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Master Classes (for parents and family members)
Experience Allegheny’s academic environment by attending one of our Master Classes. Each class will include a 40-minute presentation with time for questions regarding academic programs, research, and support services. Sign up for a specific class when you check-in on campus.
Climate Change-It’s real, and it matters!
Climate change is often portrayed in political terms, with many believing that climate change is real and threatening, and many others believing that climate change is a hoax used to fuel a socialist agenda. Yet earth’s climate is apolitical, operating under laws of chemistry and physics, with environmental impacts based on ecological processes. This talk will address the science of climate change, what is really meant by scientific uncertainty, and why environmental scientists are concerned.
Engineering Ethics Into Robots
Supported by the Mozilla Foundation, the Department of Computer Science at Allegheny has incorporated holistic thinking into the development of technologies taught in our courses. This session will explore questions behind engineering ethics into artificially intelligent beings and the human responsibility of designing robots with moral autonomy. Participants will engage in the demonstrations of robotic systems with various levels of ethical consideration programmed into them. Then, working in groups, participants will be guided through the process of algorithm redesign that can enhance the morality of the demonstrated robotic systems.
Beyond Calories: The New Economics of Nutrition
Efforts to improve nutrition around the world are benefiting from an emerging field at the intersection of nutrition science and nutrition economics. This field is using new kinds of data and methods to reveal how differences in incomes, food prices, and food preferences drive dietary patterns which are a major determinant of health. The field has shifted away from thinking about food supply, and towards a multidimensional understanding of macronutrients, micronutrients and non-nutrient compounds as they influence well-being.
“Why Can’t We Live Forever? The Evolutionary Biology of Aging”
As the evolutionary geneticist Theodosius Dobzhansky noted in 1973, “nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution.” In this master class you will discover how basic evolutionary principles help us to make sense of the otherwise puzzling phenomenon of biological aging and senescence, the deterioration of physiological function with age that leads inevitably to death. An evolutionary perspective on aging shows us why there is little or no evolutionary advantage to potential immortality, and why genetic mutations causing premature aging can actually be favored by natural selection.
A Brief Tour of the Universe
Come explore the cosmos and learn your way around the night sky. We present stunning celestial imagery with the help of our new fulldome projector, and then we project the stars overhead to show the night sky as it appears from various places on Earth. We finish by reviewing some of the stars, planets, and constellations that are easily visible this winter, so that you can head home with knowledge connecting you to the sky above.
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