Lecture Series
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Upcoming Events
CALIFORNIA
U.S. Geological Survey — Western Region
A series of nine lectures through December 2009 will take place at the Menlo Park Science Center, and can also be heard by remote access via the Internet.
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A New Generation of USGS Maps -- Topographic Maps for the 21st Century
USGS Evening Public Lecture Series in Menlo Park:
While recognizing the 125th Anniversary of the popular USGS topographic map, Mark DeMulder, USGS Director of the National Geospatial Program, will introduce public availability of a new generation of topographic quadrangle maps using layers of digital geographic data found in The National Map. New technology is enabling richer content, providing the user with more information to incorporate in custom map products, while providing online access to continuously evolving and improving data layers from The National Map used by engineers and surveyors, industry, academia, and outdoor enthusiasts for consistently reliable and accurate information.
[ Lecture Series |
The National Map ]
NEW MEXICO
New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science
Educating About Our Changing Climate
Lunch Presentation
Thursday 17 December 2009, 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. (Free)
How does the climate change that we are experiencing today differ from climate changes in the past? Join Eileen Everett, Climate Change Educator, on a journey viewing our world through the lens of climate change. Explore how our Southwestern climate has changed in the past and how scientists predict climate will impact humans, ecosystems, and our planet in the future. Learn how to separate fact from fiction and get to the science of climate change.
This event is being offered in partnership with the Environmental Education Assoc. of New Mexico, and with support from the National Science Foundation and the International Year of Planet Earth.
To register: Eileen Everett (505) 841-2837; . More information at: www.nmnaturalhistory.org/.
This lecture is an official event of the International Year of Planet Earth U.S. Lecture Series.
Past Events
CALIFORNIA
Petroleum Hydrocarbons and Organic Chemicals in Ground Water: Prevention, Detection, and Remediation® Conference
2-3 November 2009, Costa Mesa, California
Hilton Orange County/Costa Mesa , 3050 Bristol Street
This conference addresses ground water and petroleum product contamination.
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NGWA Ground Water Management Issues Forum
14-16 October 2009, Tahoe City, California
Granlibakken Conference Center Lodge, 725 Granlibakken Road
This conference addresses factors affecting ground water management practice and outcomes.
[ more ]
IYPE events in California:
- 140th anniversary of the 1868 Hayward earthquake
21 October 2008 - FIELD TRIP - Earthquake at UCB, The Hayward Fault, Campus Retrofit, and The Seismological Laboratory
15 November 2008
COLORADO
NGWA Theis Conference: Ground Water and Climate Change
2-5 October 2009, Boulder, Colorado
Millennium Harvest House Boulder , 1345 28th Street.
This special-format, highly interactive conference addresses ground water and climate change.
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Denver Museum of
Nature & Science
2001 Colorado Boulevard
Denver, CO 80205
Please register in advance of lecture. Call 303-322-7009 or 1-800-925-2250, between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
[ additional info ]
Mongolia: Ancient Landscapes, Modern Treasures
Thursday 12 November 2009, 7:00 p.m., Phipps IMAX Theater
$15 member, $18 members
Presenters: Chris Pague, senior conservation ecologist for The Nature Conservancy in Colorado;
Kirk Johnson, Ph.D., chief curator and vice president, Research and Collections Division
Mongolia’s vast landscapes range from the ecologically rich grasslands of the Asian steppe to the harsh Gobi Desert. The Nature Conservancy and the Museum invite you to discover the story of Mongolia’s landscape today, and in the deep past, and to find out why Genghis Khan would have felt at home in Colorado. After the presentations, visit the Genghis Khan exhibition and enjoy coffee and Mongolian dessert samples just outside the newly renovated Phipps Special Exhibits Gallery.
Live Performance: Meet Charles Darwin!
Sunday, 15 November 2009, 4:00 p.m., DMNS Ricketson Auditorium
$15 member, $18 nonmember
Brian “Fox” Ellis, re-enactor
Join us to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the publication of On the Origin of Species as you spend an afternoon with the affable young Charles Darwin. You’ll hear humorous tales of Darwin’s training as a naturalist, his insights into South American geology, his discovery of strange creatures on the Galápagos archipelago, and most important, the scientific evidence that led to his revolutionary theory. Equal parts dramatic storytelling, stand-up comedy, and show-and-tell, Ellis will bring this infamous man to life as you are immersed in the intellectual world of one of history’s greatest scientific minds.
