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ERIE — In his lab at the University of Chicago, botanist Jotham Austin II uses an electron microscope to examine cells that have been frozen “alive,” that is, with their structural and biochemical activity intact. Researching preserved cells.
When it comes to Substack and his podcast, Rabbit Hole of Research, Austin is thinking even bigger. He tests the science of popular science fiction, including zombies, mutants, and rogue AI. He often talks about “Handwabium”. This is a term coined to describe the way writers wave and essentially abandon real science in order to move the story forward.
In other words, he’s fact-checking Star Trek.
Austin, a 1996 graduate of Penn State Behrend, is scheduled to visit the university today for the final installment of the 2023-24 speaker series to discuss both approaches to scientific research. His talk, “Looking Small, Thinking Big: Understanding Life with Electrons and Words,” begins at 7:30 p.m. on Burke 180. This program is free and available to the public.
Austin earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Behrend. He went on to earn his Ph.D. He received his PhD in botany from Arizona State University.
Austin currently works as an associate professor and facility director for advanced electron microscopy at the Gordon Center for Integrative Science in Chicago. The lab is part of his $25 million National Science Foundation initiative to advance quantum science.
“My vision for this facility is similar to a ‘power of 10’ approach,” he said. “The ability to take any biological problem and image it at any resolution scale, from the protein level to the angstrom scale and beyond,” to cellular tomography, nanometer scale, and even large volumes. ”
The scope of his pop culture work is even broader. On a recent episode of the podcast, Austin and co-host Nick Elizalde discussed his 2-4-5 trioxine from the 1985 film “Return of the Living Dead.” In the movie, a chemical release turns people into zombies. Austin explained that Trioxin is based in part on Agent Orange, a defoliant used by the U.S. military during the Vietnam War. It is different from trioxane, which morticians use to maintain the contours of corpses.
Austen also wrote a novella called “Eve,” about a werewolf who falls in love with a human. and the science fiction novel “Would You Still Love Me If I Became Someone Else?”
Austin’s talk at Behrend will conclude the 2023-24 speaker series. As part of the university’s 75th anniversary celebrations, this year’s series featured Behrend alumni and people with ties to the university. Our last talk featured Jeremy O’Mard, Senior Managing Consultant at IBM Consulting. Ainsley Brossig, Executive Director, Experience Children’s Museum. Matthew White is the founder of Erie-based Whitethorn Games.
Austin’s lecture is sponsored by the College of Science, the Division of Student Affairs, and the Harriet Behrend Ninow Memorial Lecture Series Fund.
• For more information: Visit behrend.psu.edu/speakerseries.
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