The College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Louisville will host its Meet the Professors series on the first Thursday of most months, beginning January 14. The events will highlight the college’s research and cultural offerings during lunch at the University Club.

Scheduled talks for the spring semester:

• Jan. 14 - “Synagogue Buildings and the Patterns of American Jewish Life,” Lee Shai Weissbach, history professor. His illustrated talk will examine U.S. synagogues and how they become information sources about the American Jewish experience. Weissbach wrote the books “Jewish Life in Small-town America: A History” and “The Synagogues of Kentucky: Architecture and History.”
• Feb. 4 - “Ghost Women of Chennai: A Study of the Stigma of Face Disfigurement in India,” Allen Furr, sociology department chair. The professor has studied the psychosocial aspects of face transplantation surgery as well as the stigma reported by Indian women whose faces have been disfigured by acid and fire through violent attacks.
• March 4 – “Mr. Jefferson and the Giant Moose,” Lee Dugatkin, biology professor. As the author of a recent book by that title, Dugatkin will discuss the clash between Thomas Jefferson and French naturalist George-Louis Leclerc Buffon. Buffon’s claim that life in America was degenerate, plus Jefferson’s refutation of his theory, had many implications for the next century.
• April 1 – “Mysteries of the Human Memory,” Edna Ross, psychological and brain sciences professor. Ross will talk about the memory system’s basic components and whether memory can be fooled. The professor will share tips on how to best “retrieve” accurate memories.

This is geekery we can believe in.