Colloquium

The STEM Club Colloquium is a lunch-time lecture series where various STEM topics are presented by students, professors, and other speakers. The Colloquium was instituted in Fall of 2016 and has hosted at least six speakers every semester since then. You can see all of the past and present schedules below:

Jan 27 - Dream Big
Dream Big - Dream Big: We will be watching the amazing documentary “Dream Big, Engineering Our World - a heartfelt story of human ingenuity” - pizza provided. You won’t be disappointed - it’s fantastic!!

Feb 11 - Determination of Protein Coarse-Grained Potentials by Machine Learning
Rachel Thomas (Biology Major and STEM Scholar) - Exploring the dynamics of macromolecules using computer simulations in an effort to understand the biochemical pathways. Rachel will discuss understanding the ligand binding pathway of STING (stimulator of interferon gene) protein. (Berkeley research)

Feb 24 - Unknown
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March 16 - Unknown
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March 30 - Unknown
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April 13 - Unknown
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April 27 - Unknown
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May 4 - Unknown
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Sept 9 - Weird Math Claims
Dr. Todd Moore - Dr. Moore will present four counter-intuitive results from Math and Logic. There won't be any heavy math involved.

Sept 30 - Becoming a Jayhawk Chemistry
Julie Hopkins (Class of 2017) and Amy Jystad (Class of 2015) - Saint Mary alums, Julie Hopkins (2017) and Amy Jystad (2015), will give a brief presentation about the KU Chemistry Department and how to become a KU Chem graduate student followed by an informal discussion about what it is like to be a graduate student.”​

Oct 21 - Make Your Own Slime!!
Dr. Hannah Colmer - Dr. Colmer will teach you how to make your own slime! Use it to disgust and mystify your friends or random passersby!

Nov 5 - Science You Think You Understand: And Why You're All Wrong
Dr. Todd Moore - Dr. Moore will take a fresh look at some basic science you think you understand, and why you're probably wrong.

Nov 18 - Why I'm the Fastest Man in the World
Eric Vazquez - Eric will use the Transitive Property to explain how he is the fastest man in the world.

Dec 2 - Research Presentations
Various Students - Various presenters will be talking about the research they have been doing this semester. Eric Vazquez, Tara McQuillan, Nate Wagner

Jan 14 - A Mathematical Analysis of Marriage
Dr. Todd Moore - Dr. Moore will talk about the Stable Marriage Problem from Discrete Math and what we can learn from it.

Jan 28 - Nerds in Large Numbers
Dr. Todd Moore - Dr. Moore will talk about not citing Wikipedia as a source and why you're all wrong about the reasons.

Feb 11 - Fun With Maps
Rachel Tindell - Rachel will talk about GIS, map making, and geocaching.

March 4 - What can I do with a BS in Biology: A LOT!
Dr. Udayan Apte (Assoc. Prof. of Pharmacology, KU-Med) - So, you like biology enough that you will work hard and get a bachelors degree in it but what next? The only career path you probably know currently is to go to medical school. Well, hold on! There are several other amazing careers for people in deep interest in biology. Research, writing, working in industry and much more. Let talk about it!

March 18 - History of Video Games
Eric Vazquez - Eric will discuss what the first video game was and where they went from there. He will also bring his Nintendo Switch.

April 1 - Research Presentations
Various Students - Various presenters will be talking about the research they have been doing this semester.

April 15 - Research Presentations
Various Students - Various presenters will be talking about the research they have been doing this semester.

Sept 17 - Monarch Migrations
Abby Logan - Dr. Mackintosh and Abby Logan will talk about the monarch migration and how the Monarch Waystation helps in that event.

Oct 1 - The Pattern of Vacuolar Inheritance in Mutant Strains of S. cerevisiae
Rachel Porter - Size and shape of organelles are major aspects that impede success in cells and changes in any of these factors can lead to dramatic effects on the cells’ health and their functions. Saccharomyces cerevisiae’s vacuole is used as a model system to investigate the mutant strains’ pattern of vacuolar inheritance. This research seeks to answer the question of whether vacuolar size and shape is a determinant factor in the pattern of inheritance.

Oct 15 - History of Chemistry
Melody Klein - Melody and Dr. Colmer will discuss some of the cool things in the history of chemistry as part of our buildup to Chemistry Week and the Chemistry Magic Show.

Oct 29 - Rocket Science Without Any Math
Dr. Todd Moore - King Dr. Moore will discuss how everything you know about space dynamics is wrong. He will be demonstrating orbital mechanics without using any math using Kerbal Space Program, a highly advanced orbital simulation engine (a video game...).

Nov 12 - Recycling on Campus
Abby Logan - Abby will talk about the importance of recycling, how the STEM Club runs the recycling program in Miege Hall, and how others can start a recycling program in their own buildings.

Dec 3 - Research Presentations
Various Students - Various presenters will be talking about the research they have been doing this semester.

Jan 22 - Bad Statistics in Bad Science
Dr. Todd Moore - Dr. Moore will discuss some common and more bizarre things that can wrong in Statistics in Science.

Feb 5 - The Futurama Theorem
Olivia Hatchel - Olivia will talk about how theoretical Math can show up in the real world in unexpected ways. She will also talk about the only cartoon show with its own Mathematical theorem.

