Science Lectures

Pacific Science Center is committed to advancing the public's understanding of science and contributing to the development of a scientifically literate society through programming for people of all ages. As part of that commitment, we support and sponsor a number of lectures in the Seattle area. Some are held at our facility, others are conducted at various locations.

Many of these lectures are closely aligned with Pacific Science Center's Science and Society initiative, which aims to provide our community with innovative opportunities for rich conversation, and sometimes debate, about the current and emerging science topics that are relevant to our lives here in the Pacific Northwest and as citizens of this world.

Here's what's coming up...

UW Science Now: Megan F. Gambs: Water, Rocks, & the Tropics: Did the Missoula Floods Impact Climate? AND Adam Campbell: How Did Life Survive the Snowball?
Wednesday, May 22, 2013, 6-7:30 p.m.
Downstairs at Town Hall; enter on Seneca Street. $5. Double feature!

First up in this double-header of global proportions: During the end of the most recent Ice Age, roughly 15,000 to 19,000 years ago, vast areas of North America were covered by sheets of ice. Glacial lakes formed in valleys, behind walls of ice that acted as dams; Glacial Lake Missoula, with a volume roughly 19 times that of Puget Sound, for example, was held in place behind an ice dam roughly the height of four Space Needles. Periodically, the ice dam would weaken or falter, allowing catastrophic floods to sweep across the Northwest, then into the Pacific Ocean through the Columbia River, creating large geologic features in Eastern Washington such as the Channeled Scablands and Dry Falls. Megan F. Gambs, a graduate student in the UW School of Oceanography, investigates how massive flooding of freshwater disrupted the ocean locally, and impacted the ocean and atmosphere globally. Then: Frozen oceans and vast deserts might sound like something out of a science-fiction movie, but this is precisely what scientists think our Earth looked like 650 million years ago, during what’s called the Snowball Earth Events. While we know that photosynthetic, or light-loving, organisms such as plants and algae survived during these times, it’s not clear where they survived. UW researcher Adam Campbell searches for those refuges that sustained life when the Earth’s land was frozen and barren and its oceans totally blanketed in ice thousands of feet thick. Presented by Town Hall and UW’s Engage: The Science Speaker Series as part of The Seattle Science Lectures, with the University of Washington, Pacific Science Center and University Book Store. Series sponsored by Microsoft. Series media sponsorship provided by KPLU. Advance tickets are $5 at townhallseattle.org or (888) 377-4510 and at the door beginning at 5:30 p.m. Town Hall members receive priority seating. Downstairs at Town Hall; enter on Seneca Street. Double feature! Your ticket to this event also gains entry to Annalee Newitz: How Humans Will Survive a Mass Extinction at 7:30 p.m.

Annalee Newitz: How Humans Will Survive a Mass Extinction
Wednesday, May 22, 2013, 7:30-9 p.m.
Downstairs at Town Hall; enter on Seneca Street. $5. Double feature!

A mass extinction, writes Annalee Newitz on the science-fiction/science blog io9, occurs when more than 75% of all species on the planet die in under 2 million years. So far, there’ve been five mass extinctions on Earth over 540 million years, and many scientists believe we are on the cusp of a sixth—certainly there are enough apocalyptic signs (climate change, pandemics, catastrophic volcanoes, oh my!). But don’t give up hope, says Newitz, author of Scatter, Adapt, and Remember; we humans have a long history of dodging the extinction bullet. And by revealing the keys to our long-term survival, Newitz suggests practical ways to keep dodging—and to live to build a better world. Presented by Town Hall and University Book Store as part of The Seattle Science Lectures, sponsored by Microsoft. Series media sponsorship provided by KPLU. Advance tickets are $5 at townhallseattle.org or (888) 377-4510 and at the door beginning at 6:30 p.m. Town Hall members receive priority seating. Downstairs at Town Hall; enter on Seneca Street. Double feature! Your ticket to this event also gains admission to the UW Science Now event at 9 p.m.

