Big Ideas TXST Texas State University

Texas State University’s Bob Fischer, an associate professor in the Department of Philosophy, joins the Big Ideas TXST podcast to discuss the ethics of insect sentience.  
The debate over animal sentience has persisted for centuries. Broadly speaking, it’s generally accepted that mammals, reptiles, birds and fish have degrees of sentience—that is, they are conscious and can feel both pleasure and pain. But what about insects? Fischer explains that mounting evidence indicates that at least some insects exhibit behavior attributable to pleasure and pain responses. If so, then what are the ethical implications for the billions of interactions between humans and insects every day?  
 
Fischer earned his Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Illinois-Chicago in 2011. He is a senior research manager for Rethink Priorities and the director of the Society for the Study of Ethics and Animals.  

Texas State University’s Karl Stephan, a professor in the Ingram School of Engineering, joins the Big Ideas TXST podcast to discuss his research into the mysterious phenomenon of ball lightning.    
A poorly understood natural phenomenon, ball lightning has been reported throughout history. Ranging in size from a pea to a basketball, the glowing orbs can appear in various colors, either transparent or translucent. Ball lightning has been reported at ground level and by airplanes. The spheres can last for many seconds, unlike the brief flash of traditional lightning, and can hover, rise, fall or move against the wind in unpredictable ways. No satisfactory hypothesis has described the cause of ball lightning and researchers have yet to successfully recreate it under laboratory conditions. 
 
Stephan joined the TXST faculty in 2000 after an extended period teaching at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He earned his master of engineering degree from Cornell University in 1977 and his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin in 1983.
FURTHER READING:
Ball Lightning Eyewitness Report
Texas State Researcher Sheds Light on Ball Lightning
What is ball lightning, a reality or myth?
Modeling the Neuruppin Ball Lightning Incident
Have You Seen Ball Lightning? Scientists Want to Know About It  

Texas State University’s Christopher Johnson, a clinical professor in the Department of Sociology, joins the Big Ideas TXST podcast to discuss understanding Alzheimer’s disease as a type of time travel.   Johnson developed the “Time Travel” model to better explain the variable memory loss of people suffering from Alzheimer’s. Those afflicted by Alzheimer’s experience cognitive, emotional, social, physical and functional regression. The “Time Travel” model uses aspects of Piaget's theory of adult development in reverse, suggesting a non-linear regression but rather connecting loops spiraling downward to depict the fluctuating regression as more recent memories are lost and the individual descends deeper into the past. The insight this model provides will hopefully increase the understanding of gerontologists and caregivers and provide new ways to develop strategies to enhance future caregiving techniques.
 
Johnson served as director of gerontology for the Institute of Gerontology at the University of Louisiana for 27 years. While there, he developed an award-winning master’s in gerontology online course, which earned the distinction of being designated one of the top academic programs in the state. Johnson retired from ULM and traveled to Scotland to teach for a year and a half in the University of Stirling’s dementia studies program before joining TXST to help develop the nation’s first master of science degree program in dementia and aging studies.
FURTHER READING:
Texas Standard: Why The US, And Texas, Need To Catch Up When It Comes To Dementia Care
Memory Whisperer
Alzheimer's Speaks 

Texas State University’s Richard Robichaux, a professor in the Department of Theatre and Dance, joins the Big Ideas TXST podcast to discuss his career path, teaching acting for television and movies and his upcoming projects.   A native of East Texas, Robichaux George Pappas on David E. Kelley's “Big Shot” with John Stamos and Yvette Nicole Brown on Disney+. Later this year he will appear in the feature films “The Long Game,” which won the audience award at SXSW, as well as “Hit Man,” a new film with Glen Powell. Other film credits include “Ocean’s 8” with an all-star cast and “Where’d You Go Bernadette?” with Cate Blanchett. Robichaux has worked on five films with award-winning director Richard Linklater, including “Boyhood,” which was nominated for six Academy Awards and won the Golden Globe for Best Picture. His theatre credits include the Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, D.C., Yale Repertory Theatre, Mark Taper Forum, and great theatres in New York, California and everywhere in between. Last fall he directed “The Thin Place” at the Zach Theatre in Austin.
 
As a speaker and educator Robichauz is a passionate advocate for arts education. He has been a guest artist and teacher at many of the top programs in the country including Yale University, Juilliard, Pennsylvania State University and the University of California San Diego where he was the Arthur and Molli Wagner Endowed Chair in Acting. During his tenure at UCSD it was ranked the No. 3 program in the world by the Hollywood Reporter. He has delivered keynote addresses and conducted masterclasses for students and teachers at dozens of conferences, festivals and schools. He is also a judge for the College Television Awards presented by the Emmys. He is a member of the Television Academy, SAG-AFTRA, Actors Equity and Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.
 
FURTHER READING:
Lone Star roots bring Richard Robichaux to Texas State theatre faculty
RichardRobichaux.com

Texas State University’s Shelly Wernette, Ph.D., a senior lecturer in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, joins the Big Ideas TXST podcast to discuss her discovery of 10 new species of extinct trilobites in Thailand and what those discoveries reveal about ancient world geography. Trilobites are extinct sea creatures that rolled up like some types of armadillos or rolly pollies and breathed through their legs. Fossils of the creatures were trapped in sandstone between layers of petrified ash, created by volcanic eruptions that settled on the sea floor and formed a green layer called a tuff. Unlike some other kinds of rocks or sediment, tuffs contain crystals of zircon — a mineral that formed during eruptions and are, as the name of the rock layer containing them suggests, tough. Zircon is chemically stable as well as heat and weather resistant. It is hard as steel and persists when minerals in other kinds of rocks erode. Inside these resilient zircon crystals, individual atoms of uranium gradually decay and transform into atoms of lead. Radio isotope techniques enable researchers like Wernette to determine when the zircon crystals formed and thus put a date range to the volcanic eruption that laid down the tuff formation. 
 
Wernette studies stratigraphy and invertebrate paleontology with special attention to the lower Paleozoic of Gondwana and trilobites. She is interested in how the physical earth affects biodiversity, relying heavily on paleogeography and geochronology to frame this investigation. She earned her doctorate in geological sciences from the University of California Riverside, and her bachelor’s and master’s, both in geology, from the University of Oklahoma.
FURTHER READING:
Trilobites of Thailand's Cambrian–Ordovician Tarutao Group and their geological setting
Trilobites rise from the ashes to reveal ancient map

Texas State University’s Keisuke Ikehata, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the Ingram School of Engineering, joins the Big Ideas TXST podcast to discuss an innovative pilot program to convert wastewater into purified drinking water.  Texas’ rapid population growth combined with ongoing drought conditions has led to water shortages across the state. In the face of this challenge, Ikehata sees an opportunity for the public to embrace the idea of using treated wastewater for daily needs, a process referred to as potable water reuse. Ikehata and his students have partnered with the San Marcos Wastewater Treatment Plant on an advanced water purification system that turns more than 5 million gallons of wastewater into clean, environmentally safe water on a daily basis. 
An expert in advanced water and wastewater treatment and sustainable water resources management, including water reuse, desalination and stormwater management, Ikehata earned his doctorate in civil and environmental engineering from the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada. In July 2019, he joined TXST as one of four founding members of the civil engineering program. Prior to joining TXST, Ikehata worked for more than eight years as a technical specialist/R&D manager at a water resources engineering firm in Orange County, Calif. and eight years in academia in California, Alberta and Kansas. 
FURTHER READING:
TXST researchers implement innovative wastewater treatment strategies
USBR grant funds research into contaminant detection for water reclamation systems
Diatom research could prove an innovative key to improving efficiency of desalination