C o l l e g e N e w s

Science + Film = Science nonfi ction

Ears may perk, eyes might focus and minds will rivet when almost any subject is skillfully and interestingly portrayed on fi lm. Especially scientifi c subjects. Perhaps that’s why we squirm in our seats yet fail to look away when science fi ction becomes creepy or even frightening. That notion came to life Feb. 19 with the presentation of Out of the Laboratory, a series of short fi lms merging science with fi lm, curated by Rachel Mayeri, associate professor of media studies, and Alexis Gambis of NYU/Imagine Science Films. The event was part of “Science a Moving Image,” the three-day Hixon-Riggs Public Forum on Science, Technology and Society. Consider the planet—or former planet—Pluto. Few of us ever really do. The short fi lm “Naming Pluto” changed

that by reintroducing Venetia Phair, the woman who at age 11 named Pluto almost as an afterthought in 1930. The production captured the imagination of the people in attendance, as Pluto suddenly became more than a mere dot in the universe: it became a story about a planet controversially downgraded to dwarf planet and a little girl growing up to become an old woman who for the fi rst time sees the heavenly body she named—a combination capable of drawing in any potential solar system afi cionado. Along the way there were science lessons for all ages. Consider genetics. In a fi lm titled “Ginger,” a young redhead asks the important questions in a quest to learn, among

other things, the origin of red hair and why he was cursed, or blessed, to have it. “Why haven’t we died (off ),” he muses, rhetorically, when most of those about him have more conventional heads of hair. Is it caused by genetics? Natural selection? A long-ago mutation? A scholar he consulted offered him consolation: red hair originally resulted from a mutation and it, along with fair skin, is benefi cial at higher latitudes, where there is little sunshine and less need for darker pigmentation. Lesson learned—by both the redhead and the audience. Consider magnetic fi elds. The magic of science and moviemaking brings color and dimension to those invisibly charged fi elds, which are constantly weaving and bobbing all around us like hyperactive wraiths. Their geometric interaction with the spaces we inhabit every second of our lives is downright intriguing when unveiled visually in the fi lm “Magnetic Movie.” Insects viewed up close become valuable object lessons in another scientifi c short fi lm. Agoraphobia comes to life in

a cartoonish presentation discussing anxiety. And, a man mimics cat movements in a fi lm that depicts man and animal side by side. The intent of the fi lm festival was clear: to discuss scientifi c topics that we all are familiar with in ways that capture us,

give us insight, and interrogate our minds. After all, a cockroach on the kitchen fl oor is meaningless. But a cockroach close up, slinking through the outdoors and captured on fi lm? Fascinating! That’s the purpose of science on fi lm—that was the purpose of Out of the Laboratory. – STEVEN K. WAGNER

Sustainability Adds Up

A collection of talks providing an overview of the cutting edge of research in energy and sustainability was provided at this year’s HMC Mathematics Conference in January. Organizer Rachel Levy, assistant professor of mathematics, gathered representatives from The Claremont Colleges consortium, the local community, and academics from across the United States and Canada. The conference included a discussion on how to prepare for careers in sustainability, developments in green technologies, and crucial behaviors that support sustainability efforts. Panel participants included Jeffrey Byron P07 of the California Energy Commission; Dan Davids, President of Plug In America; as well as local professors and sustainability advocates. On Saturday, four speakers from the fi elds of physics, mathematics, environmental science, and engineering posed a variety of problems and challenges of interest to the mathematics community. The collection of talks included a discussion of plasmonics by Harry Atwater of Caltech; climate change and sea ice by Ken Golden from the University of Utah; wind power by Julie Lundquist of the University of Colorado at Boulder; and a variety of problems from industry by HMC alumnus and green technology consultant Ron Lloyd ’80.

S P R I N G 2 0 1 0 H a r v e y Mu d d C o l l e g e

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