Steve Keen: The Great Financial Crisis & the Great Recession: How We Got Here & the Way Out
Thursday, May 23, 2013, 6-7:30 p.m.
Downstairs at Town Hall; enter on Seneca Street. $5. Double feature!

Credited as the economist who most accurately predicted the great financial crisis, Steve Keen offers a compelling critique as to why economics as usual failed so badly—not only at predicting the crisis but also at finding its way to a real recovery. While debt, money, and banking are—odd as it may seem—invisible in orthodox economic models, they are central to Keen’s approach. Drawing from John Maynard Keynes and Hyman Minsky, Keen, author of Debunking Economics, explores radical means to address debt burdens, helps us understand how money is created, and offers insight into the dynamics of credit in the short and long terms. Presented by Town Hall, the Seattle Economics Council, and University Book Store as part of The Seattle Science Lectures, sponsored by Microsoft. Series media sponsorship provided by KPLU. Advance tickets are $5 at townhallseattle.org or (888) 377-4510 and at the door beginning at 5:30 p.m. Town Hall members receive priority seating. Downstairs at Town Hall; enter on Seneca Street. Double feature! Admission to this event also gains entry to Brian Switek: Rediscovering the Awesomeness of Dinosaurs, at 7:30 p.m.

Brian Switek: Rediscovering the Awesomeness of Dinosaurs
Thursday, May 23, 2013, 7:30-9 p.m.
The Pub at Town Hall; enter on Eighth Avenue. $5. Double feature!

With their awe-inspiring size, terrifying claws, and otherworldly abilities, dinosaurs occupy a sacred place in our collective imagination and in our childhoods—so why bother growing out of it? Dinosaur fanatic Brian Switek hasn’t. Instead, the author of My Beloved Brontosaurus enriches the childlike sense of wonder these amazing creatures instill in us by investigating the latest discoveries in paleontology and breathing new life into old bones. Building understanding of our own evolution and place on Earth, Switek explores everything from the sex life of Apatosaurus to T. rex’s feather-laden body and the tale of “Brontosaurus,” a symbol of scientific progress that suffered a second extinction when we learned he never existed, after all. Presented by Town Hall and University Book Store as part of The Seattle Science Lectures, sponsored by Microsoft. Series media sponsorship provided by KPLU. Advance tickets are $5 at townhallseattle.org or (888) 377-4510 and at the door beginning at 7 p.m. Town Hall members receive priority seating. The Pub  at Town Hall; enter on Eighth Avenue. Double feature! Admission to this event also gains entry to Steve Keen: The Great Financial Crisis & the Great Recession: How we Got Here & the Way Out, at 6 p.m.

John Medina & William Bell: Fostering Young Brains
Wednesday, May 29, 2013, 7:30-9 p.m.
Great Hall; enter on Eighth Avenue. $5.

A child’s brain will grow biologically along with the rest of his body—but science shows that for a child’s brain to develop and thrive, environmental conditions play a vital role: Emotional stability in the home is the single greatest predictor of a child’s academic success. In this exploration of the relationship between stable families, growing brains, and a child’s ability to learn, Seattle molecular biologist John Medina, author of the bestselling Brain Rules for Baby, explains why stability is so crucial to a child’s brain development;WilliamBell William Bell, president and CEO of Casey Family Programs and a national thought leader in child welfare, speaks to the importance of stability and  educational supports for children in foster care; and moderator Jack Faris, a member of Seattle Children’s Research Institute Advisory Board, leads the Q&A. Presented by Amara, Treehouse, Casey Family Programs, Town Hall, and Island Books as part of The Seattle Science Lectures, sponsored by Microsoft. Series media sponsorship provided by KPLU. Advance tickets are $5 at townhallseattle.org or (888) 377-4510 and at the door beginning at 7 p.m. Town Hall members receive priority seating. Great Hall; enter on Eighth Avenue.

