Wildlife conservationist and Emmy Award-winning television host Jeff Corwin will be the keynote speaker during Illinois State University’s Science and Technology Week, April 18-22. Other events during the week will focus on the crime of trafficking endangered species, the environmental impact of herbicides, distance education and student fashion design.
Science and Technology Week events are sponsored by the College of Applied Science and Technology. All listed events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted.
Corwin will conduct a question-and-answer session with audience members on Wednesday, April 20, at 3 p.m. on the main floor of Milner Library. That evening at 7 p.m., he will give his keynote presentation, 100 Heartbeats, in the Bone Student Center’s Braden Auditorium. The evening keynote event is co-sponsored by Illinois State’s Milner Library, Center for Mathematics, Science, and Technology (CeMaST) and the Fell Trust.
Corwin has worked for the conservation of endangered species and ecosystems around the globe. His 2010 book, 100 Heartbeats: The Race to Save Earth’s Most Endangered Species, focuses on the plight of the planet’s most endangered wildlife species along with the conservation heroes trying to save them. He is the host of a variety of popular television shows, including Animal Planet’s Jeff Corwin Experience; Giant Monsters; Realm of the Yeti; Corwin’s Quest; Spring Watch USA; King of the Jungle; Disney’s Going Wild with Jeff Corwin; Investigation Earth with the Discovery Networks; NBC’s Jeff Corwin Unleashed, which was nominated four times for an Emmy and won an Emmy for Outstanding Host; and the Travel Channel’s Into Alaska and Into the American West. For the Discovery Health Channel, Corwin hosted Pets and People: The Power of the Health Connection.
Global Impact of Herbicides will be the topic of a presentation by Leonard Gianessi, director of the Crop Protection Research Institute, on Monday, April 18, at 7:30 p.m. in the Bone Student Center Old Main Room. His presentation is co-sponsored by Illinois State’s Department of Agriculture and the Illinois Soybean Association.
Gianessi, an expert on pesticide use and agricultural biotechnology for pest management, has served as director of the Crop Protection Research Institute since the Institute’s creation in 2004. He has also served as a senior research associate at the National Center for Food and Agricultural Policy and as a fellow with Resources for the Future. He has researched and published widely on issues of pesticide policy and regulation and agricultural biotechnology. His National Pesticide Use Database is the only national and comprehensive, publicly available database of its kind for the United States.
Jacqueline Schneider, chair of Illinois State’s Department of Criminal Justice Sciences, will present Sharkwater on Tuesday, April 19, at 7:30 p.m. in the Bone Student Center Circus Room. Her presentation is co-sponsored by Illinois State’s Department of Criminal Justice Sciences.
Schneider will speak about her ongoing research on the escalating problem of hunting and trafficking endangered animals. She will use excerpts from filmmaker Rob Stewart’s award-winning documentary, Sharkwater, to introduce audience members to issues surrounding the world’s dwindling shark population. Stewart’s film debunks historical stereotypes and media depictions of sharks as bloodthirsty, man-eating monsters and reveals the reality of sharks as pillars in the evolution of the seas. It illustrates how sharks have gone from predator to prey, and how despite surviving the earth’s history of mass extinctions, they could easily be wiped out within a few years due to human greed.
On Thursday, April 21, Andrew Hawkins, a professor in the College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences at West Virginia University, will present Two Cheers for Technicized Distance Education. The presentation, co- sponsored by Illinois State’s School of Kinesiology and Recreation, will take place at 7:30 p.m. in the Bone Student Center Old Main Room.
His scholarly research runs the gamut from empirical studies like behavior analysis of teachers and students, to conceptual issues like the impact of technology on teaching, the role of play in sport and physical education, and epistemological issues which impact the conduct and application of research. Throughout his career, Hawkins has been a pioneer in the use of computer technology for real-time collection and analysis of behavioral data. However, he has consistently warned of the human cost of technology and has argued for a measured and realistic approach for the use of technology in teaching and learning.
The 10th Annual Apparel Merchandising and Design Association (AMDA) Fashion Show will be held on Friday, April 22, at 7 p.m. in the Bone Student Center Brown Ballroom. Tickets for the event are $10 for students and seniors and $15 for adults. The event is co-sponsored by Illinois State’s Department of Family and Consumer Sciences.
AMPLIFY: Expressing and defining identity through global fashion will be the theme for this year’s show, which will feature garments created by students in Illinois State’s apparel design program.
