From http://www.lightinwinter.com/...

Welcome to Light in Winter 2008!

Join us in Ithaca next January 18-20 as science and art intersect to explore the many facets of "Identity". Where else will you see superheroes, robots, world explorers, cosmic gardens, a musical dim sum and one of South Africa's greatest musicians, all in one weekend? Keep checking our site as ticket and hotel packages go on sale, and make plans now to visit Ithaca for Light in Winter, Ithaca's unique festival of science and the arts.

On Saturday, January 19 - 1:30–2:30 pm

IMAGINED IDENTITIES - Why you can't fly—and why superheroes can

Statler Auditorium, Cornell University, $10/$5

Sponsored by Sprague and Janowsky Accountants

Science helps expose the fake behind the fun and the reality behind comic book heroes. University of Chicago biologist Michael LaBarbera, University of Minnesota condensed matter experimentalist Jim Kakalios and comic book writer Roger Stern turn the scientific method on some of history's most perplexing questions: How did Superman get so strong? How fast can The Flash really run? Can monsters exist in our world?


Michael LaBarbera was born and raised in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York, where he spent many a Saturday night glued to the Creature Feature. He did his undergraduate work at Cornell University (so he knows all about Ithaca winters) and his graduate work at Duke University (where he went to escape). He teaches biology and biomechanics at the University of Chicago, where he is a Professor in the Dept. of Organismal Biology & Anatomy and the Committee on Evolutionary Biology. His research focuses on the biomechanics of marine invertebrates, but he has published on everything from why animals don't have wheels and the mechanical properties of an aboriginal fishing line to the feeding biology of the long–necked Mesozoic marine reptile, Dinocephalosaurus, and the aerodynamics of flying snakes.


James Kakalios is a physics professor at the University of Minnesota. Known within the scientific community for his work with amorphous semiconductors, granular materials, and 1/f noise, he is known to the general public as the author of the book The Physics of Superheroes, which considers comic book superheroes from the standpoint of fundamental physics. Kakalios, who earned PhD from the University of Chicago in 1985, began his comic book collection as a graduate student as a way to relieve stress. At Minnesota, he taught a freshman seminar that focused on the physics of superheroes as a way to motivate students to think about physics. The seminar was a great success, leading to articles in popular magazines including People, lectures on the subject, and publication of The Physics of Superheroes. In his talks, favorite examples are the death of Gwen Stacy, Spider–Man's girlfriend, the high–velocity actions of The Flash, and the shrinking problem of The Atom. His analysis of Gwen Stacy's death eventually became integral to the plot of a new Spider–Man comic.


Roger Stern is the author of...aw, you know...

That looks like it will be a lot of fun, Rog. Your panel should be a big hit!

Ok. That had to be awesome. I wish I could have gotten there to attend.