RW Moriarty Science Seminars

R.W. Moriarty Science Seminar Presents: “Nittany Lions, Peruvian Chinchillas, and Mammalian Cognition: 25+ Years of Collaboration Between Penn State and the Carnegie Museum of Natural History”

Speaker: Carolyn Mahan, Penn State.

Since 1994, I have worked with the Section of Mammals at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History (CMNH) to explore conservation issues and to ask evolutionary questions locally and globally. In this lecture, I will explore these projects starting with my initial project to return the “Original Nittany Lion” to The Pennsylvania State University. The original lion—a taxidermy specimen from the mid-1800s—was the inspiration for the Penn State mascot and was being stored at CMNH after being displayed at the Chicago’s World Fair. It took 100 years for it to find its way back to Penn State. I also have explored the plight of the short-tailed chinchilla—a critically endangered species of rodent native to the high Andean plateau. Its fur was so valuable that no specimens exist in any mammal collections in the western hemisphere. Curators and collection managers at CMNH helped discover specimens for me to study in the collections of Europe. Finally, I examined cranial capacity of small mammals and brown bears using skulls curated at CMNH. Cranial capacity, as a surrogate for cognitive ability, permits my research team to better understand wild mammals’ abilities to adapt to novel, human environments in the United States and Europe.

This event will take place Monday, April 15, 2024 at Noon in person at Earth Theater.

Seminar 169

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R.W. Moriarty Science Seminar Presents: “Minerals as the Bedrock of the Energy Transition”

Speaker: Barbara Dutrow, Louisiana State University.

Minerals, the fundamental solid material comprising planet Earth, are critical to solving some of society’s most pressing challenges, including global warming and the climate crises. Minerals provide the essential chemical constituents needed for the lower carbon energy transition and are a key for technological advances. Their myriad crystal structures inform new technologies that capture the mineral’s unique properties to provide solutions to, and advance development of, new materials. Other minerals act to sequester carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, lowering dangerous greenhouse gases.

This presentation focuses on three aspects of minerals centrality to the lower carbon energy transition: their ability to act as sinks for carbon dioxide; their unprecedented need as suppliers for chemical elements critical to a vast number of current and future technologies; and their use as templates for advanced functional materials that are more energy efficient. Central to these themes is the role that minerals play as a part of the solution to these crises.

This event will take place Monday, February 26, 2024 at Noon in person at Earth Theater.

Seminar 166

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R.W. Moriarty Science Seminar Presents: “River Life in Ancient Egypt: The Nile and its Varied Environments”

Speaker: Christine Johnston, Western Washington University.

Ancient Egyptian society developed around and was dependent on the Nile River. It was the physical and cultural heart of the pharaonic state, playing important roles in transportation and trade, agriculture and subsistence, and belief and ideology. The Nile brought bounty to the people of Egypt through both the resources it held and the rich sediments it deposited across the Nile valley during the annual inundation. These sediments supported the production of agricultural products like grain, while the river environment provided fish and fowl and supported the raising of livestock and the cultivation of plants like flax and papyrus used to make linen and paper. Although the Nile represented an important source of life, it could also be dangerous. It was home to creatures like hippopotami and crocodiles and helped to spread water- and insect-borne parasites and illnesses like malaria. Fluctuations in the annual inundation could also have devastating effects on agriculture, while the migration of the river across the valley altered physical and cultural landscapes. This presentation will focus on the regional differences through the Egyptian Nile Valley, the changes that occurred over time, and the impact of the river on the lives and beliefs of the ancient Egyptians.

This free event will take place ONLINE via Zoom on Monday, March 11, 2024 at Noon.

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Click to download the printable program.

Seminar 167

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R.W. Moriarty Science Seminar Presents: “‘Chancing on a Spectacle:’ Co‐occurring Animal Migrations and Interspecific Interactions”

Speaker: Emily Cohen, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science.

This event will take place Monday, February 12, 2024 at Noon in person at Earth Theater.

Seminar 164

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R.W. Moriarty Science Seminar Presents: “Glow-in-the-Dark Millipedes, Mimicry Rings, and the 1,306-Legged Millipede”

Speaker: Paul Marek, Virginia Tech.

A myriapod is a many-legged arthropod in the subphylum Myriapoda. They include centipedes, millipedes, and the poorly known symphylans and pauropods. They are an ancient group, and
the first evidence of land animals are late Silurian fossil millipedes from 425 million years ago. Among the notable species of myriapods are those that glow in the dark, are walking gardens of mosses and liverworts, and some that roll up into a baseball-sized sphere for defense against predators. Dr. Marek will present highlights of his laboratory’s research on myriapods, which includes studies of bioluminescent millipedes and the animal with the greatest number of legs—a millipede discovered in Australia with 1306 legs. Details will include collaborative projects with graduate students in the lab and colleagues across the world. He hopes to show the significance of myriapods, and the importance of international collaboration and open science.

This event will take place Monday, January 22, 2024 at Noon in person at Earth Theater.

Seminar 164

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