The Scientech Club upcoming events

How to Live Past 60 with the Best Quality of Life - By an Old Doctor (September 14, 2026)

Mon, 14 Sep 2026 16:00:00 GMT

Speaker: Glenn Bingle

This talk will be an update to an earlier talk on the Science of Aging. It will include new findings on the role of the immune system and innovative anti-aging therapies. The subtitle will be Who do you believe and follow: Drs Ko and Bingle or Dr. Eric Topol or Peter Attia.

Glenn Bingle was the chief medical officer of the Community Health Network, retired and chief of Medical Genetics. He also was a volunteer Clinic Professor of Medicine and Medical Molecular Genetics at the IU School of Medicine.

From Antiquity to AI: Mathematics, Medicine, and the Black Box Problem (September 21, 2026)

Mon, 21 Sep 2026 16:00:00 GMT

Speaker: David Gunderman

Medicine has long relied on numbers, formulas, and models to classify patients, predict risk, and guide decisions. Machine learning and AI have made these tools more powerful, but also more opaque: physicians and patients may rely on outputs without fully understanding how they were produced or what assumptions they contain. Is this opacity a new problem, or part of a much longer history of medicine’s trust in mathematics? Drawing on examples from the four humors to modern AI, this talk explores how mathematical models shape real clinical decisions and patient lives. Questions that may seem purely technical, such as measurement, modeling, thresholds, and prediction, also turn out to be questions about ethics, communication, bias, and responsibility.

David Gunderman is an incoming resident physician at Ascension St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis and a future dermatologist whose work brings together medicine, mathematics, and public health. A summa cum laude graduate of Wabash College with majors in Mathematics and German, David received his PhD in Applied Mathematics from the University of Colorado Boulder and his MD from Indiana University School of Medicine. He was a Fulbright Fellow in Germany in 2015 and the Lillian Gilbreth Postdoctoral Fellow at Purdue Engineering and Stanford Medicine in 2021. During medical school, Gunderman served as President of the Indiana University School of Medicine Medical Student Council, was named one of the Premier 10 graduate students across IU Indianapolis, and received the national U.S. Public Health Service's Excellence in Public Health Award. He serves on the board of Mental Health America–Wabash Valley Region, a nonprofit serving 11 counties and more than 500,000 residents in north-central Indiana. He has taught college- and graduate-level statistics, mathematics, and computer science for nearly a decade and has published more than 25 peer-reviewed research articles.

Astrophotography (September 28, 2026)

Mon, 28 Sep 2026 16:00:00 GMT

Speaker: Gary Stouder

The speaker will discuss his interest in this hobby and his volunteer work at the Lowell Observatory. He will describe what is needed to get good quality images of near space and deep space objects along with the problems that satelites and light pollution bring.

Gary Stouder is a retired family practice physician and a Scientech Club member.

2026 Scientech Club Annual Dinner (October 03, 2026)

Sat, 03 Oct 2026 21:00:00 GMT

The Scientech Club Annual dinner meeting will begin with a social hour and cash bar at 5:00 PM. Dinner will be served at 6:00 PM.

At 7:00 PM, Jimmie L. McMillian will give a talk about his path to becoming the Chief Diversity Officer and Senior Corporate Counsel for Penske Entertainment, which includes IMS productions and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He also serves as a board member of Marion County Public Defenders Agency, The United Way of Central Indiana, the Indianapolis Urban League and the Miracle Ride. Jimmie will share with us how he overcame obstacles to develop an inspiring commitment to improve the lives of young people.

Infectious Diseases During the American Civil War: 19th Century Medical Science with Emphasis on Measles (October 05, 2026)

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMT

Speaker: Steve Buxser

During the American Civil War, Union Army “surgeons,” the title for what we today call physicians or doctors, were required to file detailed monthly reports with Surgeons General of the Union Army. This period of history also provided the foundations for what has become modern medicine which was emerging accompanied by homeopathy and herbal medicine. When examined in its historical context, Civil War medicine was surprisingly sophisticated despite having limited theoretical bases, including the absence of the germ theory of disease. The story of measles during the American Civil War constructed from these records provides insight into the surprisingly sophisticated level of medicine at the time illustrating critical steps between medicine then and now.

