UPCOMING MONDAY:

6/12/2023 --- The GI and the General

Speaker: Ray Boomhower --- Editor, Traces Magazine Indiana Historical Society Speaker at Scientech many times (Sponsored By: William H. Dick, 317-753-8380)(ID: 1836)

In WW II, combat was gruesome - for combatants and officers. Gen. George S. Patton was involved in abusing two soldiers. One was Charles H. Kuhl of Mishawaka, IN. The rest of the story is very interesting, as Ray Boomhower will explain.

6/19/2023 --- Engineering a self driving vehicle for DARPA

Speaker: Jesse Clark --- Jesse Clark is retired from a long career in information technology. He was a partner in Revelant Technologies for the last 15 years of his working life. (Email: jesse95@gmail.com) (Sponsored By: Rick Whitener)(ID: 1831)

In 2007, Jesse was a member of a team competing in the DARPA Urban Challenge. This was the first time autonomous vehicles interacted with manned and unmanned vehicles in an urban environment. Eventually 6 teams had vehicles that finished the course. His talk will cover the engineering, both mechanical and informational, involved in taking on this challenge. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has been involved in a wide range of scientific and engineering efforts that have led to advancements in military and civilian life.

6/26/2023 --- The Economic Contributions of Older Americans

Speaker: Rick Whitener --- B.A. in Economics from Davidson College. Worked in banking for 20 years. Worked in IT for 50 years. Current president of Scientech Club. (Email: RWHITENER17@GMAIL.COM) (Sponsored By: Rick Whitener)(ID: 1849)

The talk will cover the ways that older Americans impact the US and the global economy. These include employment, consumption, investment, charitable contributions, and bequests. It will also review how non-paid activities such as volunteer work impact the economy. There will be a short review of the economic history of senior adult poverty and how senior activities have reduced poverty for others. Some math will be involved.

7/10/2023 --- Tumor Genomics Testing and Targeted Cancer Therapy

Speaker: Christopher Fausel Parm.D. MHA --- Chris Fausel PharmD, BCOP, is the Director of Pharmacy, Oncology Genomics at the IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center (IUSCC) in Indianapolis. He graduated from Albany College of Pharmacy with a BS of Pharmacy in 1993 and PharmD in 1996. Completed residency training at the Stratton VA Medical Center, Albany NY. (Email: Cfausel@iuhealth.org) (Sponsored By: Benny Ko)(ID: 1848)

Evaluating the genomic characteristics of a tumor can lead to designing individualized treatment regimens using targeted therapy with the goal of optimizing clinical activity against the tumor.

7/17/2023 --- (TBA)

7/24/2023 --- Caisson Disease -- Our Understanding Over Time

Speaker: William McNiece --- Associate Professor of Anesthesia, Indiana University School of Medicine (Email: wlmcniece@gmail.com) (Sponsored By: William McNiece)(ID: 1841)

This is a talk I originally prepared for the Society for Industrial Archeology. It looks at the development of the use of underwater construction caissons and the related caisson disease. It is primarily a historical view.

7/31/2023 --- Authenticating a Nazca Tunic using combined dye analysis and radiocarbon dating on a single yarn

Speaker: Dr. Greg Smith --- He is the Senior Conservation Scientist at Newfields. PhD in physical analytical chemistry from Duke University and completed post doctoral research at the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC. , the National Synchrotron Light Source at Brookhaven in NY and University College in London (Email: Gdsmith@discovernewfields.org) (Sponsored By: Helmi Banta)(ID: 1847)

The accessioning of ancient textiles into museum collections often requires objective information regarding the object’s appropriateness and authenticity before purchase or gift acceptance. In the case of colored fabrics, the identification of dyestuffs consistent with the attributed time period and culture builds confidence and reduces the chances of the object being a simple forgery or fake produced using modern materials. Moreover, this information adds to the technical, cultural, and conservation knowledge regarding the object. Increasingly, chronometric age estimates in the form of radiocarbon dating are also needed to establish the object’s age or to further prove the materials match the purported date range of the textile. Each of these analyses consumes a small sample of the object, and typically they are conducted separately by different laboratories on individual sample yarns. This report demonstrates for the first time the sequential, combined analysis of dyes by liquid chromatography with radiocarbon dating of the same residual dye-extracted sample. The chemicals and solvents used in various dye extraction protocols are shown not to contaminate the extracted yarns for radiocarbon dating purposes. The approach was used in the authentication study of an ancient Nazca tunic made from natural fibers (wool) and dyes (indigoids, anthraquinones, and flavonoids) shown to have most likely been produced between 595 and 665 CE.

8/7/2023 --- Claude Bernard - Medical pioneer

Speaker: Richard Gunderman --- Dr. Richard Gunderman is the John A Campbell Professor of Radiology at the IU School of Medicine. He is a Scientech Club member and frequent program contributor. (Email: rbgunder@IU.edu) (Sponsored By: Rick Whitener)(ID: 1839)

Claude Bernard authored one of the most important work in the history of medical science, An Introduction to Experimental Medicine, served as a strong advocate of vivisection, and was the first French scientist to receive a state funeral. The talk will explore his legacy in light of the writings of one of his fiercest critics, Fyodor Dostoevsky, in his novel, The Brothers Karamazov.

8/14/2023 --- How science has impacted crime scene investigations

Speaker: Rick Ervin --- Rick Ervin is a graduate of Pfeiffer University with a degree in criminal justice. He is a retired army veteran with service in Iraq and Afghanistan. He has more than 40 years of crime scene investigation experience including 24 years with NCIS. He is currently an investigator for the Rowan County (NC) prosecutors office. (Email: ervin_rick@hotmail.com) (Sponsored By: Rick Whitener)(ID: 1837)

The speaker will describe the process that goes on when investigating a possible crime scene. He will talk about how an investigator uses scientific and technology advances such as photography, fingerprinting and DNA as part of the process. His examples will cover crime scenes from five continents, aircraft carriers and war zones.

