Category Archives: Tacny

Sweet Science Series & Junior Cafe Scientifique – Joint Webinar – “Beyond COVID-19: How Do Engineering and Technology Transform the Microbiology Landscape”

Posted on April 17, 2020 8:24 am - - Leave a Comment

Greetings, fellow astrophiles!

This in from the TACNY email list – and how appropriate that the Technology Alliance of Central New York is adapting to the current pandemic with the latest trends in online presentations.

Saturday, April 25, 11:00 am – 12:30 pm

You must register in advance HERE

Presenter: Douglas Yung, PhD

Douglas Yung is an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Department of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering at Syracuse University and the Director for the Bioengineering undergraduate program. He earned his B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering and Mathematics from UCLA in 2003 and a Ph.D. in Bioengineering from Caltech in 2008. He worked as a NASA Postdoctoral Fellow at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California on sensor development, microfluidics, and bacterial spore viability. His work includes the anthrax smoke detector, spacecraft surface sterilization, and determination of life longevity by detecting spores in extreme environments.

Douglas has long been intrigued by the interfacing of microbes with engineering tools on a micro- and nano-scale. He is unraveling methods to rapidly assess the viability of superbugs and harness energy from extremophiles using a combination of electrochemical, optical techniques and MEMS devices. He is an advocate of a hybrid teaching and learning environment replete with project-based hands-on work, experiential activities and peer collaboration, a style departing from traditional top-down expository pedagogies.

About Sweet Science Series

TACNY John Edson Sweet Lectures, a program founded in 1913, is now called the Sweet Science Series and features discussions about topics in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics in an informal atmosphere for adults of all levels of technical understanding. A minimum of six free and open to the public presentations are held each year.

About TACNY Junior Cafe Scientifique

TACNY Junior Cafe Scientifique, a program for middle-school students founded in 2005, features discussions about topics in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics in an informal atmosphere and seeks to encourage students to consider careers in these areas. Students must be accompanied by an adult and can explore the MOST at no cost after the event.

About TACNY

Founded in 1903 as the Technology Club of Syracuse, the nonprofit Technology Alliance of Central New York’s mission is to facilitate community awareness, appreciation, and education of technology; and to collaborate with like-minded organizations across Central New York. For more information, see www.tacny.org

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TACNY Junior Cafe Scientifique: “A Tale Of Ice And Fire: What Bugs And Mud Can Teach Us About The Past”

Posted on January 9, 2020 7:52 am - - Leave a Comment

Saturday, January 18, 2020; 9:30 – 11:00am

Milton J Rubenstein Museum of Science & Technology – Syracuse, NY

Please RSVP to jrcafe@tacny.org

Speaker: Melissa L. Chipman, PhD; Assistant Professor, Department of Earth Sciences, Syracuse University

Talk Overview: The Arctic is one of the most rapidly changing regions on Earth. Arctic biomes are underlain by permafrost soils, some of which contain large deposits of ice left over from ice sheets that retreated thousands of years ago. As temperatures continue to increase the Arctic, these large ice deposits thaw and form dramatic landslides and thaw slumps, which move massive amounts of sediment around the landscape. In addition, warming temperatures facilitate fires in areas that have not burned for thousands of years. Fires impact soil properties such as albedo, vegetation, and soil temperatures, which may lead to enhanced thaw of these ice deposits. Thus, Arctic change is really a story of ice and fire and how these aspects of the system interact. One of the best ways to anticipate how future warming will impact these processes is investigate how Arctic systems responded to temperature change in the past. Lakes record changes that happen on the surrounding landscape because fires produce charcoal that gets deposited in waterbodies, thaw slumps transfer old glacial sediment into lake basins, and insects that are sensitive to temperatures live in many Arctic lakes. We will explore ways to use these signals in lake-sediment cores to investigate the past and uncover how Arctic ecosystems have responded to changing climate over thousands of years. 

