Morehead Planetarium and Science Center

Carolina Science Cafe: Balancing Act
2025-11-04 18:00 - 19:00 (America/New_York)
Balancing Act: The Science of Pain, Fatigue, and Falls in Aging

Now is the time for innovation in our efforts to engineer solutions to help people age gracefully – from preserving independence and enhancing community accessibility to preventing falls. In this talk, Dr. Jason Franz, a professor of biomedical engineering, will summarize the latest in the UNC Applied Biomechanics Laboratory’s use of principles from neural control, biomechanics, wearable sensing, and rehabilitation robotics to solve one of our society’s grand challenges.

Designed for adults, Carolina Science Cafe is a free program that explores science topics making national and international headlines and offers the chance to meet the experts behind the work. This special program is hosted at Haw River Tap & Table in Carrboro on the first Tuesday of every month. Light appetizers are available for all attendees.

About the Speaker

Dr. Jason Franz (he/him) received his B.S. (2004) and M.S. (2006) degrees in Engineering Mechanics from Virginia Tech and, after serving as a staff scientist in PM&R at the University of Virginia, received his Ph.D. (2012) in Integrative Physiology from the University of Colorado, Boulder. He then completed an NIH Post-Doctoral Fellowship in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In 2015, Dr. Franz joined the Lampe Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University and is now a Full Professor and Director of the UNC Applied Biomechanics Laboratory.

Dr. Franz’s research takes a mechanisms-based approach in rehabilitation engineering to develop solutions to help people age gracefully. He is the author of over 150 publications and currently serves as Principal Investigator on multiple NIH-funded research projects, all predominantly focused on rehabilitation engineering strategies to mitigate age- and disease-related mobility impairment and falls risk. He also serves as Faculty Director for Postdoctoral Success, where he supports the success, recruitment, and workforce development of postdoctoral trainees across the UNC School of Medicine.

View Dr. Franz’s Work

Carolina Science Cafe is produced by Morehead Planetarium and Science Center and sponsored by the UNC Chapter of Sigma Xi.

You do not need to register…just show up!

Carolina Science Cafe: What’s Going on with U.S. Childbearing?
2025-12-02 18:00 - 19:00 | Haw River Tap & Table, 300 E Main St C, Carrboro, NC, 27510, United States
What’s Going on with U.S. Childbearing? And Should We Be Worried?

As birth rates in the U.S. and elsewhere have declined since the Great Recession, there has been considerable concern among pundits and policy makers over the causes and consequences of low fertility. This concern has prompted a range of efforts to raise U.S. birth rates. In this talk, Dr. Karen Benjamin Guzzo will give an overview of childbearing trends in the U.S., discuss why people are delaying or limiting childbearing, and provide insights into the demographic, economic, and policy impacts of low birth rates. She will round out her talk by highlighting the current policies and efforts to raise birth rates in the U.S. and what they will – and will not – achieve.

Designed for adults, Carolina Science Cafe is a free program that explores science topics making national and international headlines and offers the chance to meet the experts behind the work. This special program is hosted at Haw River Tap & Table in Carrboro on the first Tuesday of every month. Light appetizers are available for all attendees.

About the Speaker

Dr. Karen Benjamin Guzzo is a family demographer and sociologist, and she serves as Director of the Carolina Population Center. She is also a Professor of Sociology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Guzzo’s research has been funded by multiple grants from the NICHD Population Dynamics Branch (PDB), the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) within the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Dr. Benjamin Guzzo’s research has been covered in the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and Newsweek, and she frequently appears as an expert on U.S. childbearing behaviors and decision-making in national media outlets. She is a member of the Population Association of America’s Board of Directors and chair of the American Sociological Association’s (ASA) Sociology of Population section. She has served as a Deputy Editor for Demography since 2017 and serves on the Editorial Boards of the Journal of Marriage and Family, Family Transitions, and Journal of Family Theory and Review.

View Dr. Guzzo’s Work

Carolina Science Cafe is produced by Morehead Planetarium and Science Center and sponsored by the UNC Chapter of Sigma Xi.

You do not need to register…just show up!

Teen Science Cafe: Neuronal Resilience
2025-12-19 18:00 - 19:30 | Morehead Planetarium and Science Center, 250 E Franklin St, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27516, United States
Neuronal Resilience with Dr. Mohanish Deshmukh

Please join us at Morehead Planetarium and Science Center for December’s Teen Science Cafe! This month, we welcome Dr. Mohanish Deshmukh, Ph.D, who will be sharing his work on how different types of cells control apoptosis (regulated cell death) and how this relates to the treatment and prevention of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s.

Open to teens ages 13-18, our monthly cafes include exciting activities, engaging talks from expert speakers, and even free food! Plus, we cover a variety of different topics, ranging from cell biology to deep space galaxies, making it a one-of-a-kind spot for high school students to explore new ideas, interact with each other, and have fun!Doors will open at 6:00 pm for pizza and conversation. The cafe will start at 6:30 pm and wrap up around 7:30 pm.

Learn more about Teen Science Cafe

About Dr. Deshmukh

Mohanish Deshmukh, Ph.D. is a William R. Kenan, Jr. Distinguished Professor of Cell Biology & Physiology and the Neuroscience Center at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Mohanish received his PhD from Carnegie Mellon University, conducted his postdoctoral research at Washington University and joined UNC as an Assistant Professor in 2000.

Mohanish’s lab studies the programmed mechanisms by which neurons survive and die. His lab also focuses on understanding neurodevelopmental disorders as well as developing therapeutic strategies for preventing neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease.

Mohanish received the Burroughs-Wellcome New Investigator Award in 2001. At UNC, Mohanish was recognized with the Teaching Excellence Award (2004) and the Mentor of the Year Award (2012). He is currently the Co-Director of the UNC MD/PhD program. His lab’s research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Program Schedule

6:00 pm: Arrive and check in. We will gather inside the west, main entrance of Morehead.

6:00 – 6:30 pm: Pizza social. The pizza social will take place in our classrooms, located on the 2nd floor.

6:30 pm – 7:30 pm: Discussion & activities. Trivia will take place in the Science Stage.

Please Note: Depending on scheduled activities, the program may end between 7:30 p.m. and 7:45 p.m.
