Science Seminar Series

David Grinspoon ABSTRACT In this talk, Dr. Grinspoon will put the current human-dominated phase of our planet’s life into a broader context, juxtaposed against previous geological eras in Earth’s history, as well as what’s known from studying changes on other planets. The goal is to better understand the essence of our current moment in geological … Continue reading The Emergence of Planetary Intelligence: Astrobiology and the Anthropocene Earth →

NOVA's semi-annual Night of Science is a community outreach event aimed at introducing children (K-12 and all interested!) to hands-on learning about a great diversity of subjects and showcasing the research and critical thinking teaching approaches of the faculty from the division of Math, Science, Technology, and Business at NOVA’s Annandale campus. Visit the Night … Continue reading Night of Science! →

This year marks 150th birthday of the Periodic Table, a major step toward creating a unified perspective on our understanding of the elemental nature of all matter. To commemorate this achievement, NOVA science faculty have prepared a series of presentations on the table, its creator--Dmitry Mendeleyev--and many interesting and curious facts that emerged as our … Continue reading The Periodic Table Day →

Torsten Dikow ABSTRACT Taxonomy has a long tradition of describing earth’s biodiversity. Taxonomic revisions contain crucial biodiversity data and in entomology such revisions may include treatments of a single to hundreds of species each represented by a few or hundreds to thousands of specimens. For the past 20 years or so, taxonomic revisions have become … Continue reading Discovering fly species and sharing biodiversity data →

Lynn Helena Caporale ABSTRACT

Karin Kiontke ABSTRACT The timing of developmental events is critical. I am particularly interested in the events that happen at the transition from a juvenile to an adult animal, the period referred to as puberty. In humans, it occurs between ages 12 and 16, neither earlier, nor later. There are genetic disorders that lead to … Continue reading Worm tails, RNAs and the timing of puberty →

Peter Jo ABSTRACT Neurological injuries such as stroke have a devastating impact on motor control. Walking is often impaired and many people have problems with mobility years after their injury. While some stroke survivors recover function, many others suffer life-long deficits. Their recovery reaches a plateau and they are expected to live with only minor … Continue reading Motor Control and Movement Variability in Stroke Rehabilitation →

To register for Night of Science and learn more about this open-to-all celebration of science, visit the Night Of Science page.

An informal mini-symposium to celebrate life and work of the Renaissance genius by NOVA faculty and students. Come and celebrate with over talks, art, music, and food. Participants: Mihaela Chamberlin (Chemistry): "Leonard DE Vinci Louvre, Paris 24 October 2019-24 February 2020"; Lisa Williams (Biology): "Linking Da Vinci's Anatomical Drawings with Medical Physiology"; Marty Bredeck (Mathematics): … Continue reading Da Vinci Festa ! →

Nick Gorkavyi ABSTRACT Rudolf Clausius introduced the concept of entropy in 1865 and formulated the second law of thermodynamics, which asserts the inevitability of entropy growth in closed systems. The classic problem of the heat death of the Universe has arisen. The talk considers the modern development of the concept of entropy. Ilya Prigogine proved … Continue reading Entropy: from Biology to Cosmology →

Christopher Bradburne ABSTRACT The convergence of technologies across biology, autonomous systems, and space exploration is enabling the broad new field of 'space biology'. Technological investments in biology and health are being leveraged to enable this new field. Astrobiology, precision medicine, and the public health concept of 'OneHealth' will form a foundation for combined autonomous and … Continue reading A Lot of Space for Biology: Astrobiology, bioastronautics, and the emergence of space biology →

Deborah Shaffer ABSTRACT The eastern newt (Notophthalmus viridescens viridescens) is ubiquitous throughout eastern North America. Yet despite its commonness, gaps exist in our understanding of its population structure, primarily in the connectivity of its breeding ponds. Adult newts show extreme philopatry to breeding ponds, so it has been surmised that the terrestrial juvenile eft stage … Continue reading The Elusive Eastern Newt: A Genetic Population Study →