On Campus @ WSU Episode Descriptions

On Campus @ WSU
Episode Descriptions

Molecular Adaptations for Extreme Living
Lisa Gloss, Associate Professor, School of Molecular Biosciences, WSU
Chemical adaptations allow single-celled archae like E. coli to populate areas of Earth inhospitable to other organisms. Associate Professor Lisa Gloss points an eye toward understanding extreme living in general and shedding light on the origin and evolution of life on Earth and possible origin on other worlds.

Characterizing Risk to Tame Uncertainty
Eugene A. Rosa, Professor of Sociology, Washington State University
Risk, says Sociology professor Gene Rosa, is both a state of the world and a means for understanding that state. Uncertainty is fundamental to the human experience and to societies. Understand risk can uncover tools that assist in mitigating it.

Keynote Address, Edward R. Murrow Symposium
David Fanning, Executive Producer, FRONTLINE
David Fanning accepts the Edward R. Murrow Award for Distinguished Achievement in Journalism. In the keynote address to the Morrow Symposium, Mr. Fanning outlines the career path that led him to FRONTLINE. Along with FRONTLINE co-producer Michael Kirk, Mr. Fanning takes questions from the audience and addresses further words on the state of the media today and memorable moments in his own career.

Schools, Skills and Synapses
James J. Heckman, Henry Schultz Professor of Economics, The University of Chicago
Undue stress is placed by the US government and policy on classroom size and student-teacher ratios in education, argues Professor Heckman. Beyond books and teachers – much earlier, in fact, than preschool – socio-emotional skills, developed early and absorbed from the immediate environment, play a significant role in predisposing children to relative success or failure in school and beyond.

Pakistan After Bhutto: Perils and Prospects
Wendy Chamberlin, Former U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan
In this program, Wendy Chamberlin presents comments on recent changes in the political climate of Pakistan and takes questions from the audience.

Earmarks and Pork: Congress, Presidents and the Constitution
Panelists: Carolyn Long, Scott Frisch and Sean Kelly
Panelists Scott Frisch, Carolyn Long and Sean Kelly, define Pork in politics and discuss the efficacy of U.S. congressional earmarking, applying perspectives from individualized experience and research.