Presenter:  Timothy J. Pifer, Laboratory Director, NH State Police Forensic Laboratory

On Saturday, January 27, 2001 the bodies of two popular Dartmouth College professors, Half and Susanne Zantop, were discovered in their home near the Hanover, NH campus. The Zantops had been stabbed multiple times resulting in their deaths earlier that day. This discovery led to four days of round-the-clock crime scene processing and nine months of forensic laboratory work to prepare the case against two young suspects from Vermont.

This presentation will delve into this high-profile murder investigation with an emphasis on the wide array of forensic analyses conducted ranging from classic disciplines such as fingerprint and footwear to state-of-the-art technologies such as DNA and forensic computer analysis.

Presenter:  Robert Rivest

Robert Rivest uses a mesmerizing blend of comedy and science that enthralls both children and adults. Robert Rivest comically explores how scientists and artists see the world around us. Through an exciting use of mime comedy and informative science tie-ins, Robert Rivest inspires his audience to see science in a new light. His comic examples of everyday science are educational gems, advancing any science curriculum. His enthusiasm for science is so infectious that hard to reach students are often the first to volunteer for interactive pieces.

Resources:

• http://www.rivestmime.com

Presenters: Medium Isabeau Esby, and Investigator AJ Kitt

Over the centuries mediumship has gone from a cultural state of grace to a sign of being cursed.  And more recently - for the last 150 years - to mass entertainment and fraud.  What is the truth?  What is going on, and how much of it is real?  Join AJ Kitt, founder of the Seacoast Paranormal Research Group and the KRI Center for Consciousness Studies, as he discusses the history of mediumship, what research has shown us, and where it may be leading.

Presenter:  Dr. Subhash Minocha, Professor of Plant Biology and Genetics, College of Life Sciences and Agriculture, University of New Hampshire

Dr. Subhash Minocha’s areas of research are:

• genetic manipulation of plant metabolism and stress response in plants;
• cloning and characterization of genes involved in polyamine biosynthesis;
• and cloning and characterization of genes in marine algae for genetic manipulation.

He received his Ph.D from the University of Washington and is a professor of Plant Biology and Genetics at the University of New Hampshire. Dr. Minocha is also director of Project SMART, a summer institute at UNH.  Project SMART challenges, educates, and motivates talented high school students in science and mathematics while acquainting them with the environment and resources of the University as a place for higher education and research.

Presenter:  Robert Rivest

Robert Rivest uses a mesmerizing blend of comedy and science that enthralls both children and adults. Robert Rivest comically explores how scientists and artists see the world around us. Through an exciting use of mime comedy and informative science tie-ins, Robert Rivest inspires his audience to see science in a new light. His comic examples of everyday science are educational gems, advancing any science curriculum. His enthusiasm for science is so infectious that hard to reach students are often the first to volunteer for interactive pieces.

Resources:

• http://www.rivestmime.com

Presenter: Dr. Per Berglund, Assistant Professor, Department of Physics, University of New Hampshire

Per Berglund is a professor in the Department of Physics at UNH, where he teaches classes ranging from an introduction to the Big Bang to advanced topics on Einstein's theory of general relativity and string theory. In today's presentation, Professor Berglund will talk about his research on the fundamental laws of Nature, from the microscopic structure of elementary particle physics to the very large scale structures of the Universe, including the work done at the European particle physics laboratory CERN where the Large Hadron Collider is located.

Read More to view Hadron Collider music video!