By Lookout Staff

August 19, 2016 -- New dietary guidelines, self-assembled nanomaterials and studying earthquakes from space are amonng the topics discussed at Santa Monica College's Fall 2016 Distinguished Scientists Lecture Series, organizers announced this week.

Now in its 15th year, the free lecture series, which targets lay audiences, will take place on SMC's main campus, 1900 Pico Boulevard, and is sponsored by the SMC Associates and the SMC Earth Science, Life Science, and Physical Sciences departments.

The series kicks off Thursday, September 8, with a special talk by UCLA Professor Sarah Tolbert on the latest developments in the use of nanomaterials in energy storage and harvesting.

A professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Tolbert will discuss her group’s current research "in understanding and controlling structure and periodicity in complex nanostructured composite materials," organizers said.

Nanomaterials can change the properties of a material -- such as its weight, stiffness and elasticity -- and are increasingly being incorporated into products.

The lecture, organizers said, will look at how nanomaterials are being used for "a range of structural, optical and electronic materials applications."

On Tuesday September 13, Dr. Barbara E. Millen, recent chair of the 2015 US Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, will discuss the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

The lecture will focus on "their importance in preventing and controlling major health problems, including overweight and obesity, hypertension and heart disease, diabetes and diet-related cancers," organizers said.

Millen is the current president of the academic consulting firm Boston Nutrition Foundation, Inc. (BNF) and president of the research-driven life sciences corporation Millennium Prevention, Inc.

On Tuesday, October 11, Dr. Andrea Donnellan, an award-winning NASA-JPL research scientist, will discuss "how NASA space technology is used to study earthquake development, ground deformation and patterns," organizers said.

Donnellan is president of the American Geophysical Union’s Nonlinear Geophysics Focus Group, principal investigator of NASA’s GeoGateway project and editor of the American Geophysical Union’s journal “Earth and Space Science.”

The series concludes on Tuesday, November 1, with a presentation by nutritionist Bonnie Modugno, MS, RD. on the "dietary choices and their influences on health and wellbeing," organizers said.

Modugno is a nutrition consultant and author who specializes in metabolic health, weight management and sports nutrition, who helps clients "cultivate a personalized approach to food," organizers said.

For more information, call (310) 434-4100.