JORDAN PATTERSON
Assistant News Editor
The Brown Bag Lecture Series returns for its 11th year with the start of the school year. Physics professor Michael Dunham and biology professor Nicholas Quintyne will be speaking at the first lecture of the year on from noon to 1 p.m. on Oct. 5.
The event will be hosted by biology professor Scott Medler, as he will open the floor to the two guest speakers.
The lectures will occur three times a semester for the remainder of the school year about varying topics but all centered around one theme, “Detours on the Information Highway.”
Communication professor Roslin Smith brings the Brown Bag Lecture into a new year as she steps in as chair of the series.
The focus of this upcoming lecture will be on communication in the sciences.
Dunham’s portion of the lecture will focus on why Fredonia and other colleges make science a requirement for General Education courses. He also will be diving into why there is reluctance when students take these courses.
“I think there is a fear of science and a misperception,” Dunham said. “I think it’s very unfortunate that science in high school is taught like this static, unchanging collection of facts, right? That’s not science. That’s a result of science.”
“My goal is to figure out how to use astronomy to sort of introduce students to what science really is,” he added.
Quintyne’s lecture will focus on the sensationalized appeal of the science field, and how that affects the student experience. According to him, the misconceptions between how science is portrayed in the media and what it actually is hinders the perception of what science actually is.
“The thing to think about is the number of times you’re watching a television show and an ad for the local news comes on with a blurb like, ‘This common household object could be causing you cancer … tune in at 11,’” said Quintyne. “But if one reads the actual research done, it says nothing of the sort.”
Another particular aspect that Quintyne has an issue with is sensational headlines on the internet and social media. According to him, more often than not, these excercise, weight loss and diet articles are not backed by actual science.
He believes that a little awareness on this topic can help people.
“It would also help to spread awareness that just because something has a long chemical name, it isn’t necessarily bad for you, and that listening to someone who performs scientific research is probably more reliable than listening to someone whose Facebook page has several million followers,” Quintyne said.
For Smith, it’s important for the speakers to use these lectures as a platform to showcase their research, and it’s just as important for the students to see their research.
“I think for students to see cutting edge research … it’s good for students to see that, so that they know that their professors are not just sitting behind a desk sort of just writing silly notes,” Smith said. “They’re actually doing really constructive [and] important work for the future of the world.”
For more information on future Brown Bag lectures, visit home.fredonia.edu/brownbag.