The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts Science and Arts Café fall lecture series will feature two authors and three faculty members.
Author Stephen Koch will present the first lecture in the fall series at 7 p.m. Sept. 11. Koch will speak about his recent book, “Louis Jordan: Son of Arkansas, Father of R&B.” In his five-decade career, Arkansas-born Jordan influenced American popular music, film and more. Playing a hybrid of jazz, swing, blues and comedy music during the big band era, Jordan and his band’s music inspired later artist such as B.B. King, James Brown, Chuck Berry and Ray Charles.
Koch is a musician, playwright and award-winning reporter, editor and broadcast journalist. Koch lives in Little Rock, where he is the creator and host of “Arkansongs,” a show that examines music created by Arkansans that has influenced music around the world. The show airs on National Public Radio affiliates across the state, including KUAR in Little Rock.
The Science and Arts Café series features a short lecture on an interesting topic in an informal setting. The lecture is followed by an open, casual discussion between the lecturer and audience members. Each program is free and open to the public. This fall’s lectures will be held at the Superior Bathhouse Brewery and Distillery at 329 Central Avenue on the historic Bathhouse Row in downtown. Each lecture will begin at 7 p.m. with the lecture and discussion period lasting about an hour.
Other fall lectures set for this year’s series includes:
• Denise White Parkinson, author of “Daughter of the White River: Depression-Era Treachery & Vengeance in the Arkansas Delta,” will be the guest lecturer on Oct. 9. The book by Parkinson of Hot Springs examines the story of Helen Spence, a young woman who was born on a houseboat on the White River near St. Charles. Her father was killed and stepmother assaulted during a fishing trip, and Spence killed the man who assaulted them during his trial. Spence was found guilty of manslaughter and paroled out of sympathy, but she later confessed to killing another man. She escaped from prison numerous times before being shot and killed during one escape, according to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture.
• ASMSA biology instructor Dr. Patrycja Krakowiak will be the featured speaker on Nov. 13. She will discuss “Disease vs. Susceptibility: What Your Genes Really Determine About You.” Krakowiak earned a bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University in chemistry with an emphasis in molecular biology and earned a doctorate in human genetics from the University of Utah. She continued her training at the National Institutes of Health as a post-doctoral fellow. Before coming to ASMSA, she was an assistant professor at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and Arkansas Children’s Hospital.
• ASMSA physics instructor Dr. Jack Waddell and geoscience instructor Dr. Lindsey Waddell will present “Beyond the Hockey Stick: The Bigger Climate Picture” on Jan. 8. The Waddells are both alumni of ASMSA, graduating in 1999, who chose to return to their alma mater to teach. Jack Waddell received his bachelor’s degree in physics from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and earned a master’s and doctorate in physics from the University of Michigan. Lindsey Waddell earned a bachelor’s degree in geology from Smith College and a doctorate in oceanography, marine geology and geochemistry from the University of Michigan.