SIGNATURE DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION PROGRAM “THE COLOR OF SCIENCE” CELEBRATES ACHIEVEMENTS OF ADMIRED SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND ENGINEERING EXPERTS
COLUMBUS, OH – COSI will host a signature diversity and inclusion program, The Color of Science, highlighting the incredible contributions of women and persons of color to modern science and engineering. The sold out event will be held on Friday, November 1, 2019 from 6:00pm to 8:30pm and includes a program and panel discussion hosted by COSI President and CEO, Dr. Frederic Bertley. The Color of Science gives science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) professionals living in our community the opportunity to tell their remarkable stories about the important and inspirational work they do every day.
The Color of Science is designed to specifically “break the myth that all scientists are old men with thick glasses and pocket protectors” said Dr. Frederic Bertley, COSI president and CEO, “and promote and showcase diversity within STEM fields while inspiring the next generation to explore the variety of opportunities available in STEM-related fields.” The program is one of many initiatives Dr. Frederic Bertley has put into place since becoming president and CEO in January 2017. Dr. Bertley founded and directed The Color of Science while serving as the Senior Vice President for Science and Education with the renowned Franklin Institute in Philadelphia as well as on the Board of Directors at The Garvey Institute.
“The Color of Science program highlights the incredible diversity in science that doesn’t often get the platform that it should,” said Dr. Bertley. “The program is a signature diversity and inclusion program for COSI showcasing the superb contributions of women, persons of color, LGBTQ as well as disability communities to modern science and engineering and their important impact right here in our community - as well as on a national and global scale.”Panelists include:
- Dr. Olivia Aguilar, Associate Professor, Denison University. Dr. Aguilar’s research examines issues at the intersection of environment, education, race/ethnicity, and community. Specifically, her work examines how sociocultural learning theories help to account for learning of marginalized groups in environmental and science contexts through community approaches.
- Dr. Quinn Capers, Interventional Cardiologist at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. Dr. Capers is trained to treat the entire spectrum of heart disorders, performing procedures to open blocked arteries in the heart. These often involve advancing a catheter (tube) from the wrist up to the heart and using balloons, stents and other devices to open up the arteries. He was rated in the top 10 percent of physicians in the nation for patient satisfaction in 2014, 2015, 2017, and 2019.
- Dr. Lisa Hall, Associate Professor, Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering at The Ohio State University. Dr. Hall’s research applies statistical mechanical theories and molecular dynamics simulations to investigate structural, thermodynamic, and dynamic phenomena in soft materials. Of particular interest are polymeric systems containing ions or nanoparticles in which the interactions and structure on the monomer to polymer radius of gyration scales are crucial to capture in order to understand the macroscopic behavior of the material.
- Dr. Arnab Nandi, Associate Professor, Computer Science & Engineering at The Ohio State University and a founder of the STEAM Factory. Dr. Nandi’s research focuses on user-facing challenges in large-scale data. He serves on the steering committee of the annual Workshop on Humans-in-the-Loop Data Analytics (HILDA) and is a founder of the OHI/O Hackathon Program.
- Mr. Leonard Sparks, Master Educator, COSI. Mr. Sparks or “Mr. COSI” as he is fondly known, has inspired thousands of teachers, students, and families to explore the fun and rewarding work of science and math over three decades as a master educator at COSI. He pioneered the COSI on Wheels program, has produced educational television and trained museum educators and teachers nationwide.