Upcoming Seminars

Milos Radakovich

Presenting: "Vision - The Eyes Have It "

MLML Seminar | October 27nd, 2026 at 12pm (PST)

Watch the Live Stream here

 

Abstract: Vision -- what good is it? How, and why, do we see? Today, we animals use our eyes to navigate, to find shelter, to locate dinner while trying not to become someone else’s, to find a mate or an offspring… to survive. Light carries an extraordinary amount of information about the world and objects around us: shape, color, texture, and distance; whether they are large or small, approaching or retreating; alive or dead… and it does so instantaneously. No other sense has the capacity to convey so much information. Hearing attenuates with distance, smell is very short-range and varies with temperature and wind, touch and taste require physical contact. Any organism that is able to decode this flood of visual information would enjoy an evolutionary advantage that is truly staggering. During the last four billion years, vision evolved independently more than forty times. And yet, for the first three and a half billion years of life on Earth, all life on Earth was blind. Completely and utterly blind. Recent discoveries and perspectives illuminate a truly fascinating history of eyes and vision.

Bio: Born in Belgrade, Serbia, Milos (age 10) and his family emigrated to the U.S. in 1960 and settled in San Francisco, California. After graduating from San Francisco State University with a degree in Marine Biology, Milos relocated to the Monterey Peninsula to further his studies at the Moss Landing Marine Laboratories and S.R.I. Biosonar Lab at Cal-State University, Hayward. His major coursework included adaptive physiology, bioacoustics and behavior of marine mammals, scientific illustration, intertidal biology, kelp forest ecology, coastal dune dynamics, and the development of underwater research tools and techniques. Milos has taught college-level courses on natural history, ecology, marine biology and oceanography, coastal geology, physics, astronomy/cosmology, and critical thinking. He has worked as an on-board naturalist and enrichment speaker for Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic in Southeast Alaska and British Columbia (2003-05), and for Celebrity Cruises/Royal Caribbean (2005-2026) in Alaska, Hawaii, French Polynesia, Mexico, Panama Canal, Caribbean, South America/Antarctica, Mediterranean, Australia/New Zealand, Asia, and Norway. From 2004 through 2008, Milos hosted "Life on the Planet,” an hour-long science call-in show on local NPR member stations KUSP-FM 88.9 and KSQD-FM 90.7, in Santa Cruz, California. During his 50+ years on California’s Central Coast, Milos has been involved with many community groups and organizations, including the following: · Lyceum of the Monterey Peninsula – board member, science chair, instructor · Point Lobos State Park – tour guide, docent instructor (marine birds, mammals, inverts.) · Monterey Institute for Research in Astronomy (MIRA) – charter member, speaker · Monterey Bay Aquarium (charter member, docent instructor, behind-the-scenes guide) · Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History – board member, speaker, Sandy (gray whale) · Marine Mammal Rescue Team – founder, director, volunteer coordinator · BAY NET – MBNMS Shoreline Volunteer Docent Program – founder, director, volunteer coordinator, instructor (Monterey Peninsula, Santa Cruz, San Simeon) In recognition of his contribution toward science education and conservation on California’s Central Coast, Milos received the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments’ “AMBAG Citizen Award” in 1996, the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary’s “MBNMS Educator of the Year” award in 1998, and the “NOAA Environmental Hero” award in 2001, presented annually by the the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Dr. Felipe Gorini Pereira  | SJSU Department of Kinesiology

Presenting: "Menthol-Induced Thermogenesis and Thermal Resiliency During Cold-Water SCUBA Diving "

MLML Seminar | October 22nd, 2026 at 12pm (PST)

Watch the Live Stream here

 

Menthol-Induced Thermogenesis and Thermal Resiliency During Cold-Water SCUBA Diving

Prolonged cold-water exposure can impair the cognition and dexterity in which underwater explorers rely on to navigate, handle instruments, and make safe decisions. External thermal protection reduces heat loss to the environment but can restrict movement and does not fully prevent the burden evoked by cold waters. The proposed project will test a novel intervention from the laboratory into the cold waters of the Pacific: topical menthol. Although menthol induces cold sensations when applied to the skin, evidence suggests it may also stimulate heat production. Whether that response persists during an actual cold-water dive is unknown. The proposed study will determine whether menthol slows the decline in core temperature and whether perceived cold corresponds with measured physiological strain. The
results from this project will provide field evidence whether this simple intervention can complement conventional thermal protection, thus supporting safer cold-water research, work, and exploration.

Associate professor at San Jose State University, Applied Exercise Physiology  

Dr. Gorini Pereira earned his Ph.D. in Human Performance at Indiana University, as well as his M.S. in Kinesiology and B.S. in Health Sciences from California Baptist University. Dr. Gorini Pereira is currently an Assistant Professor of Applied Exercise Physiology in the Department of Kinesiology at San José State University. His research interests are aimed at utilizing integrative physiology to better understand how extreme environments, such as prolonged cold and heat exposure, impact the safety and performance of healthy and at-risk populations.