Town Hall Seattle Science Series

A conversation about nuclear energy, climate change, and inspiring young women to go into STEM fields. On December 15, 2022, Grace Stanke, a senior at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, studying nuclear engineering, took home the Miss America crown along with the scholarship of the Miss America Organization. She additionally won in a talent category for her classical violin performance. As Miss America 2023, Grace is embarking on a year of service taking her on a tour across the country and she is using her national platform to continue advocating for “Clean Energy – Cleaner Future.” She believes that America needs to convert to zero-carbon energy with a focus on nuclear power and breaking down misconceptions surrounding nuclear energy. Through it all, her goal is to inspire the next generation of female scientists, engineers, and mathematicians. With increasing interest in, support for, and desire to become more informed about nuclear energy and how it can help mitigate climate change, combined with the

UW Engage Science sees a future where every graduate student has access to science communication training, and therefore good science communication becomes the norm. The outcome is an increased public trust and positive attitude toward science, ultimately strengthening the connection between the public and scientists. Join us for a look at the forefront of research in our region and meet the students who are leading the latest wave of scientific discovery. Violet Sorrentino: How tiny worms can help us understand the human brain The human brain is a complex structure populated with hundreds of billions of cells. When something goes wrong and the brain gets sick, how can we pinpoint which cells are having problems? That’s why some neuroscientists use tiny worms as a model. They have similar brain cells and molecules, but everything is on a much smaller scale, so we can take knowledge more easily gained from the worm brain and apply it to humans. Brain cells called glia eat small parts of other cells, but eatin

On a starry night, nothing inspires such deep wonder as staring into the vastness of space, imagining what curiosities might lie beyond our reach. This year we have seen several space-related news stories that managed to break through the usual slew of politics and economics. In February, we were met with headlines that reported a piece of the sun had broken off its surface and formed a swirling vortex around its north pole. In January, we were told that the Earth’s perpetually spinning core may have stopped turning altogether. While these stories are certainly eye-catching and likely to excite the imagination upon reading them, you might feel that you are being left with more questions than answers. Luckily, experts like Philip Plait make it their aim to present the universe and all of its oddities in a wonderfully creative, and deeply comprehensible style. In his new book, Under Alien Skies: A Sightseer’s Guide to the Universe, Plait acts as our tour guide through a variety of exotic worlds outside of our o

UW Engage Science sees a future where every graduate student has access to science communication training, and therefore good science communication becomes the norm. The outcome is an increased public trust and positive attitude toward science, ultimately strengthening the connection between the public and scientists. Join us for a look at the forefront of research in our region and meet the students who are leading the latest wave of scientific discovery. Rory Mcguire: Automating science by putting the lab on a chip Computers used to be the size of rooms, and now they fit in our pockets. Biology, chemistry, and medical research on the other hand still require big, expensive lab spaces. But what if we could shrink the lab down to the size of a phone, or maybe even smaller? Putting a lab onto a chip could make research more accessible to underfunded institutions, cut the wait time between a doctor’s visit and getting a diagnosis, and reduce hazardous biological and chemical waste, among other benefits.

UW Engage Science sees a future where every graduate student has access to science communication training, and therefore good science communication becomes the norm. The outcome is an increased public trust and positive attitude toward science, ultimately strengthening the connection between the public and scientists. Join us for a look at the forefront of research in our region and meet the students who are leading the latest wave of scientific discovery. Kaylin Ellioff: Understanding the makeup of marijuana to better treat chronic pain Chronic pain affects 1 in 5 people in the US and currently opioids are the main treatment for severe cases. There is potential for individuals to become tolerant to opioids as well as misuse them. Therefore, alternative treatments are desperately needed. In Kaylin Ellioff’s research, she is working to understand if and how different chemical components found in Cannabis, otherwise known as marijuana, can be used to treat chronic pain. Cannabis has been used for centur

