Big Bash 2016 Colloquia
Why a Lemon Tastes Sour - or Sweet. Wabash Associate Professor of Psychology Dr. Karen Gunther gave a presentation on basic taste physiology and sensation. 'What we think of as taste is actually constituted of taste and smell,' Gunther told the group.
Gunther had a small plate of sweet, and one sour, treats for her participants.
A good number of faculty and staff joined alums for the presentation.
Gunther had those in attendance taste sweet treats while holding their nose and then without doing so to illustrate the power of smell in taste.
Brad Fewell '86, Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs & General Counsel for Excelon Generation, said of nuclear power and the importance of carbon reduction, '63 percent of emission-free energy production in the U.S. is nuclear, and that's more than all other sources combined. Energy is interesting and dynamic right now and our company believes in an all-of-the-above energy strategy.'
Jeremy Cage '86 delivered 'Unleashing Your Full Potential' Friday afternoon. He said, 'There is no such thing as work/life balance; there is only life balance, of which work is a part. What are the things that are important to you? What are the dreams you have for each compartment of your life? Everything around us is a dream that's become reality.'
Kai Chin ’71 shared stories—some hilarious, all insightful—about navigating cultures from his career in international banking.
Chin also described his journey from a tenement building in New York City to his education at Wabash.
Listening to Kai Chin's presentation.
Chin catches up with classmate David Gray.
Jay Williams '66 spoke on updating campus housing and drawing inspiration from the traditional campus aesthetic...and pushing to establish new ones.
Greetings before the session began.
Audience looking at the plans for new housing on campus.
Chris Bly '06, one of the creative forces behind Central State Brewing, said, 'We found a strain of yeast we loved. We really can't take credit for it, the yeast does all the work. This has been a path of serendipity, self actualization, and luck.'
Jake Koeneman '06 (left) and Bly are two-thirds of the ownership group of Central States Brewing. Koeneman said, 'Of all the craft brewers in the U.S., most make the same five beers. We knew that we wanted to to deal with the funky side as well.'
'The biggest challenge in beer today is that we know when our beer is shipped and we know when it is tapped. We don't know when our beers end. We're going against the grain. We're trying to lead into new areas.'
Dr. David Blix '70 presented an engaging colloquia.
Blix has been a member of the Wabash faculty since 1996.
No matter the season, a lecture by Dr. Blix is never sparsely attended.
Ryan Feeback '05 talks about his work for the US State Department at the US Embassy in Lima, Peru.
Ryan Feeback '05 talks with David Phillips.
Rhetoric Professor Sara Drury discussed how she engages students in research and the community through courses and the Wabash Democracy and Public Discourse Initiative.
Political Science Professor Shamira Gelbman had two classes this past academic year that did research on the Civil Rights Movement and Prohibition and then created an online exhibit showcasing their work.
Chemistry Professor Laura Wysocki and her summer research interns have developed a new way of detecting a toxic chemical in pharmaceuticals.