Readings/Lectures/Showings
September 2006

NSWA Events Calendar

Please E-mail NSWA with suggested announcements.

Some events may require advance registration or admission fee. Check with the Sponsoring organizations for further details. Please send additions or corrections to deafrost atsign gmail dot com – and feel free to submit events for future calendars. Please put “NSWA-to be posted” in the subject line.

Dates to Save in October

Oct. 27-31:
Registration is open for the annual meeting of the National Association of Science Writers in Baltimore, held in conjunction with the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing’s New Horizons in Science briefing Oct. 27-31. This meeting will be held in Spokane and the Tri-Cities next year, with NSWA involved in the planning. So to get a foretaste of what awaits in 2007 ... and to find out what’s new in your profession and on the frontiers of science, make a date for Halloween in Baltimore.
http://www.nasw.org/meeting/next.htm

Thursday, September 7, 7:00 p.m.:
Novelist and nature writer Brenda Peterson is on line for a night of storytelling devoted to Puget Sound, celebrating the waters, the wildlife, and the people of this inland sea. Sponsored by the People For Puget Sound 2006-07 Speaker Series: “Keeping the Sound Alive.” REI Flagship Store, 222 Yale Ave N, Seattle.
For event information or reservations: Lynne Jordan, 206.382.7007, ljordan@pugetsound.org, or www.pugetsound.org

Thursday, September 7, 7:30 p.m.:
Author Lawrence Krauss, Director of the Center for Education and Research in Cosmology and Astrophysics at Case Western Reserve University, explains new data that suggest that most of the energy in the universe may reside in otherwise empty space—just what would be expected if Einstein’s cosmological constant actually existed. Krauss will read from and sign Hiding in the Mirror: The Mysterious Allure of Extra Dimensions, from Plato to String Theory and Beyond. He also wrote The Physics of Star Trek among others. Part of the Seattle Science Lecture Series, co-sponsored by Town Hall, the Pacific Science Center, and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Admission is $5 at the door. [Krauss will also be appearing at The Star Trek 40th Anniversary Gala & Conference, September 8-10 at the Science Fiction Museum.]
http://www.townhallseattle.org or call 206 652-4255

Friday – Sunday, September 8-10:
“Science Fiction Meets Science Fact” at the Star Trek 40th Anniversary Gala Celebration & Conference. Speakers of science facts will include Martin Cooper, inventor of the first portable cell phone; Dr. Marc Raymond, Director, Deep Space 1 at Jet Propulsion Laboratories; Dr. Seth Shostak, Senior Astronomer; Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute; noted Star Trek physicist Dr. Lawrence Krauss and Pat Hoar, Spaceflight Manager with Space Adventures Ltd. Other guests will include sci-fi artist Michael David Ward, and speakers of science fiction, including screenwriter Tracy Torme and authors Greg Bear, Jeff Greenwald and David Marinaccio. Single-day general admission ticket prices start as low at $25 and three-day general admission passes start at $95. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.planetxpo.com or call 239-498-7821. Science Fiction Museum, 325 5th Avenue North.
http://www.sfhomeworld.org

Friday, September 8, 7:30 a.m.:
Dr. Steve Malone, Research Professor of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Washington, will give an update on the volcanic activity of Mt. St. Helens as the opener for the Washington Technology Alliance 10-breakfast program season. The Ranier Club. The individual membership rate for this series is $300 for the season.
http://www.technology-alliance.com/strt/strt.html

 

Monday, September 11, 7:00 p.m.:
Author and environmentalist James Lovelock reads from and signs Revenge of Gaia: Earth’s Climate Crisis and the Fate of Humanity at the University District Store. Lovelock suggests our hopes may lie in the use of nuclear power.
For more information: http://www.bookstore.washington.edu/ 

Tuesday September 12, 7:30 p.m.:
Drawn from more than thirty years of work in remote Baja Mexico lagoons, Doug Thompson’s Whales: Touching the Mystery is a revealing exploration of the lives and ways of whales. Co-presented with People with Puget Sound.
http://www.elliottbaybook.com/

