Science, Technology, and Environmental Studies

Author: Mary Proffitt

  • Another co-curricular opportunity ~ with our own Dr. Glennan, Jan. 28th

    Brown Bag Series – “The New Mechanical Philosophy” by Stuart Glennan

    The Butler Brown Bag Series for Research, Scholarship, and Creative Work presents “The New Mechanical Philosophy” by Stuart Glennan, Philosophy and Religion, on Tuesday, January 28, noon-1:00 p.m. in AU111 (UClub).

    Natural and social scientists often characterize their work as a search for the mechanisms responsible for the phenomena they study. While this way of thinking about the nature of science has its origins in 17th century philosophy, contemporary philosophers of science have only recently begun to think about mechanisms. The result has been an explosion of work on the nature of mechanisms, and their relation to causation, explanation, modeling, and discovery that has come to be known as the New Mechanical Philosophy.

    Please join us for a discussion with Stuart Glennan on his sabbatical research for his book on this emerging area in the philosophy of science.

    Students, staff, and faculty are all welcome. No RSVP required. Light refreshments will be provided – please feel free to bring your lunch.

  • Fun at the STS party!

  • 1st co-curricular opportunity of 2014 ~ Daniel Levitin, cognitive psychologist, January 28, 7:30

    Butler University’s J. James Woods Lectures in the Sciences and Mathematics presents cognitive psychologist Daniel Levitin at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 28 in the Howard L. Schrott Center for the Arts.

    Levitin, the James McGill Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at McGill University, is the author of the book This Is Your Brain On Music: The Science of a Human Obsession (Dutton/Penguin, 2006), which stayed on The New York Times and The (Toronto) Globe and Mail bestseller lists for more than 16 months. Two award-winning documentaries based on “This Is Your Brain On Music” have been broadcast internationally: The Music Instinct co-starred Levitin and Bobby McFerrin, and The Musical Brain co-starred Levitin and Sting.

    As a musician (tenor saxophone, guitar, and bass), he has performed with Mel Tormé, Nancy Wilson, David Byrne, Roseanne Cash, Sting, Bobby McFerrin, Rodney Crowell, Victor Wooten, Blue Öyster Cult, members of the Steve Miller Band, and Santana.

    Levitin earned his doctorate in cognitive psychology from the University of Oregon. He has been a visiting professor at Stanford University, where he taught courses in the psychology, computer science, human biology, music, and anthropology departments, and the School of Education. He has also been a visiting professor in psychology at UC Berkeley and Dartmouth.

  • STS Party (NOT a meeting!) ~ Friday, January 17th, 6-10 pm, Efroymson Center

    Join us for an STS party.

    This is not a meeting; just a time to enjoy friends, food, and music.

    When: Friday, January 17, 2013, 6:00-10:00 pm

    Where: The Efroymson Center for Creative Writing (across from BUDP and Ross Hall)

    WHO: STS majors, minors, or anyone who is interested:)

    There will be a live band, free dinner (Yats), and a photo booth.

    RSVP to Mary Proffitt, mproffit@butler.edu, by Thursday, January 16th at noon!

  • STS Connect – New STS Club – call out lunch

    Exciting News! – STS is starting a club! 

    Hey Everyone, 

    Currently we are underway in establishing our first STS club here at Butler University. It will be called, “STS Connect.” This is really exciting because STS is becoming a well-known major at Butler. Because it is a growing major, more and more people are beginning to wonder what exactly it is and being a part of STS Connect, will be a great way to educate, promote, and encourage more students in the growing field. Having this club established will allow us to network and connect with potential internships and with current and past STS majors. Students will also be given the opportunity to interact with the community through community service projects not only in the Butler community, but in Indianapolis as well. We are really excited to get this started and hope that you are too!

    Our first call out meeting is This Friday December 6, 2013 in Jordan 238 at 12 p.m. Pizza will be provided. We encourage everyone and anyone who is interested, even if a little, to come and join this historical moment (it’ll be really FUN).  Please RSVP to Mary Proffitt (mproffit@butler.edu) so she knows how much pizza to order.

     

    We hope to see you all there! 