Feb 19 - Experiences Teaching High School
Justin Bode (USM Biology Graduate) and Brenden Olesen (USM Math Graduate) - Justin Bode, biology secondary ed graduate of 2005, teaches at Leavenworth High School. He was a regional semi finalist for this years Kansas Teacher of the Year. Also, we’ll have Brenden Olesen, math teacher at Leavenworth High School and Horizon Award nominee.

March 5 - New azulene based platforms towards the design of novel molecular rectifiers
Jason Applegate (KU Chemistry Department) - Jason Applegate from the KU Chemistry Department will talk about his research in Organic/Inorganic Chemistry as well as life as a grad student.

March 19 - Life as a graduate student in a research field
Amy Jystad and Julie Hoptkins (USM graduates, KU PhD Candidates) - Please come along and hear from two Biology alums who are currently pursuing their PhDs at KU.

April 2 - Growing bacteria in microbial communities
The Rachels®™ (Tindell and Porter) (Biology students doing research for Dr. Shih) - The Rachels®™ will be discussing laboratory techniques they have learned while doing research for Dr. Shih. Their ongoing research will also be discussed.

April 16 - Topics in Biology
Layne Powell and Don Berger, Melody Klein (Biology Majors) - Layne and Don will present the research they have been doing for class. Then Melody will do the same with her topic.

April 30 - From Medical Idea to Medical Product, Part 2
Dr. Joseph Shih - Dr. Shih will talk again about the process of designing and developing a medical product as well as describe the product he is involved with.

Sept 11 - Math vs the Real World
Dr. Todd Moore - Dr. Moore will explain why the real world doesn't make the sense you think it does compared to Math.

Sept 25 - Progress in Bladder Cancer
Sarah Griffith (Honors student) - Sarah will give a brief glimpse into the preclinical findings of a dual therapy approach.

Oct 9 - Retinopathy of Prematurity in the Eyes
Kaitlynn Ellis (Biology student) - Kaitlynn will talk about retinopathy of prematurity in the eyes. This is an eye disease that she is the process of treatment for.

Oct 23 - Immunology of a Healing Response in Cutaneous Leishmaniasis
Kaitlynn Ellis, Melody Klein, and Donald Berger (Biology students) - Kaitlynn, Melody, and Don will talk about a scientific study over the possible ways to treat cutaneous leishmaniasis and the better outcomes of each treatment and why this is important

Nov 20 - Really Large Numbers
Dr. Todd Moore - Dr. Moore will discuss real-life numbers so large, you won't be able to make sense of them.

Dec 4 - Gene Therapy Prevents Reactivation TB
Sarah Griffith - Sarah will discuss how gene therapy based in antimicrobial peptides and proinflammatory cytokine prevents reactivation of experimental latent TB.

Feb 20 - Imperial System v Metric: And Why You're All Wrong
Dr. Todd Moore - Dr. Moore will compare the Imperial System and Metric System of measurements and discuss what system we should use.

March 6 - Genetics and Ethics
Rachel Tindell (STEM Scholar in Biology) - Rachel Tindell will be exploring the ethics behind genetics editing. She will be discussing the moral and scientific arguments about genetically editing our children.

March 20 - The Life of a Drug – Discovery to the Clinic
Dr. Hannah Colmer - Come watch Dr. Colmer as she explores the world of drugs.

April 3 - Creating Healthier Stories
Carolyn Ellis (USM Graduate in Math and Political Science) - Carolyn will discuss her work at Cerner, assisting medical organizations with building, redesigning, and trouble shooting health care software.

April 17 - Large Numbers
Olivia Hatchel (Mathematics major) - Humans are really bad at understanding really large numbers and putting them in context. This includes you. Olivia will discuss what large numbers are to a mathematician (spoiler: they're REALLY big). No matter how good you think you are, math will beat you.

May 1 - Stargardt's disease
Austin Schuler (Honors student in Biomedical Sciences) - Austin Schuler will be doing a presentation on Stargardt's disease: a genetic disease which is the leading cause of juvenile macular degeneration.

Sept 19 - Time Traveling Aliens
Dr. Todd Moore -

Oct 3 - REUs and Internships Q&A
Julie Hopkins (Honors student in Chemistry) - Julie will discuss applying for Internships and her experiences with hers.

Oct 17 - Foldscopes
Dr. Joseph Shih - Dr. Shih will discuss and demonstrate a cool technology that provides a durable, portable, inexpensive microscope that is already being used in the field for such applications as testing water quality for villages.

Nov 7 - To the Bench and Beyond – Insights into Diverse Science Careers
Dennis Ridenour (President & CEO, BioKansas) - An informal discussion on combining your interests and your education to find a rewarding career path. He will take everyone through his career and how he got to where he is today. He will share a few points he has come to consider important and will then answer any questions you might have about starting a career in a STEM field.

Nov 21 - Counting Cards
Austin Schuler (Honors student in Biomedical Sciences) - Austin will demonstrate some of the methods and mathematics behind counting cards.

Dec 5 - Infinite Infinities
Dr. Todd Moore - Dr. Moore will answer whether it is true that "some infinities are bigger than other infinities". He will discuss the mathematical nature of infinity which exhibits some very counter-intuitive behaviors.