http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wamc/local-wamc-779202.mp3
Albany, NY – PRESIDENTIAL SERIES
DR. DEBORAH SPAR, BARNARD WOMEN'S COLLEGE -
Last week, we talked about the gender gap in computer science and reported on research being done at the University of Colorado to determine methods to help close that gap. And then a university president in Pennsylvania made suggestions how to guide more women and minorities into the STEM disciplines - science, technology, engineering, and math. You can hear that Best of Our Knowledge show, # 946, online at http://www.wamc.org/prog-tbook.html.
This week, in the next episode of our recurring Presidential Series, we revisit those issues and many more in our interview with the new president of Barnard, a liberal arts college for women in New York City. Deborah Spar was just inaugurated Barnard's 7th President October 23rd.
TBOOK spoke with Dr. Deborah Spar about how she came to the Barnard presidency, and how she views the state of single-gender higher education.
Allison Dunne reports. (11:17)
ORIGINS OF LIFE - SCIENCE RESEARCH IN EDUCATION SERIES
PUTTING THE SQUEEZE ON BIOLOGY:
BIOMOLECULES UNDER PRESSURE, Pt. 1 of 2 -
Many of our listeners have probably heard about the Large Hadron Collider, a particle-physics project in Europe. Scientists from the U.S. and around the world hope the 4-billion dollar 17-mile long tunnel will open a new window into universe and help answer some long-standing questions about how galaxies and planets were born.
Taking a different approach to the origins of life question, but right here in the United States, is the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source, known as CHESS for short. It's one of the most powerful and productive synchrotron x-ray facilities in the world.
CHESS is directed by Dr. Sol Gruner, the Horace White Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Cornell University in New York. TBOOK's discussion with Dr. Gruner centers around his investigation titled, Putting the Squeeze On Biology: Biomolecules Under Pressure.
Next week, we delve into how Dr. Gruner conducts his actual research (including pressure freezing protein crystals), practical applications, relationship to climate change, and how it might have some potential use in the search for life on other planets.
Glenn Busby reports. (8:07)
The preceding is part of our Origins of Life Series, supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
**(Attention Listeners and Program Directors. For more information about this story, or any of the other 150 stories featured in this exclusive radio series, or if you would like to hear them again via your computer, the website given at the conclusion of the above segments is: www.origins.rpi.edu.)**