Featured Presentations

Finding Hidden Shapes with Math – Yves Nievergelt

Can you find hidden shapes without ever seeing them? Explore how people and computers can use math to uncover secret patterns in data, from groups of connected points to mysterious rings and hollow spaces. Learn how scientists use these tools to make sense of information and even search for clues about our world and beyond.

 

Go Fish – Using DNA to Understand Trout Ecology – Paul Spruell

With a simple swab of a cheek and $40, we can learn where our ancestors came from. We can even identify relatives we never knew existed. What does this have to do with trout and other fish? Using the same genetic techniques, research in our lab investigates how dams affect fish movement and explores questions such as: Do fish that leave their natal stream return to it to spawn? And if they do, how successful are they at reproducing?

 

Deciphering the flow of PFAS in the Groundwater of the West Plains – Chad Pritchard

EWU Geosciences has been at the forefront of understanding groundwater flow in the West Plains, especially after the detection of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from high-temperature firefighting foams used at military and commercial airports.

This presentation will explore the geology and aquifers of the Spokane region, the fascinating movement of groundwater through basalt formations and Ice Age flood deposits, and how researchers interpret hundreds of water samples collected across the area. Learn how scientific investigation is helping communities understand and respond to groundwater contamination challenges.

 

The World’s Slowest Road Trip: A Car Talk Puzzle – Frank Lynch

A driver slows down every mile of a 75-mile trip. Will the trip take a few hours, all day, or forever? In this discussion, we’ll tackle a famous puzzle from the radio show Car Talk and use mathematics to figure out how long it takes the driver to reach the destination. Along the way, you’ll see how calculus can be used to analyze a seemingly simple question and uncover a surprising answer.

 

Intro to Cellular Biology – Jason Ashley

Ever wondered how your body heals a cut, fights off illness, or keeps your bones strong?

Cell biology helps us understand the tiny living building blocks that make this possible. In this talk, you’ll discover how scientists use powerful microscopes, genetics, and lab experiments to investigate special cells called macrophages and osteoclasts, the body’s cleanup crew and the cells responsible for recycling and renewing bone.

 

Welcome to the Age of AI Agents – Travis Masingale

What happens when you give AI tools, a goal, and nearly 600,000 files to investigate?

EWU Design professor Travis Masingale will show how a team of 66 AI agents mapped nearly 30 years of creative work and how EWU students can combine design, coding, and artificial intelligence to build ambitious projects of their own.

 

The Life We Cannot See: How Microbes Shape Health and Disease – Jeni Walke

Nearly all plants and animals, including you, are home to communities of microscopic organisms called the microbiome. While some microbes can cause disease, many are beneficial and help their hosts grow, get nutrients, develop healthy immune systems, and fight off infections.

In our lab, students study these microscopic communities and explore how beneficial microbes can be used as probiotics to improve the health of animals including honey bees, which play a critical role in pollinating our food and supporting healthy ecosystems.

 

Inside AI: How It Works, How It Breaks, and How We Secure It – Stu Steiner

Every time you type a question into a search engine, AI decides what answer you see. But how does it make that decision? And how secure is the AI behind it? Understanding both how to break AI and how to defend it is becoming essential for our future. Discover why the world’s leading AI companies are calling for stronger cybersecurity safeguards, and why securing AI may be one of the most important challenges of our time.

 

What Were Egg-Laying Mammals Doing During the Age of Dinosaurs? – Judd Case

Long before Antarctica froze and while dinosaurs still roamed the planet, the ancestors of today’s platypus and echidna thrived across the ancient southern continents.

Today, the platypus is a swimming, duck-billed mammal and the echidna is a spiny insect-eater with a long sticky tongue. Both are among the world’s last surviving egg-laying mammals. But fossils from Antarctica, Patagonia, and Australia are helping scientists test whether their ancient relatives lived the same way.

The results are revealing a surprising picture of egg-laying mammals in the age of dinosaurs and the millions of years that followed.

 

From Sunlight to Electricity, the Science of Photovoltaics – Jason Stoke

How does sunlight become electricity? This talk will explore the basics of the light that reaches Earth, including how the Sun produces light and how our atmosphere affects the sunlight that reaches the ground. Along the way, you’ll be introduced to semiconductors, the materials that make modern electronics and solar panels possible, and learn how p-n junctions, where two types of semiconductor materials meet, create an electric field that separates charges generated by sunlight and turns light energy into electrical power.