Sandstorms to Snow Leopards: The Cretaceous Tourist in Mongolia
Thursday 10 December 2009, 7:00 p.m., Ricketson Auditorium
$12 member, $15 nonmember
Presenter: Kirk Johnson, Ph.D., chief curator and vice president, Research and Collections Division
In the summer of 1997, Johnson traveled to remote areas of Mongolia’s Gobi Desert with a Mongolian-Japanese-American team in search of fossil plants from the time of the dinosaurs. Join Johnson for a lively evening as he describes his experiences with Asian dinosaurs, extinct plant life, and wrestling in central Asia.
The Tangled Bank: An Introduction to Evolution
Thursday, 3 December 2009, 7:00 pm, Phipps IMAX Theater
$12 member, $15 nonmember; Book sale + signing
Presenter: Carl Zimmer, author and science writer for the New York Times, Scientific American, and Discover
The Museum’s Year of Darwin celebration closes with an opportunity to discuss evolution with Zimmer, a renowned science writer. The “tangled bank” refers to a passage in Darwin’s On the Origin of Species, first published in November 1859. Zimmer will share widespread examples of how evolution is applied to the field of science today, in locations as diverse as the Canadian Arctic and the Australian outback. He uses clear, nontechnical language to explain the central concepts essential for understanding new advances in evolution and how vital evolution is to all branches of modern biology. Zimmer’s The Tangled Bank is the only textbook on evolution written for the general reader. Richly illustrated, it is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the history of life on Earth.
Museum Contact: Julia Spalding
Adult Programs Department,
Denver Museum of Nature & Science
303.370.6303;
; www.dmns.org/
Colorado and Climate Change
Lecture by Bob Raynolds, PhD, geologist, and research associate, Earth Sciences Department
2-11 February 2009 Mondays & Wednesdays
6:30–8:30 p.m. Classroom 303
Field trip: Saturday, 7 February 2009
$150 member, $180 nonmember
What impacts Colorado’s climate? You’ve probably heard that the polar ice cap and the Greenland ice sheet are melting, but is the climate here in Colorado really changing? According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the average temperature in Fort Collins has increased by more than 4 degrees Fahrenheit over the last century. While this may be an urban heat island effect, long-term measurements in Grand County show a 10 degree Fahrenheit increase in minimum winter temperature over the last 50 years. This has changed Colorado’s ecosystems, affecting plants, trees, and animals. It also means less snowpack to melt and fill our reservoirs, amplifying our water challenge. This course will examine these changes, and during a daylong field trip you’ll see the changes firsthand.
Melting Away and on the Rise: Changes in the Arctic Ice Cover
Lecture by Konrad Steffen, PhD, director, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), and professor, Department of Geography, University of Colorado at Boulder
Thursday, 29 January 2009
7:00 p.m. Ricketson Auditorium; $12 member, $15 nonmember
Two large ice sheets in Antarctica and Greenland are losing ice at an ever faster rate. What is causing these changes in the ice sheet, and what does it mean for the global climate? Steffen has led field expeditions to the Greenland ice sheet and other Arctic and Antarctic regions for the past three decades and has returned to the same site for the past 18 summers. He and his team of scientists use climate system modeling and ground and satellite measurements to determine the response of ice sheets to a warming climate—and they have found alarming results. Join Steffen as he goes behind the headlines and explains the techniques for gathering information about these stunning changes in global climate and what the results might say about the future.
Digital Earth: Explore the World from Space
Lecture by Ka Chun Yu, PhD, curator of space science, Space Sciences Department, and Bob Raynolds, PhD, research associate, Earth Sciences Department
Tuesday, 13 January 2009
Tuesday, 10 March
7:00 p.m. Gates Planetarium; $12 member, $15 nonmember
With Yu as your driver and Raynolds as your guide, you will embark on an amazing tour of Earth from the vantage of a satellite in space. Gates Planetarium’s digital projection system delivers stunning visuals. You’ll never take the same ride twice, as Yu and Raynolds present a new tour for each program. Formerly known as “Geography Goes Digital.”
Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations
Lecture by David Montgomery, PhD, author and professor, Department of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Washington
Thursday, 11 September 2008, 7:00 p.m., Gates Planetarium, Denver Museum of Nature & Science
$12 member, $15 nonmember
Book sale + signing
Dirt — it’s everywhere we go, but we don’t think much about it. Turns out it’s worth thinking about! Montgomery, an award-winning leader in geomorphology, shares the disquieting notion that we are running out of dirt. Cultivated soils erode slowly enough to be overlooked in a single lifetime but fast enough over centuries to limit the lifespan of civilizations. Using an engaging blend of history, archaeology, and geology, Montgomery will explain how societies have continually risen, prospered, and plowed through a natural endowment of fertile dirt. He will share his hope that the rise of organic and no-till farming will create an agricultural revolution to avoid the fate of previous civilizations. He is the author of Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations.
