January 18, 2013
Sue Franz
The Science of Being a Student
College is hard work, and you have a lot of responsibilities that compete for your time. Are you studying effectively and efficiently? The psychological science of
memory, thinking, and learning has much to offer you.
January 25, 2013
Woody Moses
The Great Barrier Reef and the Philippines
In February and March of 2012, I had the fortune to help with coral reef surveys on Australia's Great Barrier Reef and in several marine protected areas (MPAs) in the Philippines. Come learn how these spectacular ecosystems are being managed, the threats they face and the choices being made to help save them for future generations.
February 1, 2013
Aaron Warnock
Fibonacci Numbers, the Golden Ratio, and Donald Duck
What do multiplying rabbits, Mozart, the Parthenon, seashells, and Donald Duck have in common? The Golden Ratio! (Okay, maybe not Donald Duck, but he wants to!) Come and find out more about the Fibonacci Sequence and its relationship to one of the most fascinating numbers around, phi, as ..Science Seminar presents....Fibonacci Numbers, the Golden Ratio, and Donald Duck.
February 8, 2013
Susan Landgraf and David Parish
The Science of Love in Words
In our (first) Science Seminar celebration of Valentine's Day, what can we learn about the science of love through its language (French) and most romantic form (poetry).
February 15, 2013
Ruth Frickle
Psychology and the Science of Love
"The genus love is a huge and motley collection of many different behavioral events whose only commonalities are that they take place in a relationship with another person."
E. Berscheid
We'll examine a few of the motley crew as they appear in our relationships from infancy to recent romances.
February 22, 2013
Carla Whittington
Living On Unstable Ground
Life in the Puget Sound can be interesting. Geologic hazards are always knocking at our doors. Did you know that the Puget Sound has a landslide season? And that we are currently in it? Since Thanksgiving 2012, passenger train traffic between here and Everett has been shut down 95% of the time. There have been over 75 landslides down onto the tracks during that period! As our hills get wetter, more and more of them will start to slide!
Why are this region's hills so prone to sliding? Is it just the rain or something more? This talk will cover why landslides occur in this area; what combination of conditions have to happen to get the hills moving; where the trouble spots are; and how, if possible, this hazard can be mitigated.
March 1, 2013
Rus Higley
Stuck In Traffic (AGAIN!)
With the 7th worst traffic in the nation and an expected population growth of over 1 million more people in the Puget Sound Area in the next 20 years, traffic congestion is going to get worse. This talk, by Environmental Science instructor, Rus Higley, will look at some of the solutions, both long and short term as well the costs to our economy through lost time and lost opportunities, higher maintenance cost for the cars, and impacts on our health.
March 8, 2013
Jacqueline Ashwell
The National Parks and You
Did you know that the largest living things in the world live in US national parks? Or that fossils from the national parks span a timeline of more than 1 billion years?
Or that research on the geothermal features of Yellowstone has led to advancements in the fields of DNA fingerprinting and astrobiology? Science is everywhere in our
national parks-from evaluating the effectiveness of pepper spray on bears to monitoring the impacts of climate change. Whether you're a student of the sciences interested
in what career opportunities might be hidden in nature, an avid hiker curious about how science is used to protect your favorite trail, or an armchair traveler fascinated
by the amazing natural and cultural history contained within America's special places, this is a talk you won't want to miss.