Did you know the Puget Sound region is known as a place where people with Dementia are respected, welcomed, and fully belong? Sandy Sabersky, Co-Founder of Elderwise® and co-author of The Elderwise Way, A Different Approach to Life with Dementia, will share how Spirit-Centered Care® provides connection and meaning for people with dementia as well as a way for care partners to grow. Marigrace Becker, Program Manager of Community Education and Impact at the UW Memory and Brain Wellness Center (MBWC) and the Director of the Memory Hub will highlight the Memory Hub as well as some of the many resources available for people in our region living with and engaged with dementia. Sandy Sabersky is co-founder of Elderwise® and co-author with Ruth Neuwald Falcon, of The Elderwise Way: A Different Approach to Life with Dementia which explains the Elderwise Philosophy and practice of Spirit-Centered Care®. She practiced physical therapy for 25 years and is a Certified Sage-ing Leader with Sage-ing International. Marigrac

UW Engage Science sees a future where every graduate student has access to science communication training, and therefore good science communication becomes the norm. The outcome is an increased public trust and positive attitude toward science, ultimately strengthening the connection between the public and scientists. Join us for a look at the forefront of research in our region and meet the students who are leading the latest wave of scientific discovery. Megan Gialluca: Using water to aid the search for life in the universe At present, we are closer than ever to answering the age-old question: “Are we alone in the universe?” For the first time, new and upcoming telescopes will have the capability to search for the signs of alien life on planets in other solar systems (termed exoplanets). From plants to technology to oxygen, there are lots of things that could tell us alien life is living on a planet, but searching for these clues is challenging. During this talk, you will learn about the signs of al

Standing in an old-growth forest, you can instinctively sense the ways it is different from forests shaped by humans. These ancient, undisturbed ecosystems are increasingly rare and largely misunderstood, but American environmentalist Joan Maloof knows these forests intimately and has been studying and writing about them for decades. In the newly revised and expanded edition of her book, Nature’s Temples: A Natural History of Old-Growth Forests, she continues to deepen our understanding of these extraordinary ecosystems. Maloof brings together the scientific data we have about old-growth forests, drawing on diverse fields of study to explain the ecological differences among forests of various ages. She describes the life forms and relationships that make old-growth forests unique — from salamanders and micro-snails to plants that communicate through fungi — and reveals why human attempts to manage forests can never replicate nature’s sublime handiwork. She also sheds new light on the special role forests play

There’s nothing we spend more time with, but understand less, than ourselves. You’ve been with yourself every waking moment of your life. But who — or, rather, what — are you? In Selfless, Social psychologist and Stanford professor Brian Lowery argues for the radical idea that the “self” as we know it — that “voice in your head” — is a social construct, created in our relationships and social interactions. We are unique because our individual pattern of relationships is unique. We change because our relationships change. Your self isn’t just you, it’s all around you. Lowery uses this research-driven perspective of selfhood to explore questions of inequity, race, gender, politics, and power structures, transforming our perceptions of how the world is and how it could be. His theory offers insight into how powerful people manage their environment in sophisticated, often unconscious, ways to maintain the status quo; explains our competing drives for deep social connection and personal freedom; and answers profou

For the past century, scientists and naturalists have been steadily unraveling the secrets of bird migration. How and why birds navigate the skies, traveling from continent to continent — flying thousands of miles across the earth each fall and spring — has continually fascinated the human imagination, but only recently have we been able to fully understand these amazing journeys. Although we know much more than ever before, even the most enthusiastic birdwatcher may not know how we got here, the ways that the full breadth of scientific disciplines have come together to reveal these annual avian travels. Flight Paths is the never-before-told story of how a group of migration-obsessed scientists in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries engaged nearly every branch of science to understand bird migration. Uniting curious minds from across generations, continents, and disciplines, bird enthusiast, and science writer Rebecca Heisman traces the development of each technique used for tracking migratory birds, fr

