Why did you come to Noshir Pesika’s Lecture?

Leo: I was invited by a friend, and it sounded really cool. Turns out it was really cool!         Seth: For extra credit in chemistry, and free pizza.

What was the most interesting thing you learned from the presentation?

Leo: I learned that the spatulas, the ends of the setae fibers, are so small (nanometer scale) that they allow geckos to stick to things because get very close, on the atomic level, to the surface that they can take full advantage of van der Waals forces that exist between atoms.                                                                                                                                                     Seth: The discussion of the gecko’s feet and how the strength of the forces vary with the angle and direction used.

Do you have any comments on the lecture?

Leo: The presenter was funny, and I thought it was cool to talk about applied science, science with a purpose in mind. I also enjoyed the fact that the information seemed so simple. It was presented at our level of intelligence.                                                                     Seth: The presentation was excellent! Noshir is obviously super smart and he easily could have talked way above people like me, but he did a fantastic job of explaining concepts and relating them to a level that I understand. The videos also added a dimension of clarity.

Would you come to another lecture in this seminar series?

Leo: I would definitely attend another talk like this!                                                           Seth: Actually, yes. The topic was more interesting than I originally thought it would be!

If you had gecko-like adhesion, what would you do?

 Leo: Climb everything and anything. Obviously.