The Phillips Academy Science Department has launched a new series of seminars focusing on advanced topics in science, to be delivered by members of the Science Department faculty. The first seminar, which discussed the findings of various space probes orbiting different planets, was held this past Wednesday. Instructor of Biology Jerry Hagler, who initiated this new series of science seminars, had been considering establishing such a program since Winter Term after toying with the idea of an advanced seminar course for many years. Ultimately, Dr. Hagler opted for an informal seminar series rather than a traditional course, in order to allow flexibility in topics and increase participation from all Science faculty members. “I wanted to provide an opportunity for all science faculty to present seminars on subjects that they particularly love or were interested in, present them at a fairly high level of scientific sophistication, and give interested students a chance to learn about these topics,” Dr. Hagler said. Dr. Hagler attributes much of the inspiration for the seminar series to the success of the medicine Independent Project course directed by Dr. Richard Keller, medical director of Isham Health Center. “[Dr. Keller’s course] clearly showed that there was a group of students interested in learning about biology that went beyond the normal advanced biology course offerings we have in the Science Division. The question was how we as science teachers could expose such students to advanced topics in science, not just biology,” said Dr. Hagler. Instructor of Physics Caroline Odden accompanied Dr. Hagler in presenting the first of four seminars, titled “Bringing Mars and Saturn to a Computer Near You: Recent Findings From the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, the Mars Exploration Rovers and the Cassini Mission to Saturn.” Dr. Hagler expressed his interest in astrobiology, the search for extraterrestrial life and the study of extraterrestrial conditions that might support life, which prompted him to conduct further research into the topic. With this curiosity in astrobiology and the planetary sciences, Dr. Hagler and Ms. Odden attended the 38th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in Houston, Texas from March 12th to 16th this past spring break. At the conference, they learned of the most recent data generated by a variety of robotic probes that are orbiting other planets of the solar system, such as the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and the Cassini mission to Saturn. They also gained knowledge of probes that have landed and are operating on other planets, such as the Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity. Afterwards, Ms. Odden and Dr. Hagler collectively used the highlights of information that they had gathered from the conference as well as the newest data that had been released since the meeting to create their presentation of “Bringing Mars and Saturn to a Computer Near You.” During Wednesday night’s seminar, Ms. Odden and Dr. Hagler addressed the idea of searching for extraterrestrial life on planets such as Mars and Saturn. They presented images from a high-resolution camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter that showed changes on Mars’ exterior. These images posed possible evidence of some form of subsurface water, which scientists are hoping will lead to the discovery of some type of living organism on Mars. Among other things presented were thermal spectral analyses of Martian soil accumulated by the rover Spirit, as well as imagery of large methane lakes found on Saturn’s moon Titan as visualized via radar from the robotic probe Cassini, which is currently orbiting Saturn. Upcoming seminars will be presented on April 18th, May 2nd, and May 16th. On April 18th, Instructors in Biology Thomas Cone and Marc Koolen will be delivering a joint seminar on a topic closer to campus—global warming and its impact on New England. On May 16th, Visiting Scientist in Chemistry Javier Horta will deliver the final seminar of the term. Dr. Hagler hopes to continue this advanced science seminar series in future years. “Mainly I am hoping to enrich students’ experience of the sciences, and give faculty a chance to talk about subjects they may not have the time or place to discuss in the classroom,” he said. He continued, “I suspect that as this series goes along we may hear about teachers’ research in particular areas such as lab research work done during a sabbatical, for example, but I also suspect that this series will more often will be a conduit for faculty to learn more about and discuss science topics that interest them.” He added that the science department might extend the series to, “include speakers from outside the PA community and students from within the PA community who have done science-related research that would like to present their findings.” Dana Feeny ’08 said of the first science faculty seminar, “I liked the atmosphere and the way that the students and teachers were encouraged to participate. It was less of a lecture and more of a discussion. [Dr. Hagler and Ms. Odden] presented the seminar simple enough for students to understand, but yet complex for us to still be inspired and interested by its depth.”
