Versant Power Astronomy Center and Maynard Jordan Planetarium

Science Lecture Series

Previous Speaker

Dr. Melissa Maginnis

Going Viral: Silent but deadly virus with a serious sweet tooth

Viruses infect every living thing on the planet, and we encounter innumerable viruses in the environment each day. In fact, there are over 300 trillion viruses that inhabit the human body. While most of these viruses are harmless, some viruses can cause serious human diseases that result in chronic conditions or fatality. Join us to learn how a virus that resides silently in the kidney can spread to the brain and cause a fatal infection. We will explore how viruses target particular cells in the body and how they actually hijack the host cell machinery to cause harm.

Dr. Melissa Maginnis is an Assistant Professor of Microbiology in the Department of Molecular and Biomedical Sciences at The University of Maine. She was born and raised in Pennsylvania and earned her B.S. in Biological Sciences from Neumann College. Dr. Maginnis earned her Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology from Vanderbilt University and performed postdoctoral training at Brown University. Dr. Maginnis joined the UMaine faculty in 2014, and her laboratory is focused on understanding the cellular and molecular basis of viral disease. Defining how viruses recognize and invade cells within the host can ultimately elucidate targets for novel antiviral therapies to prevent or treat viral illnesses. Dr. Maginnis is also dedicated to teaching undergraduates and graduate students at UMaine and training the next generation of biomedical scientists through experiential learning.

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The Science Lecture Series at Versant Power Astronomy Center will take place the second Thursday of each month and is a partnership project with the Maine Science Festival and will feature research from a variety of science disciplines from around our state and use the digital planetarium to visualize these discoveries in a new dramatic and immersive way.

Tickets for planetarium programs are $6 for Adults, $5 for UMaine Students/Veterans/Senior Citizens, and $4 for children under 12. Click here to view our calendar.

Tickets are available online at http://astro.umaine.edu, by calling 581-1341, or at the box office.

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Previous Speakers

September 2016 Dr. Elizabeth McGrath A Walk Among Giants: Building the Largest Galaxies in the Universe	View Event Flyer	View Lecture Slides
October 2016 Dr. Caitlin Howell Unlocking the Secrets of Proteins: The Rise of Cryo Electron Microscopy	View Event Flyer	View Lecture Slides
November 2016 Chuck Carter Art and Science: Visualizing Complex Ideas for Everyone	View Event Flyer	View Lecture Slides
December 2016 Dr. Paul Mayewski Journey Into Climate	View Event Flyer	View Lecture Slides (Google Drive link)
February 2017 Dr. Dean Astumian How molecular motors work – insights from the machinist’s toolbox	View Event Flyer	View Lecture Slides
March 2017 Dr. Ali Abedi Wireless Leak Detection for International Space Station	View Event Flyer	View Lecture Slides
April 2017 Dr. Henning Haack Meteorites and the Origin of the Solar System	View Event Flyer
May 2017 Dr. Karissa Tilbury From Lightsabers to Tricorders: Harnessing Light for Biomedical Applications	View Event Flyer	View Lecture Slides
September 2017 Dr. Michaela Reagan Potential Cancer Cures Leveraging 3D Tissue Engineering and Bone Marrow Models	View Event Flyer	View Lecture Slides
December 2017 Dr. Dale Kocevski The Big Bang and the Origin of Our Universe	View Event Flyer	View Lecture Slides
February  2018 Dr. Nicole Rausch The Science of Wellness:  Why Your Doctor Continues to Insist You Sleep, Exercise, and Be Well	View Event Flyer	View Lecture Slides
March 2018 Dr. Bill Davids Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator and Rusty Old Bridges	View Event Flyer	View Lecture Slides
April 2018 Dr. Jennifer Page Aquatic chemical signaling: How understanding signals in the sea helps us address interdisciplinary challenges	View Event Flyer	View Lecture Slides
October 2018                                                                                                  Dr. Justin Lap A Bright Energy Future: Powering Industry with Solar Heat	View Event Flyer	View Lecture Slides
November 2018 Dr. James W. Jarvis Vaccines: Heroes or Villains (hint: it’s the first one)	View Event Flyer	View Lecture Slides
December 2018 Dr. Kristy Townsend Remodeling in Our Brain and Nervous System: Connections to Obesity and Diabetes	View Event Flyer	View Lecture Slides
January 2019 Danny Piper Solar for ME! The solar industry in Maine and beyond	View Event Flyer	View Lecture Slides
February 2019 Dr. Lauren Ross Harnessing the power of the ocean currents	View Event Flyer	View Lecture Slides
March 2019 Dr. Alex Friess Engineering in Sports	View Event Flyer	View Lecture Slides
April 2019 Dr. Grant Tremblay Light from the Void: NASA’s Once & Future Great Observatories	View Event Flyer
September 2019 Dr. Sam Hess Super-Resolution Microscopy: Illuminating Biological Functions to Cure Disease	View Event Flyer	View Lecture Slides
October 2019 Dr. Scott Randall Black Holes, Exploding Stars, and Clusters of Galaxies: 20 Years of NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory	View Event Flyer	View Lecture Slides
November 2019 Dr. Emanuele Berti A New Dawn: Gravitational-wave Observations from Earth and in Space	View Event Flyer	View Lecture Slides
March 2020 Dr. Melissa Maginnis Going Viral: Silent but deadly virus with a serious sweet tooth	View Event Flyer	View Lecture Slides

 

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Future Speaker

Dr. Paul A. Mayewski

Maine’s possible future given the global climate crisis

How fast can climate change? How is Arctic warming impacting Northern Hemisphere climate? What are the impacts of climate change today and what can we expect in the next few decades? Explore how Maine’s citizens will be affected by the global climate and the unprecedented changes taking place in our environment.

Dr. Paul A. Mayewski is Director of the Climate Change Institute and Distinguished Professor in the School of Earth and Climate Sciences, School of Marine Sciences, Business School, and School of Policy and International Affairs at the University of Maine. He has led over 55 expeditions to the remotest reaches of the planet. Paul has over 450 scientific publications, received numerous honors such as Inaugural Medal for Excellence in Antarctic Research, the Explorers Club Lowell Thomas Medal and the International Glaciological Society Seligman Crystal, developed and led major international climate change research programs in Antarctica, Greenland and Asia, released two popular books, appears regularly in media such as CBS 60 Minutes and NOVA. He was highlighted in 2014 Emmy winning film “Years of Living Dangerously”.  He recently led the National Geographic and Rolex Perpetual Planet Extreme Mt. Everest Expedition.

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The Science Lecture Series at Versant Power Astronomy Center will take place on the second Thursday of each month and is a partnership project with the Maine Science Festival and will feature research from a variety of science disciplines from around our state and use the digital planetarium to visualize these discoveries in a new dramatic and immersive way.