Coles Science Center Blog

The Coles Science Center and the NYU Libraries Information Futures Group present:

"THE INFORMATION: A History, A Theory, A Flood"

A talk and book signing by author James Gleick

DATE: Wednesday, October 5, 2011
TIME: 5:30-7:00PM
LOCATION: Bobst Library*, 3rd floor, Fales Reading Room

James Gleick, author of the best sellers Chaos and Genius, will discuss his bestselling new book, The Information: A History, A Theory, A Flood.

From the invention of scripts and alphabets to the long-misunderstood talking drums of Africa, Gleick tells the story of information technologies that changed the very nature of human consciousness. His compelling characters include Charles Babbage, the idiosyncratic inventor of the first great mechanical computer; Ada Byron, the brilliant and doomed daughter of the poet, who became the first true programmer; pivotal figures like Samuel Morse and Alan Turing; and Claude Shannon, the creator of information theory itself. And bringing us up to date in a time when we often feel we are drowning in a deluge of information, Gleick tells us how we got here and where we’re heading.

The Information will be available for sale on site by the NYU Bookstore, and the author will be signing copies.

RSVP required: http://tinyurl.com/GleickRSVP

Seating for this event is on a first come, first served basis. For more information, please contact Jill Conte at jill.conte@nyu.edu.

*Entrance to the library requires a valid NYU or affiliated institution ID. More info on access to Bobst here.

The Coles Science Center and the NYU Libraries Information Futures Group present:

"Doing Science in the Open"

A talk by Michael Nielsen, Ph.D.

DATE: Monday, September 19, 2011
TIME: 6:30-7:30PM
LOCATION: Bobst Library*, 2nd floor, AFC Avery Room

In this talk, Dr. Nielsen will describe some leading-edge projects to show how online tools can radically change and improve science (using projects in Mathematics and Citizen Science as examples). He will talk about why these tools haven’t spread to all corners of science, and how we can change that.

Michael Nielsen is an internationally known scientist who helped pioneer the field of quantum computation. His book about open science, Reinventing Discovery, will be published by Princeton University Press in October 2011.

Refreshments will be served.

RSVP required: http://tinyurl.com/scienceRSVP

For more information, please contact Margaret Smith at margaret.smith@nyu.edu.

*Entrance to the library requires a valid NYU or affiliated institution ID. More info on access to Bobst here.

The Coles Science Center at Bobst Library Presents the Coles Science Salon Series

Urban Infrastructure and the Politics of Public Urination

by Laura Noren, PhD candidate
Department of Sociology, NYU

Dogs are free to pee everywhere but indoors. People, on the other hand, are fined for peeing on the street, the subway, buildings, cars, and just about any place out-of-doors. Where New York used to have thousands more public restrooms, the city now offers only a few truly public restrooms that accept all comers, free of charge. What's more, summonses and fines for street peeing raise the bar for transgression. What happens when cities decide to prohibit behavior rather than providing for it? In New York, certain populations like cab drivers and street cart vendors bear the brunt of the administrative policies in ways that shape the gender profile of the occupation. As well, the contours of the urban toilet infrastructure unwittingly position these workers at the edge of a symbolic boundary between civility and incivility. Please join Laura Noren for a talk drawing on her research from the recently published book she co-edited, Toilet: Public Restrooms and the Politics of Sharing.

DATE: Wednesday, February 23, 2011
TIME: 5:30-6:30pm
PLACE: 5th floor, Southwest wing, Bobst Library*

Please join us for the talk, followed by a discussion. Refreshments will be served.

***RSVP Required***
Go here: http://tinyurl.com/science-rsvp

*Entrance to the library requires a valid NYU or affiliated institution ID.
More info on access to Bobst here.

Below are details for three events organized by the NYU Division of Libraries that will be happening on campus this week in honor of Open Access Week.