UW Science Now: Makrand Sinha: P vs. NP: The Limits of Computers AND Jingda Wu: NCQD: Print Your Own Solar Cells
Thursday, May 30, 2013, 6-7:30 p.m.
Downstairs at Town Hall; enter on Seneca Street. $5. Double feature!

First up in this computer-science double-header: Computers can solve complicated problems quickly—such as finding the shortest drive from Seattle to New York in seconds— but a lot of things still take too long. Biologists and computer scientists, for example, have built supercomputers to try to reveal the shape of proteins, but they have cracked the structure of very few, and similar problems arise in medicine, physics, economics, and elsewhere. So why is finding the shortest route from Point A to Point B easy, while finding the shape of proteins is so hard? Will faster computers ever be able to solve these complex problems? UW researcher Makrand Sinha explores the P vs. NP question, one of computer science’s biggest unsolved mysteries, which asks whether every problem whose solution can be quickly verified by a computer also can be quickly solved by a computer. (It’s such a big question, the Clay Mathematics Institute will award $1,000,000 for the first correct solution.) Then: Are you waiting for tiny roll-up screens that can expand to fill a PC monitor, or foldable pocket-size solar cells that power all your electronics? Jingda Wu, a Ph.D. student in Electrical WuEngineering, says not only are they are on the way—but you also will be able to make your own with your home printer. The key material that makes all this possible is the Nanocrystal Quantum Dot (NCQD), a tiny ball (so-called particle) that’s 1/10,000th  the thickness of a human hair that can be made into an inklike formation to use with an inkjet printer. Wu is working to print a light-detector, a device that can value the power of input light on unmodified transparency films, commonly used to project class materials on a screen. But yet to come are electronics of all kinds made more conveniently and cheaply—think solar cells printed out from your desk. Presented by Town Hall and UW’s Engage: The Science Speaker Series as part of The Seattle Science Lectures, with the University of Washington, Pacific Science Center and University Book Store. Series sponsored by Microsoft. Series media sponsorship provided by KPLU. Advance tickets are $5 at townhallseattle.org or (888) 377-4510 and at the door beginning at 5:30 p.m. Town Hall members receive priority seating. Downstairs at Town Hall; enter on Seneca Street. Double feature! Your ticket to this event also gains entry to Jaron Lanier: Digital Technology Can Save Our Economy (and Humanity) at 7:30 p.m.

Jaron Lanier: Digital Technology Can Save Our Economy (and Humanity)
Thursday, May 30, 2013, 7:30-9 p.m.
Downstairs at Town Hall; enter on Seneca Street. $5. Double feature!

The world has seen abundant technological advances—cars that drive themselves, 3D printers that spit out products without workers—so why haven’t these digital efficiencies made us all rich? Virtual Reality research pioneer Jaron Lanier says it’s because the information economy—as it is falsely construed—merely centralizes wealth: As more industries are transformed by digital technologies, huge waves of fresh-yet-permanent unemployment are likely to result, reducing overall growth and threatening the middle class and our democracy. Reminding us that markets should reward more people, the author of the acclaimed You Are Not a Gadget and the new Who Owns the Future? presents paths to getting us back on track, advocating revolutionary concepts such as monetizing data now treated as cost-free, an idea that just might save our economy—and our human dignity. Presented by Town Hall and University Book Store as part of The Seattle Science Lectures, sponsored by Microsoft. Series media sponsorship provided by KPLU. Tickets are $5 at townhallseattle.org or (888) 377-4510 and at the door beginning at 7 p.m. Town Hall members receive priority seating. Downstairs at Town Hall; enter on Seneca Street. Double feature! Your ticket to this event also gains entry to the UW Science now event at 6 p.m.

Shane Lopez: Mobilizing the Life-Changing Power of Hope
Tuesday, June 4, 2013, 7:30-9 p.m.
Downstairs at Town Hall; enter on Seneca Street. $5.