Steve Buxser had a career in microbiology with additional and extensive experience in biochemistry, enzymology, cell biology and statistics applied to drug discovery, leisure reading emphasized history including military history and history of science and statistics. The talk is based on work on a thesis prepared as part of a Master's Degree in History (University of Indianapolis) earned shortly after "retirement." It is a continuation of a career merging topics and disciplines not typically combined into amalgamated viewpoints. During recent years the combinations include continuation of learning in science and math with extensions into macro- and micro-ecology with an emphasis on restoration of urban forests.

Water, Water Everywhere: The Netherlands (Holland) (October 12, 2026)

Mon, 12 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMT

Speaker: James Lowery

“Water, Water Everywhere: The Netherlands (Holland) -- A Country Below Sea Level Where the Past Meets the Future,” presented by James Lowery. Mr. Lowery has spoken to our group several times and is a very popular speaker. This is a general presentation about this visually stunning country, and the presentation will include how The Netherlands handles water in a country below sea level. It will cover many things that they are doing there that we in the United States should be doing and could learn from them. The people and governments of the Netherlands understand how to live with water instead of against it.

James Lowery has had University staff positions in Alabama as noted in his previous Scientech proposals.

2025 Nobel Prizes in Physics and Chemistry (October 26, 2026)

Mon, 26 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMT

Speakers: Phil Sowders Alan Schmidt

The Nobel Pirze in Physics was awarded to John Clarke, Michel H. Devoret, and John M. Martinis for the discovery of macroscopic quantam mechanical tunnelling and energy quantisation in an electric circuit. The Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson, and Omar M. Yaghi “for the development of metal-organic frameworks". Metal–organic frameworks are crystalline materials made from metal nodes connected by organic linkers, forming structures with extremely high porosity. The Nobel Committee highlighted how MOFs create “molecular constructions with large spaces through which gases and other chemicals can flow,” enabling breakthroughs in environmental, industrial, and energy applications.

Dr. Alan Schmidt is a retired Chemical Engineer with a doctorate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has industrial experience in polymerization research and development and environmental work at the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.

Philip Sowders has been a chemist, psychologist, senior behavioral health consultant, director of Autism Services, Founder/Partner, clinical director Franklin Family Services, Psychologist. He is a member of the International Centre for Leadership Results, Open Minds Physics Review, Phi Kappa Sigma Fraternity.

The American Spirit - David McCullough and The Science of Light and Sound (November 02, 2026)

Mon, 02 Nov 2026 17:00:00 GMT

Speakers: Bill Dick and Kendra Latta

Our Scientech historian, Bill Dick, will talk about the favorite Americans of one of our nations notable historians, David McCullough.

The Scientech Foundation will also present Kendra Latta from The Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel. She will talk about the impact of the yearly program The Science of Light and Sound. This talk will give a concrete example of the impact that the grants from the Foundation are having on STEM education for thousands of young people in central Indiana.

Animal, Vegetable, Mineral, Chemical: The colorful chemistry of artists’ pigments (November 09, 2026)

Mon, 09 Nov 2026 17:00:00 GMT

Speakers: Dr. Greg Smith

The artist’s search for color has led to a rainbow palette of hues acquired from some of the oddest places. Plants, animals, and minerals have all been utilized historically as sources of pigments and dyes. Dr. Gregory Smith, Newfields’ senior conservation scientist, will use some ‘colorful language’ in telling fascinating stories surrounding the discovery of important artists’ colors, highlighting how these fascinating chemicals have appeared in laboratory investigations ranging from Monet paintings to cow urine!

Gregory Dale Smith received a B.S. degree from Centre College of Kentucky in anthropology/sociology and chemistry before pursuing graduate studies at Duke University as an NSF graduate fellow in time-domain vibrational spectroscopy and archaeological fieldwork in Israel’s Galilee region. His postgraduate training included investigations of pigment degradation processes and palette studies of illuminated manuscripts at the British Library and the V & A Museum in London, the development of synchrotron infrared microscopy facilities at the National Synchrotron Light Source at Brookhaven, and researching cleaning issues related to artists’ acrylic emulsion paints at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. In 2004, Dr. Smith joined the faculty of the conservation training program at SUNY Buffalo State College as the Andrew W. Mellon Assistant Professor of Conservation Science. In 2010 Dr. Smith became the Otto N. Frenzel III Senior Conservation Scientist at the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields where he constructed and now operates a state-of-the-art research facility to study and preserve the museum’s encyclopedic collection. In 2018, Dr. Smith was selected to receive the AIC’s national award for conservation advocacy for his work in public lecturing and curating exhibitions that focus on the role of Science in the Arts.

