2019-2020 STEM Talks
Thank you to all of our wonderful past speakers!
Thank you to the Sharon Education Foundation for funding our STEM Talks in the 2019-2020 school year!
Thank you to the Sharon Education Foundation for funding our STEM Talks in the 2019-2020 school year!
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Dr. Alan Marscher (Boston University)
Super-Massive Black Holes at the Centers of Galaxies 
The recent Event Horizon Telescope image of the black hole in the galaxy M87 confirmed what astronomers had suspected: super-massive black holes reside in the centers of all large galaxies. The speaker will discuss how these extreme objects, which trap any matter or light that gets too close, actually create the most luminous phenomena in the universe. This apparent contradiction involves ultra-hot gas that has not yet been swallowed by the black hole monster, as well as near -light-speed jets of high-energy particles and strong magnetic fields.
Christopher Blessen (Tappé Architects)
Designing our new Sharon High School 
Christopher Blessen is committed to building places that contribute to the development of communities. He is interested in how learning grows communities and the various places where learning can take place. His practice for the last 13 years has largely been focused on K-12 design and Libraries. In the coming years Chris plans to travel throughout the world "seeking the horizon of all that is education related to understand what really will be the future of think places and how should they be designed."
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Dr. Avital Rodal (Brandeis University)
Finding your way inside of a nerve cell 
Avital Rodal grew up in Ottawa, Canada. She attended MIT for her undergraduate studies in Biology and Chemical Engineering, and then University of California Berkeley for her doctoral studies in Molecular and Cell Biology. She then did her postdoctoral work back at MIT, in the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory. She is currently an associate professor at Brandeis University, where she studies intracellular transport in neurons. She has been the recipient of NIH Pathway to Independence and NIH Director's New Innovator awards, a Pew scholar award, and recently the NINDS Landis Award for mentorship. Outside of the lab, she enjoys gardening, hanging out with her dogs and teenaged kids, and getting running tips from her husband.
Dr. Michael Merport (Souther NE Radiology)
S, T, E and M of Medical Imaging 
Dr. Merport is an Interventional Radiologist practicing in the south coast of Massachusetts. In his presentation, Dr. Merport will touch upon the physical, chemical and biological aspects of medical imaging, including radiography, computed tomography, ultrasound, magnetic resonance, and nuclear imaging, as well as engineering aspects of imaging devices. He will also explain how imaging helps to guide therapeutic interventions (interventional radiology)
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Dr. Andrew Murray, Harvard University
What sets the speed limit of evolution?
What sets the speed limit of evolution?
Andrew Murray grew up in England with American parents. When he was eleven he wanted to be a race car driver, but he discovered he had slow reflexes and was inspired to be a scientist by his high school chemistry teacher, “Doc” Powell. He did his Ph.D. with Jack Szostak constructing artificial chromosomes and a postdoc with Mark Kirschner showing that cyclin synthesis and destruction regulates the cell division cycle. His group works on experimental evolution using the brewer’s yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. They use genetic and physiological perturbations, synthetic biology, and collaborations with theorists to try to understand the “rules of the game” that explain how cells reproduce, respond to their environment, and evolve. In education, he is interested in breaking interdisciplinary barriers without sacrificing discipline.
