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The Modesto Area Partners in Science (MAPS) lecture series has operated since 1990 to foster science education in our community for youths through adults. Once a month during the academic year, MAPS offers stimulating free science programming, bringing educators and local citizens into contact with scientists and mind-expanding ideas.
Fall 2021 Virtual Event Schedule
Using CRISPR to Fight Genetic Disease
Gokul Ramadoss is a PhD student at the University of California San Francisco focused
on treating genetic diseases that affect the brain and spinal cord. This talk will
explore how scientists approach studying such debilitating diseases, and how gene
editing with CRISPR-Cas9 could be the key to treating them.
Gokul is using stem cell and gene editing technology to try developing better treat-ments
for neurodegenerative diseases -- diseases that affect the brain and spinal cord.
Born and raised in Arizona, he moved to Berkeley for college where he received a B.S.
in Chemical Engineering.
He then joined the Biomedical Science PhD program at UCSF to dive further into biological
research. Outside of the lab he enjoys playing basketball and soccer, rock climbing,
and playing with dogs (especially his own).
- Gokul Ramadoss, UCSF
- Friday, September 24, 2021
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7:30pm -
Additional information and videos:
How AI Can Design Better Batteries
Developing new batteries is extremely challenging and time consuming but is required
to enable critical applications from renewable energy to transportation and the internet
of things. I will discuss how AI is shedding new and useful insights into this complex
problem.
- Dr. Evan Reed, Associate Professor of Materials and Engineering, Stanford Univsity
- Friday, October 22, 2021
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7:30pm -
Additional information and videos:
Some Strange Things About Candy
- Dr. Steve Farmer
- Friday, November 19, 2021
- 7:30pm
- Additional information and videos:
Will There Ever Be Another Earth?
The search for life beyond Earth, especially intelligent life, is a multifaceted quest that folds together many branches of scientific study with the human imagination. As of today, thousands of planets are known to exist, including dozens of planets that are the size of the Earth. But what are these worlds really like, in terms of temperature, weather, atmosphere, continents, oceans, seasons, and even life? Maggie will discuss some of her work toward the goal of seeing nearby planetary systems directly, in order to discover their true nature. Dr. Margaret (Maggie) Turnbull is an astrobiologist at the SETI Institute. The focus of her research is on identifying planetary systems that are capable of supporting life as we know it.
- Dr. Margaret Turnbull, Ph.D. Univ. of Arizona, SETI Inst., NASA Ames
- Friday, December 10, 2021
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7:30pm -
Additional information and videos: