Events of Interest—May 2009

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Note: Some events may require advance reservation, admission fees and/or a minimum age (for example, for events where alcohol is served).

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Featured Events in May

NSWA Presents: "Dumb, Getting Dumber? The Cost of Scientific Illiteracy"

Thursday, May 14, 7 p.m.:
Join a public forum featuring Chris Mooney, author of Unscientific America: How Scientific Illiteracy Threatens Our Future, and local experts on science, education, policy and the economy. Venue: Pacific Science Center, Eames Theater.
Information: http://www.nwscience.org

NSWA Board Meeting

Contact Michael Bradbury at mikeb@seanet.com to RSVP for the time and venue of the next NSWA Board meeting.

NSWA Freelance Science Writing Networking Night

All NSWA members are invited to a freelance science-writing networking night. Friends and family are welcome. RSVP to Andy Cutler, (425) 557-8299 or AndyCutler@aol.com, or just show up.
Venue: St. Andrew's Pub and Grill, 7406 Aurora Ave N, Seattle.
St. Andrews does open at 4 p.m. for those who get off work early and wish to beat traffic.

Join NSWA

As an NSWA member, you get discounts on some of our events, inside information on job openings and other opportunities, and the satisfaction of knowing you’re supporting the Pacific Northwest’s community of science communicators. Annual dues are just $20.

For information or to join, visit our Join page.

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Monday, May 4, 3:30 p.m.:
Gabrielle O’Malley, director of quality improvement for the International Training and Education Center on HIV for ITECH gives a talk titled "Addressing the 'Demand' Side of Sex Work: Including Male-Focused Interventions to Reduce the Spread of HIV/AIDS in Botswana." Sponsored by the UW Department of Global Health as part of the department's Global Health Lecture Series. Venue: UW Foege Bioengineering Building, Room N-130.
Information: E-mail ghrc@u.washington.edu

Monday, May 4, 4 p.m.:
Neil Weiner from New York University’s Center for Cosmology and Particle Physics, gives a talk "Illuminating Dark Matter." Venue: UW Physics Astronomy Building, Room A-102.
Information: http://www.phys.washington.edu

Monday, May 4, 4 p.m.:
Young Ko, retired scientist from the Weyerhauser Company, gives a talk titled "Fractals are Everywhere: Why and So What?" as part of the UW Department of Chemical Engineering's Spring Seminar Series. Venue: UW Physics Astronomy Building, Room A-114.
Information: http://depts.washington.edu/chemeng/new/home.htm

Monday, May 4, 5:30 p.m.:
Join the Washington Global Health Alliance (WGHA) and a panel of leading international and regional experts provides for an update on the evolving swine influenza outbreak. David Fleming, director of public health for Seattle and King County; Kathleen Neuzil, director of PATH’s Influenza Vaccine Project; and Ann Marie Kimball, UW professor of epidemiology and director of Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Emerging Infections Network, will participate. Sponsored by the WGHA. Venue: UW Hogness Auditorium.
Information: http://depts.washington.edu/deptgh/resource_center/ghevents_lect_wghads.php

Tuesday, May 5, 8:30 a.m.:
Carol Volk gives a talk titled "Managing and Making Sense of Data from Existing Pacific NW Salmon and Habitat Monitoring Programs" as part of the UW Water Center Seminar Series.Venue: UW Anderson 223.
Information: http://water.washington.edu/Outreach/Events/Tuesday/tuesdayschedule.html

Tuesday, May 5, 5 p.m.:
Simon Levin, a professor from the University of Princeton, gives a talk titled "The Challenge of Sustainability."
The talk is part of the UW Department of Aquatic and Fishery Science’s Spring 2009 seminar series. Venue: UW Fishery Sciences, Room 102.
Information: http://fish.washington.edu/seminars

Tuesday, May 5, 7 p.m.:
Paul Rice, founder and president of TransFair USA, gives a talk titled "Fair Trade: Using Markets to Empower the Poor." What are fair trade principles? How do they empower farmers and workers to lift themselves out of poverty? Rice discusses Fair Trade’s innovative approach to developing a market-based model for poverty alleviation and sustainable development. This talk is part of a series hosted by the UW Alumni Association (UWAA) titled "Coffee: From the Grounds Up" which looks at the way coffee has dominated and shaped entire cultures. The series complements the "Coffee: World in Your Hands" exhibit at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture at the UW. Admission is free, but space is limited and advance registration is requested. Venue: UW Kane Hall, Room 120.
Information and registration:https://go.washington.edu/uwaa/events/2009coffee_lecture/details.tcl

Tuesday, May 5, 7:30 p.m.:
Jim Thomson from the UW Applied Physics lab gives a talk titled "The Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center: Projects and Goals" as part of Science on Tap. Presented in association with the Pacific Science Center and KCTS Public Television. Venue: T.S. McHugh’s.
Information: http://www http://www.phys.washington.edu/.scienceontap.org

Tuesday, May 5, 7:30 p.m.:
Scott Weigle gives a free talk titled "Obesity: The Plague of the 21st Century." Weigle is a professor in the UW Department of Medicine's Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology and Nutrition. All are welcome. Venue: UW Kane Hall Room 220.
Information: http://depts.washington.edu/molmed/seminars/index

Thursday, May 7, 5 p.m.:
The Museum of Flight celebrates Space Day (officially May 1) with presentations by local astronomy clubs. Venue: Museum of Flight.
Information: http://www.museumofflight.org

Thursday, May 7, 7 p.m.:
Saxon Holt discusses "Get Gardening." Holt is a lifelong gardener and photographer whose photography is featured in "Hardy Succulents and Grasses." He is the owner of PhotoBotanic.com, where he maintains a library of more than 200,000 images from his 25 years as a garden photographer emphasizing sustainable and naturalistic American gardens. Venue: University Book Store.
Information: http://www.bookstore.washington.edu

Friday, May 8, 8:30 a.m. to noon:
The UW School of Social Work presents a free "Place, Health and Equity" conference. The conference brings together an interdisciplinary group of scholars at the cutting edge of research and scholarship at the intersection of place, racial and social inequity, and human well-being. Venue: UW Husky Union Building (HUB), Room 106B.
Information: E-mail Susan Kemp, spk@u.washington.edu

Sunday, May 10, 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.:
The Ernest Becker Foundation and three UW departments present a "Daylong Symposium on Technology, Distraction, and Immortality." Our latest information and communication technologies can be powerful tools in the service of humanity, helping us to connect to valuable sources of knowledge, to one another, and to the world. But they can also serve to distract and disconnect us, and thus to impede the search for meaning in an increasingly complex and busy world. A panel of six experts will discuss ways to better understand and deal with technology's impact on society and the human condition. Register online for $25, or for $40 with a "Flight From Death" DVD with related subject matter included. Register at the door for $30. Free for students and faculty of the UW.
Sponsored by the EBF and the UW’s Information School, Department of Psychiatry and Comparative Religion Program. Venue: UW Mary Gates Hall, Room 241.
Information: http://www.ernestbecker.org/events.html

Monday, May 11, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.:
The Center for Urban Horticulture at the UW, UW Botanic Gardens and Plant Amnesty present an Urban Forest Symposium. Topics include communicating the value of trees, trees and climate change, protecting trees during construction, and tree risk assessment. Information is intended for management-level professionals, on-the-ground technical staff and community organizations. Cost is $65, $55 for non-profit workers. Venue: UW Center for Urban Horticulture.
Information and registration: http://depts.washington.edu/urbhort/html/education/ProHort.php, or e-mail Jean Robins at jrobins@u.washington.edu

Monday, May 11, 11 a.m.:
The Museum of Flight presents video of the scheduled launch of the STS-125 mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope. Venue: Museum of Flight, William Allen Theater.
Information: http://www.museumofflight.org

Monday, May 11, 1:30 p.m.:
Mary Ellen Purkis, associate professor of nursing and dean of human and social development at the University of Victoria, discusses using Canada’s universal healthcare system as a model in the United States. Sponsored by the Canadian Studies Center at the UW. Venue: Carwein Auditorium, UW Tacoma.
Information: E-mail canada@u.washington.edu

Monday, May 11, 3:30 p.m.:
Joe Mahoney, UW professor of transportation and construction, gives a talk titled "Transportation Infrastructure:
A Look Back, A Look Ahead." Mahoney’s research focuses on transportation and construction. His primary areas of expertise are highway and airfield pavements, pavement materials, pavement management systems, and industry-related environmental regulations and compliance. Venue: UW Guggenheim Auditorium, Room 220.
Information: http://www.engr.washington.edu

Tuesday, May 12, 8:30 a.m.:
Heida Diefenderfer, a senior research scientist in the PNNL Marine Sciences Laboratory, gives a talk titled "Tidal Wetland Restoration on the Lower Columbia River and Estuary" as part of the UW Water Center Seminar Series. Venue: UW Anderson 223.
Information: http://water.washington.edu/Outreach/Events/Tuesday/tuesdayschedule.html

Tuesday, May 12, 7 p.m.:
Local author Daniel James Brown discusses The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of a Donner Party Bride. The story of the Donner party is one of those American stories that people think they know, but often understand only a little about. Brown studied the history exhaustively, and produced this book, an account from the perspective of a young bride who survived the tragic journey of a group of settlers bound for California. Venue: University Book Store.
Information: http://www.bookstore.washington.edu

Tuesday, May 12, 7 p.m.:
Stacy Philpott, who has been studying coffee agro-ecosystems in Mexico, Central America and Indonesia for the past 12 years, gives a talk titled "Brewing Biodiversity: Looking at Coffee as an Ecosystem." How do different coffee management practices impact biodiversity and ecosystem services? Philpott, an assistant professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences at the University of Toledo, explores the environmental effects of different coffee certification schemes and ways in which coffee agro-ecosystems may contribute to biodiversity conservation and sustainable agricultural landscapes. Shawn Cantrell, executive director of the Seattle Audubon Society, provides an introduction. This talk is part of a series hosted by the UW Alumni Association (UWAA) titled "Coffee: From the Grounds Up," which looks at the way coffee has dominated and shaped entire cultures. The series complements the "Coffee: World in Your Hands" exhibit at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture at the UW. Admission is free, but space is limited and advance registration is requested. Venue: UW Kane Hall, Room 130.
Information and registration: https://go.washington.edu/uwaa/events/2009coffee_lecture/details.tcl

Tuesday, May 12, 7:30 p.m.:
Peter Ward discusses The Medea Hypothesis: Is Life on Earth Ultimately Self-Destructive? Ward, a UW professor, proposes a revolutionary and provocative vision of life's relationship with the Earth's biosphere, one that has frightening implications for our future yet also offers hope. Using the latest discoveries from the geological record, he argues that life might be its own worst enemy, a view that stands in stark contrast to James Lovelock’s Gaia hypothesis. Ward instead invokes Medea, the mythical mother who killed her own children. Part of the Seattle Science Lectures. Sponsored by Town Hall, Pacific Science Center, and University Book Store. Tickets are $5 and are available at http://www.brownpapertickets.com, (800) 838-3006 and at the door beginning at 6:30 p.m. Town Hall members receive priority seating. Venue: Pacific Science Center.
Information: http://www.pacsci.org

Wednesday, May 13, 5:30 p.m.:
Join Alan Thein Durning and Jason F. McLennan for a talk titled "Exploring Energy and Design: Smart Solutions." Durning is founder and executive director of Seattle’s Sightline Institute. McLennan is chief executive officer for Cascadia Region Green Building Council. The two will discuss applying common sense to smart community design, green building and energy research to ensure the sustainability of our region. Tickets are $10 in advance at http://www.brownpapertickets.com or (800) 838-3006; $15, $5 students at the door. A reception, included in the ticket price, begins at 5:30 p.m. Post-seminar networking begins at 8 p.m. Venue: Town Hall Seattle.
Information: http://www.sustainablepath.org

Thursday, May 14, 7 p.m.:
NSWA presents "Dumb, Getting Dumber? The Cost of Scientific Illiteracy." Join a public form featuring Chris Mooney, author of Unscientific America: How Scientific Illiteracy Threatens Our Future, and local experts on science, education, policy and the economy. Venue: Pacific Science Center, Eames Theater.
Information: http://www.nwscience.org

Thursday, May 14, 7 p.m.:
Award-winning Seattle Times journalist Lynda Mapes discusses Breaking Ground. Mapes spent more than a year interviewing the people involved in the 2003 discovery of the oldest and largest Indian village ever unearthed in the Pacific Northwest. It began with a backhoe digging out a space for a massive local dry dock and stumbling upon the long-buried village of Tse-whit-zen, the central city to the Klallam people. The book looks at the history and culture of the Klallam, and the controversy that surrounded the cessation of the dig, which had already cost the state $70 million. Venue: Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture.
Information: http://www.bookstore.washington.edu

Saturday, May 16, noon:
U.S. Representative Jim McDermott, radio talk-show host Ron Reagan and three others participate in a panel discussion titled "Winning Health Care for All." On President Barack Obama’s to-do list, one topic consistently remains near the top: health care. The 65th Street Change Gang, a diverse North Seattle neighborhood group, shares that priority. Their mission, like the president's, is to promote and affect change through community service. Other participants include Bev Spears, Teresita Batayola, and David McLanahan. Tickets are $8 at http://www.brownpapertickets.com or (800) 838-3006. Venue: Town Hall Seattle.
Information: Call (206) 729-8901 or e-mail rshodgin@comcast.net.

Monday, May 18, 5 p.m.:
All NSWA members are invited to a freelance science-writing networking night. Freelancers, want-to-be science writers, those interested in being freelance, other independent writers, or anyone who writes about scientific and technical topics for a living may attend. Friends and family are welcome too. Enjoy collegiality, talk about what we're doing, get ideas and inspiration, and discuss all those issues freelancers have that people don't run into until they're out on their own - what are reasonable terms, how much to charge, what kind of behaviors suggest you're being led on or won't get paid, how to figure out where there is work, etc. It's a great opportunity to eat good food, indulge in good drinks, and share stories, advice and useful information with fellow science writers.
RSVP to Andy Cutler, (425) 557-8299 or AndyCutler@aol.com, or just show up. Venue: St. Andrew's Pub and Grill, 7406 Aurora Ave N, Seattle. St. Andrews does open at 4 p.m. for those who get off work early and wish to beat traffic.
Information: E-mail Cutler at AndyCutler@aol.com

Tuesday, May 19, 8:30 a.m.:
Bianca Perla gives a talk titled "Exploring Measures of Social and Ecological Resilience Around Protected Areas in the Skagit Watershed" as part of the UW Water Center Seminar Series. Venue: UW Anderson 223.
Information: http://water.washington.edu/Outreach/Events/Tuesday/tuesdayschedule.html

Tuesday, May 19, 7 p.m.:
Join representatives of Sustainable Harvest, Grounds for Change, Cafe Vita, and Stumptown Roasters for a panel discussion titled "Coffee, Sustainability, and Seattle." Learn how local coffee organizations integrate consumer education, social and environmental responsibility, and an obsession with the perfect cup of coffee into their missions. This talk is part of a series hosted by the UW Alumni Association (UWAA) titled "Coffee: From the Grounds Up" which looks at the way coffee has dominated and shaped entire cultures. The series complements the "Coffee: World in Your Hands" exhibit at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture at the UW.
Admission is free, but space is limited and advance registration is requested. Venue: UW Kane Hall, Room 120.
Information and registration: https://go.washington.edu/uwaa/events/2009coffee_lecture/details.tcl

Tuesday, May 19, 7:30 p.m.:
Evolutionary psychologist Geoffrey Miller discusses Spent: Sex, Evolution and Consumer Behavior. Miller looks at the way our choices as consumers advertise our biological potential to mates and friends. Sponsored by Town Hall and University Book Store. Part of the Seattle Science Lectures. Tickets are $5 and are available at http://www.brownpapertickets.com, (800) 838-3006, and at the door beginning at 6:30 p.m. Town Hall members receive priority seating. Venue: Town Hall Seattle.
Information: http://www.bookstore.washington.edu

Wednesday, May 20, 5 p.m.:
Join the Seattle chapter of the Association for Women in Science for a talk titled "Beyond the Research
Laboratory: A Range of Career Paths for Scientists in Industry." Scientists from Amgen will discuss career paths. Venue information and additional details are available in the evite message.
Information: http://www.seattleawis.org/events.htm

Thursday, May 21, 6 p.m.:
The Pacific Science Center presents the third annual "Dino Wine-Oh" event as part of the monthly Science with a Twist series. Enjoy music from the Emerald City Soul Club, take in an interactive presentation led by sommelier Arnie Millan of Esquin Wine Merchants, and taste a variety of Washington wines, Beecher's Handmade Cheese and sample sweets from Theo Chocolate, all under the watchful eyes of our resident dinosaurs. Venue: Pacific Science Center.
Information: http://www.pacsci.org/twist

Sunday, May 24, 2 p.m.:
The Museum of Flight presents a panel discussion with three members of the Tuskegee Airmen who flew missions to Berlin in World War II. Venue: Museum of Flight, William Allen Theater.
Information: http://www.museumofflight.org

Tuesday, May 26, 8:30 a.m.:
UW graduate students Julie Vano and Tyler Blake Davis give a talk titled "Evaluating U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Water Projects: Aiding Decisions with Cost-Benefit Analysis" as part of the UW Water Center Seminar Series. Venue: UW Anderson 223.
Information: http://water.washington.edu/Outreach/Events/Tuesday/tuesdayschedule.html

Tuesday, May 26, 7 p.m.:
Starbucks executives Ben Packard and Peter Torrebiarte give a talk titled "Local to Global - Conservation and C.A.F.E. practices at the World’s Largest Coffee Company." Packard and Torrebiarte discuss socially-responsible coffee buying guidelines called C.A.F.E. (Coffee and Farmer Equity) Practices. These guidelines are designed to ensure high-quality coffee and promote equitable relationships with farmers, workers and communities, as well as protect the environment. Orin C. Smith, former Starbucks president and chief executive officer, provides an introduction. This talk is part of a series hosted by the UW Alumni Association (UWAA) titled "Coffee:
From the Grounds Up," which looks at the way coffee has dominated and shaped entire cultures. The series complements the "Coffee: World in Your Hands" exhibit at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture at the UW. Admission is free, but space is limited and advance registration is requested. Venue: UW Kane Hall, Room 120.
Information and registration: https://go.washington.edu/uwaa/events/2009coffee_lecture/details.tcl

Thursday, May 28, 7 p.m:
Christopher McDougall discusses Born To Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Known. In Mexico's Copper Canyons live the Tarahumara Indians, a tribe able to run hundreds of miles without rest. McDougall went out to learn the tribe's secrets, and in the process trained for his own 50-mile race through the canyons' savage terrain. Venue: Seattle Running Company, 911 E. Pine.
Information: http://www.bookstore.washington.edu

Saturday, May 30, 9 a.m.:
The Museum of Flight invites you to look to the skies, when up to 25 vintage planes from the Puget Sound Antique Aircraft Club fly in. See airplanes such as the Stinson 108, the Interstate Cadet, the Bellanca and many more, up close. Meet and chat with the pilots of these beautifully restored airplanes. Venue: Museum of Flight.
Information: http://www.museumofflight.org

Monday, June 8, 7:30 p.m.:
Richard Wrangham discusses Cooking Made us Human. In the ongoing discussion about evolution versus creation, Harvard biological anthropologist Richard Wrangham injects a new ingredient: Cooking created the human race. Wrangham’s groundbreaking and already controversial book, Catching Fire, argues that as our ancestors adapted to using fire, humans emerged as "the cooking apes." The habit of eating cooked rather than raw food, Wrangham asserts, permitted the digestive tract to shrink and the human brain to grow, helped structure human society and created the male-female division of labor. Presented as part of Seattle Science Lectures, with Pacific Science Center and University Book Store. Tickets are $5 and are available at http://www.brownpapertickets.com, (800) 838-3006 and at the door beginning at 6:30 p.m.. Town Hall members receive priority seating. Venue: Town Hall Seattle.
Information:http://www.townhallseattle.org

REMINDERS:
The Northwest Association of Biomedical Research (NWABR) is looking for mentors and judges for the annual BioExpo. NWABR still needs more than 40 judges. All judges are asked to attend an afternoon prejudging event from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Thursday, May 21 at Zymogenetics. Sign up at http://nwabr.kintera.org/judges09. View a video on BioExpo at http://www.nwabr.org/studentbiotech/movies/expowmf.wmv

Additions? Corrections? Write calendar@nwscience.org.