Biography: Dr. Chipman received her bachelor’s degree in Environmental Geosciences from Concord University in West Virginia. She received a M.S in Geology. and a Ph.D. in Ecology from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. She was also a postdoctoral research fellow at Northwestern University and joined the faculty in Earth Sciences at Syracuse University in January 2019. Dr. Chipman has extensive experience investigating Arctic change and has participated in six remote field campaigns in boreal and tundra areas of Alaska and Greenland. She is a National Geographic Explorer and currently has a grant from the National Science Foundation to continue her research into fire and ice disturbance in the Arctic. She has also worked on projects funded by the Environmental Protection Agency and was one of the last EPA STAR fellows. Dr. Chipman was a first-generation college student and the first in her family to attend and graduate high school, and is committed to promoting opportunities for first-generation and unrepresented students in science. She mentored several undergraduate students through independent research projects, and is currently advising two graduate students in her new Arctic Paleoecology and Paleoclimate lab group at Syracuse University.

TACNY Junior Cafe Scientifique

TACNY Junior Cafe Scientifique, a program for middle-school students founded in 2005, features discussions about topics in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics in an informal atmosphere and seeks to encourage students to consider careers in these areas. Students must be accompanied by an adult and can explore the MOST at no cost after the event.

Technology Alliance of Central New York

Founded in 1903 as the Technology Club of Syracuse, the nonprofit Technology Alliance of Central New York’s mission is to facilitate community awareness, appreciation, and education of technology; and to collaborate with like-minded organizations across Central New York.

For more information about TACNY, visit www.tacny.org.

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TACNY Junior Cafe Scientifique: “Things That Go Bump In The Lab”

Posted on October 14, 2019 8:47 pm - - Leave a Comment

Saturday – October 19, 2019, 9:30 – 11:00 am

Milton J Rubenstein Museum of Science & Technology – Syracuse, NY

Please RSVP to jrcafe@tacny.org

Speaker: Neal Abrams, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Chemistry, SUNY-ESF; and Miriam Gillett-Kunnath, Ph.D., Research Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Syracuse University

Talk Overview: Ready to summon some science? Join the TACNY Jr. Café on October 19th to see the magical chemistry behind glowing pumpkins, magical genies, luminescent liquids, time telling potions, and mysterious fog. Dr. Neal Abrams from SUNY ESF and Dr. Miriam Gillett-Kunnath from Syracuse University will present a series of interactive magical Halloween chemistry demonstrations that will be sure to delight young and old alike.

Biography: Neal Abrams is an associate professor of chemistry at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF). He obtained his bachelor’s degree in chemistry and certification in teaching from Ithaca College and completed his doctorate at Penn State. At ESF, he instructs courses in general chemistry and renewable energy. He also leads research programs in the areas of renewable energy and methods for teaching science. He is also the faculty advisor for the ESF chemistry club. Abrams enjoys working with students and educators in the community. As part of this commitment, he leads renewable energy workshops for teachers, instructs a series of courses on solar panel installation, and guest lectures in classrooms across Syracuse and CNY as part of the ESF in the High School program. He is currently the Education Chair for the CNY Section of the American Chemical Society.

Miriam Gillett-Kunnath is a research assistant professor of chemistry at Syracuse University (SU). She obtained her bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Le Moyne College and completed her doctorate and post-doctorate at Syracuse University and Notre Dame University, respectively. At SU, she assists in mentoring and teaching research while helping with the management of the Chemistry SC-XRD and PXRD lab. Gillett-Kunnath, along with her husband Bobby Kunnath, works with local high school students to connect them with research in the STEM disciplines.  Her passion towards building a local STEM Ecosystem has led her to learn from, volunteer, and work with SU-chemistry outreach, ACS-CNY, STA-NYS, TACNY and the MOST.  [Outreach Motto: “If I have seen further it is only by standing on the shoulders of giants.”-Isaac Newton]

TACNY Junior Cafe Scientifique

TACNY Junior Cafe Scientifique, a program for middle-school students founded in 2005, features discussions about topics in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics in an informal atmosphere and seeks to encourage students to consider careers in these areas. Students must be accompanied by an adult and can explore the MOST at no cost after the event.

Technology Alliance of Central New York

Founded in 1903 as the Technology Club of Syracuse, the nonprofit Technology Alliance of Central New York’s mission is to facilitate community awareness, appreciation, and education of technology; and to collaborate with like-minded organizations across Central New York.

For more information about TACNY, visit www.tacny.org.

