Lecture Series

Lecture 31: An Introduction to NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Date & Time: Thursday November 11, 2010 – 7:30 PM

Location: Montgomery Community College (Rockville Campus) – Humanity Building (HU), Conference Room 009 ( Get Directions, Campus Map )

Speaker: Dr. Nargess Memarsadeghi

Synopsis:

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was established by President Eisenhower in 1958.   For over 50 years, thousands of people have worked for NASA to pioneer in space exploration, scientific discovery, and aeronautics research.  I will first talk about NASA’s mission and vision statements.  I then mostly mention how scientists and engineers at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) address the agency’s goals through various missions and studies.  I will review a few of the GSFC’s past, current, and future missions in areas of Earth Sciences, Astrophysics, and Exploration.

 
About the Speaker:

Nargess Memarsadeghi received her B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in Computer Science from University of Maryland at College Park in 2001, 2004, and 2007 respectively.  She is interested in design and development of efficient algorithms for large scientific data sets with applications in image processing, remote sensing, and computational optics.  Nargess works at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center since she joined the agency as a computer engineer in summer of 2001.  She currently works for Science Data Processing branch of the Applied Engineering and Technology (AETD) directorate at GSFC.

Fee (including dinner): $5 Students, $15 Public

RSVP: Please click here to RSVP for dinner.

Nargess Memarsadeghi

IAAP Student Scholarship Award Ceremony on October 14, 2010

IAAP Student Scholarship Award 

The IAAP meeting in October will be dedicated to the “IAAP Student Scholarship Award” and will host Dr. Hossein Razavi of World Bank as the guest speaker. If you are full time college student (undergraduate or graduate) you are encouraged to apply for this scholarship by October 5, 2010.

Please see more details here.  For filling the application form click here.

If you are not a student but know eligible students within your family, friends, and professional circles, please pass on the word and have them apply for this scholarship.

Lecture 30: Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) in Building Infrastructure Projects

Speaker:           Dr. Hossein Razavi

Lecture Synopsis: PPPs have in recent years emerged as a solution to the situations in which neither purely public nor purely private structures have been successful. However, there are often substantial ambiguity and confusion about the PPP concept and formulation. The present lecture aims at discussing various aspects and various types of PPPs using case studies from several countries. The contents of the presentation would include:

  1. Why do we need PPPs?
  2. International experience with PPPs
  3. Structuring PPP transactions
  4. Getting financial support from various environmental funds

Biography of Speaker

Dr. Hossein Razavi has worked at the World Bank for more than 20 years and has held a number of technical and managerial positions including Director of the Energy Department., and the Director of Private Sector Development. He has worked extensively in the countries of the Middle East and North Africa, Asia, and Eastern and Central Europe. He managed the operational work of the World Bank in the oil, gas and power sectors in various countries. He also led the development of the World Bank’s various business strategies including subnational lending, guarantee products and the GEF facility.

Dr. Razavi has pioneered research and executive analysis in power sector planning, regional energy development, and project finance. He is a member of the editorial boards of the Energy Journal and Energy Economics. He holds an MS in Engineering, a PhD. in economics and is a graduate of the Harvard Advanced Management Program. He has published extensively in the field of energy.  His papers have been published in the Energy Journal, Energy Policy, Energy Economics, and Annual Review of Energy and Environment.  His books include Financing Energy Projects in Emerging Economies, published by PennWell Books, and Fundamentals of Petroleum Trading, published by the Westview Press.

Date & Time: Thursday October 14, 2010 – 6:30 PM

6:30 – 7:00         Registration
7:00 – 7:45         Opening Remarks
7:45 – 8:30         Lecture
8:30 – 9:30         Award Ceremony and Entertainment

Location:
Montgomery Community College (Rockville Campus)- Campus Center (CC),  Faculty and Staff Dining Room (Room 158)

Direction to Montgomery College, Montgomery College Map

Dues: $15 per person, $5 for students (including dinner)

Click to RSVP for Dinner

 

Lecture 29: Symptoms and Causes of Vitamin D Deficiency and Treatment Options

Date & Time: Thursday September 9, 2010 – 7:30 PM

Location: Montgomery Community College (Rockville Campus) – Humanity Building (HU), Conference Room 009 ( Get Directions, Campus Map )

Speaker: Dr. Morvarid Alaghmand

Synopsis:

“Once foods were fortified with vitamin D and rickets appeared to have been conquered, many health care professionals thought the major health problems resulting from vitamin D deficiency had been resolved. However, rickets can be considered the tip of the vitamin D deficiency iceberg. In fact, vitamin D deficiency remains common in children and adults.”
Michael F. Holick, M.D., Ph.D.

During childhood, vitamin D deficiency causes growth retardation and skeletal deformities. Vitamin D deficiency in adults can precipitate or exacerbate osteopenia and osteoporosis, can cause osteomalacia (bone softness) and muscle weakness, and increase risk of chronic disorders such as cancer.

This lecture will talk about vitamin D and its metabolism, symptoms and causes of vitamin D deficiency and treatment options.

 
About the Speaker:

Dr. Morvarid Alaghmand was graduated from National Organization for Development of Exceptional Talents (known as SAMPAD) in Tehran. She studied medicine at Tehran University of Medical Sciences from 1996 to 2003. She performed her Internal Medicine training (residency) at Interfaith Medical Center, affiliated with SUNY Downstate in New York.

Before starting residency, she was involved in research at Interventional Radiology Department in George Washington University Hospital for one year. She is one of the authors of a textbook called “Image-Guided Interventions”. She researched on bone and skeletal disorders and vitamin D deficiency on Asian population referred to Interfaith Medical Center clinic.

Dr. Alaghmand has been practicing as an Internist at Riverside Medical Group in Maryland since July of 2008. She is a diplomat of American Board of Internal Medicine, and is a member of American College of Physicians.

Fee (including dinner): $5 Students, $15 Public