What's a nanocrystal? I'm guessing it's a very, very small crystal…and I'll be able to find out for sure on Monday. That's when the U of M (figuratively) opens the lab doors of a dozen researchers so they can give five-minute, pechakucha-style peeks at their research. Oh, and did I mention that by attending you'll be helping to bust open the "glass closet"?

It's the November session of SciSpark, a lively public program series sponsored by the College of Biological Sciences, the College of Food, Agricultural, and Natural Resource Science, and Minnesota Queer Science, an organization of LGBTQ scientists at the U.

Minnesota Queer Science is a spirited group who proclaim the goal of "shattering the glass closet" and describe themselves this way:

"Too often, it can feel like there aren't any other queer or trans folks in the STEM fields.  We decided that some empirical counter-evidence was in order....so we started to find each other, meet up, and have fun! Minnesota Queer Science is a network of GLBTQ (and allied) folks from across all fields of science, engineering, technology, medicine, and mathematics. If you're looking for a room full of awesome queer folks and some geeky humor, come join us!"

Some Participants...

All of Monday's presenters are MQS members. I looked up a few. Prof. Jim Bradeen is a potato-pathology guy, studying genetic means to fight potato diseases. Grace Loppnow is a graduate student in conservation biology, helping to figure out a way to stem the northward spread of invasive smallmouth bass. Nathan D. Burrows studies crystal growth. Horticultural Science PhD candidate Shelby Flint is into wetland ecology and how the reconstitution of wetlands affects it.

Judd Hultquist studies the relationship of the HIV virus with the human immune system (and has given an accomplished TEDX talk about the fight with HIV.) Prof. Lee Frelich directs the U's Center for Forest Ecology and studies a lot of tree issues, from the ramifications of the Boundary Waters tree blowdown of 1999 to the effects of earthworm invasions and—I like this phrase—moose browsing. (I hope he talks about moose browsing on Monday.)

SciSpark
6:00 p.m.
Monday, November 19
Seminar Room R380
Learning & Environmental Sciences Building, St. Paul campus
1954 Buford Avenue, Saint Paul
Food and drinks in R350 at 5:30 p.m.