ADDITIONAL IYPE EVENTS IN COLORADO:
NATIONAL GROUND WATER ASSOC. / EPA Remediation of Abandoned Mine Lands Conference
Denver, 2–3 October 2008
CONNECTICUT
Bruce Museum of Arts and Science
One Museum Drive, Greenwich, CT 06830
Lectures are free to members and $5 at the door for non-members.
[ directions and detailed information ]
The Coming Transition to a Climate-Friendly Energy System for the 21rst Century
Lecture by Prof. Sally M. Benson, Executive Director, Global Climate and Energy Project
Professor, Department of Energy Resources Engineering, Stanford University
Sunday, 5 April 2009, 3 p.m. To make a reservation, call 203-869-6786, ext.420 starting 22 March 2009.
Global Warming: Some Science and Solutions
Lecture by Dr. Robert B. Jackson, Nicholas Professor of Global Environmental Change and Director of the Center on Global Change,
Duke University, Durham, NC
Sunday, 25 January 2009, 3 p.m. To make a reservation, call 203-869-6786 ext.420 starting 11 January 2009.
Environmental Change and Emerging Diseases: Why a Change of Scenery Isn't Always a Good Thing
Lecture by Dr. Jonathan Epstein, Certified International Veterinary Medicine and Senior Research Scientist, The Consortium for Conservation Medicine, New York
Sunday, 9 November 2008, 3 p.m. To make a reservation, call 203-869-6786 ext.420 starting 26 October 2008.
Hurricanes and Global Warming
Lecture by Dr. Jenni Evans, The Pennsylvania State University, Department of Meteorology
Sunday, 19 October 2008, 3 p.m. Call 203-869-0376 to make a reservation.
The Science of Climate Change
Lecture by Dr. Michael Mann, The Pennsylvania State University, Department of Meteorology
Sunday, 21 September 2008, 3 p.m. Call 203-869-0376 to make a reservation.
Museum Exhibition: Phenomenal Weather
Bruce Museum, Greenwich, Connecticut, 8 March–30 November 2008Museum Exhibition: Climate Change: From Snowball Earth to Global Warming,
Bruce Museum, Greenwich, Connecticut, 28 June–9 November 2008
LOUISIANA
2009 NGWA Geodrilling Forum
9-10 December 2009, New Orleans, Louisiana
Ernest N. Morial Convention Center , 900 Convention Center Blvd.
This forum addresses implications of geothermal energy for the ground water industry.
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2009 NGWA Ground Water Expo and Annual Meeting
10-13 December 2009, New Orleans, Louisiana
Ernest N. Morial Convention Center , 900 Convention Center Blvd.
The NGWA Expo, a conference as well as a trade show, brings together professionals from all sectors of the ground water industry in one location to explore new solutions to new challenges.
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MISSISSIPPI
NGWA Ground Water Technology Field Experience
26-28 October 2009, Summit, Mississippi
Southwest Mississippi Community College , 1156 College Drive
This event provides classroom instruction and field training in comprehensive drilling operations and well construction.
[ more ]
NEVADA
IYPE EVENTS IN NEVADA:
- 2008 National Ground Water Assoc. Ground Water Expo and Annual Meeting,
Las Vegas, Nevada 2–5 December 2008
NEW MEXICO
New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science
1801 Mountain Road NW
Albuquerque, New Mexico
ph. (505) 841-2800
Taking Earth's Pulse & Temperature Using Seismology: Roaring Oceans and Singing Icebergs
Wednesday, 22 April, 7:00 PM in the DynaTheater
IRIS/SSA Distinguished Lecture by Rick Aster, Ph.D.
Icebergs sing! Scientists recently have used earthquake monitoring equipment (seismographs) to record hours-long collisions between Earth's largest icebergs gyrating under the influence of ocean currents and causing the icebergs to “sing” with a newly discovered type of seismic and acoustic tremor. Seismographs are also recording aspects of Earth's climate. Buried in the background of worldwide seismic recordings are “microseisms”—seismic waves created by ocean waves pounding the coast and interacting with the sea floor. Extreme storms occurring during the Arctic winter produce waves that propagate to Antarctica and influence iceberg behavior. Dr. Aster and his colleagues have looked at over 35 years of global seismic recordings and have been able to reconstruct a unique record of ocean-storm intensity. Early evidence suggests that the number of violent ocean storms across the planet and their associated ocean waves have been increasing during the past three decades. Join Dr. Aster as he explores unsuspected linkages between climate, oceanography, seismology, and glaciology.
