Cal Poly Science Cafe at Kennedy Library

For the latest, please find us on Facebook!

2011-09-29T08:58:00.000-07:00

You're invited! Join us online and in-person.

Cal Poly Science Cafe at Kennedy Library is on Facebook, where we keep an up-to-date event calendar. You can find us here.

Kennedy Library's Facebook page is here.

More info about our Science Cafe, including archives of past events, is here.

Kennedy Library offers many public programs and exhibitions. For more, please go here.

Science Café today - "Harm Reduction: Intravenous drug use solutions in SLO County"

2011-05-04T09:21:00.000-07:00

Join the conversation at Cal Poly Science Café - Today!
May 4th - 3:30 PM
(refreshments & informal conversation at 3:00 p.m.)
Where: Cal Poly Kennedy Library, 2nd Floor Café Lounge

"Harm Reduction: Intravenous drug use solutions in SLO County"
What is Harm Reduction? The term refers to a set of practical strategies that reduce negative consequences of drug use, incorporating a spectrum of strategies from safer use, to managed use to abstinence. Harm reduction strategies meet people who use drugs "where they're at," addressing conditions of use along with the use itself, such as distributing "Overdose Prevention Kits."
Because harm reduction demands that interventions and policies designed to serve people who use drugs reflect specific individual and community needs, there is no universal definition of, or formula for, implementing harm reduction.

We'll hear from a Cal Poly Biological Sciences faculty/student research team who evaluated a needle-exchange program, approved by SLO County Board of Supervisors, administered by SLO County Public Health department, funded by HIV/AIDS prevention money, and run by volunteers. Having lost external funding, the local exchange still operates relying on private funding and volunteer support. Perspectives on local harm reduction strategies and global issues will be shared by Cal Poly's research team to spark a conversation about this practical approach to living with drug use.

Community members, including physicians, clinical health administrators, and volunteers for action will attend to provide current perspectives on ongoing strategies related to Harm Reduction in the Central Coast.

See you at Science Café!

Introducing "The Forum" at Cal Poly

2011-03-23T12:38:00.000-07:00

We know you are anxiously awaiting our next Café, Bionics: Merging Man and Machine on April 15th at 3:00 p.m. Earlier that same week, you might be interested in attending this new program on campus! The Forum is a new student club and this event is co-sponsored by the Robert E. Kennedy Library

When: April 10, 11, & 12 from 7-9pm
Where: Spanos Theatre, Cal Poly

Taking place during the beginning of spring quarter, The Forum is a first-of-its-kind event that brings speakers, students, faculty, and community members together to discuss important issues in:
-Arts & Music
-Culture & Society
-Science
-Technology
-Philosophy

Our theme for this year asks, “What does it mean to be human?” and explores answers to this question through a series of speaker talks followed by Q & A and discussion.

Email your questions to: info@theforumatpoly.com
Call with your questions: (805) 242-1363
Visit the Website: http://www.theforumatpoly.com
Check out the facebook page:http://www.facebook.com/theforumatpoly

See you at Science Café!

Bionics: Merging Man and Machine -- April 15th

2011-03-16T11:58:00.000-07:00

Join Cal Poly Science Café on April 15th, 2011, 3:30 p.m. (refreshments and informal conversation begin at 3 p.m.)

Featured Speaker: Alumnus Russ Angold (BRAE '00) Berkeley Bionics co-founder/Chief Technical Officer (In photo, credit Berkeley Bionics, wearing HULC)

Technology has reached a point where we can now effectively merge man and machine. We call these Bionic devices Exoskeletons and have designed devices to help augment a soldier's ability (HULC) as well as a device that allows paraplegics to standup and walk again (eLEGS).

What will be the future implication of these Bionic suits? How will they integrate into everyday life?

Visit Cal Poly Science Café web page or Cal Poly Science Café on facebook for more information.

The Big C: Cancer in the 21st Century

2011-01-09T17:42:00.000-08:00

Friday, January 28th, 2011 1:30 - 2:30 p.m.
(Informal Conversation & Refreshments begin at 1 p.m.)