Lesser Known Facts about 1776 and the War for Independence (November 30, 2026)

Mon, 30 Nov 2026 17:00:00 GMT

Speaker: Jim Willson

When we think about our American War of Independence, it is easy to remember the Boston Massacre, the Tea Party, Lexington, Concord, and Bunker Hill, but after that things just get hazy - just how did we win that war against the most powerful army in the world ? As this talk will show it was capitalizing on some fortuitous events and A LITTLE BIT OF HELP FROM OUR FRIENDS !!!!

Jim Willson received his BSCE from Purdue University and his MBA from Northwestern. He is retired from his career as an engineer for Honeywell Energy Retrofit. He is a long time Scientech Club member and a past president.

Annual Meeting and Nobel Prize in Medicine (December 14, 2026)

Mon, 14 Dec 2026 17:00:00 GMT

Speaker: Bill Halsema and Dr. Rashid Khairi

The first part of the meeting will be to conduct required annual business of the Scientech Club including the election of officers and board members for 2027. President Bill Halsema will conduct the meeting.

Dr. Rashid Khairi will discuss the 2025 Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded jointly to Mary E. Brunkow, Frederick J. Ramsdell, and Shimon Sakaguchi 'for their discoveries concerning peripheral immune tolerance."

Dr. Rashid Khairi is a retired Endocrinologist and long-time Scientech Club member..

No Meeting - Christmas (December 21, 2026)

Mon, 21 Dec 2026 17:00:00 GMT

No Meeting - New Years (December 28, 2026)

Mon, 28 Dec 2026 17:00:00 GMT

"Does This Treatment Cause That Outcome"? Assessing a treatment effect in modern randomized clinical trials. (January 25, 2027)

Mon, 25 Jan 2027 17:00:00 GMT

Speaker: Dr Stephen J Ruberg

Clinical trials are meant to be scientific experiments to assess the effect of a new or experimental treatment versus a control (e.g., placebo or another active treatment). There are well-accepted approaches for making rigorous scientific and statistical comparisons between experimental and control treatments – blinding, randomization, pre-specified criteria for success. However, individual patients must be (a) treated in a manner that is appropriate for their particular disease circumstances (ethics), and (b) allowed to leave a clinical trial at any time (exercise free will). Consequently, patients may not take their assigned treatment as defined by the clinical trial procedures, and there is often incomplete data on patients. How can we still make inference about whether an experimental treatment provides sufficient efficacy and safety information for regulatory approval (e.g., FDA or European medicines Agency, etc.)?

Dr. Ruberg has spent 40+ years in pharmaceutical drug development. In that time, he has held senior level positions in Statistics and Data Management as well as leadership roles for teams of drug developers. In his last 10 years at Lilly, he was the founder and Distinguished Research Fellow for Advanced Analytics, a group of highly trained and experienced professionals in statistics, mathematics, computational chemistry, econometrics and other quantitative/computing sciences. The group tackled some of the most complex and important problems facing Lilly using leading-edge quantitative and computing approaches.

Lung Cancer Screening (March 01, 2027)

Mon, 01 Mar 2027 17:00:00 GMT

Speaker: Peter Gunderman

This talk will be focus on what happens after a lung scan is done. It will cover what the CT scan itself can tell us beyond lung cancer, including information about heart disease, bone health and body composition that is hiding in plain sight in scans that are already being performed.

Peter Gunderman, MD, MA, is an Assistant Professor of Radiology and Imaging Director of Lung Cancer Screening in the Department of Radiology at Indiana University School of Medicine, where he specializes in cardiothoracic imaging. He has a particular research interest in opportunistic screening, the practice of extracting additional clinically meaningful health data from CT scans that are already being performed. His work has been published in national medical journals and covered by outlets including The Conversation. He practices at Indiana University Health in Indianapolis.