Millennium Café

Enjoy Thanksgiving Break!

There will be no Millennium Café on November 26.
Join us on December 3 for both the Millennium Café and After Café.

Our project is motivated by the staggering prevalence of anxiety symptoms among adolescents and young adults, and the fact that millions of young people struggle to find accessible and healthy ways to manage anxiety. Our guided drawing intervention integrates an approachable and tangible activity with mindfulness elements. We have found that our guided drawing activity decreases anxiety within-session and days later and bolsters physiological regulation to a greater extent than controls. Our ongoing research examines neurocognitive and long-term effects of the intervention. We will discuss and invite feedback on ideas for potential outputs, dissemination, and applications of this work, as well as opportunities to foster future interdisciplinary arts-sciences collaborations.

Sarah Myruski | College of Liberal Arts
Bill Doan | College of Arts & Architecture

New techniques to characterize materials at micro and nano scales have enhanced natural history research discovery. Paleontology, in particular, has benefited from advanced imaging techniques and characterization methods capable of analyzing small samples to understand biological and ecological systems in unprecedented detail. This talk will highlight recent work at the boundaries of paleontology, material sciences, bio-inspiration and wildlife conservation and explore avenues where the study of fossils contribute unique perspectives to modern problems.

Chris Widga  |  Earth & Mineral Sciences

Ion-sensitive field-effect transistors (ISFETs) have become useful for chemosensing (translating chemical composition changes into electrical signals) with applications in environmental monitoring, healthcare diagnostics, and industrial control.  This work explores the integration of machine learning with graphene-based ISFETs, using extensive sensor data for classification and quantification tasks. Specifically, data from non-functionalized graphene-based ISFETs are used to train neural networks to detect issues like food fraud and spoilage, showing potential for data-driven chemical detection across diverse applications.

Saptarshi Das  |  Engineering Science and Mechanics

The research misconduct process is often misunderstood, with common myths suggesting that the outcomes are career-ending, the process is solely about scientific accuracy, and that any error is unacceptable. In reality, the focus is on rehabilitation, prevention of future issues, and transparency. Researchers should not fear the process. Understanding these misconceptions helps foster a more supportive and responsible research environment across diverse fields.

Courtney Karmelita  |  Office for Research Protections

The Millennium Café will return on November 12, 2024.