Rick Aster joined the faculty at New Mexico Tech in 1991 and is currently a Professor of Geophysics and Chair of the Department of Earth and Environmental Science. [More information]
OHIO
IYPE EVENTS IN OHIO:
- 2008 National Ground Water Assoc. Geothermal and Horizontal Drilling Forum: Diversification and Cross-Training Strategies Columbus, Ohio, 25–26 August 2008
OREGON
IYPE EVENTS IN OREGON:
- 2008 National Ground Water Assoc. International Conference on Nonrenewable Ground Water Resources,
Sociotechnological Aspects of Nonrenewable Ground Water Resources: Half-Empty, Half-Full, Top-Down, Bottom-Up, and Some Paths Forward,
Portland, Oregon, 13–14 October 2008
PENNSYLVANIA
New Scientific Discoveries in the Pittsburgh Region — Geology, Climate Change, and Public Outreach
Saturday, 12 December 2009 1:00p.m.; Powdermill Nature Reserve
Powdermill Nature Reserve (Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s biological research station)
1847 Route 381, Rector, PA 15677
Phone: 724-593-6105; www.powdermill.org/
Presenters: Albert D. Kollar, M.S., and Dr. David K. Brezinski, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Section of Geology and Invertebrate Paleontology.
Recent scientific discoveries in the Pittsburgh region has provided new hypothesis on the paleoclimates during the formation of the Appalachian Mountains. Learn how geologists do research and promote these new scientific discoveries for education outreach.
Yes, Virginia, There Is Climate Change: A 50 Million Year Perspective
Monday, 2 November 2009, 7:00pm, Works Theater
Carnegie Science Center
One Allegheny Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15212
Ph: 412-237-3325; www.carnegiesciencecenter.org
Presenter: Dr. Zhe-Xi Luo, Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology and Associate Director for Research and Collections, Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Luo will speak about climate change in general and the evidence of the impact of human activity on this phenomenon.
Whale Origins
Saturday, 7 November 2009 1:00pm, CMA Theater,
Free Admission to Lecture
Carnegie Museum of Natural History
4400 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Phone: 412-622-5778; www.carnegiemnh.org
Presenter: Dr. Hans Thewissen, Northeastern Ohio Universities Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy;
Whale Origins - Whales first originated 50 million years ago in South Asia, evolving through five stages. Dr. Thewissen and his team have discovered three of these five stages in India and Pakistan. Learn of the steps needed to change from deer-sized ungulate to giant of the sea as Dr. Thewissen shares his findings from years of field work.
Charles Darwin 200th Birthday Lecture
Lecture by Janet Browne, The Drue Heinz Lectures
Monday, 9 February 2009, 7:30pm
Carnegie Music Hall, 4400 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh, PA
Information: +1-412-622-3131
By the time of his death Charles Darwin was one of the most celebrated — and one of the most notorious — scientists in the world. Today he is just as famous. Still controversial, Darwin has become an icon of modern science at the same time as his theories have become the basis of modern biology. In her Drue Heinz Lecture exploring Darwin’s legacy, Browne examines how Darwin came to write the Origin of Species and its impact in Victorian England and also looks at the controversies that surrounded Darwin and his famous book, with a particular focus on the debate over ape ancestry.
[More information and directions ]
Great Steps in the History of Life: Finding an evolutionary link between fishes and limbed vertebrates
Saturday, 28 February 2009, 1:00pm
Carnegie Lecture Hall, 4400 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh, PA
Ted Daeschler’s current research program in vertebrate paleontology focuses on the vertebrate fauna of the Late Devonian Period (385-363 million-years-ago) in eastern North America. The research involves active fossil collecting, systematic work focusing on freshwater vertebrates, and the nature of early non-marine ecosystems. Fieldwork is ongoing since 1993 in Pennsylvania and since 1999 on Ellesmere Island in the Canadian Arctic. Fossil discoveries from the incompletely-known Late Devonian interval help us to answer questions about the diversification of major groups of fishes, the origin of limbed vertebrates, and the invasion of land by plants and animals.
