Calendar
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May 8, 2024
UW SeismoLunch with Sagarika Mukhopadhyay
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May 8, 2024
"Geodynamic implications of tomographic image of the subsurface of the Himalayas"
| Campus location | Atmospheric Sciences-Geophysics Building (ATG) |
|---|---|
| Online Meeting Link | washington.zoom.us… |
| Campus room | ATG 210 |
| Accessibility Contact | sacaton@uw.edu |
| Event Types | Lectures/Seminars |
My Life is Mostly a Disaster: Perspectives of a Multihazard First Responder
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May 8, 2024
Natural hazards are an unavoidable part of everyday life. In many cases, it’s the proverbial “it’s not if, but when” they might occur. Whether a wildfire threatens a local community or an earthquake devastates an entire region, the moment a hazard becomes a disaster there is a vital need for those impacted to have access to critical information. But where do you find timely, credible information? Well, the details of what has happened come from researchers and investigators, while the information people receive is shared by public information officers. Today’s speaker is both.
Steven Sobieszczyk is a scientist and spokesperson with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While “Sobie” spent most of his career researching landslide hazards, sediment transport, and flooding, he now focuses on science communication and public information. Steve is a multihazard first responder and has spoken extensively about everything from earthquakes in Puerto Rico and eruptions in Hawaii to wildfires and floods across the U.S.
Join us for what should be a captivating evening of stories and insights into what it’s like to live a life where each day is one disaster after another. Special focus on the:
- Granite Pass Wildfire Complex
- Vicksburg Cemetery Landslide
- M6.4 Puerto Rico Earthquake
- 2022 Mauna Loa Eruption
Steven Sobieszczyk has spent 23 years with the USGS. Currently, he serves as media lead for natural hazards at the bureau. Between 2005 and 2010, Steve earned degrees in landslide engineering geology, hydrology, and geographic information systems (GIS) from Portland State University. Besides his research, Sobie’s passion is to help others communicate better, regardless of their background or interests. Never satisfied, Steve has developed broad expertise, including being a professor, author, videographer, and artist. He is a co-founder of the Association of Science Communicators (ASC) and spends part of the year as an incident first responder for wildfires and other natural disasters.
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Venue
Kiggins Theatre, Vancouver, WA
My Life is Mostly a Disaster: Perspectives of a Multihazard First Responder
NSWA Bookclub: "Flush"
May 8, 2024
Each month, we will feature a compelling science journalism book and then get together with the author to discuss it. Topics will vary, but we'll prioritize member books so if you've published a book in the last few years and would like to be considered for the book club, please email info@nwscience.org.
The book club will be hosted by NSWA Vice President Starre Vartan and board member Ian Rose. Each club meeting will feature a conversation with the author as well as a discussion of the book by club members. All author conversations will be accessible via Zoom.
The Bookshelf:
May: “Flush: The Remarkable Science of an Unlikely Treasure” by Bryn Nelson on May 8th at 7pm.
June: “Beloved Beasts: Fighting for Life in an Age of Extinction” by Michelle Nijhuis on June 5th at 7pm.
Opening the Infrared Treasure Chest with JWST
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May 8, 2024
The James Webb Space Telescope was launched on Dec. 25, 2021, and commissioning was completed in early July 2022. With its 6.5 m golden eye, and cameras and spectrometers covering 0.6 to 28 µm, Webb is already producing magnificent images and surprises about galaxies, active galactic nuclei, star-forming regions, and planets. It extends the scientific discoveries of the great Hubble, and ties the most distant galaxies to their origin story from the fluctuations of the cosmic microwave background radiation. Scientists are hunting for some of the first objects that formed after the Big Bang, the first black holes (primordial or formed in galaxies), and beginning to observe the growth of galaxies, the formation of stars and planetary systems, individual exoplanets through coronography and transit spectroscopy, and all objects in the Solar System from Mars on out. It could observe a 1 cm2 bumblebee at the Earth-Moon distance, in reflected sunlight and thermal emission. I will show how we built the Webb, why we study infrared, and the most exciting current discoveries. Webb is a joint project of NASA with the European and Canadian space agencies.
Biography
Dr. John C. Mather is a Senior Astrophysicist and was the Senior Project Scientist for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. Since the project start in 1995 until 2023, he led the JWST science teams. As a postdoctoral fellow at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies he led the proposal efforts for the Cosmic Background Explorer (74-76), and came to GSFC to be the Study Scientist (76-88), Project Scientist (88-98), and the Principal Investigator for the Far IR Absolute Spectrophotometer (FIRAS) on COBE. With the COBE team, he showed that the cosmic microwave background radiation has a blackbody spectrum within 50 parts per million, confirming the expandin
Free and open to the public. Registration is required. We expect tickets to this event to sell out quickly, so please register early and let us know if your plans change.
The University of Washington recommends wearing a mask at this event as we will be gathering in an indoor space with very limited opportunity for physical distancing. Masks will be available at check-in. We look forward to seeing you but ask that you stay home if you are feeling unwell.
g universe model to extraordinary accuracy. The COBE team also made the first map of the hot and cold spots in the background radiation (anisotropy), the spots which nucleated the formation of galaxies. Dr. Mather received the Nobel Prize in Physics (2006) with George Smoot, for the COBE work.
UW Kane Hall Room 130 and also livestreamed
Please note: NSWA provides these event details as a courtesy to science-related organizations throughout the Pacific Northwest. Please confirm event details with the sponsoring organization before attending.