science

Pittsford Town Board member Stephanie Townsend is speaking out about the need for scientific literacy. She says the pandemic has underscored the erosion of this kind of literacy, and "understanding the scope, limits, and process of science is critical to an informed citizenry and electorate. No one study 'proves' anything."

This hour, we discuss scientific literacy in America and how improving it could impact responses to the pandemic. Our guests:

• Stephanie Townsend, director of research and analytics at ROC the Future, and member of the Pittsford Town Board
• Barney Ricca, professor in the Department of Mathematics, Computer Science, and Statistics at St. John Fisher College
• Dr. Mario Elia, M.D., physician based in Ontario, Canada
  

What happens when you combine comedy and science?

"Laughing uncontrollably, and then you have that 'aha' moment that just shifts the way you perceive something." 

That's how comedian Shane Mauss describes his "Stand Up Science" show, which makes its Rochester debut this weekend.

Mauss was following a traditional path to comedy success, with appearances on "Conan", "Jimmy Kimmel Live", Comedy Central, Showtime, and the BBC when he found a way to combine both of his passions.

A group of graduate students at the University of Rochester is leading an initiative that encourages more people of color to pursue STEM-related majors and professions. According to the National Science Foundation, 70 percent of scientists and engineers employed full time are white, and underrepresented minorities in those professions earn less than their white co-workers.

The Rochester Chapter of the Alliance for Diversity in Science and Engineering has plans to address the disparities. We hear from members about their goals and their work. In studio:

• Antonio Tinoco Valencia, president of the Alliance for Diversity in Science and Engineering at the University of Rochester, and Ph.D. candidate in organic chemistry
• Shukree Abdul-Rashed, vice-president of the Alliance for Diversity in Science and Engineering at the University of Rochester, and Ph.D. candidate in organic chemistry
• Marian Ackun-Farmmer, social-relations chair for the Alliance for Diversity in Science and Engineering at the University of Rochester, and Ph.D. candidate in biomedical engineering
• Anthony Plonczynski-Figueroa, faculty advisor for the Alliance for Diversity in Science and Engineering at the University of Rochester, and director of operation for the David T. Kearns Center, University of Rochester
  

Can science provide absolute knowledge and understanding? Three scientists have united to say that it can not, and they go further: they write that science can suffer from a blind spot, ignoring the power and value of human experience. It's not a condemnation of science -- not at all. Rather, the scientists argue that science provides vital insight into the world as we experience it, but it does not supplant our experience, which needs to be taken into account.

This controversial piece has sparked debate in the scientific community. Two of the three authors join us on Connections. Our guests:

• Adam Frank, professor of astrophysics at the University of Rochester, and author of several books, the latest being "Light of the Stars: Alien Worlds and the Fate of the Earth"
• Marcelo Gleiser, theoretical physicist at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire
  

Stink bugs are just about everywhere, but good news: we’re releasing samurai wasps to kill them. If that perhaps doesn’t sound like a perfect idea, the experts are here to assuage your concerns.

They explain how releasing one species to kill another can be effective, and they take us into the weird and effective world of these wasps. Our guests:

• Jack Werren, professor of biology at the University of Rochester
• Peter Jentsch, entomologist at Cornell University
• Ruth Blackwell, owner of Mud Creek Farm

Oumuamua is the strange, cigar-shaped space rock that hurtled through our interstellar neighborhood at high speed, then left as fast as it came. Scientists were baffled. What was it? What could have caused that rock to move in that fashion? Was it some wild explosion or event?

This fall, scientists have floated a new possibility: it's aliens! Really, there is at least the possibility that this rock was an object created by an alien race. But how would they know? Can they track it? And then, what are the ethics, if we ever do make contact? Our guests:

• Brian Koberlein, senior lecturer of physics at RIT and author of One Universe at a Time 
• Evelyn Brister, professor of philosophy at RIT

Brian Wansink, the Cornell professor who authored six articles retracted by the Journal of the American Medical Association Wednesday, has been removed from all teaching and research at the university, and will retire at the end of this academic year.

“I have been tremendously honored and blessed to be a Cornell professor,” Wansink said.