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Events for February 16, 2006

  • Chemical Engineering Seminar

    Thu, Feb 16, 2006 @ 12:45 PM

    Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science

    Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars



    Cellular Membrane Materials as Motors: Optical Methods to Characterize Nanoelectromechanical PropertiesProfessor Bahman Anvari
    Department of Bioengineering
    Rice UniversityThe ability of cellular membranes to perform useful work is often ignored because they are relatively delicate and under many conditions deform easily. Yet, the membranes of living cells are poised to utilize the intense electric fields (> 10 MV/m) generated by the electrochemical gradients across them. For example, the ability of membranes to generate electrically-induced force is demonstrated in cochlear outer hair cells (OHCs) that are capable of producing rapid (> 50 kHz) movements, known as electromotility, a process required for normal hearing.
    Using a novel experimental approach that combines optical trapping with voltage-clamping and fluorescence imaging, we have demonstrated that native biological membranes are capable of electrically-induced pico-Newton level force generation over a broad range of electrical excitation frequency (> 3 kHz). This electromechanical force is: (1) enhanced in presence of a specialized transmembrane protein, prestin, found in the OHCs; (2) affected by the amplitude and polarity of the transmembrane electrical potential; and (3) diminished in the presence of a specific anionic amphipathic agent, salicylate.
    Our long-term objectives are to understand the molecular basis of electromotility, and investigate how membrane-based electromechanical coupling can be modulated in a controlled manner through changes in membrane physical properties and membrane-protein interactions. Characterizing the nanoelectromechanical properties of plasma membranes has the potential to not only lead to a better understanding of the hearing process and development of therapeutics for specific types of hearing loss, but also has relevance to a broad range of biological processes where membranes harness the energy in the transmembrane electric field, and to the development of biological nano-electromechanical systems with diagnostics and therapeutic applications.Thursday, February 16, 2006
    Seminar at 12:45 p.m.
    OHE 122
    Refreshments will be served after the seminar in HED Lobby
    The Scientific Community is Cordially Invited

    Location: Olin Hall of Engineering (OHE) - 122

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Petra Pearce

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  • Viterbi Career Services Walk-In Hours

    Thu, Feb 16, 2006 @ 02:00 PM - 04:00 PM

    Viterbi School of Engineering Career Connections

    Student Activity


    Please feel free to come in during these walk-in hours! No appointment is necessary. Come in for resume reviews, internship information, to salary negotiations!

    Location: Ronald Tutor Hall of Engineering (RTH) - 218

    Audiences: Undergraduate/Graduate Engineering Students

    Contact: RTH 218 Viterbi Career Services

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  • Viterbi Early Career Chair Lecture Series

    Thu, Feb 16, 2006 @ 02:30 PM - 03:30 PM

    Integrated Media Systems Center

    Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars


    JEANNE BAMBERGER: Expressing the Difference - comparing great performancesProfessor Emeritus of Music and Urban Education, MITVisiting Professor, UC Berkeley School of EducationEvent poster: http://www-rcf.usc.edu/~mucoaco/events/20060216-bamberger.pdfABSTRACT: The presentation will begin with a comparison of three performances of the first movement (beginning) of the Moonlight Sonata -- one each by Vladimir Horowitz, Artur Schnabel, and Alfred Brendel. The three recordings are remarkably different, especially with respect to expression, and the means by which each performer creates that expression. In that context, I shall also talk a little about Schnabel and the kinds of things he had to say -- not specifically about the Moonlight Sonata, but principles that would apply to it and other pieces.Then, I shall play the Schubert, E-flat minor March for piano 4-hands with Elaine Chew. We will then discuss how we would make a performance of the piece, the decisions we make, and what makes a difference in expression. Moving on to the Trio, the second part of the same piece, which has a completely different mood, we shall talk about what makes it so different, and how we would project that difference. The difference goes beyond the fact that one is in a major and the other in a minor key, and stems from many other factors.BIOSKETCH: Jeanne Bamberger is Professor Emeritus of Music and Urban Education at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where she taught music theory and music cognition. She is currently a Visiting Professor at the School of Education in UC Berkeley. Her interests include musical development and learning, in particular, aspects of representations among both children and adults. She was a student of Artur Schnabel, Roger Sessions, Olivier Messiaen, and Ernst Krenek, and has performed extensively as piano soloist and in chamber music ensembles. She attended Columbia University and the University of California at Berkeley, receiving degrees in philosophy and music theory. Her awards and honors include a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Fulbright Fellowship, a San Francisco Exploratorium Residence Fellowship, and the University of Michigan Institute for the Humanities Fellowship. Her work has been supported by the National Science Foundation, Department of Energy, Spencer Foundation, an Eisenhower Grant, and the Palo Alto Institute for Research on Learning. Her most recent books include (1995) The Mind Behind the Musical Ear (Harvard University Press), and (2000) Developing Musical Intuitions: a project based introduction to making and understanding music. (Oxford University Press)Prof. Bamberger is also giving a guest lecture in MUED520, in ASI on WED, Feb 15, 7:00PM-8:30PM on Situated Inquiry: Moving between Action and Representation.Host: Elaine Chew, Viterbi Early Career, Assistant Professor of Industrial and Systems EngineeringSupported in part by the Viterbi Early Career Chair Funds, the Integrated Media Systems Center, and the Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering.For other lectures in the series, please see http://www-rcf.usc.edu/~mucoaco/events/vecc0506.html

    Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 248

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Elaine Chew

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  • Innovative Technologies Information Session

    Thu, Feb 16, 2006 @ 05:00 PM - 06:00 PM

    Viterbi School of Engineering Career Connections

    Workshops & Infosessions


    Join representatives of this company as they share general company information and available opportunities.

    Location: Grace Ford Salvatori Hall Of Letters, Arts & Sciences (GFS) - 106

    Audiences: Undergraduate/Graduate Engineering Students

    Contact: RTH 218 Viterbi Career Services

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  • Stryker Information Session

    Thu, Feb 16, 2006 @ 06:00 PM - 07:00 PM

    Viterbi School of Engineering Career Connections

    Workshops & Infosessions


    Join representatives of this company as they share general company information and available opportunities.

    Location: Ronald Tutor Hall of Engineering (RTH) - 211

    Audiences: Undergraduate/Graduate Engineering Students

    Contact: RTH 218 Viterbi Career Services

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