Catherine Early will showcase fossil replicas, 3D models of bird brains and bone and feather specimens.
Science Café presents graduate student Catherine Early on “Dinosaurs, Dodos and Ducks: A Bird’s-Eye View of Brain Evolution” on Wednesday, Nov. 9, at 5 p.m. in the Baker Center Front Room.
Early is a graduate student in the Ohio University Biological Sciences Department who conducts research in the laboratory of Lawrence Witmer, a professor of anatomy in the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine. She is a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow.
Most dinosaurs went extinct around 66 million years ago, but a small group of them survived and became one of the most diverse groups of vertebrate animals alive today: birds. During this transition, birds underwent major changes in their anatomy that resulted in a huge range of sizes and shapes, according to Early. They also developed highly complex brains and behaviors, which scientists are only just beginning to understand. Early will discuss the evolution of the last living dinosaurs, what we’ve learned about their brains and behavior, and how studying living animals can help us understand their extinct relatives—and vice versa.
In her Science Café presentation, Early will showcase fossil replicas, 3D models of bird brains and bone and feather specimens.
Watch live or later on A&S TV.
Science Café and Café Conversations are held on Wednesdays at 5 p.m. in the Front Room at Baker University Center. They are free and open to students, faculty and staff. Science Café is a venue for students to share their interests informally during a conversation exchange in a friendly setting. Free coffee is offered to the first 50 attendees, and participants who ask questions will win a free t-shirt.
The Science Café is hosted by Dr. Sarah Wyatt, Professor of Environmental & Plant Biology and Vice President of the Ohio University Chapter of Sigma Xi, and Roxanne Malé-Brune, Director of Grant Development and Projects in the Office of the Vice President for Research and Creativity.
Science Café and Café Conversations are sponsored by the Office of Vice President for Research and Creativity and the Ohio University Chapter of Sigma Xi.
Fall 2016 Science Café & Café Conversations
Sept. 7, Dr. Daniel Phillips, Professor, Physics, Symmetries in Nature: A Key to the Subatomic World, on A&S TV
Sept. 21, Dr. Sarah Hormozi, Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering, on A&S TV
Sept. 28, David Mould, Professor Emeritus, Media Arts and Studies, The perils and opportunities of being a journalist in foreign countries, on A&S TV
Oct. 5, Dr. Guy Riefler, Associate Professor, Civil Engineering; and John Sabraw, Professor of Painting and Drawing, on A&S TV
Oct. 19, Dr. Claudia Gonzalez-Vallejo, Associate Professor, Psychology, on A&S TV
Oct. 26, Aimee Edmondson, Associate Professor, Journalism; John Grimwade, Assistant Professor, Visual Communication, on A&S TV
Nov. 2, Movie: “Popped Secret: the Mysterious Origin of Corn”
Nov. 9, Catherine Early, Biological Sciences, on A&S TV
Nov. 16, Dr. Gurgen “Greg” Hayrapetyan, Assistant Professor, Mathematics, on A&S TV
Nov. 30, Dr. Sonia Najjar, Professor, Biomedical Sciences / Associate Dean of Research and Innovation, HCOM, on A&S TV
Spring 2017 Science Café & Café Conversations
Jan. 18, Dr. Joseph Shields, Professor, Physics & Astronomy
Jan. 25, Rajko Grlic, Distinguished Professor, Film, on A&S TV
Feb. 1, Dr. Brian Clark, Professor, Biomedical Science, Director OMNI
Feb. 15, John Bowditch, Director, The Game Research and Immersive Design (GRID) Lab, Scripps College of Communication
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