8/21/2023 --- How to Pass a Polygraph

Speaker: Greg Wright CFE --- Greg Wright is a Certified Fraud Examiner. (Email: Cfegreg@gmail.com) (Sponsored By: Helmi Banta)(ID: 1854)

Russian and Cuban intelligence organizations have taught polygraph countermeasures to American spies, including Aldrich Ames (CIA), and Ana Belén Montes (Defense Intelligence Agency). Thus, they passed the U.S. government's polygraph and avoided capture for many years. This talk is about the polygraph device (also called a lie detector) and polygraph countermeasures.

8/28/2023 --- Avatar Autonomous Music System

Speaker: Scott Deal DMA and Jason Palamara,Ph.D. --- Deal is a Professor and Director of the Donald Louis Tavel Arts and Technology Research Center at IUPUI. Engages new works of computer interactivity, networked systems, media, and percussion. Hail as "a riveting performer" who "exhibits phenomenal virtuosity". Deal has performed at venues worldwide, Dr. Palamara is an assistant Professor of Music Technology at IUPUI. He specializes in the development of machine learning-enabled performance technologies for music and artificial intelligence-related music software. He is the founder and director of IUPUI's DISEnsemble(Destructive/Inventive Systems Ensemble) and leads the Machine Musician Lab and codevelops the AVATAR Machine Learning improvisation partner software with his creative partner Scott Deal and also makes music as one half of avant-gards laptronica duo JCjp. (Email: deal@iupui.edu) (Sponsored By: Linda Karwisch)(ID: 1856)

Avatar program is a machine-learning-enabled "choice engine" which provides a dynamically sensitive duet while listening to live vibraphone performances. The initial version is geared for use with a vibraphone, with additional instruments soon to follow. Using this system, the musician performs improvisations on the vibraphone while the software listens, closely following the vibratione performance. The package employs a Markovchain model culled from Scott Deal's improvisations. The mindfile database allows the software to generate novel content based on Scott Deal's style. While the Markov transition database provides note-to-note transtions, the AvatarPlayer makes use of this data in several ways. Throughout a performance, the AvatarPlayer cycles through five playback behaviors (favor repetition, favor novelty, favor four notes, favor chords, and favor phrases), all of which make use of the databases differently.

9/11/2023 --- Surgical inventions and the patent dispute that came from it.

Speaker: Rick Sasso, MD --- Rick Sasso, M.D., is a founding member, and the president of Indiana Spine Group. He is a board-certified orthopaedic surgeon, specializing in spine surgery. Additionally, he is a professor and chief of spine surgery at the Indiana University School of Medicine, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. (Sponsored By: Kenton Brett)(ID: 1855)

Dr. Sasso licensed patents that became the subject of an ongoing legal case which eventually upheld judgement in his favor. He will discuss the invention and the patent case.

9/18/2023 --- Roving on Mars

Speaker: Briony Horgan --- Planetary scientest at Purdue who helps plan with Nasa for the use of the Rovers on Mars including Perseverance currently in the Jezero crater (Email: Briony@purdue.edu) (Sponsored By: Steve Springer)(ID: 1852)

See above

9/25/2023 --- (TBA)

10/2/2023 --- (TBA)

10/9/2023 --- The Wetumpka Impact Crater and how fast it happened

Speaker: James Lowery --- James Lowery presented a talk for Scientech on Antarctica on April 17. He is a well traveled person who has studied science extensively. (Email: JLowery2@gmail.com ) (Sponsored By: Alan Schmidt)(ID: 1857)

James Lowery has been a tour guide at the Alabama Wetumpka impact crater and has a presentation on it including a description of how fast it all happened. Additional content will mention the impact crater in northwest Indiana and a little about Alabama geology and paleontology. No glaciers got as far south as Alabama so their formations are from the ancient ocean covering Alabama and the creation of the Appalachian Mountains when Africa hit North America.

10/14/2023 --- ANNUAL Dinner (at Woodland Country Club) Speakers: Wolfla, Bingle, Kurlander - Diamonds

10/16/2023 --- (TBA)

10/30/2023 --- (TBA)

11/6/2023 --- Geology, Water and Climate

Speaker: Robert Barr --- Robert Barr is a Geologist and Research Scientist for the Center for Earth and Environmental Science at IUPUI. Hydrology is his specialty. (Email: rcbarr@iupui.edu) (Sponsored By: Rick Whitener)(ID: 722)

This talk will cover the precipitation patterns in the US and worldwide. He provides evidence that precipitation is coming in increasingly severe events. The presentation also includes information about the severe drought conditions in the US west as well as the latest reports on CO2 emissions with some hopeful trends included.

11/13/2023 --- (TBA)

11/20/2023 --- (TBA)

11/27/2023 --- (TBA)

12/4/2023 --- (TBA)

12/11/2023 --- Annual Meeting, Elections and Report of Scientech Foundation activities

Speaker: Jeff Rasley and Benny Ko --- Jeff and Benny are President and Vice President of the Scientech Foundation (Sponsored By: Rick Whitener)(ID: 1850)

Per our bylaws, this is a required meeting to allow the members to elect officers for 2024. After the election, our Scientech Foundation President and Vice President will report on the activities which occurred in 2023 and plans for 2024.

1/8/2024 --- (TBA)

4/8/2024 --- Total Solar Eclipse - 3:00 PM EDT Indy is in totality, Franklin, Knightstown on centerline