Professor
Shakhashiri is a frequent guest of the Larry Meiller Show
on the Ideas Network of Wisconsin Public Radio.
Back to Radio Main Page
November 20th, 1997, Larry Meiller Show
On the November 20th program, with guest host Jim Packard, he discussed a number of topics including:
October 7th, 1997, Larry Meiller Show
On the October 7th program, the main topic discussed was:
- The draft of Wisconsin's Model Academic Standards recently released by the Governor's Council on Model Academic Standards. The council is asking all state residents to contribute by offering their input. Nine regional forums have been scheduled in the month of October, as detailed in the previous link.
September 4th, 1997, Larry Meiller Show
On the September 4th program, the main topics discussed were:
- The excitement and expectations of the new academic year. Discussed the individual and collective responsibilities of the community of learners. Described the first lecture of his General Chemistry course.
- Listener calls about recent reports of the performance of Wisconsin students on the ACT, SAT, and TIMMS.
- The dialog and action on National and State education standards.
- The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics standards for school mathematics.
- The problem of alcohol abuse on the Madison campus.
July 22nd, 1997, Larry Meiller Show
On the July 22nd program, the main topics discussed were:
- The movie CONTACT, which is based on Carl Sagan's 1985 book. The movie concerns extraterrestrial intelligent life. The Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence is the focus of the SETI Institute, which is directed by Frank Drake.
- The responsibility of scientists to communicate with the general public what scientists do. An article in a recent issue of Scientist deals with the importance of this activity.
- The National Institute for Science Education (NISE), the Center for Biology Education, and the Wonders of Physics program.
- In response to a caller, urged that students maintain contact with their former teachers.
June 10th, 1997, Larry Meiller Show
On the June 10th program, the main topics discussed were:
- The latest results from TIMSS showing U.S. fourth graders ranked in the middle group in science achievement.
- President Clinton's proposed legislation to ban human cloning. The legislation is recommended by the National Bioethics Advisory Commission, which is chaired by Princeton University President Harold Shapiro, and of which UW-Madison Law Professor R. Alta Charo is a member.
- Changes in faculty attitudes toward teaching introductory college science courses and current projects at UW-Madison to improve science education: the National Institute for Science Education, the Institute for Chemical Education, The Wonders of Physics, the New Traditions chemistry curriculum project.
- Callers reactions to experiments whose directions are available on this Web site.
May 13th, 1997, Larry Meiller Show
On the May 13th program, he discussed the end of the school year. He also talked about and answered questions about the following topics:
- The National Assessment of Educational Progress. This is a congressionally mandated survey of the condition and progress of education in our country. In the 1996 assessment, Wisconsin schools and students did well.
- The Federal Science Budget. Wisconsin has a major influence on the science portion of the Federal Budget because our Rep. Sensenbrenner is the Chairman of the House Science Committee, and our Senator Kohl is on the Senate Appropriations Committee. Contact them to encourage federal support for science and science education.
- The End of Science. This is a book by John Horgan, a staff writer for Scientific American, in which the author interviews several notable scientists about their views on the future of science.
- Scientific Integrity and Misconduct.
Prof. Shakhashiri also discussed audience questions about cold fusion and about science and math standards for schools.
April 1st, 1997, Larry Meiller Show
On the April 1st program, he discussed science, religion, and human values. Some of the discussion involved
- The Hale-Bopp comet. This comet provides an opportunity for scientists and the general public to observe a rare phenomenon. The comet has a Web site devoted to it, and a large portion of the 28 March 1997 issue of Science magazine is given over to descriptions of scientific investigations of the comet.
March 4th, 1997, Larry Meiller Show
On the March 4th program, he discussed and answered questions on a variety of topics, including:
- Federal Funding for Scientific Research. President Clinton's proposed budget includes a $1.6 billion increase over the previous year. For more information, you can contact the Chairman of the House Science Committee
- Academic Standards. The issues of education reform and academic standards are in the news. Both Governor Thompson and the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction have issued drafts of standards for K-12 education in Wisconsin. Governor Thompson wrote a piece for the Op-Ed section of the February 21st issue of the New York Times, in which he called it a local issue.
- Cloning. Recently, scientists announced the successful cloning of an adult sheep. This announcement has generated a great deal of discussion of the potential application to humans and of the the ethics involved.
January 31st, 1997, Larry Meiller Show
On the Friday, January 31 program, Professor Dudley Herschbach of Harvard University, the 1986 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, discussed a number of issues including the teaching of chemistry and the importance of a scientifically literate populace.
November 21st, 1996, Larry Meiller Show
On the Thursday, November 21 program, with guest host Jim Packard, he discussed and answered questions on a variety of topics, including:
October 17th, 1996, Larry Meiller Show
On the Thursday, October 17 program, he discussed and answered questions on a variety of topics, including:
Click for information about recent shows
Back to Science is Fun Home Page