Tuesday, September 12, 7:30 p.m.:
Michael Shermer is a science writer, historian of science, founder of The Skeptics Society, and editor of its magazine Skeptic, which is largely devoted to investigating pseudoscientific and supernatural claims. Shermer also produces and co-hosts the 13-hour Fox Family television series, Exploring the Unknown, and is a monthly columnist for Scientific American magazine. Once a fundamentalist Christian, Shermer is now an agnostic and an advocate for humanist philosophy. His latest book is Why Darwin Matters: The Case Against Intelligent Design. Co-sponsored by Town Hall Seattle and the Elliott Bay Book Company. Downstairs at Town Hall, enter on Seneca Street. Tickets are $5 at the door only.
http://www.townhallseattle.org or call 206 652-4255

Wednesday, September 13, 7:00 p.m.:
One of the Pacific Northwest’s best wildlife photographers, Paul Bannick will share images of owls and woodpeckers from the Pacific Northwest and beyond. The Burke Museum, Burke Room. Admission is $5 members; $7 non-members.
For information or to purchase tickets call the Education Office at 206 543-9681, or email burked@u.washington.edu, http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/events/index.php

September 14:
This is the official kickoff of NSWA’s 2006-2007 event schedule. You're invited to a special preview presentation associated with “Discovering the Dead Sea Scrolls,” the Pacific Science Center’s blockbuster exhibit. Featured speaker will be the science center’s president and chief executive officer, Bryce Seidl, who is intimately familiar with the science behind the scrolls. We’ll convene at 6:30 p.m. in the center’s Laser Dome. More details will be available in coming weeks. Contact: NSWA program chairman Michael Bradbury, mikeb@seanet.com.

Thursday, September 14, 8:00 a.m.:
Breakfast tour of Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH). Enjoy a continental breakfast with PATH’s president, Dr. Chris Elias, and tour their product development shop to learn more about PATH’s role in improving global health. Space is limited, so please let them know by September 8th if you’d like to attend.
206-788-2471 or events@path.org, http://path.org/

Thursday, September 14, 5:30 – 8:30 p.m.:
The Pacific Northwest Bio/Technologies Alliance will meet for their third quarterly meeting of 2006 and the topic is “Molecular Mechanisms of Disease.” Institute for Systems Biology, 1441 North 34th Street, Seattle. The speakers will discuss the study of molecular mechanisms that underlie common human disorders, the identification of possible therapeutic targets, and new technologies and resources to study disease mechanisms and develop therapies.
http://www.pnwbiotech.org/meetings.htm

Thursday, September 14, 6:00 p.m.:
Washington, D.C.-based journalist Chris Mooney will read from and sign The Republican War on Science. “If left unchallenged, the Bush administration’s deliberate misrepresentation and frequent outright disregard of science advisory processes will have serious consequences for the nation’s economy, health, and security. Chris Mooney has opened a window to reveal the extent of the anti-science bias in government policy making.” - Paul Berg, Nobel Laureate.
For more information, please see http://www.elliottbaybook.com/events/sep06/mooney.jsp

Thursday, September 14, 7:00 p.m.:
Irwin Redlener, founder and director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University and author of Americans at Risk, talks about what’s wrong with our approach to preventing and responding to mega-disasters. He analyzes the role of NGOs such as the American Red Cross and describes in frank terms a government with a track record of cronyism and a stunning disregard for accountability. Of special concern are America’s increasingly dysfunctional and expensive health care system and a disengaged and uninformed citizenry. Redlener also outlines what can be done—by governments and individuals—to reduce the devastation of future disasters, nationally and in the Puget Sound region. Presented with University Book Store. Downstairs at Town Hall, enter on Seneca Street. Part of the Town Hall Civics Series. Tickets are $5 at the door only.
http://www.townhallseattle.org

