Tag Archives: University of Texas

Battle Plan for Vertebrate Eye Evolution

Find out which mammal has the best combination of sensory adaptation and learn about the problem with compound eyes.  Then discover how what you inherit from your ancestors has a profound affect on what your anatomy can do.  Dr. Chris Kirk also describes how his love of anthropology growing up helped him find his niche as a physical anthropologist.

Dr. Kirk is an Associate Professor with the Department of Anthropology at the University of Texas – Austin. His talk, Your Eye, My Eye, and the Eye of the Aye-Aye, is part of the awesome Hot Science – Cool Talks series, presented by the Environmental Science Institute.  Don’t miss his Hot Science – Cool Talks presentation on Friday, December 2, 7pm at Welch Hall, Room 2.224.  And if you can come early, there be lots of fun pre-lecture activities beginning at 5:30.

This is part three of my interview with Dr. Kirk.

For more great information from Dr. Kirk, be sure to visit the other videos in this series:

#1 A Peek at Dr. Chris Kirk’s Hot Science – Cool Talks Presentation

Find out why depth perception and detailed vision give humans the best eyesight out of any living mammal. (But what about extinct mammals and other living vertebrates?  You’ll find out!) Learn more about Dr. Chris Kirk’s specialty in primate evolution and the evolution of senses.

#2 Visiting Zoo Monkeys: What NOT to Do

Find out the interesting and unusual feature that human eyes have and that anthropoids do not. Oh, and also learn what NOT to do when you visit monkeys at the zoo!

#4 44 million Year Old Invasive Species Revealed

Commander Ben holds a 44 million year old invasive species fossil in his hand. Learn more about the new species of primate, Mescalerolemur horneri, that Dr. Chris Kirk helped discover in West Texas.

Enjoy!

Commander Ben signing off…

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Filed under Department of Anthropology at The University of Texas at Austin, Dr. Chris Kirk, Environmental Science Institute, Hot Science - Cool Talks, Mescalerolemur Horneri, My Eye Your Eye and the Eye of the Aye-Aye, University of Texas, Video

Visiting Zoo Monkeys: What NOT to Do!

Find out the interesting and unusual feature that human eyes have and that anthropoids do not. Oh, and also learn what NOT to do when you visit monkeys at the zoo.

Dr. Kirk is an Associate Professor with the Department of Anthropology at the University of Texas – Austin. His talk, Your Eye, My Eye, and the Eye of the Aye-Aye, is part of the awesome Hot Science – Cool Talks series, presented by the Environmental Science Institute.  Don’t miss his Hot Science – Cool Talks presentation on Friday, December 2, 7pm at Welch Hall, Room 2.224.  And if you can come early, there be lots of fun pre-lecture activities beginning at 5:30.

This is part two of my interview with Dr. Kirk.

For more great information from Dr. Kirk, be sure to visit the other videos in this series:

#1 A Peek at Dr. Chris Kirk’s Hot Science – Cool Talks Presentation

Find out why depth perception and detailed vision give humans the best eyesight out of any living mammal. (But what about extinct mammals and other living vertebrates?  You’ll find out!) Learn more about Dr. Chris Kirk’s specialty in primate evolution and the evolution of senses.

#3 Battle Plan for Vertebrate Eye Evolution

Find out what mammal has the best combination of sensory adaptation and learn about the problem with compound eyes.  Then  discover how what you inherit from your ancestors has a profound affect on what your anatomy can do. Dr. Chris Kirk also describes how his love of anthropology growing up helped him find his niche as a physical anthropologist.

#4 44 million Year Old Invasive Species Revealed

Commander Ben holds a 44 million year old invasive species fossil in his hand. Learn more about the new species of primate, Mescalerolemur horneri, that Dr. Chris Kirk helped discover in West Texas.

Enjoy!

Commander Ben signing off…

Leave a comment

Filed under Department of Anthropology at The University of Texas at Austin, Dr. Chris Kirk, Environmental Science Institute, Hot Science - Cool Talks, Mescalerolemur Horneri, My Eye Your Eye and the Eye of the Aye-Aye, University of Texas, Video

A Peek at Dr. Chris Kirk’s Hot Science – Cool Talks Presentation

Find out why depth perception and detailed vision give humans the best eyesight out of any living mammal. (But what about extinct mammals and other living vertebrates?  You”ll find out!) Learn more about Dr. Chris Kirk’s specialty in primate evolution and the evolution of senses.