    Allie Deno ’16

    Mimi Fisher ‘16

    Brandon Katz ’16

    Jim Santos ‘16

  • ‘Even Me—a film about HIV – A cocurricular opportunity

    ‘Even Me—a film about HIV

    There’s going to be a terrific short film on campus this Saturday.  It’s called “Even Me” and it’s about the HIV/AIDS crisis among people ages 50 and older, especially in communities of color.  The film was made by Megan Ebor, who works with older adults in southern California.  She will be at the screening to talk about the film.  The film is part of the10th annual Indiana HIV Awareness Day, a partnership project of the Indiana Minority Health Coalition and others.  This screening is sponsored by the STS Program, the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, and the Department of Sociology & Criminology.  It’s in PB 150 1:00-3:00. 

    You can check out the film’s wesite at this address:

    http://www.evenmefilm.com/

  • Adventures in Interning ~ Taylor Brown

                 

    Taylor Brown, Junior STS Major

                 To be honest, when I applied for the Operational Excellence Internship at GlaxoSmithKline, I did not really know what I was applying for. Nevertheless, I applied, interviewed, and received the position. I began working on May 20, 2013 and immediately started learning all about the company, my department, and what it means to be part of the workforce.  

                   During my summer at GSK, I worked closely with the manufacturing and packaging departments in the TUMS factory, which is located in St. Louis, MO, only thirty minutes from my house. I quickly learned that I would not be treated as an “innocent intern” and would be held to the same standards as the full-time employees. Because GSK must abide by FDA and OSHA guidelines, I had to complete many standard operating procedures, SOPS, and undergo extensive training on how to handle the product and wear the proper protective gowning.

                   During my time as an intern, I was able to utilize the technical writing skills I have learned during my Butler career. I authored two manuals that are currently being used a points of reference during site-wide training. I was also able to write a new SOP, which will be used in the manufacturing departments. I completed daily operations tasks, such as efficiency analysis, participating in safety meetings, and performing quality experiments in the site’s chemistry lab.

                   At the end of my internship, I left GSK with an awareness of what it means to be part of the workforce as well as a strong sense of accomplishment in the science-writing field. The experience also opened my eyes to the manufacturing world which I hope to be a more permanent part of in the future.

  • Brent Hege on Science and Faith at the Creation Museum

    Come to this great event, available for STS co-curricular credit.  12-1 in AU 111, Wednesday October 9
    heges

  • Adventures in Interning ~ CAFO Watch

    From Anna Vierse:

    My experience working with Barbara and the Indiana CAFO Watch organization during Spring, 2013 truly enlightened me, not only to the extent of environmental and food-source degradation occurring on American farms, but also to the shocking level of politics contributing to such malpractices. Having lived in a city or suburb my entire life, I had seen documentaries and read several journalistic exposés concerning the mistreatment of animals on farms the resulting negatively affect on our food quality, but interning at CAFO Watch made these conditions real for me—some of this was occurring mere miles away on farms in Indiana. However, change is not easy, and I witnessed politicians fight against sanitation and a safe environment merely for the benefit of their own pocketbooks.

    Even if at times the research work I completed to support proposed bills or to provide hard data grew tedious, Barbara was inspiring with her passion and firm belief in her cause. I learned about the arduous and seemingly insignificant role of a grassroots or whistleblower organization, but also saw the invigorating effects of spreading such news with dedication. I experienced politics, the bill-making process, environmental activism, and now better understood the role of farms in America. But most of all, I witnessed the amazingly strong influence the common people can have in making a difference in our country.

  • Internship opportunity – CAFO-Watch Indiana

    Come meet the Director of CAFO-Watch Indiana.  Learn about internship opportunities!  Learn about what CAFO-Watch is doing to protect our air and water quality.

     

    Come to JH 340 at 11:00 on Tuesday, Oct. 3 to hear Barbara Sha Cox, Director of Indiana CAFO-Watch talk about her organization.  Barbara is a lively grandmother and farmer who has been fighting the good fight against the loosening of regulations over industrial animal operations in the state.  Come hear her speak!  Come learn about how you can help and get internship credit.