American Scientist Pizza Lunches are informal lectures where scientists present new research to an audience of non-scientists.
The talks are hosted in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, at the headquarters of Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society, the publisher of American Scientist magazine.
Originally intended to help inform local science communicators about current and controversial topics, the Pizza Lunch talks are now available to anyone online, and new talks are posted periodically during the academic year.
Download individual talks below, click here to subscribe in iTunes, or click a button below to receive automatic updates by RSS.
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Genomic and Personalized Medicine
Geoffrey Ginsburg, director of the Center for Genomic Medicine, Duke University
Ginsburg presents advances and ongoing research in personalized medicine, from prescribing cancer drugs to predicting flu symptoms. (March 30, 2010)
Mental Health Implications of the Khmer Rouge Genocide Trials
Jeffrey Sonis, physician and public health research scientist, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
Sonis and colleagues are developing ways to gauge how groups of people scarred by mass murder respond to revisiting a traumatic history. (February 18, 2010)
Metapopulation Dynamics of Oyster Restoration in Pamlico Sound, NC
David Eggleston, director of the Center for Marine Science and Technology, North Carolina State University
Eggleston discusses the challenges of conserving and restoring North Carolina coastal ecosystems, particularly oyster reefs. (January 26, 2010)
An Empire Lacking Food: The Astonishing Existence of Life on the Deep Seafloor
Craig McClain, assistant director of science, National Evolutionary Synthesis Center
McClain explores how the meager availability of food on the deep seafloor shapes the ecology and evolution of the animals that live there. (December 15, 2009)
Future Renewable Electric Energy Delivery and Management Systems
Alex Huang, professor of electrical engineering and director of the FREEDM Systems Center, North Carolina State University
Huang talks about research on new electric grid technologies that could better utilize renewable energy sources, and the role of plug-in hybrid cars in such a grid system. (November 24, 2009)
The Evolution of the Human Capacity for Killing at a Distance
Steven Churchill, professor of evolutionary anthropology, Duke University
Churchill presents his research on the evolutionary origins of projectile weaponry, and how weapon use changed interactions between humans and other species—including, perhaps, the Neandertals. (October 20, 2009)
Our Energy Future: Science and Technology Challenges for the 21st Century
Thomas Meyer, director, Solar Energy Research Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Meyer discusses the status of the world's energy supply. In particular, he presents the idea that the sun's energy could be used to make fuels from water and carbon dioxide for heating, transportation and energy storage. (September 24, 2009)
Everything Is Dangerous: A Controversy
S. Stanley Young, director of bioinformatics, National Institute of Statistical Sciences
Young critiques statistical analysis by some epidemiologists, especially their multiple testing of data sets obtained from observational studies. (April 22, 2009)
From Cloning to Stem Cells: How Can Pigs Help Us Solve Problems in Human Medicine?
Jorge Piedrahita, professor of genomics, North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine
Piedrahita describes his research with cloned swine and how their abnormal growth provides insight into human placental defects, the ways transgenic pigs may help grow human tissue and how pigs could help advance stem cell therapies. (March 25, 2009)