Power of Possibility Talks is having an event Thursday, Oct. 23, from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. in the International Ballroom of the Bruce M. Pitman Center. POP Talks is an annual conference where University of Idaho faculty from diverse disciplines present their research.
All in-person student attendees will be entered in a raffle to win two $1,000 scholarships. The event can also be viewed on U of I Live.
The professors speaking at this conference have a wide range of knowledge and varying backgrounds.
Dr. Tyler Bland is the creator of Medimon, a game inspired by Pokémon, that uses an entertaining educational environment to teach complex medical topics. Bland is a clinical assistant professor for WWAMI medical program, where he teaches pharmacology and core medical topics.
Dr. John C. Schovic uses high-tech innovation and his environmental stewardship to reinvent how scientists care for forests and manufacture products . Schovic is the director of the Center for Intelligent Industrial Robotics in Coeur d’Alene and has written textbooks on Python coding.
Dr. Bert Baumgaertner is a philosophy researcher who studies the evolution of ideas and how people use knowledge. Baumgaertner has published articles including “The Preference for Belief, Issue Polarization and Echo Chambers” (2022), and “Coverage and Shared Reflective Equilibrium” (2023).
Dr. Janine Juliana Darragh studies practical teaching strategies and how trauma affects the brain and learning. Darragh has 30 years of K-20 experience that she uses to help prepare future generation of teachers.
Dr. Kendra Kaiser is the director of the Idaho Water Resources Research Institute. Kaiser work to increase transparence from state decision makers in the state and improve accessibility to the conversation of water sustainability in Idaho.
Dr. Simona Picardi is a wildlife ecologist who studies animal migration and movement patterns tell in wild ecosystems. Picardi is a spatial datasets analyst and has authored two software packages.
Dr. Jess Millward is the director of UI’s Tribal Law Clinic. Her work focuses on tribal law, poverty law, health law and rural legal issues. She gives her students real-world experience that fortifies Native American sovereignty and brings together rural communities.
Dr. Phil Bass aims to help people better understand the meat they eat. He is a meat science professor in UI’s Department of Animal, Veterinary and Food Sciences. Bass studies animal genetics, physiology, dry aging and how environments shape flavor. He also explores the beef industry’s economic effects. Some of his published work includes “Effect of Storage Temperature on Bovine Cardiac Morphology” (2025) and “National Beef Quality Audits” in the year 2022.
Emily Morales can be reached at [email protected].