[More information and directions ]
TEXAS
Environmental Science Institute, University of Texas at Austin
Jackson School of Geoscience
One University Station, C-1100
The University of Texas
Austin, TX 78712-0254
From Silent Spring to Silent Night
Lecture by Dr. Tyrone Hayes, Professor, University of California, Berkeley:
Friday, 30 January 2009, UT Austin,
7:00pm
Effect of Herbicides on Frogs, Male Fertility at Hot Science - Cool Talks Outreach Series Agriculture in the United States uses millions of pounds of pesticides and herbicides per year. At the same time, many amphibians are ‘feminizing’ – meaning male frogs and toads, among other animals, are producing eggs instead of sperm. Are agricultural chemicals to blame? What are the implications for human fertility and health? Join us as one of the nation’s leading experts on the effects of agricultural chemicals on hormones, Dr. Tyrone Hayes, answers these questions and more. Students, teachers, families, and the general public are invited to attend an evening of scientific exploration as the Environmental Science Institute (UT-Austin) presents "Silent Spring to Silent Night".
[ additional info ]
Beginning the Search for Life on the Outer Planets: Through Europa's Icy Looking Glass
Lecture by Dr. Don Blankenship:
Friday, 14 November 2008 UT Austin 7:00pm
University of Texas at Austin, Welch Hall. Could there be life on the outer planets? Join us as we hear about mapping ice on Europa and the implications of what we learn about ice flow on outer planets for the way we understand it on Planet Earth.
[ view Webcast ]
Is Your House Killing You?,
Lecture by Dr. Richard Corsi
University of Texas at Austin, Welch Hall.
Friday, 10 October 2008 UT Austin 7:00pm
When you burn a scented candle in your home what becomes of the burned wax and scent? How well do air filters or ozone generators clean indoor air? Dr. Corsi will show us how some very common (and presumably safe) products that we use in our homes present challenges to maintaining healthy indoor air quality.
[ view webcast ]
ADDITIONAL IYPE EVENTS IN TEXAS:
| IYPE Highlights
at the GSA - ACS - GCAGS Joint Annual Meeting 5-9 Oct 2008, Houston |
- 2008 GSA | SSSA | ASA | CSSA | GCAGS Joint Annual Meeting
Houston, Texas, 5–9 October 2008.
- Petroleum Hydrocarbons and Organic Chemicals in Ground Water: Prevention, Detection, and Remediation® Conference
Houston, Texas, 3–4 November 2008 - Houston Geological Society, IYPE Committee and webpage.
WASHINGTON, D.C.
The National Academies of Sciences
Global Connections between Earth Sciences, Health, and Policy: A Symposium in Celebration of the International Year of Planet Earth
Thursday, 25 September 2008, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
The Keck Center of The National Academies
500 Fifth Street, NW, Room 100, Washington, D.C.
As of part of the celebration of the International Year of Planet Earth, on Thursday, 25 September, the National Academies' Board on International Scientific Organizations (BISO) is sponsoring a symposium that will explore the relationships between earth sciences and public health. Symposium speakers will examine the interrelationship of health issues and geological systems, as well as the integration of scientific research, particularly risk assessments, into policy strategies.
[ more information ]
Symposium - Soil: Sustaining Life on Planet Earth
18 July 2008 Museum of Natural History, Washington D.C.
The U.S. National Committee for Soil Science sponsored a symposium entitled "Soil: Sustaining Life on Planet Earth", held in conjunction with the opening of the soils exhibit “Dig It! The Secrets of Soil” at the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum of Natural History in Washington DC. The symposium was co-sponsored by the Soil Science Society of America and the International Union of Soil Science. The symposium also represented an activity celebrating the United Nations-designated International Year of the Planet Earth.
The symposium included talks on the role of soil in the rise and fall of civilizations, anthropogenic influences on the global soil resource, the importance of soils for ecosystem function and critical ecosystem services (in both natural and agro-ecosystems) and in sustaining life on Earth.
[ more information ]
Geological Society of Washington
International Year of Planet Earth - Global & U.S. Impacts
Lecture by Dr. Craig Schiffries
John Wesley Powell Auditorium of the Cosmos Club
10 December 2008, Washington, DC
Visitors are welcome to attend GSW meetings at no charge. The Geological Society of Washington (GSW) was founded in 1893 to promote the increase and dissemination of geological knowledge.
More information about GSW is available at www.gswweb.org
ADDITIONAL IYPE EVENTS IN WASHINGTON:
- Smithsonian Institution Exhibit: Dig It! The Secrets of Soil
National Museum of Natural History, Washington D.C.