Saturday Morning Science gets wake up boost
Monsanto Company donated $11,600 to the program this semester.
Published March 2, 2010
-
Mahesh Thakkar, a neurologist at the University Hospital and Clinics, lectures about the science of sleep Saturday in the Monsanto Auditorium. This lecture was given through the Saturday Morning Science program, which has offered more lectures this semester due to a large donation from the Monsanto Company of St. Louis.
Improvements and expansion to the Saturday Morning Science lecture series are in the works after a boost in the program's funding this semester from Monsanto Company.
The program is a series of weekly one-hour presentations in Monsanto Auditorium in the Life Sciences Center.
Bruce McClure, a biochemistry professor and one of the three program organizers, said very few universities have this type of interactive scientific presentations.
"It is not common to have the success we have," McClure said.
Saturday, 310 people, mostly community members and students, gathered in the 250-seat auditorium to hear neurology assistant professor Mahesh Thakkar's talk, "Do We Really Need to Sleep?"
Since 2004, a year after the series' inception, the primary sponsors have been the MU Office of Research and University Bookstore. Monsanto joined those sponsors this semester, donating $11,600 to the series.
"We are happy to have Monsanto onboard to help deliver public science programs in a fun and engaging way," Monsanto Chief Technology Officer Robert Fraley said in a statement. "Saturday Morning Science helps to demystify science for the public by talking about it in relationships to things that are relevant to people who care about their communities and their world."
The money from Monsanto will not only fund Saturday Morning Science but will also fund two other programs affiliated to the lecture series. One-quarter of the funds will allow Saturday Morning Science to bring in a couple of outside speakers each semester.
"The gift will give faculties and students a public venue to talk about scientific research that is important to them," McClure said.
Half of the $11,600 will fund MU science professors' presentation trips in Missouri. Two trips are planned for this semester; one will be in Springfield, and the location of the other is still undecided.
The remaining 25 percent will fund a program called Science and Me, which includes a course offered through the biology department that provides training to graduate students on how to talk about scientific research to the public.
"That additional funding will let us fund another round of graduate students in the Science and Me course," McClure said. "We hope to attract more gifts that will make these programs sustainable in the long run. My goal is to get science in the community."