Time is precious. And the School of Arts and Sciences isn’t asking for much of it with its 60-second lectures.
Wednesday marked the first in this fall’s weekly series of short lectures, as Biology professor Nancy Bonini spoke in Stiteler Plaza.
The series consists of four short outdoor talks each semester. It is a chance for professors from across the University to talk about their research — to showcase the exciting things they are doing, said College Dean Dennis DeTurck. He noted that the time constraint also tends to pose a challenge to speakers as they present their research.
The lectures aim to incorporate a diverse range of topics and fields of study.
“We want the whole community to see the range of things we do in the College,” DeTurck explained. This semester, the series will feature lectures by faculty from the Biology, English, Psychology and Anthropology departments.
Bonini’s lecture, called “Drosophila and Human Disease — How the Fly Provides Insight into Brain Disease and Injury,” outlined her research on fruit flies.
The technically four-minute lecture focused on the similarities between human and fruit fly genes and function centers. She talked about recreating diseases in flies in efforts to understand and find cures for human diseases.
She said the lecture was intended to be accessible to all students, not just those pursuing the sciences. “I wanted to get them thinking about DNA and to inform them of what my laboratory is doing,” she said.
A number of students who stopped to listen on Wednesday said they enjoyed the experience.
Jennifer Jackson, a sophomore in the College, for example, said she was “captivated” by the part of the lecture she heard, and “rushed back over” to get a glimpse of the kind of research Penn has to offer. The lectures are generally held outdoors and in high-traffic areas, as was the case Wednesday. Lectures are later posted online.
English Professor Herman Beavers will deliver the next lecture on Sept. 16. His talk is titled “When Poetry Gets the Blues.”
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