Galileo's Science Cafe

• 6:30 p.m.  Doors at the Manassas Museum will open. Make your way to Mae Merchant Exhibit Hall (an immediately left after entering at the museum's main entrance; signs will guide you), and enjoy free refreshments prior to our scientific talk
• 7 to 8 p.m Scientific discussion
• 8 to 8:30 p.m. Ask the presenters! Questions from the audience
• 8:30 to 8:45 p.m. Meet the scientist and networking reception (optional)
• 9 p.m. Session closes

• 6:50 p.m. Log-in begins via Zoom
• 7 to 8 p.m. Scientific discussion
• 8 to 8:30 p.m. Q&A from the audience
• 8:30 p.m. Session closes 

A discussion about Chagas Disease, a neglected tropical disease that is unfamiliar to many in the United States but represents a growing public health burden. Dr. Kathryn Cassels will share how her research investigates potentially new ways to diagnose this disease in infants, who are at risk of being infected in utero by sick moms.

Title: Chagas Disease: Developing Diagnostics for Emerging Tropical Diseases

Speaker: Dr. Kathryn Cassels

A discussion about submarine science from a former Navy sub captain. Science can be challenging and surprising in any situation, but especially so when it is conducted under close quarters and high pressure. In honor of Veteran’s Day, learn more about military science and about unique considerations for conducting science in the deep.

Title: Into the Abyss: The Science and Survival of Submarines

Speaker: Noel J Gonzalez, Former Submarine Captain and COO of Targeted Bioscience 

Presented by on October 17, 2024 by Dan Howlett

Plague, found dead in a coffin, being melted to death by extreme heat, teeth: these are just some of the causes of death you can find in the London Bills of Mortality and carved into New England gravestones. By tracking the spread of plague in early modern London and by visiting cemeteries, creating death data allows historians to reimagine life during the early modern period.  This talk will discuss two projects, Death By Numbers, a transcription project funded by the National Science Foundation to create a dataset of the Bills; and Howlett's dissertation research which has brought him to over 150 New England cemeteries.  These projects allow for new understandings of religious history, body history, and the morbid world that stretched across the Atlantic.

Presented on October 17, 2024 by Amanda Haymond Still

Plague, a disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, is responsible for some of the deadliest pandemics in history, including the Black Death. Today, plague cases are relatively rare, and treatable with antibiotics. So, why do some researchers still study the plague? As it turns out, this tricky bacterium still has some interesting secrets to uncover. As a follow-on to our discussion of plague deaths, this talk will focus on discussing the unique biology and pathogenicity of Yersinia pestis, with a focus on scientific research happening here at George Mason University.

Presented on March 21, 2024 by Barney Bishop

Bishop is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. His research focus includes: Humans and other animals produce a diverse array of biomolecules with potential biomedical applications. He is interested in studying the immune systems of animal species, primarily reptiles (e.g. American alligator and Komodo dragon), and identifying the molecules that they produce to defend against infection. Specifically, he is focused on antimicrobial peptides, which are essentially small proteins that are produced by the animals as part of their immune response to defend against infection. Antimicrobial peptides play complex roles in immunity that include exerting a direct antimicrobial effect as well as modulating inflammation and other aspects of immune response. Bishop's efforts have focused on the identification and development of novel antimicrobial peptides that may provide the basis for developing new antibacterial and antiviral therapeutics.

 Presented on January 18, 2024 by Qian Liu, Research Assistant Professor, Department of Geography & Geoinformation Science. 

 Liu’s presentation focused on leveraging AI, spatiotemporal and data fusion methodologies to analyze climate factors and climate change. She prestented three research examples: (1). Using to deep-learning model to retrieve cloud fractions; (2). Spatiotemporal analysis of the impact of COVID-19 on air pollution and nighttime light; (3). Generating atmospheric temperature from satellite data for climate change study.

View the presentation here:

https://youtu.be/gnKW68qaw7Y

 Presented on November 16, 2023 by Peter Plavchan, Associate Professor, Department of Physics  and Astronomy

View the presentation here:

https://youtu.be/vpQ5Wd3Cm8c

Presented on Thursday, October 19, 2023 by Amanda Haymond Still, Research Assistant Professor, School of Systems Biology

View the details here.

Presented on Thursday, February 16, 2023 by Maction Komwa, Assistant Professor Department of Geography and Geoinformation Science and Paul Thangata, Ph.D. Head, Hub for Agricultural Policy Action (HAPA) at AGRA - Sustainably Growing Africa's Food Systems.

View the details here.

Presented on Thursday, January 26, 2023 by Frank Krueger, Professor, School of Systems Biology, and Kelsey Mitchell, M. S.

View the details here.

Presented on Thursday, November 17, 2022 by Klaus-Peter Koepfli, Senior Research Scientist, Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation.

View the details here.

Presented on Thursday, October 20, 2022 by Lance Liotta, Professor, School of Systems Biology, and Marissa Howard, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Center for Applied Proteomics and Molecular Medicine (CAPMM).

View the details here.

Presented on Thursday, September 15, 2022 by Michael E. Summers, Professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy.

View the details here.