The presentation was brief, but the possibilities were endless — stretching far beyond the walls of the 4000 building at Las Positas College.
On the morning of Feb. 14, hundreds of people filed into the Mertes Center for the Arts to attend a presentation by the Lawrence Livermore National Lab (LLNL). High school and college students, parents with small children, and older adults alike all sat and listened intently to the scientist on stage, Dan Faissol, Ph.D.
Faissol explained how LLNL scientists use artificial intelligence (AI) tools in the fight against disease. His presentation was part of a series of lectures happening every Saturday during the month of February, in which different LLNL scientists teach about various topics in the scientific field.
“Antibodies are made in the laboratory, and they’re given to people,” Faissol said. “We can make these antibodies and give it to them and protect them from these viruses. … (The coronavirus) is trying to evolve, it’s trying to change the shape of its microprotein, so that our antibodies don’t bind to it anymore.”
Erin McKay, part-time LLNL faculty member and Tracy High School teacher, also spoke at the presentation. McKay’s lecture focused on hydrophilic and hydrophobic proteins. The presentation included comedic demonstrations from her students, in which they pretended to be hydrophobic and hydrophilic proteins.
“Most proteins aren’t just hydrophobic or hydrophilic,” McKay explained. “They’re a mixture of hydrophobic and hydrophilic amino acids.”
For McKay, getting her students involved is the best part of lecturing at these science fairs — it helps with the nerves that come with presenting in front of an audience that isn’t classroom size. “I actually have stage fright,” McKay said. “I work past that, and I just focus on my kids in the audience. I pretend everybody else is not here.”
A middle school student in the audience, when prompted, said they “wanted to find out more about how we can use AI to defeat viruses.” Extra credit was another motivator for attending the presentations.
Las Positas student Eshwar Cherkuri also wanted to learn more about AI tools in the lab setting, thinking of his own career path.
“I’m interested in biology, and I’m also a cognitive science major,” Cherkuri said. “(I’m) interested in how AI and technology can impact genetics and medical technology. I was just curious to learn and talk to professionals in this field.”
There will be two more presentations this month. One will be held on Feb. 21 to discuss how video game chips are being used to protect cities against airborne threats. The final presentation will be held on Feb. 28, and will focus on breakthroughs to make quantum computing a reality.
“It’s really important to give to the community,” McKay said. “Especially our future scientists’s understanding of the process of science.”
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TOP PHOTO: Presenter Erin McKay showing a demonstration at the Mertes Center of Arts at LPC on Feb. 14. McKay is showing the audience the hydrophobic properties of oil and water. (Photo by Eric Liang/The Express)
Nuha Maflahi is the Campus Life Editor for The Express. Follow her on X @NuhaMaflahiLPC