What comes to mind when you think of the Pacific Northwest? You might think of land forms like the Cascade Mountains, Olympic Peninsula, and the Willamette Valley, or of the Coast Salish and other Indigenous peoples who lived here since time immemorial. Or perhaps you’d think of urban centers like Vancouver, Seattle, or Portland, and the city-dwellers who call them home. And don’t forget the iconic flora and fauna that live and grow here –– lush ferns and mosses, huckleberries, salmon, orcas, and the mountain beaver. These, and so much more, define our region as a unique and special place found nowhere else on earth. This is Cascadia, stretching from Southeast Alaska to Northern California and from the Pacific Ocean to the Continental Divide. In a collection of art, poetry, and stories just as diverse as the region itself, the Cascadia Field Guide brings together scientific, sensory, and cultural knowledge to celebrate this unique corner of North America. Editors Derek Sheffield, CMarie Fuhrman, and Elizabeth

Children are encountering technology at younger and younger ages, which leads many parents to ask: how do children engage with technology at each stage of development and how can they best be supported? From toddlers who are exploring their immediate environment, to twentysomethings who are exploring their place in society, technology inevitably and profoundly affects human development. What happens to the little ones, the tweens, and the teenagers when technology — ubiquitous in the world they inhabit — becomes a critical part of their lives? Katie Davis, Associate Professor at the UW Information School, brings much-needed clarity to what we know about technology’s role in child development, as well as guidance for how to help children of all ages make the most of their digital experiences. In her new book Technology’s Child, Davis draws on her expertise in developmental science and design research to describe what happens when child development and technology design interact, and how this interaction is com

Is Seattle having a “Mushroom Moment?’” As research into the therapeutic use of psychedelics increases, we are learning about how the many findings benefit seniors. This lively and informative panel includes Dr. Nathan Sackett, an addiction psychiatrist, and focuses on the intersection between substance use and psychiatric disorders; Jane Adams, Ph.D., journalist, coach, and psychologist whose writing about psychedelics has been published in Psychology Today, Next Avenue, and Post Alley; and Mike Moon, who offers an in-depth and informed point of view on legalities, microdosing, macrodosing, and the spectrum of psychedelics and plant medicines. Nathan Sackett, MD, MS, RN is trained as an addiction psychiatrist, focusing on the intersection between substance use and psychiatric disorders. Clinically, he works primarily outpatient seeing a range of patients with primary psychiatric issues and substance use disorders. His research focuses on the use of psychedelics to treat substance use disorders with a partic

The news about wildlife is dire — more than 900 species have been wiped off the planet since industrialization. Against this bleak backdrop, however, there are also glimmers of hope and crucial lessons to be learned from animals that have defied global trends toward extinction. Bear in Italy, bison in North America, whales in the Atlantic. These populations are back from the brink, some of them in numbers unimaginable in a century. How has this happened? What shifts in thinking did it demand? Drawing on compelling personal stories from the researchers, Indigenous people, and activists who know the creatures best, writer and professor Christopher Preston weaves together a gripping narrative of how some species are taking back vital, ecological roles. Observing different landscapes — farms, prairies, rivers, forests, oceans — Preston offers a philosophical shift in how humans ought to think about animals, passionately advocating for the changes in attitude necessary for wildlife recovery. Tenacious Beasts touch

Are the autonomous digital forces jolting our lives – as uncontrollable as the weather and plate tectonics – transforming life, society, culture, and politics? David Auerbach’s exploration of the phenomenon he has identified as the meganet begins with a simple, startling revelation: There is no hand on the tiller of some of the largest global digital forces that influence our daily lives: from corporate sites such as Facebook, Amazon, Google, YouTube, Instagram, and Reddit to the burgeoning metaverse encompassing cryptocurrencies and online gaming to government systems such as China’s Social Credit System and India’s Aadhaar. As we increasingly integrate our society, culture, and politics within a hyper-networked fabric, Auerbach explains how the interactions of billions of people with unfathomably large online networks have produced a new sort of beast: ever-changing systems that operate beyond the control of the individuals, companies, and governments that created them. Meganets, Auerbach explains, have a

