Out in STE(A)M Luncheon

BU faculty and staff, please join us for a casual lunch talk with artist M Dougherty, Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Biology Christopher Schmitt and Professor of Biology Karen Warkentin to discuss about STEM research.

About the Speakers:

M Dougherty is a nonbinary, multidisciplinary artist and researcher. With a rich background in many fields, they focus on psychophysical research and artwork which uses design to express the output of research. Raised in Los Angeles, in an epicenter of experimental olfaction, they often use scent to explore communication, memory, and interaction throughout their work. Equipped with a BA in Fine Arts from the USC and a Master’s in Interactive Media Arts from NYU Shanghai, M moves fluidly between artistic mediums in an attempt to better study the juxtaposition of technology and humanity. Their artistic practice originated in sculpture so consistently involves installation, and personal interaction through the senses. This manifests in explorations of biomaterials, chemo-sensory information, and the design of wearable technologies that enhance humans’ relationship to scent.

Christopher Schmitt (he/they) is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Biology; Affiliated Faculty, Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies of Boston University and a PHD from New York University. He primarily focuses on human biology, behavior and evolution. Chris is an outstanding researcher that primarily focuses on the primate development and life history from behavioral ecology, morphometrics, and genomics across the Order Primates as well as the obesity particularly in vervet monkeys. His most intensive fieldwork across Africa and the Caribbean with the International Vervet Research Consortium uses the dataset characterizing the evolutionary patterns in the developmental morphometrics of various vervet populations. Additionally, he focuses on understanding the evolution of the dental phenotypes across primates.

Karen Warkentin is the Professor of Biology; Professor of Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies who earned her PhD at the University of Texas at Austin and is the author of Ecological Monographs. She is an expert in amphibian behavioral ecology, hatching and phenotypic plasticity. Warkentin research examines the intersections of ecology, evolution and behavior and physiology with development. The connection form hatching, working with the embryos can alter when the eggs exit the capsule in response to risk and opportunity. In order to better understand the embryos, her research integrates the usage of biology and mechanical engineering and use embryos as evidence to address general questions in animal behavior. These newly design devices enable new kinds of experiments in embryo behavior.

Olfactory art, also known as scent art, is a form of contemporary art that uses scents or odors as the primary medium to create immersive sensory experiences. While the intentional use and curation of fragrant materials is as old as humans, this genre has gained popularity in recent years due to the increasing awareness of the profound impact that scent can have on emotions, memories, and our perception of the world.