Date: February 25, 2020 (Tues.)
Time: 12:30 – 1:30 pm
Location: P 101
Dr. Levi Ekanger
Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry
Chemical approaches to studying bacterial iron-sulfur cluster repair
Abstract:
Iron-sulfur clusters, typically found in proteins, likely existed on Earth before life itself existed on our planet. It is theorized that, long before humans, insects, or single-celled organisms scurried around, iron-sulfur clusters spontaneously formed from iron- and sulfur-rich minerals ejected from underwater volcanic vents. Fast forward 3.5 billion years and protein-bound iron-sulfur clusters are essential within all kingdoms of life on Earth. My presentation covers the ancient history of iron-sulfur clusters on Earth, some modern highlights of iron-sulfur clusters in Nature, and the chemistry research my lab is performing to better understand iron-sulfur cluster chemistry within the context of pathogenic bacteria.
Lauranne Lanz
Assistant Professor, Physics Department
Do supermassive black holes drive their galaxies to retirement?
Abstract:
Although we have made great progress in developing a consistent paradigm for the formation and evolution of galaxies, we still do not fully understand this process. In particular, the physics of the transition of a galaxy from a gas-rich, actively star-forming, actively growing state to a gas-poor, quiescence retirement with very little formation of new stars remain unclear. I will discuss my research investigating whether the supermassive black holes, and their activity, can have an important role to play in this process. I will use observations from multiple telescopes operating at a range of wavelengths to show the frequency of black hole activity and their effect on their host galaxies.