TALK #1: “Infinity’s Grace Beyond Compare” by Joyati Debnath
Summary: Infinity is mindboggling! It is just NOT finite but a tremendously useful and inherently theoretical. And there are lots and lots of different infinities that corrupt our minds. Is there a Countable Infinity and an Uncountable Infinity? I will try to demonstrate and communicate what inspired great controversies and rage for centuries in 20 minutes or so to a slightly under the influence but reasonably merciful audience.
Bio: Dr. Joyati Debnath is a professor of Mathematics at Winona State University. She is an Applied Mathematician, and her research and teaching has taken her all over the world. She has devoted her career not only to make marks as an academician but also to make mathematics a fun learning experience with more understanding and approachable for everyone.
TALK #2: “How Sewage Could Save Your Life” by Darby Oldenburg
We collect and study bacteriophages in our lab at Gundersen Medical Foundation. Our mission is to have phage cocktails on hand to treat recalcitrant (aka antibiotic resistant) bacterial infections under the auspices of Personalized Medicine. We will discuss the history of Phage Therapy and how recent advances in biotechnology make this old-but-new approach viable as another tool against bacterial infection.
Bio: Dr. Darby Oldenburg PhD joined Gundersen Medical Foundation in 2010 to study Herpesviruses and how latent infections shape the host immune system. After a brief hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic, she returned to the bench to continue her Herpesvirus work as well as begin a new research endeavor studying bacteriophages.
TALK #3: “Ancient Roman Mystery Cults: Bringing the Kegger to the Cave” by Kayla Olson
Did people in ancient Rome also gather in the thick of night to drink, laugh, and participate in strange rituals like a bunch of nerds? Yes! And few are more dedicated to all that is raucous, eccentric, and astrological than the initiates of “mystery cults.” We’ll look into the uniquities of a couple “mysteria,” whose secrets were known to few… kind of. Archaeologists are nosey and stubborn folk, after all.
Bio: Kayla Olson (MA, MLIS) is an academic librarian at Winona State University. She has the pleasure of working with faculty and students as the library liaison to History, Philosophy, Ethnic Studies, Women Gender & Sexuality Studies, Special Education, and Marketing. Before becoming a librarian, she trained as a classical archaeologist with research interests in the mid-and-late Roman Empire, spatial analysis, and cultural memory
More pictures from the event are on our Facebook events page.