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Episode Descriptions Episode 301           52:31 min. Molecular Adaptations for Extreme Living by Lisa Gloss, Associate Professor, School of Molecular Biosciences, WSU Special biochemical adaptations allow single-celled archae life forms of Earth (like E. coli) to populate sections of Earth inhospitable to most other organisms. WSU Associate Professor Lisa Gloss considers the metabolic and macromolecular structures of these organisms with an eye toward understanding extreme living in general and shedding light on the evolution and origin of life on Earth and the potential for its origin and evolution on other worlds. Part of WSU’s 2006 / 2007 Astrobiology Seminar Series.   Episode 302           1:28:31 min. Imagination Realization: WSU Research Commercialization Opportunities Hosted by the WSU Research Foundation and Greater Spokane, Inc. This program features the inaugural showcase of emerging technologies with market potential from various WSU departments. Products involving biofuel production, hydrogen storage, cancer treatment and building ventilation, among others, are presented in front of an audience of industry leaders and market-research professionals. Held at WSU’s Riverpoint Campus in Spokane.   Episode 303           58:29 min. Life and Death on Icy Worlds by Jere Lipps, Professor of Geology, University of California, Berkeley As the event that ends life, death is also the event that can store and record life’s history. In both the living and the fossil record, therefore, icy environments on Earth abound with the conclusion that life is not afraid of cold. UC Berkeley professor Jere H. Lipps outlines a strategy for the search of life on icy worlds (like Jupiter’s moon Europa) and details the habitats life there would require and the special ways science will need to search for and find them.   Episode 304           58:31 min. Disasters Evermore? Reducing our Vulnerabilities to Natural, Industrial and Terrorist Disasters by Charles Perrow, Professor Emeritus of Sociology, Yale University This talk by internationally renowned organizational theorist and sociologist Charles Perrow looks at ways in which the United States may decrease its susceptibility to natural, industrial and terrorist disasters and considers the factions that, as he argues, cause an increase in the country’s susceptibility to danger. Factions like the Department of Homeland Security.   Episode 305           58:31 min. Safeguarding Citizens’ Rights: The Role of an Independent Judiciary? by Gerry L. Alexander, Chief Justice, Washington State Supreme Court Sponsored by WSU’s Thomas S. Foley Institute for Public Policy and Public Service, this lecture by Washington State Supreme Court Chief Justice Gerry L. Alexander stresses the importance of the separation of power between the United States branches of government.   Episode 306           58:33 min. Characterizing Risk to Tame Uncertainty 2007 Distinguished Faculty Address by Eugene A. Rosa, Professor of Sociology, Washington State University Risk, says WSU Sociology professor Gene Rosa, is both a state of the world and a means for understanding that state. Conditions of uncertainty are fundamental to the human experience and to the societies that should both understand this vulnerability and understand the tools it provides for orchestrating it.   Episode 307           58:30 min. Identification of New Targets and Mechanisms in Cancer Prevention by John DiGiovanni, Professor and Chair, Department of Carcinogenesis at MD Anderson Cancer Center, University of Texas Sponsored by The College of Pharmacy, WSU, and the Allen I. White Lectureship, this talk introduces breakthroughs in technology that have fostered new methods of conducting cancer-prevention research.   Episode 308           58:31 min. Keynote Address Edward R. Murrow Symposium, 2007 by David Fanning, Executive Producer, FRONTLINE David Fanning accepts the Edward R. Murrow Award for Distinguished Achievement in Journalism and delivers the keynote address to the Morrow Symposium in this talk, which traces the steps his career took to the production of the investigative-journalism series FRONTLINE, which he leads. Along with fellow producer Michael Kirk, Mr. Fanning takes questions from the audience and addresses further words on the media and journalism, news programming and ratings, the history of FRONTLINE and memorable moments of his own career.   Episode 309           46:22 min. State of the University Address, February 2008 by WSU President Elson S. Floyd In his first State of the University Address, WSU’s 10th President, Elson S. Floyd, outlines the strategic goals that he hopes will guide WSU into a future built on the traditions of excellence already established and secured by the focus on fields in which WSU already excels. With its resources strategically pooled, President Floyd sees a university whose national and international acclaim in the areas of agriculture, communication and animal health is only just beginning.   Episode 310           46:00 min. China: Energy, Economy and the World by David Fridley, Staff Scientist, China Energy Group, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Over the past few decades, unprecedented industrial growth has caused China to become a world leader in the consumption of coal. Among the negative environmental impacts of so much industry are other social and economic trends relating to energy consumption that Dr. David Fridley examines in this timely talk.   