's ambition is to eventually spread this program throughout Kansas. He even points out his idea of promoting Free State's program as a traveling event, taking it to corners of Kansas far beyond the hills of Oread.
"One of the wonderful features of Lawrence is the learning experience." Magerl said. "Even if you're not a student, the community of minds provides just a wealth of information. If we can keep our minds thrilled, it's an invigorating part of life. We're taking advantage of the best the University has to offer and where it leads us."
Science on Tap not only encourages viewers to raise questions that challenge the speaker and the beliefs of the audience, but also dares them to think about things through a critical eye and bring this thought process to the rest of
the population.
"Just look at Congress to see how uninfluenced by data people are," Vitevitch said. "I think that's changing. People are beginning to see the value of information, and the information itself is getting better."
Still, at the core of the experience is the search for a fire in the belly and an event that will shift the way attendees view the vastness and intricacy of the natural world.
"Every month, there's at least someone who has that illuminated moment, almost like knowledge is being cross-pollinated among a group of people," Magerl said.
The next meeting will take place March 12 with a look at the role gut microbiomes have in alcoholic liver disease.
Edited by Dylan Lysen
ARTS
It's never too early to start the job search! Tomorrow's Career Fair is in the KS Union ballroom from 2 to 6 p.m. with an open house next door at the MRC from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Come network with potential employers.
- A 24-year-old male was arrested Sunday on the 2000 block of Ousdahl Road under suspicion of not having a valid driver's license. A $100 bond was paid.
- A 21-year-old male was arrested Sunday on the 1000 block of 23rd Street under suspicion of not having valid registration, obstructing the legal process, not having proof of liability insurance and driving with a suspended license. A $1,500 bond was set.
POLICE REPORTS
Information based on the Douglas County Sheriff's Office booking recap.
- A 34-year-old male was arrested yesterday on the 800 block of Massachusetts Street under suspicion of aggravated battery. No bond was set.
- A 27-year-old male was arrested yesterday on the 900 block of Massachusetts Street under suspicion of domestic battery. No bond was set.
Iwo students receive Langston Hughes Creative Writing Award
- Emily Donovan
HANNAH SWANK
hswank@kansan.com
The Lawrence Arts Center and Raven Book Store, 8 E. 7th St., have awarded Becky Moldbaum and Brendan Allen the Langston Hughes Creative Writing Awards.
Mandelbaum, a senior from
Manderbault Wichita, was awarded for excellence in fiction writing, and Allen, a senior from Phillipsburg, won the award for his work in poetry. Both
Mandelbaum
winners are English majors with
emphases in creative writing. Allen and Mandelaum each
received a $500 prize, and their work was celebrated at a ceremony at the Lawrence Arts Center on Feb. 1, Langston Hughes' birthday.
Allen
Mandelbaum's submission was a coming-of-age short story that she began working on in the fall of 2011. The story follows a 13-year-old Jewish girl who is studying for her Bat Mitzvah.
"I haven't written anything else like this, but I like writing with
a younger narrator," Mandelbaum said. "It's easier to write about childhood because you have time to reflect on your own."
Allen submitted a collection of 15 poems that were all written during different times in his life.
"Some poems I started years ago and just finished recently, and other work was finished a day or two before I submitted them," Allen said. "Sometimes there are poems that just don't click until later."
Many of Allen's poems are influenced by ecology-minded poetry and the connections among people, language and the environment.
In 2011, Mandelbaum and Allen both won scholarships from the department of English. Allen was
also awarded the Henry Matthew Wiedner Award from the department in 2012.
Mandelbaum's current goal is to complete the novel she began writing last fall. The novel stems from a short story she wrote about a trip to a Texas animal sanctuary with KU Alternative Breaks.
Allen and Mandelbaum both plan to eventually attend graduate school, and they cite their educations within the KU department of English as one of their major influences.
"My writing has been influenced by being in college and being in an academic environment,"
Mandelbaum said. "It's a good community, and it's a good place to be a young writer."
Edited by Taylor Lewis
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