George Liepa Sigma XI Speaker Series
The George Liepa Sigma Xi Annual Speaker Series Endowed Fund at Eastern Michigan University presents:
Dr. Jeremy Bassis, "A tale of two cities: Climate resilience and adaptation in a changing world."


Thursday, March 23, 2023, 7–8 p.m. in The Student Center Auditorium
Information about this lecture: As climate change accelerates, there is growing concern that our cities and communities will be subject to environmental stresses beyond what they can exceed. Sea level rise, combined with increased risk from extreme precipitation, hurricanes and other climate disasters, requires that communities urgently develop and implement adaptation plans. The challenge is that many key physical processes that control climate evolution and sea level rise remain poorly understood, leading to a range of climate and sea level rise scenarios confounding many adaptation plans. At the same time, communities face disparate vulnerabilities with lower income and marginalized communities already facing disproportionate risks associated with flooding with fewer resources to mitigate these disasters. Addressing these risks requires that we link science, society and engineering to understand how the past can inform equitable adaptation and mitigation policies that are urgently needed. I will talk about how the history, geography and geology affect past and future adaptation efforts with a focus on adaptation and mitigation efforts currently underway in the nearby midwestern city of Detroit, Michigan and the coastal city of Houston, Texas.
About Dr. Bassis: "I did my undergraduate degree in Math and Physics. I did my PhD at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, where I was trained as a geophysicist and oceanographer. I then moved to the University of Chicago, driving from La Jolla California to Chicago in December. I am now a professor in the Department of Climate and Space Sciences at the University of Michigan. Most of my original work uses a mixture of computational work, field work and satellite imagery to understand the fundamental processes and mechanisms by which ice sheets and glaciers respond to climate change. Increasingly, my work has evolved to focus more on interdisciplinary approaches that integrate science into decision making to adapt to the changing climate."
For more information please contact the Graduate School at 734.487.0042 or [email protected]. This event is free and open to the public.
History


The George Liepa Sigma XI Speaker Series Endowed Fund was established in 2011 in memory of Dr. George Liepa [PDF]. George was an active campus member of Sigma Xi, a professor of human nutrition and a department head in the College of Health and Human Services.
When the Graduate Research Fair was created, it was his idea to have a science-related speaker present at the end of the day. George secured funding from Sigma Xi National to start the event and was a key figure in helping to select the annual speaker as well as marketing the event to EMU students, faculty and local high schools.
Previous George Liepa Sigma Xi Speakers:
- Thursday, March 17, 2022- Dr. Stefan M. Pasiakos: "Leveraging Nutritional Science to Optimize Soldier Health and Performance" [PDF]
- Thursday, March 18, 2021 - Dr. Anne Casper, "Effective Teaching to Support Inclusivity and Diversity in STEM" [PDF]
- Due to COVID-19, the 2020 George Liepa Sigma Xi Speaker Series event was postponed until 2021.
- Thursday, March 21, 2019 - Dr. Sophia Lunt, "Starving Cancer Away: Deciphering Metabolic Rewiring in Cancer" [PDF]
- March 15, 2018 - Richard Lunt, "Solar Panels: A Revolution in Distributed Power Production" [PDF]
- March 23, 2017 - Marie S. O’Neill, “Climate Change and Health: Research and Partnerships for Action” [PDF]
- November 17, 2016 - David Cappelleri, “Robots Deliver Results: Multi-Scale Robotics and Automation, from the Large to the Microscopic” [PDF]
- November 19, 2015 - Dana Dolinoy, “Your Epigenome: DNA is not Necessarily Your Destiny” [PDF]
- November 13, 2014 - Gary Huffnagel, “Your Gut: So Much More Than a Digestive System” [PDF].
- March 18, 2013 - Donald Beitz, "Genetic Regulation of Bovine Milk Fatty Acid Composition: Improving the Healthfulness of Milk through Selection" [PDF]
- March 26, 2012 - Jeanette Hasse, "Nutrition Strategies to Improve Organ Transplant Outcomes" [PDF]
- March 21, 2011 - Carol Ireton-Jones, "Malnutrition, Inflammation & Energy Metabolism" [PDF]
- March 16, 2010 - Elizabeth Friedman, "Archaeological Science: Forging Common Ground across Academic Disciplines" [PDF]
- March 23, 2009 - Norman G. Hord, "Dietary Guide to Prevent Cancer" [PDF]
- March 24, 2008 - Jeanette Adams, "Preserving the Nation’s Cultural Heritage through Chemistry: Analytical Materials Science at the Library of Congress" [PDF]
- March 26, 2007 - William S. Harris, "The Cardioprotective Effects of Fish Oils: Consensus and Controversies"
- March 27, 2006 - Peter Mancuso, "Phat Hormones: The emerging Role of the Adipokines in Health Care"
- March 28, 2005 - Tony England, "The Opportunity Cost of the New NASA" [PDF]
- March 22, 2004 - Howard Van Till, "Finders and Keepers: Can Religion Keep What Science Finds?" [PDF]
- March 24, 2003 - Jacqueline Krim, "Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems: These Squeaky Wheels Will Get No Grease" [PDF]
- March 18, 2002 - Milford Wolpoff, "Paleo-Anthropology" [PDF]
- Fall 2001- external speaker, topic: genetic engineering of food