For twelve years the Golden State Killer terrorized California, stalking victims and killing without remorse. Then he simply disappeared, for the next forty-four years, until an amateur DNA sleuth opened her laptop. In I Know Who You Are, Barbara Rae-Venter reveals how she went from researching her family history as a retiree to hunting for a notorious serial killer — and how she became the nation’s leading authority on investigative genetic genealogy, the most dazzling new crime-fighting weapon to appear in decades. Rae-Venter, leads readers on a vivid journey through the many cases she tackled, often starting with little more than a DNA sample. From the first criminal case she ever solved— uncovering the long-lost identity of a child abductee — to the heartbreaking story of the Billboard Boy, whose skeletal remains were discovered along a highway, to the search for the Golden State Killer, Rae-Venter shares accounts of how she helped solve some of America’s most chilling cold cases in the span of just three

While many would think art and science are two vastly different disciplines, one common driver often motivates them both – curiosity. Ginny Ruffner – who currently has a retrospective exhibition open at the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art on the topic of “What if?” – has worked at the intersection of art and science for decades. Her curiosity around biological concepts has propelled her to invent answers to “what if?” questions about the nature of the world around us. The experimental works she creates often involve the use of technology and mixed media to create new and imaginative experiences. Her creations are fueled by collaboration and camaraderie with scientists such as ISB President Dr. Jim Heath. Join us in person at Town Hall Seattle for a conversation with internationally renowned artist Ginny Ruffner and ISB President Dr. Jim Heath. Together, they will explore the opportunities and striking similarities that lie at the intersection of art and science. Ginny Ruffner is a pioneering American glass ar

How much does the general public really trust tech? Despite increased scrutiny and critique of digital platforms, renowned tech policy scholar Orly Lobel defends digital technology, including AI, as a powerful tool we can harness to achieve equality and a better future. Lobel recognizes the criticism of big data and automation, and she does not refute the many challenges that technology presents — but at the same time, Lobel encourages us to improve it. We cannot stop technological development, Lobel argues, but we can direct its course according to our most fundamental values. In The Equality Machine: Harnessing Digital Technology for a Brighter, More Inclusive Future, Lobel presents evidence that digital technology frequently has a comparative advantage over humans in detecting discrimination, correcting historical exclusions, subverting long-standing stereotypes, and addressing some of the world’s complex problems: climate, poverty, injustice, literacy, accessibility, speech, health, and safety. Lobel off

The brain has fascinated scientists and philosophers alike for thousands of years. What’s really going on up there? Just ask neuroscientist, Eric H. Chudler. As the executive director of the Center for Neurotechnology at the University of Washington in Seattle, Chudler is poised to help you get to know your brain. His latest book on the subject, Neuropedia: A Brief Compendium of Brain Phenomena, is less of a textbook and more of a beautifully illustrated, alphabetic meandering through all things brain. Through his cataloging of concepts and the people working in neuroscience, Chudler journeys into the mysteries and marvels of the enigmatic three pounds of tissue between your ears. He’s developed a new kind of tour of the nervous system that explores the structure and function of the brain and covers topics such as the spinal cord and nerve cells, methods of neuroscientific research, and the visionary scientists who have dedicated their lives to understanding what makes each of us who we are. Chudler also guid

Have you ever wished that animals or plants could talk to us? As it turns out, they can. The natural world is teeming with conversation, though many of it is beyond human hearing range. Scientists are using groundbreaking digital technologies to uncover these sounds, revealing vibrant communication in the Tree of Life. In The Sounds of Life: How Digital Technology Is Bringing Us Closer to the Worlds of Animals and Plants, Karen Bakker, Professor and director of the Program on Water Governance at the University of British Columbia, shares fascinating stories of nonhuman sound, interweaving insights from technological innovation and traditional knowledge: We learn how artificial intelligence can decode these sounds, and meet the researchers building dictionaries in East African Elephant and Sperm Whalish. We explore digitally mediated dialogues with bats and honeybees. We are introduced to the innovative minds who are using sound to protect and regenerate endangered species from the Great Barrier Reef to the Ar