The Academic Minute for 2024.09.30-2024.10.04

The Academic Minute from 9.30 – 10.04

Monday
Radu Iovita – New York University
Did Neanderthals Use Glue? Researchers Find Evidence that Sticks
Radu Iovita is an archaeologist researching how ancient humans used technology to disperse through diverse environments and adapt to the harsh climatic changes of the last Ice Age.

He has conducted fieldwork in Europe and Central Asia, most recently in Kazakhstan, where his team discovered 95 previously uncharted cave and rockshelter sites. In New York, his lab research focuses on forensic reconstructions of how stone tools were used. To this end, the team has been developing novel, AI-supported methodologies for classifying microscopic patterns of abrasion on stone tool edges that indicate different materials worked with the tools.

Tuesday
Andrew Chang – New York University
Is It Sound of Music…or Speech?
Andrew Chang is postdoctoral fellow at New York University, supported by National Institute of Health and Leon Levy Scholarship in Neuroscience. He studies the neural mechanisms of auditory perception, and how people use music and speech to interact in the real world.

His areas of research include positive youth development, religion and spirituality, diverse family systems, family processes, and program evaluation. His research and thought leadership has appeared in publications such as Diverse Issue in Higher Education and TIME and numerous peer reviewed journals. He is also the editor of Black Families: A Systems Approach, co-editor of Essays of Advice, and the author of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion: A Practical Guide.”

Wednesday
Katherine Compitus – New York University
“Cow Cuddling” Mental Health Therapy Shows Promise
Katherine Compitus is a Clinical Assistant Professor at NYU Silver School of Social Work and the Coordinator of the School’s Westchester and Rockland County, New York Campuses. She is a Colombian-American doctor of clinical social work, licensed bilingual clinical social worker, and biopsychologist. Her research focuses on trauma studies, specifically within the human-animal bond, with a focus on the disproportionate systemic oppression of people of color. Dr. Compitus is the author of the Zooeyia blog on PsychologyToday.com where she discusses crisis intervention in the human-animal bond and she is the author of The Human-Animal Bond and Clinical Social Work Practice (Springer, 2021).

Thursday
Claudia Passos-Ferreira – New York University
Are Newborn Babies Conscious?
Claudia Passos-Ferreira is Assistant Professor of Bioethics at New York University’s School of Global Public Health. She has a Ph.D. in Public Health from the State University of Rio de Janeiro and a second Ph.D. in Philosophy at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. Passos-Ferreira has published on philosophy, psychology, and neuroethics.  Her current research program focuses on the development of consciousness, and she is the principal investigator of the project What do theories of consciousness predict about consciousness in animals, infants, and machines?​ funded by Templeton World Charity Foundation. Her research has been published in scientific journals, such as Neuron, and popular magazines, The Atlantic, and New Scientist. She has spoken at the Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness, The Science of Consciousness, The Association for Mathematical Consciousness Science, Mindfest, New Scientist Instant Expert on Consciousness, and many other events.

Friday
Anasse Bari – New York University
Can a World Cup Run Drive Interest in a Nation?
Prof. Anasse Bari is an award-winning professor of Computer Science at New York University’s Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, where he leads a multidisciplinary data science research group conducting research on applied Artificial Intelligence and Predictive Analytics.