Saturday & Sunday, September 16-17 & September 23-24,  10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.:
Seattle’s Green Living Expo features a tour of West Seattle’s High Point neighborhood—the largest, sustainable, mixed-income urban neighborhood in the country. The Expo will include tours of model homes as well as exhibits and seminars about the latest innovations in “green” living for taking better care of our communities and environment. In West Seattle at High Point (35th SW & SW Raymond).
For more information call the Green Living Info Line at 206-615-3433 or visit http://www.thehighpoint.com

Sunday – Thursday, September 17-21:
The Society for Biomolecular Sciences convenes in Seattle with the theme “Advancing Drug Discovery: From Better Hits to Better Candidates.” The program includes these topics: Advanced Technology for Drug Discovery, Target Biology and Screening, Cells & Protein Production: Keeping Pace with Drug Discovery, Creating New Chemical Space for Lead Discovery, Defining Target & Compound Specificity, Hit to Lead Processes, Imaging & High Content Assays, Structural Biology & Lead Optimization, ADME/Toxicology in Early Drug Discovery, Knowledge Management & Extracting Value from Large Data Sets, Biomarkers for Pre-clinical & Clinical Evaluation of New Drugs, Drug Discovery for Diseases of the Developing World, Systems Biology & Confluence with Drug Discovery. For more information visit the conference web site.

Monday, September 18, 6:30 p.m.:
The Alaska Conservation Series features presentations on the Western Arctic and Teshekpuk Lake regions. The Teshekpuk Lake region is an amazing collection of lakes on the Alaskan Arctic Coast providing prime nesting habitat for waterfowl, shorebirds, and loons that winter in Washington State and six continents. Calving grounds for 45,000 caribou are an essential part of the subsistence culture of many Inupiat Natives who have lived in this region for thousands of years. The Key Note Series and Conservation History Speaker is Allen Smith, writer and former Alaska Regional Director and Alaska Senior Policy Analyst for The Wilderness Society. The Western Arctic Presenter is Gordon Orians, Department of Biology Faculty, UW; and the Teshekpuk Lake Presenter is Mark Stilp, Alaska Wilderness League. The series is sponsored by the Alaska Coalition of Washington.
For more information and a listing of presenters please visit http://www.mountaineers.org/conservation or call 206 284-6310

Wednesday, September 20, 7:00 p.m.:
Author David Shenk reads from and signs The Immortal Game: A History of Chess, or How 32 Carved Pieces on a Board Illuminated Our Understanding of War, Art, Science and the Human Brain.
University Book Store http://www.bookstore.washington.edu/

Wednesday, September 20, 7:30 p.m.:
Science and technology journalist Timothy N. Hornyak takes readers on a fascinating and beautifully-illustrated tour through the robot kingdom, interacting with the latest technological pets and playmates, interviewing the engineers and designers currently creating the inhabitants of tomorrow, and even visiting the Osaka RoboCup, where every year teams of robots from across the world face off in games of soccer. Along the way, Hornyak reveals several different factors that have played a part in Japan’s enthusiasm for robots. “The Art and Science of Japanese Robots - An Evening with Tim Hornyak” is at the JBL Theatre, next door to SFM in EMP. Free admission for members; $4 for the public. Experience Music Project, 325 5th Avenue North, Seattle.
http://www.sfhomeworld.org

Thursday, September 21, 7:00 p.m.:
Author CJ Cherryh reads from and signs Pretender, the latest book in the anthropologically driven “Foreigner” science fiction series. Jane Fancher will be along for support, and to sign a few books of her own. University Book Store.
http://www.bookstore.washington.edu/

Thursday, September 21,  7:00 p.m.:
Author Michael Punke reads from and signs, Fire and Brimstone: The North Butte Mine Disaster of 1917. On the eve of the North Butte disaster, Butte, Montana was a volatile jumble of antiwar protest, seething labor unrest, divisive ethnic tension, and radicalism. It was a powder keg of conflict lacking only a spark. A mine fire ignites strikes, murder, ethnic and political witch-hunts, occupation by federal troops, and ultimately a battle over presidential power.
http://www.bookstore.washington.edu/

