The U’s College of Science is hosting “Science Night Live” this month at Keys on Main, a bar in downtown Salt Lake City.
The event is an opportunity for students and the public to learn about science in a casual environment. Participants will socialize on different topics before listening to a brief lecture by an expert in the field. “Science Night Live” is free and open to anyone over 21 years old.
The upcoming event on Oct. 21 features Kyle Dawson, professor of physics and astronomy. His presentation, “Mapping Cosmic History 1,000 Galaxies at a Time,” will focus on particles and fields and how they have shaped the universe we see today.
“Science literacy and science education are our main goals,” said Jim DeGooyer, spokesperson for the College of Science. “It’s part of our everyday lives — it does affect us.”
“Science Night Live” began several years ago as part of the College of Science’s public outreach program. The series was created by former dean Pierre Sokolsky and other faculty. Their goal was to create a lecture series that would be held off campus to attract the general public and business professionals. They hoped that a less formal event would bring in a more diverse audience. And, so far, the series has been successful.
“We generally fill Keys on Main,” DeGooyer said. “We probably turn out 100 people, depending on the topic.”
Jacob Kramer, a sophomore in computer science, had never heard of the event, but said he might go, depending on the topic.
“I’m interested in science’s applications to developing society as a whole,” he said, “advancing technology, improving life through those advances.”
Kaitlyn Fox, a freshman in nursing, is interested in the medical side of science and thinks the event is a great idea.
“Learn and never stop learning because there’s always more to learn,” she said.
The next “Science Night Live” will be held Oct. 21 at Keys on Main (242 South Main Street, Salt Lake City). The social is at 5:30 p.m., and the lecture begins at 6 p.m.
Previous lectures have covered topics such as the Hubble Telescope, urban legends about drug testing, the influence of odor on behavior and the mathematics of bacteria. See below for a full list of this year’s scheduled “Science Night Live” events.
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“SCIENCE NIGHT LIVE” EVENTS:
Oct. 21 – Kyle Dawson (Physics and Astronomy) – Mapping Cosmic History 1,000 Galaxies at a Time
Nov. 18 – Marc Porter (Chemistry) – Nanotechnology-based diagnostic tools to combat tuberculosis and other infectious diseases
Feb. 10 – Braxton Osting (Mathematics) – Honeycombs, Oranges and Image Segmentation
March 23 – Colleen Farmer (Biology) – Loopy Lungs