“Our goal is to bring dinosaurs back to life for attendees … hopefully without anyone getting eaten!” said Ohio University dinosaur expert Dr. Lawrence Witmer.
Witmer will “flesh-out” these ancient creatures at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 25, during Ohio University’s Science Café series. The event, held in the Baker Front Room, will show how Witmer’s lab is using the latest in high-tech imaging to develop the Visible Interactive Dinosaur Project, a research initiative funded by the National Science Foundation.
Dinosaurs are fascinating animals that have important stories to tell, but the fossils we have are only part of the tale.
“We’ll be bringing life-size skull replicas of a whole bunch of dinosaurs, including T. rex, Allosaurus and Diplodocus, and scattering them around the Front Room so that folks get up-close and personal,” said Witmer, Professor of Anatomy and the Chang Professor of Paleontology at the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine.
Witmer also will show how his lab has digitally restored dinosaur soft tissues—from the muscles to the nerves and even the eyeballs—to better understand how dinosaurs lived and behaved. From these digital images, the scientists have created animations that offer new insights into these extinct beasts.
The event is free and open to the public. The first 50 attendees will receive a free coffee, tea or hot chocolate from the Front Room.
Science Cafés and the partner series, Café Conversations, are a venue for students interested in informally sharing their interests during a conversational exchange with faculty, staff and the community in a friendly setting.
The presentation also will be available through a live stream, and viewers may pose questions for Witmer online: http://new.livestream.com/ohiocas/events/2405770.
For more information about this research: www.ohio.edu/witmerlab; www.facebook.com/witmerlab; www.youtube.com/witmerlab.
Fall 2013 Cafe Series
Science Cafés and Café Conversations are held at 5 p.m. on Wednesdays in the Baker Center Front Room. Café events are free and open to students, faculty and staff. Both cafés are venues for students to share their interests informally during a conversation exchange in a friendly setting. The Science Cafe is hosted by Dr. Sarah Wyatt, Professor of Environmental and Plant Biology and Vice President of the Ohio University Chapter of Sigma Xi. The two series are sponsored by the Ohio University chapter of Sigma Xi and the Office of the Vice President for Research.
Sept. 11 Dr. Janet Duerr, Associate Professor of Biological Sciences, College of Arts & Sciences (Watch Duerr’s presentation on the College of Arts & Sciences LiveStream channel.)
Sept. 18 (Café Conversation) Dr. John Gilliom, Associate Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences and Professor of Political Science, on “The Death of Big Brother and the Rise of the Surveillance Society” (Watch Duerr’s presentation on the College of Arts & Sciences LiveStream channel.)
Sept. 25 Dr. Lawrence Witmer, Professor of Biomedical Sciences, Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine
Oct. 9 Dr. Savas Kaya, Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Russ College of Engineering and Technology
Oct. 16 (Café Conversation) William Condee, Professor of Interdisciplinary Arts, College of Fine Arts
Oct. 23 Dr. David Tees, Associate Professor of Physics & Astronomy, College of Arts & Sciences
Nov. 6 Dr. Alycia Stigall, Associate Professor of Geological Sciences, College of Arts & Sciences
Nov. 20 Dr. Deb McAvoy, Associate Professor of Civil Engineering, Russ College of Engineering and Technology
Dec. 4 Dr. John Kopchick, Distinguished Professor and Goll-Ohio Eminent Scholar, Edison Biotechnology Institute & Dept. of Biomedical Sciences, Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine
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