SCIENCE on
Wisconsin Public Radio

Professor Shakhashiri is a frequent guest of the Larry Meiller Show on the Ideas Network of Wisconsin Public Radio.

Below is some information about past shows.

 November 16, 2000, Larry Meiller Show

On the November 16 program, the discussion included the following topics in response to questions raised by host Jim Packard and to calls from listeners:    

• National Science Olympiad which will be held in May 2002 at Delaware and will be co- hosted by the University of Delaware and DuPont. For more information please consult: The Science Olympiad web page
  
• FY 2001 federal budget for science. For more information please consult: The AAAS R&D Budget
  
• The 31st ONCE UPON A CHRISTMAS CHEERY IN THE LAB OF SHAKHASHIRI program is scheduled for December 2 and 3. All tickets have been issued. This year's program will be broadcast by Wisconsin Public Television on Friday, December 22nd, at 4:30 P.M. Elsewhere, check local television listings for the date and time of the PBS broadcast of this special program. Videocassette copies may obtained at: Videocassetts.
  
• Leonid meteor showers will be visible through December.
  
• GOALS 2000.

 September 21, 2000, Larry Meiller Show

On the September 21 program, the discussion included the following topics in response to questions raised by host Larry Meiller and to calls from listeners:    

• Both presidential candidates have made education a major campaign issue. What can either one really do when elected? An interesting OpEd article appeared in the September 19, 2000 issue of the New York Times. New York Times Article
  
• When asked "why care about science", science writer Curt Suplee says science is the key to what makes human beings be human.
  
• The Fall Equinox will occur tomorrow, September 22. What causes the four seasons? For detailed information please scroll down to the June 22, 1999 show.

On the June 30 program, the discussion included the following topics in response to questions raised by host Larry Meiller and to calls from listeners:    

• When is cheating justified? In Maryland and in other states, some administrators and school officials have helped students cheat on standardized exams. Whatever happened to the old fashioned notions of honesty and in integrity in schools and in society?
  
• Much has been made this week of the rough first draft of the human genome code. Is genome sequencing an end in itself or a new beginning? Where do we go from here? For more information please consult: The National Human Genome Research Institute

On the May 18 program, the discussion included the following topics in response to questions raised by host Larry Meiller and to calls from listeners:    

• Reflections on the end of another school year: what are the purposes of high school, college, and graduate education? Does society get its money. s worth for the investment?
  
• Is the school year too long or not long enough? Could the summer time be better used for education?
  
• Are student accomplishments and achievements today, higher and better than they were in the past? Is the so-called . dumbing-down of America. reflected in our current graduates?
  
• How does the presidential campaign reflect an interest or concern about education and support for the science and technology?
  
• Recommended books for summer reading: Poundstone, William, Carl Sagan: A Life in the Cosmos, (1999), Henry Holt and Company

  Levi, Primo, The Periodic Table, (1984), Schocken Books

  Hoffmann, Roald and Vivian Torrence, Chemistry Imagined, (1993) Smithsonian Institution Press.Bohren, Craig F., Clouds in a Glass of Beer, (1987), John Wiley and Sons, New York

  Dawkins, Richard, Unweaving the Rainbow: Science, Delusion, and the Appetite for Wonder, (1998) Houghton-Mifflin, New York

  Wilson, Edward O., Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge, (1998),. Knopf, New York

  Frankel, Felice and Whitesdides, George, On the Surface of Things: Images of the Extraordinary in Science, (1997), Chronicle Books, San Francisco,

 April 4, 2000, Larry Meiller Show

On the April 4 program, the discussion included the following topics in response to questions raised by host Larry Meiller and to calls from listeners:    

• Visit the Exploratorium web site for information about the science of sports (hockey, etc.): The Exploratorium

• Intel Talent Search results were announced last month. The top winner was Viviana Risca, a 17-year-old high school senior at Paul D. Schreiber Senior High School in Port Washington, N.Y. and her project dealt with encrypting a secret message on a DNA strand. For more information visit: Intel Science Talent Search $100,000 Winner
  
• Science Fairs and their purposes and influence. A lively discussion focused on whether science fairs foster participation or solely emphasize competition and winning. For information about science fairs and ideas for projects visit: Science Fairs.
  
• For information about the Intel Science and Engineering Fair visit: Intel Science and Engineering Fair .

 February 24, 2000, Larry Meiller Show,

On the February 24 program, the discussion included the following topics in response to questions raised by guest host Jim Packard and to calls from listeners:    

• President Clinton's proposed budget for fiscal year 2001 calls for increasing federal spending for research and development in science by almost $3 billion. What is the impact of such increases on science and engineering? Is the Congress likely to approve this request? The National Science Foundation alone is slated for a 17% increase on its 50th anniversary, what will the funds be used for? For further information check: AAAS R&D in the FY2000 budget.

• The importance of informing our elected representatives to support federal funding for science and science education.
  
• What are the procedures for allocating the funds? Who gets them? What are they used for?
  
• Wisconsin State Journal reporter Ron Seely has written a story cautioning state and university official not to lose their objectivity when working to strengthen ties between UW and industry particularly in biotechnology. Is this something that concerns you?

 January 18, 2000, Larry Meiller Show,

On the January 18 program, the discussion included the following topics in response to questions raised by host Larry Meiller and to calls from listeners:    

• The selection of Albert Einstein as TIME Magazine's Person of the Century and the significance of science and technology in our society. Comments were made about the Atomic Bomb, nuclear disarmament, the need to understand and appreciate what science and technology can do for the good of society as well as possible adverse effects.

• The purpose and roles of schools in society.
  
• The role of parents in education, the return to "basics", memorization and conceptual understanding, and grades.

Click for informations about recent shows

Back to Science is Fun Home Page