The Carleton Integrated Math & Science program is a hub for innovation and collaborative inquiry. This page serves as a central resource for the Carleton community to stay informed about upcoming colloquia, research fellowship deadlines, and departmental achievements. Join us as we foster an integrative learning environment that prepares the next generation of scientific leaders to address the challenges of an ever-changing world.

If you’d like to receive the This Week in Science newsletter, please email Kari McMartin, Administrative Assistant, Integrated STEM Center.

Fall Term 2026

  • Monday, October 12: This Week in Science
    The week features guest seminars, including Dr. Jaci Saunders on marine microbial proteomics, along with neuroscience candidate talks by Matt Hartsock on circadian rhythms and fear regulation and Norman Lee on communication signals and decision-making.
  • Monday, October 5: This Week in Science
    Students are encouraged to check out the Math Across the Cannon speaker series with Carnegie Mellon Professor Po-Shen Loh. Additionally, students can participate in social and networking gatherings such as the Physics Table, Chemistry Periodic Table, Biochemistry Meet and Greet, and a Biology Peers panel on finding research opportunities.
  • Monday, September 28: This Week in Science
    Applications for the following opportunities are due on Monday, October 5: Kolenkow-Reitz Winter Fellowship, Towsley Endowment Winter Award, and the Midstates Consortium for Math and Science Undergraduate Research Conferences.
  • Monday, September 21: This Week in Science
    This week, you can attend seminars about early galaxies and black holes, the future of agriculture in the Arctic, tech minefields, and reimagining prairie restoration.
  • Monday, September 14: This Week in Science
    Welcome back! This week Chemistry will host a poster session about summer research, physics table kicks off, CS introduces their faculty to the students, Math and Stats hosts and ice cream social, and biology faculty will host lightning talks about their research.

Spring Term 2026

  • Monday, June 1: This Week in Science
    Join us this Friday for the Goodsell Observatory open house! As we wrap up these last few days of the term, we want to wish our seniors the absolute best of luck and hope all of our students have a wonderful summer.
  • Tuesday, May 26: This Week in Science
    Swati Padmanabhan, assistant professor at the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering of the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, will be on campus to present, Gradient Sampling Method for Nonsmooth Nonconvex Optimization.
  • Monday, May 18: This Week in Science
    Welcome to Macalester College Associate Professor of Computer Science Abby Marsh and IBM Research Scientist Bibek Pokharel ’15. Dr. Marsh will use Western and Chinese internet case studies to explore privacy decisions as expressions of collective norms, while Dr. Pokharel will trace his journey from the early, chaotic days of quantum computing to his current industry work controlling quantum systems.
  • Monday, May 11: This Week in Science
    Congratulations to our Mathematics faculty who received Impact Awards as part of Carleton’s Employee Recognition Celebration. MurphyKate Montee received the Intellectual Engagement Award, and Claudio Gómez Gonzáles received the Student Hero Award.
  • Monday, May 4: This Week in Science
    We’re welcoming two STEM alumni back to campus to give talks on computer science and nuclear fusion.
  • Monday, April 27: This Week in Science
    Highlighted events include the Jean Dreyfus Lectureship featuring MIT Professor Tim Swager speaking on optical biosensors and chemiresistors, alongside a physics/astronomy career talk by Faith Vowler, NASA Outreach Coordinator for the Hubble Space Telescope.
  • Monday, April 20: This Week in Science
    Key guest lectures include Nicholas Larson from Mayo Clinic on genetic variation and disease, alongside Dan King discussing the geology behind groundwater geothermal systems.
  • Monday, April 13: This Week in Science
    Highlights include guest lectures by Jesse Weber on host-parasite coevolution in stickleback fish and Squire Booker on antibiotic resistance and archaeal cell membranes for the Chesley Lectureship in Biochemistry.
  • Monday, April 6: This Week in Science
    Major highlights include a biology talk by Dr. Desiree Forsythe on teaching history in science education and a retirement farewell presentation by Psychology Professor Julie Neiworth covering comparative psychology research across species.
  • Monday, March 30: This Week in Science
    Featured presentations include Computer Science guest speaker Juan Pablo Hourcade on human factors and technology for children, and Mineralogical Society distinguished lecturer Dr. Pierre Lanari discussing mineral growth rates in metamorphism.

Winter Term 2026

  • Monday, March 9, 2026: This Week in Science
    This is the last week of winter term for Carleton and we’ll be celebrating with a few Pi Day activities. This newsletter also features information about our new Humble Board and three Arb Talk articles.
  • Monday, March 2, 2026: This Week in Science
    In week 9 we’re looking forward to welcoming Alison Bain from Oregon State to talk about using single particle spectroscopy to elucidate aerosol surface properties, hosting the popular Goodsell Observatory Open house on Friday, and meeting visiting assistant candidates in the chemistry department.
  • Monday, February 23, 2026: This Week in Science
    This week Bits & Bytes is welcoming Justin Thomson ’01 and the chemistry department is welcoming Denise Okafor to speak. The Society of Physics students are celebrating their spirit week that will culminate with a winter picnic on the Hill of Three Oaks.
  • Monday, February 16, 2026: This Week in Science
    We’re happy to welcome two guests to campus this week for talks in environmental studies and chemistry. Students should consider enrolling in a new interdisciplinary STEM course being offered in spring 2026, Vaccines: Science, Skeptics, and Stakeholders. And, applications just opened for on-campus, full-time summer geology research positions. Apply now!
  • Monday, February 9, 2026: This Week in Science
    This week we’re excited to welcome Jedidiah Carlson from Macalester College to speak on campus as part of the Math/Stats Colloquium, host an information session for students about the Kolenkow-Reitz Fellowship, and see who takes home the gold in the Math vs. Stats dodgeball game.
  • Monday, February 2, 2026: This Week in Science
    This newsletter features a presentation hosted by the Biology department with Dr. Betül Kaçar of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the monthly Goodsell Observatory Open House, and an article about the nonprofit, Alo Health, that Narjis Jusaibah ’26 began.
  • Monday, January 26, 2026: This Week in Science
    Key presentations include UC Berkeley Professor Matt Francis on building new fusion proteins, Macalester Professor Kristin Heysse on enumerating maximal binary triangles, and Julia Steenberg on Minnesota’s first impact structure (Pine Bend).
  • Monday, January 19, 2026: This Week in Science
    Featured events include a Computer Science Bits & Bytes presentation by Professor Lauren Milne on making digital interfaces accessible for people with disabilities, a Psychology hot cocoa social, and student Chemistry comps presentations.
  • Monday, January 12, 2026: This Week in Science
    Highlights include a Computer Science Bits & Bytes talk by Will Leeson on SMT solver instability, a Geology seminar by Minnesota Geological Survey lead geologist Tony Runkel on groundwater protection rules in karstic regions, and two lectures by UC Davis Professor Sebastian Schreiber for Biology and Math/Stats.
  • Monday, January 5, 2026: This Week in Science
    Key departmental talks include Jeff Ondich sharing insights on AI-assisted programming tools like Claude and Gemini, an information session on on-campus summer chemistry research, and a lecture by UC Davis Professor Sebastian Schreiber on environmental rhythms in ecology.