SUNY Plattsburgh Research Society Sponsors Week of Scientific Literacy

PLATTSBURGH, NY (11/05/2009)(readMedia)-- Beginning Monday, Nov. 9, and continuing through Friday, Nov. 13, SUNY Plattsburgh's chapter of Sigma Xi, The Research Society, will be hosting Science Week.

"Science week, I believe, speaks to the heart of the entire campus community," said Tobiloba Oni, student senator and president of the SUNY Plattsburgh American Institute of Biological Sciences Student Chapter. As a member of Sigma Xi, Oni is helping to organize Science Week.

"Simply put, it's a week of scientific literacy, and we have devised events that appeal to the whole campus community," he said.

Each day there will be different featured events, held in a range of locations all over the Plattsburgh campus. The featured events are as follows:

• Undergraduate Scientific Research Showcase. Monday, Nov. 9, 11a.m.-1 p.m. Cardinal Lounge, Angell College Center. A showcase of the various research projects that undergraduate students have done. The projects answer actual scientific questions that have never been answered before and help to show the many opportunities that the SUNY Plattsburgh campus offers for students to engage in scientific research.
• "Naturally Obsessed: The Making of a Scientist." Monday, Nov. 9, 7-8 p.m. Alumni Conference Room, Angell College Center. A one-hour documentary proving wrong the notion that scientists are 'all-but-human.' The film utilizes heartbreak and humor to show who scientists really are. Pizza and drinks will be served.
• Environmental Jeopardy. Tuesday, Nov. 10, 7-8:30 p.m. Room 108, Feinberg Library. A jeopardy game testing the public's knowledge of environmental topics.
• "DMT: The Spirit Molecule." Wednesday, Nov. 11, 7-8 p.m. Room 106, Hudson Hall. A documentary directed by Mitch Schultz, the film is an account of Dr. Rick Strassman's ground-breaking dimethyltryptamine research. It looks at his multifaceted approach to understanding this intriguing hallucinogen found in the human brain and hundreds of plants. Following the screening, there will be a question and answer session.
• Rational Comedy for an Irrational Planet. Thursday, Nov. 12, 7-9 p.m. Warren Ballrooms, Angell College Center. A science comedy featuring nationally acclaimed science comedian Brian Malow. " whether he's performing in front of a general audience or a 'geek-out' crowd, Mr. Malow's jokes are ripe with gravitas," said the Washington Post. "It's as much about expanding the mind as it is tickling the funny bone."
• Magic Show: Magic Behind Science. Friday, Nov. 13, 7-8:30 p.m. Room 106, Hudson Hall. This show features demonstrations and experiments that produce some outstanding phenomena. It is intended to ignite interest in science among young kids and people in the community.

All events are free and open to the public.

"The importance of scientific literacy in this current age of scientific revolution can never be overemphasized. Science is everywhere; in fact, I cannot wait to see what the future holds," Oni said. "Science we see it; we hear it; we read it; but do we know it?"