Open Access for Education
(Tue, Oct 19, 3:30-4:45pm, 19 W. 4th, Room 101)

The potential applications of open educational resources are widespread – increased access to knowledge in regions where higher education is not readily available, recruitment and retention of students, curriculum development and research collaboration among faculty, and generating interest in higher education. At this forum, NYU and Creative Commons speakers will discuss new "Open Education" initiatives at NYU and elsewhere. Speakers include:
Dalton Conley, Senior Vice Provost and Dean for the Social Sciences, NYU
Jane Park, Education Coordinator, Creative Commons
Cyrus R. K. Patel, Associate Professor of English, NYU

After the Dissertation: Publishing your Scholarly Work
(Wed, Oct 20, 3:30-5pm, Bobst Library, 10th Floor Graduate Exchange)

This session offers practical information and strategies for those completing their dissertations and considering how best to share their scholarly work--as journal articles or a book, in print and digital form. Topics will include your rights as an author, how to think strategically about your publishing choices, what you need to know about copyright, and more. Please RSVP to reserve a seat: http://bit.ly/av9B9r

Open Access 101
(Thu, Oct 21, 12-2pm, Bobst Library, 10th Floor Graduate Exchange)

Open Access literature is digital, online, free of charge, and free of most copyright and licensing restrictions, encouraging the unrestricted sharing of scholarly research. As part of International Open Access Week, NYU Libraries presents “Open Access 101,” a brown bag lunch discussion open to all faculty, students, and staff interested in learning more about the Open Access movement and how it relates to NYU.

The Coles Science Center at Bobst Library Presents the Coles Science Salon Series

What They Don't Teach You in Statistics Courses

by Kaiser Fung, MBA

When Nobel winner Daniel Kahneman was not busy creating the foundations of behavioral economics, he determined that statistical thinking is an unnatural activity; even experts sometimes fail at it. Yet, from stock charts to test scores, from theme parks to traffic jams, from credit cards to medical tests, statistics influence all aspects of our lives. Using examples from his recently published book Numbers Rule Your World, statistician Kaiser Fung will discuss some key statistical ideas—things they surprisingly don’t teach you in statistics classes. In addition, popular accounts of scientific innovations typically leave out the convoluted, imperfect process by which they enter everyday life. The adoption of statistical science provides a fertile backdrop for investigating this process.

DATE: Tuesday, October 12, 2010
TIME: 6:00-7:00pm
PLACE: 10th Floor Exchange, NW corner of 10th Floor, Bobst Library*

Please join us for the talk, followed by a discussion. Refreshments will be served.

***RSVP Required***
Go here: http://tinyurl.com/salon-rsvp

*Entrance to the library requires a valid NYU or affiliated institution ID.
More info on access to Bobst here.

NYU ITS has just launched the Virtual Computer Lab (VCL) pilot for NYU students at Washington Square.

The VCL permits registered students to access a library of applications via their Internet browser, including Adobe's Creative Suite 5, statistical software, and platform-specific applications such as Internet Explorer. The applications appear to launch and operate locally, but really they have the power of NYU servers behind them. The VCL is accessible from laptops, desktops, as well as mobile computing devices such as iPads and iPhones.

The VCL pilot is limited in size, and designed for NYU Washington Square student participants. Registration is via NYUHome.

Additional information on available applications and how to join the pilot can be found at: www.nyu.edu/its/vcl

The Coles Science Center at Bobst Library Presents the Coles Science Salon Series

What They Don't Teach You in Statistics Courses

by Kaiser Fung, MBA

When Nobel winner Daniel Kahneman was not busy creating the foundations of behavioral economics, he determined that statistical thinking is an unnatural activity; even experts sometimes fail at it. Yet, from stock charts to test scores, from theme parks to traffic jams, from credit cards to medical tests, statistics influence all aspects of our lives. Using examples from his recently published book Numbers Rule Your World, statistician Kaiser Fung will discuss some key statistical ideas—things they surprisingly don’t teach you in statistics classes. In addition, popular accounts of scientific innovations typically leave out the convoluted, imperfect process by which they enter everyday life. The adoption of statistical science provides a fertile backdrop for investigating this process.

