Important Scientific and Technological Advances to be Topic of Series Sponsored by UB Libraries

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Western New Yorkers will have the opportunity to learn about and discuss some of the important scientific and technological advances of our time during "Research Revolution: Science and the Shaping of Modern Life," a free video and discussion series to be offered during October by the University at Buffalo Libraries.

The UB Libraries are one of 50 libraries nationwide selected to participate in the project, which features screenings of documentary videos that place the scientific discoveries in historical context, discussions led by experts in the fields and optional readings and resources.

The series is funded by the National Science Foundation, the New York Council for the Humanities and the UB Libraries.

"It is an opportunity to come together to discuss the potential of these technologies that affect us in very personal ways, from virtual reality experiences created by wearable computers, to DNA use in criminal investigations, to predicting the next snowstorm in Buffalo," says program coordinator Judith Adams-Volpe, director of university and external relations for the UB Arts and Sciences Libraries.

The five programs in the series are free of charge and open to the public. The schedule:

• Robotics: "Into the Body," 7-9 p.m., Oct. 1, 201 Capen Hall, UB North (Amherst) Campus. Discussion leader will be Eliot Winer, deputy director, New York State Center for Engineering Design & Industrial Innovation (NYSCEDII) in the UB School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. The age of new technology includes such advances as robotics, gene therapy, artificial intelligence, genetically modified foods, and cochlear and other body implants. Scientists are developing the potential to fundamentally change the human species. But what is appropriate and inappropriate? In the film "Into the Body," experts from top universities, corporations, and medical and biotech research teams discuss the new frontiers that blur the lines between science fact and science fiction, and between man and machine.

• Weather: "What's Up With the Weather?" 7-9 p.m., Oct. 8, Roswell Park Room, Health Sciences Library, UB South (Main Street) Campus. Don Paul, WIVB-TV, Channel 4 meteorologist, will lead the discussion. The overall issue of this inclusive, two-hour program will be global warming -- whether it really exists, whether it is caused by human actions, what the consequences might be, energy consumption throughout the world and political efforts to recognize and deal with global warming, particularly the Kyoto Accords.

• Forensics: "Gene Squad," 7-9 p.m., Oct. 15, Roswell Park Room, Health Sciences Library, South Campus. Speaker will be John Simich, assistant laboratory director, Erie County Central Police Services Forensics Lab. The "Gene Squad" traces the development of forensic DNA sampling and profiling, starting with its first use to catch a serial killer in Birmingham, England in 1986.

• Creators of the Atomic Bomb: "I Am Become Death: They Made the Bomb," 7:30-9 p.m., Oct. 21, 201 Capen Hall, North (Amherst) Campus. Leading the discussion will be Paul Senese, assistant professor, Department of Political Science, UB College of Arts and Sciences. This film chronicles the Manhattan Project and the scientists who worked on it. The scientists reflect on their motivations and how they now see their involvement, and their memories are interspersed with footage of the war, making the bomb, and the thoughts of modern-day visitors to the Trinity site -- the New Mexico testing ground for the first bomb.

• Biodiversity: "Natural Connections," 7-9 p.m., Oct. 29, Roswell Park Room, Health Sciences Library, South (Main Street) Campus. Fred Stoss, biology and environment specialist, University Libraries, will lead the discussions. This film looks at five habitats and the scientists who work within them.

Although the program is free, seating is limited and reservations are required. Reservations may be made by contacting Adams-Volpe at 645-2756, ext. 228, or adamsj@buffalo.edu. More information is available on the Research Revolution Web site at http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/ext/ResearchRevolution.html.