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Sweet Science Series – Lockheed Martin Overview And Manufacturing And Test Facilities Tour

Posted on October 6, 2019 7:39 pm - - Leave a Comment

October 15th, 6:00-7:30 pm

RSVP By Tomorrow, October 7th

Refreshments at 5:30 pm

Lockheed Martin, 497 Electronics Pkwy, Syracuse, NY 13221 


The Sweet Science Series will be hosting an event at Lockheed Martin in Liverpool, NY.  The event will include a brief overview of the Lockheed Martin site, followed by a walking tour of the manufacturing and test facilities. 

People interested in learning more about the Lockheed Martin Syracuse facility are invited to attend the free Sweet Science Series presentation on Tuesday, October 15th, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Lockheed Martin, 497 Electronics Pkwy, Syracuse, NY 13221. Admission is free and open to the public. Light snacks will be served at 5:30pm. Please note that due to security considerations, all visitors must be 18 or over, and no walk-in visitors will be allowed. RSVP to sweet.science@tacny.org by October 7th. RSVPs must include the following information for all visitors:

  • First and last name
  • Company affiliation
  • Citizenship type, and citizenship country
  • Country of birth
  • Statement declaring the attendee is 18 or over

Additionally, foreign nationals must provide passport country, passport number and expiration date.

Presenter Information

Dr. Michael (Mike) Leone is Director of Product Engineering and Advanced Materials for Lockheed Martin’s Rotary and Mission Systems (RMS) division.  In this position, Dr. Leone oversees product development across the enterprise, partnering with the chief engineers, Center of Excellence senior leadership team, and RMS staff to achieve all program, and Engineering and Technology goals.

About Sweet Science Series

TACNY John Edson Sweet Lectures, a program founded in 1913, is now called the Sweet Science Series and features discussions about topics in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics in an informal atmosphere for adults of all levels of technical understanding. A minimum of six free and open to the public presentations are held each year.

About TACNY

Founded in 1903 as the Technology Club of Syracuse, the nonprofit Technology Alliance of Central New York’s mission is to facilitate community awareness, appreciation, and education of technology; and to collaborate with like-minded organizations across Central New York. For more information, see www.tacny.org

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Sweet Science Series – Onondaga Lake Cleanup And Tour Of The Onondaga Lake Visitors Center

Posted on September 11, 2019 8:13 am - - Leave a Comment

September 17th, 6:00-7:30 pm

Refreshments at 5:30 pm

Onondaga Lake Visitors Center, 280 Restoration Way, Syracuse, NY 13209

Please Note there will be some construction in the parking lot.

The Central NY community has played a key role in the efforts to clean up Onondaga Lake. The Onondaga Lake Visitors Center was built to provide the public with access to the significant work taking place by hundreds of scientists, engineers, and skilled craft laborers from this region. From significant improvements in water quality, to the return of native plants and animals, you will see the progress being made to restore the natural beauty and habitat of Onondaga Lake.


People interested in learning more about the Onondaga Lake cleanup are invited to attend the free Sweet Science Series presentation on Tuesday, September 17th, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Onondaga Lake Visitors Center, 280 Restoration Way, Syracuse NY 13209. Admission is free and open to the public. Light snacks will be served at 5:30pm. Walk-ins are welcome, but we ask that people RSVP to sweet.science@tacny.org by September 15th.

Presenter Information

Craig Milburn is Managing Partner at Brown & Sanford Consulting and serves Honeywell as Program Manager of Communications and Government Affairs on the Onondaga Lake project. His main responsibilities include developing and implementing strategy for communication activities, charitable programs, and government affairs. He works closely with community members on the Onondaga Lake Citizen Participation Working Group, local stakeholders and government officials to keep them apprised of the progress with the lake cleanup. Craig has overseen three community planning projects that gathered community input for future uses of Honeywell-owned land along Onondaga Lake and nearby areas. He’s lived in Central New York since 1994 and is a 2007 graduate of Leadership Greater Syracuse.

About Sweet Science Series

TACNY John Edson Sweet Lectures, a program founded in 1913, is now called the Sweet Science Series and features discussions about topics in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics in an informal atmosphere for adults of all levels of technical understanding. A minimum of six free and open to the public presentations are held each year.

About TACNY

Founded in 1903 as the Technology Club of Syracuse, the nonprofit Technology Alliance of Central New York’s mission is to facilitate community awareness, appreciation, and education of technology; and to collaborate with like-minded organizations across Central New York. For more information, see www.tacny.org

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