Episode 311           58:34 min. Schools, Skills and Synapses by James J. Heckman, Henry Schultz Professor of Economics and 2000 Nobel Laureate, The University of Chicago Undue stress is placed by government and social policy in the US today on classroom size and student-teacher ratios in education, argues Professor Heckman in this talk. Beyond books and beyond teachers – much earlier, in fact, than preschool or first grade – socio-emotional skills, developed early and absorbed from the immediate, local social environments, play a significant role in predisposing children for relative failure or success in school and beyond.   Episode 312           58:30 min. WSU Nuclear Radiation Center Tour by Donald Wall, Director, WSU Nuclear Radiation Center WSU’s Nuclear Radiation Center has been operating for many decades and facilitates tours for the public year-round. Join KWSU Media on this tour of the nuclear reactor within the Center. Learn about its functions, its safety mechanisms, the efficiency of fission and why the reactor glows a pretty blue while operating.   Episode 313           57:58 min. Some Like it Hot…Lots of Others Don't: The Changing Climate of U.S. Politics by David Orr, Paul Sears Professor of Environmental Studies and Politics, Oberlin College Professor, author and environmental educator David Orr runs over the causes, consequences and cautions relevant to the current state of planetary warming and carbon emissions. The power of nations to tip Earth's balance, public-opinion data, scientific data and a rundown of the various options the U.S. and other countries have to minimize emission and maximize efficiency in energy use are described. If current warming continues, Professor Orr says, in 2050, we will be harvesting wheat in the now ice northern Canadian plain.   Episode 314           58:33 min. The Addiction Process and the Addiction-prone Personality: A Biopsychosocial Perspective by Gabor Maté, M.D. Dr. Gabor Maté says he is addicted to buying music CDs and that, though not harmful in itself, his addiction differs very little in its habits to that of the intravenous drug users he treats and cares for in his clinic in downtown Vancouver BC. Addiction is not defined by the activity involved but by a person’s relationship to it, says Dr. Maté, and he traces its roots to important early-childhood relationships with adults that, if missing or minimal, result in the brain’s lifelong need for certain stimuli, very difficult to suppress with mere conscious willpower. He calls for universal compassion for addicts and a recognition, on the social and political levels, that addiction afflicts many in the line of its continuum, and that, as a social phenomenon, it is in need of understanding and care, not costly persecution.   Episode 315           54:32 min. Expressing Knowledge Across Multiple Dimensions by Justin Smith, Ph.D. Student in Environmental Science and Regional Planning, WSU In this talk, graduate student in Environmental Science and Regional Planning at WSU, Justin Smith, outlines the elements of his research involving solution patterns to social, environmental and economic problems in underdeveloped areas in the world. “Patterns”, in the presentation, refers to conceptual models for solutions to complicated socioeconomic and environmental problems within a certain community. Problems that underlie the reasons for poverty or other disadvantage and that are fundamentally multidimensional. Solution patterns interact with one another and grow in linkage when issues of literacy, political influence or economic instability must be addressed before larger changes can be suggested. Organizations from the U.S. and other developed nations work with researchers like Smith in programs that distribute microloans, teach sustainability practices and foster literacy training in the communities they engage with.   Episode 316           46:29 min. Overview and Research on the Spokane Valley – Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer by Dale R. Ralston, Professor Emeritus of Hydrogeology, University of Idaho As the title implies, in this talk, professor of hydrogeology and groundwater consultant Dr. Dale Ralston presents research data on the uses and condition of the Spokane-Valley – Rathdrum-Prairie aquifer, situated along the border of the Washington - Idaho state line and managed by both states. Political and economic events that have affected the aquifer are noted as is its integral relationship to the lakes and rivers around it.   Episode 317           55:07 min. College Kids, CORE, Cats and Cooler College Curriculum: The 1960s Black Freedom Movement by Stefan Bradley, Assistant Professor of History, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville In this talk, American History Assistant Professor Stefan Bradley traces the roots of important ‘60s civil rights events to the enthusiasm and strength of a handful of young activists and the support that key events were able to garner in creating a massive social movement and forwarding political change.   Episode 318           58:14 min. Pakistan After Bhutto: Perils and Prospects by Wendy Chamberlin, Former U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan and President of the Middle East Institute In this program, Wendy Chamberlin presents comments on recent changes in the political climate of Pakistan and takes questions from the audience.   Episode 319           58:35 min. Earmarks and Pork: Congress, Presidents and the Constitution Panelists: Carolyn Long, WSU Vancouver; Scott Frisch, California State University, Channel Islands; Sean Kelly, California State University, Channel Islands. In this episode of ON CAMPUS @ WSU, panelists Scott Frisch, Carolyn Long and Sean Kelly, define “pork,” as used politically, and discuss the history and efficacy of U.S. congressional earmarking of funds, each applying the perspective of his or her own work and research to the presentation.