The science of hope shows that how we think about the future is a key determinant of success in school, work, and life—plus, “high-hope” people are just plain happier. And here’s some hopeful news: Gallup Senior Scientist Shane Lopez, a leading authority on the psychology of hope, says hope is a choice, regardless of income level or IQ, that we can learn and spread to others. Lopez, author of Making Hope Happen, shows how to mobilize the power of hope to improve our lives—and our children’s, and our neighbors’. Presented by Town Hall and University Book Store as part of The Seattle Science Lectures, sponsored by Microsoft. Series media sponsorship provided by KPLU. Advance tickets are $5 at townhallseattle.org or (888) 377-4510 and at the door beginning at 6:30 p.m. Town Hall members receive priority seating. Downstairs at Town Hall; enter on Seneca Street.

UW Science Now: Ethan Ahler: What Cancer Eats & Why it Matters
Friday, June 7, 2013, 6-7:30 p.m.
Downstairs at Town Hall; enter on Seneca Street. $5. Double feature!

Cancer is the second-leading cause of death in the United States and, in response, billions of dollars a year are pumped into research for a cure. However, because cancer is a complex set of diseases—each with its own intricacies—progress has been painfully slow. Understanding how cancerous cells differ from normal cells is key to improving our ability to design smarter drugs, says UW researcher Ethan Ahler. One such difference is their diet: Cancer cells—unlike normal, healthy cells—are addicted to sweets and consume vast quantities of sugar. By understanding differences such as this, Ahler says, we potentially can develop therapies to exploit them. Presented by Town Hall and UW’s Engage: The Science Speaker Series as part of The Seattle Science Lectures, with the University of Washington, Pacific Science Center and University Book Store. Series sponsored by Microsoft. Series media sponsorship provided by KPLU. Advance tickets are $5 at townhallseattle.org or (888) 377-4510 and at the door beginning at 5:30 p.m. Town Hall members receive priority seating. Downstairs at Town Hall; enter on Seneca Street. Double feature! Your ticket to this event also gains entry to Jessica Wapner: A Mutant Gene and the Quest to Cure Cancer at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets are now on sale for the Opening and Closing Night events of the 2013 Seattle Science Festival. Presenting some of the greatest scientific and creative minds of our time, these programs weave together science, art and philosophy for two inspiring, thought-provoking and engaging evenings.

Tickets: $15 Students; $30 General; $60 Premium. A special Opening Night VIP package, $125, includes Premium seating and an invitation to an exclusive VIP cocktail reception with the speakers and performers.

Beyond Infinity? The Search for Understanding at the Limits of Space & Time
June 6, 2013, 8 p.m. at Seattle's Paramount Theatre
VIP Reception: 6:30 p.m.

Current advances in theoretical physics are blurring the boundaries between science and philosophy. How can we comprehend, much less determine, the size or age of the universe, when doing so requires us to consider quantities either unimaginably huge or impossibly tiny? What are the origins of the universe, and what are its implications for time travel? This spectacular event will feature presentations by three of the nation's greatest physicists, Brian Greene, Sean Carroll and Adam Frank, and the West Coast premiere of Icarus at the Edge of Time with music by Philip Glass, performed by the Garfield Orchestra under the direction of Marcus Tsutakawa. This fantastic event will be emceed by journalist Jennifer Ouellette, who writes the popular Cocktail Party Physics blog for Scientific American. Tickets.

Our 11th Hour: Straight Talk on Climate Change from People Who Know
June 15, 2013, 7:30 p.m. at Seattle Repertory Theatre

Climate change is widely recognized as the major environmental problem facing the planet. Some of the most important issues shaping our collective future hinge on how we address this matter. This thought-provoking event features three TED-style presentations with world-leading experts on climate change, including Dr. Kevin Trenberth, Dr. Richard Alley and New York Times journalist Andrew Revkin, followed by an uplifting 30-minute opera focused on environmental stewardship set in the Pacific Northwest, Heron and the Salmon Girl, performed by Seattle Opera and Seattle Opera's Youth Chorus. Emceed by Pulitzer- and Polk-prize winning environmental journalist, Usha McFarling. Tickets.