Our Science Salon at Trylon Cinema on September 30 included a screening of a vintage horror film and a discussion about the science of special effects for films with Christian Hanson.

Our December 8 virtual Science Salon featured Brett Arenz, Director of the Plant Disease Clinic at the University of Minnesota. We embarked on a virtual tour of the Plant Disease Clinic, learned more about current topics in Plant Pathology, and had the opportunity to pose questions to the expert!

Participants learned how new strategies such as extrusion-based multi-material 3D printing are being developed to overcome the challenges of interweaving soft, strechable, temperature-sensitive 3D biological platforms with functional electronics. Dr. McAlpine explained how the blending of 3D printing, functional materials, and 'living' platforms may enable next-generation 3D printed devices.

Participants learned from Dr. Jim Collins and fellow researchers about work happening in the Necropsy Lab and the Immunohistochemistry Labs within the UMN Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory.

Dr. Anu Ramaswami spoke about her work exploring how to develop healthy, sustainable cities in the United States, India and China. She shared results from her collaborative work with researchers across the world on redesigning cities to address not only urban infrastructure issues, but also reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve social structure and create more open space.

Ecolab's Dr. Ruth Petran, Dr. Scott Burnett and Tony Erickson shared with us the work their team is doing with biofilms in the food and beverage industry: how they form, why they are harmful, and how to remove and prevent biofilms from forming in the machinery that our food comes into contact with.

Dr. Marla Spivak’s presentation, "Protecting our Pollinators," comes at a time in which news about the poor state of our pollinator populations continues to grow. Dr. Spivak, her colleagues and her students, are investigating the issues that have been plaguing our honey and native bees, as well as potential solutions.

With more than 40 years of experience in public health, Dr. Osterholm’s presentation, "Emerging Infections in a Modern World: A View From the Front Windshield and Rearview Mirror," took us on a global, historic and present-day look at the prevalence of infectious disease -- H7N9 influenza, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, West Africa Ebola, Zika - and warned us of what the future might hold.

On the tour we were shown studies in progress and we learned how SAFL has shifted its focus in research. Dr. Sotiropoulos began by speaking about why it is important that we study the relationship between wind flows and wind farm arrangement.