The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts will hold the 2022-23 Science and Arts Café, a series of virtual lectures featuring ASMSA faculty members discussing topics of interest.
The lecture series will be broadcast live on ASMSA’s Facebook page: www.facebook.com/ARMathSciArts. Fb.me/armathsciarts Each event will begin at 7 p.m. This year’s series lineup includes:
October 4, 2022
In the Arms of Gravity
Dr. Jack Waddell, physics instructor
Albert Einstein revolutionized physics with his Special and General Theories of Relativity. In particular, the General Theory of Relativity tells us how gravity bends the space time through which all objects travel. It reveals surprising and mysterious features of the universe, such as the existence of black holes and how time slows depending on where you are.
November 1, 2022
Who was Homer? Uncovering the Identity of the Ancient World’s Most Famous Poet
Dr. Dan Kostopulos, humanities instructor
Everyone has heard of “The Iliad” and “The Odyssey” and their author Homer, but who was he? Did he really “write” these works or is he as mythical as the events he describes? Were these works the product of one imagination or a collective, shared effort over centuries?
February 7, 2023
Miyazawa Kenji
Betty Brown, Japanese instructor
Miyazawa Kenji (1896-1933) was a poet, author and teacher from Hot Springs' Sister City of Hanamaki, Japan. Miyazawa worked tirelessly to improve the lives of farmers by teaching them improved farming techniques and sharing art, music and poetry with them. Though relatively unknown for his poetry and short stories during his life, his whimsical and often profound writings gained popularity posthumously.
April 4, 2013
Science of Pigments
Dr. Burt Hollandsworth, chemistry instructor
Much of our perception of the world is affected by color. Every sample of colored cloth, paint, ink or plastic contains pigments. Pigments are either organic or inorganic chemical compounds that have a characteristic pattern of absorbing, transmitting or reflecting particular frequencies of visible light. Much of our historical perception of the world has been affected by color. This talk will focus on some of the chemistry of pigments as well as the history of the first efforts of chemists to make novel pigments.