Thursday, September 21, 7:30 p.m.:
Author Ken Jennings discusses Brainiac: Adventures in the Curious, Competitive, Compulsive World of Trivia Buffs for the Jeopardy edition of the Seattle Follies. Presented by Town Hall Seattle, Downstairs, 1119 8th Ave. Admission is $5 at the door.
http://www.townhallseattle.org

Saturday, September 23,  2:00 – 3:30 p.m.:
Former astronaut Tom Jones shares the inside story for the Explorer Series at the Museum of Flight: Sky Walking: An Astronaut’s Memoir. William M. Allen Theater. Museum of Flight, A veteran of four space flights, Jones has spent fifty-two days orbiting the Earth and more than nineteen hours spacewalking. A distinguished graduate of the United States Air Force Academy, Jones piloted B-52s before his career with NASA. He has also earned a doctorate in planetary science and worked for the Central Intelligence Agency. Presentation is free with Museum admission.
http://www.museumofflight.org/

Monday, September 25, 7:00 p.m.:
Matthew Strassler, Associate Professor of the UW Department of Physics joins Science on Tap to openly describe and discuss Beyond the Hype: The Weird World of String Theory. At the Pub, Ravenna Third Place Books.
For more information check http://www.scienceontap.org.

Tuesday September 26, 7:30 p.m.:
David Quammen is an award-winning science, nature, and travel writer whose work has appeared in publications such as National Geographic, Outside, Harper’s, Rolling Stone, and The New York Times Book Review. In The Reluctant Mr. Darwin, Quammen draws a slyly witty portrait of Charles Darwin beginning with his homecoming from his five-year trip on the Beagle, then focusing the next 20 years as Darwin gained enough confidence and evidence to publish a book that would displace humankind from its privileged position as a special creation. Part of the Seattle Science Lectures series co-sponsored by Town Hall, the Pacific Science Center, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, and the University Book Store. Admission is $5 at the door. Town Hall, 1119 8th Avenue, Seattle.
http://www.townhallseattle.org

Tuesday, September 26, 7:00 p.m.:
The World Affairs Council of Seattle presents Christopher Flavin, President and CEO of the Worldwatch Institute, an international research organization whose focus is the achievement of an environmentally sustainable future and a socially just society, to speak on the U.S. oil dependency crisis at an evening lecture. Mr. Flavin will speak on “Breaking the Addiction to Oil.” Cost: $10 Members & Students with ID; $15 Non-members. The Mountaineers Building, 300 Third Avenue West, Seattle. Registration: Please pre-register at www.world-affairs.org or by calling the Council at 206.441.5910.
For more information: http://www.world-affairs.org/calendar.cfm?eventID=733&action=eventDetails

Wednesday, September 27, 7:30 p.m.:
In The Demon Under the Microscope: From the Battlefield Hospitals to Nazi Labs, One Doctor’s Heroic Search for the World’s First Miracle Drug, author Thomas Hager describes the search for the first antibiotics: sulfa drugs. Part of the Seattle Science Lectures series co-sponsored by Town Hall, the Pacific Science Center, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, and the University Book Store. Town Hall Seattle, Downstairs, 1119 8th Ave. Admission is $5 at the door.
http://www.townhallseattle.org

Friday, September 29, 7:30 p.m.:
Lee Smolin, faculty member at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics and author of The Trouble with Physics: The Rise of String Theory, The Fall of a Science, and What Comes Next reads from and signs his string theory rebuttal. Part of the Seattle Science Lectures series co-sponsored by Town Hall, the Pacific Science Center, and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. NOTE LOCATION: Pacific Science Center, Eames Auditorium, 200 2nd Avenue N, Seattle. Admission is $5 at the door. 
http://www.townhallseattle.org

Friday, September 29, 7:00 p.m.:
Award-winning essayist and cultural critic Ferdinand Protzman discusses a series of photos of women and men at work selected from the National Geographic archive. From vast cities to tiny villages, restaurants to fashion shows, athletes to fishermen, Work: The World in Photographs covers the spectrum of professional activities. And Protzman takes great care to look at the way each occupation identifies and connects us all.
University Book Store http://www.bookstore.washington.edu

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