Dr. Kirk is an Associate Professor with the Department of Anthropology at the University of Texas – Austin. His talk, Your Eye, My Eye, and the Eye of the Aye-Aye, is part of the awesome Hot Science – Cool Talks series, presented by the Environmental Science Institute.  Don’t miss his Hot Science – Cool Talks presentation on Friday, December 2, 7pm at Welch Hall, Room 2.224.  And if you can come early, there be lots of fun pre-lecture activities beginning at 5:30.

This is part one of my interview with Dr. Kirk.

For more great information from Dr. Kirk, be sure to visit the other videos in this series:

#2 Visiting Zoo Monkeys: What NOT to Do

Find out the interesting and unusual feature that human eyes have and that anthropoids do not. Oh, and also learn what NOT to do when you visit monkeys at the zoo!

#3 Battle Plan for Vertebrate Eye Evolution

Find out what mammal has the best combination of sensory adaptation and learn about the problem with compound eyes.  Then  discover how what you inherit from your ancestors has a profound affect on what your anatomy can do. Dr. Chris Kirk also describes how his love of anthropology growing up helped him find his niche as a physical anthropologist.

#4 44 million Year Old Invasive Species Revealed

Commander Ben holds a 44 million year old invasive species fossil in his hand. Learn more about the new species of primate, Mescalerolemur horneri, that Dr. Chris Kirk helped discover in West Texas.

Enjoy!

Commander Ben signing off…

Leave a comment

Filed under Department of Anthropology at The University of Texas at Austin, Dr. Chris Kirk, Environmental Science Institute, Hot Science - Cool Talks, Mescalerolemur Horneri, My Eye Your Eye and the Eye of the Aye-Aye, University of Texas, Video

Why humans developed the best eyesight: Hot Science – Cool Talks!

Your Eye, My Eye, and the Eye of the Aye-Aye”, the next Hot Science-Cool Talks presentation on Friday, December 2, 2011, is a visual treat.  Dr. Chris Kirk will talk about why humans developed the best eyesight out of any living mammal.

Dr. Kirk is an Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology at The University of Texas at Austin.  He has been studying primate evolution for many years and found a new fossil species, similar to a small, modern day lemur, in West Texas.

If you haven’t been to a Hot Science – Cool Talks presentation before, they’re great! Be sure to come early to Dr. Kirk’s talk in Welch Hall at UT Austin.  You’ll want to have fun with the great activities before the talk!

Commander Ben signing off…

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Filed under Department of Anthropology at The University of Texas at Austin, Dr. Chris Kirk, Environmental Science Institute, Hot Science - Cool Talks, University of Texas

Commander Ben featured on the UT Austin Environmental Science Institute website

Wow! What a wonderful surprise to be featured on the University of Texas at Austin Environmental Science Institute website and in their feature article.

Thank you so much for the honor.  I really love their Hot Science – Cool Talk lectures, and I’ve attended many since I was in first grade.  It’s a great way to learn, both with the fun activities before the talks and the fascinating talks themselves.  Dr. Jay Banner, director of the Environmental Science Institute, always makes everyone feel welcome.

I remember a great talk from fall 2010, “Autonomous Robots Playing Soccer and Traversing Intersections“.  The robots they used for their soccer matches were amazing.  They used little robots in the beginning that looked like dogs and moved up to ones that looked like people.  During one of the videos shown during the presentation, one of the people robots quickly figured out a way to block a shot by lying down in front of the goal.  That’s a move the other robots didn’t see coming!

The talks this fall have been outstanding, from learning about the hippocampus at the “Building Memories for Tomorrow” presentation to discovering how robots could explore new worlds at the “Astronauts, Robots and Rocks” talk.  At the last Hot Science – Cool Talks presentation in 2011, on Friday, December 2, “Your Eye, My Eye & the Eye of the Aye-Aye”, Dr. Chris Kirk will discuss how humans came to have the best eyesight out of any living mammal.  Sounds cool!  (Be sure to check back in the coming weeks to watch my video with Dr. Kirk.)

I hope to see you there!

Commander Ben

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Filed under Dr. Christopher Kirk, Environmental Science Institute, Hot Science - Cool Talks, Jay Banner, University of Texas