DATE: Wednesday, October 6, 2010
TIME: 5:30-6:30pm
PLACE: 10th Floor Exchange, NW corner of 10th Floor, Bobst Library*

Please join us for the talk, followed by a discussion. Refreshments will be served.

***RSVP Required***
Go here: http://tinyurl.com/salon-rsvp

*Entrance to the library requires a valid NYU or affiliated institution ID.
More info on access to Bobst here.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

9:00-10:30 — Faculty Focus Group
RSVP at: www.socializr.com/event/librelations/ffg

11:00-12:00 — Graduate Student Focus Group
Join ACS Publications staff to provide feedback about the website, our content, and trends in digital research tools. All participants receive $25 to Amazon.com
RSVP at: www.socializr.com/event/librelations/graduate

12:30-2:30 — Alternative Careers in Chemistry: There's more to life than tenure-track!
Chemists in industry, chemical information, sales, and intellectual property share their experiences away from the lab.
RSVP at: www.socializr.com/event/librelations/ alternatives

2:30-4:00 — Library Administrators Focus Group
RSVP at: www.socializr.com/event/librelations/libadmins

4:30-6:00 — Chem Subject Selectors Focus Group
RSVP at: www.socializr.com/event/librelations/selectors

Friday, April 16, 2010

9:30-11:00 — ACS Paragon Plus/Peer-Review Tutorial breakfast
Join ACS Publications staff for a tutorial on how to use ACS Paragon Plus as well as conversation about the process of peer-review.
RSVP at: www.socializr.com/event/librelations/paragonplus

2:00-3:30 — Basics in Scholarly Publishing: From the editors themselves
Get a behind-the-scenes look at what happens to a manuscript once it’s submitted from the ACS editors themselves.
RSVP at: www.socializr.com/event/librelations/bsp

The Coles Science Center at Bobst Library Presents the Coles Science Salon Series

What's Eating You? People and Parasites

by Eugene Kaplan, PhD
Donald E. Axinn Endowed Distinguished Professor of Ecology and Conservation (emeritus), Hofstra University

Come hear Eugene Kaplan discuss his latest book, What's Eating You? People and Parasites, and tell stories about how it feels to have parasites living inside his body. The talk will include personal anecdotes about parasites and their relationship to the lives of indigenous people all over the world, the tourists who eat food from their farms and drink their water, and the effects on American workers who live among them. Topics will also cover why Jewish grandmothers are afflicted by the world's largest tapeworms, malaria in West Africa, leeches in Vietnam, and vampire bats. Book signing to follow talk.

DATE: Wednesday, April 14, 2010
TIME: 5:30-6:30pm
PLACE: Avery Room, 2nd Floor, Bobst Library*

Please join us for the talk, followed by a discussion and book signing. Refreshments will be served, and books will be available for purchase.

*Entrance to the library requires a valid NYU or affiliated institution ID.
More info on access to Bobst here.

***RSVP Required***
Go here: http://tinyurl.com/salon-rsvp

The Office of Public Safety is hosting Operation ID.

Using discrete infrared labels, this program tags cell phones, blackberries, laptops, iPods, and other electronic devices, and places owner information and description/model/serial number of the property in a database. This makes it possible to return stolen or lost items to the owner, if recovered.

This service is for NYU staff, students, and faculty. Operation ID is a joint effort with the NYPD.

Operation ID will take place in Bobst, 721 Broadway, Kimmel Center, Silver Center, Kriser Dental Center, Furman Hall and Coles Sports Center.

Info on Operation ID at Bobst Library:

Dates: Wednesday, Feb 24 and Thursday, Feb 25
Time: 12:30pm - 3:30pm
Location: Public Safety office, Bobst 1st floor, near the turnstiles