Featured Faculty:
Dr. Elena Keeling, Professor of Biological Sciences
Dr. Jane Lehr, Assistant Professor of Women's and Gender Studies and Ethnic Studies

Cancer is everywhere, and almost everyone has experienced cancer on a personal level. Join community and faculty experts to share basic information and images about the biology of cancer, its context, and its social and environmental causes in the 21st century. Facilitated and informal conversation will stimulate written and verbal questions to be addressed in conversation.

Alumni Moderator: Michelle Beam, Cal Poly 2010 (B.S. Microbiology)

Sponsored by: Colleges Against Cancer, Cal Poly Department of Biological Sciences College of Science and Mathematics Ambassadors, American Medical Student Association

lib.calpoly.edu/sciencecafe or [facebook logo]calpolysciencecafe

Free/All are Welcome

“Freshly brewed conversations in a casual environment, inspiring inquiry and nourishing community”

One Big Topic, Two Events, Three Speakers!

2010-10-07T08:17:00.000-07:00

The Big One hits Cal Poly Science Café... twice!

10.13.2010 3:30 p.m. Cal Poly Science Café at the Kennedy Library
10.14.2010 7:00 p.m. Cal Poly Science Café at SLO Brew

Our speakers, Assistant Professor Robb Moss, Alumna Anna Lang, and Graduate Student David Bland share personal stories, video footage and photographs from their post-earthquake research and trips to Haiti, Chile, and China.

These perspectives will inspire a lively and engaging dialogue which may lead us to discuss any aspect of disaster engineering — social, political, scientific, or preparedness — fitting since October 13th is International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction!

Join the conversation about engineering for and against massive threats, and further explore the social, political, scientific, or preparedness considerations that contribute to a disaster's complexity. Both events will begin with similar stories but the conversation at each event will depend on... you!

Both events are FREE and open to the public.
Join the conversation anytime -- Cal Poly Science Café on facebook -- photos, discussions, video

The Big One is Coming... 10.13.2010

2010-09-20T09:47:00.000-07:00

Threats from natural (earthquakes, tsunamis, large-scale flooding) and anthropogenic disasters (terrorism, structural failure resulting from improper engineering or improper maintenance) are both considered in engineering risk assessment. Add political, social, and fiscal pressures to the equation and you could have... a BIG mess.

How can you prevent potentially disastrous effects of THE BIG ONE if you don't know when, where, or how it will hit or even what IT will be? Expert scientists -- Cal Poly faculty, students, and alumnus -- lead us through what it's like to scientifically prepare for THE BIG ONE.
Join the Conversation!

Cal Poly Organic Farm Featured Saturday, July 24 at California Mid-State Fair in Paso Robles

2010-07-20T10:54:00.001-07:00

If your summer plans include a visit to California's Mid State Fair in Paso Robles, the Cal Poly Organic Farm will be their featured farm on Saturday, July 24th, from 12 Noon to 4:00 p.m.

Science Café featured the farm and its role in educating the Cal Poly community in November of 2009, with "Community Supported Agriculture, Education, and Intellectual Freedom."

If you can't make it to the fair, you can make a virtual visit to the farm, or visit in person during Monday or Thursday's CSA pick-up open houses to take a walk around and meet some of the student farmers.

Update to Science Café Topic: Great Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch

2010-06-08T11:02:00.000-07:00

Happening Now: SEA expedition sails June 10th, 2010 to the Atlantic Ocean plastic debris field!

Sea Education Association's (SEA) June 10th cruise is the first federally-funded research expedition dedicated solely to examining the accumulation of plastic debris in the North Atlantic Ocean. Plastics at SEA: North Atlantic Expedition from June 10 to July 17, 2010 will expand upon 25 years’ worth of data previously collected by SEA that reveals a region of extensive plastic pollution in a narrow latitude band in the western North Atlantic Ocean. With a diverse and multi-disciplinary crew made up of college seniors, professional mariners, corporate executives, scientists, musicians and most crew members are SEA Semester alumni.

This trip will explore an area southeast of Bermuda that is believed to be an extension of that plastic debris field. It is perhaps the Atlantic Ocean’s version of the region of the eastern North Pacific Ocean dubbed the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch.”

For more details or to follow the expedition and posting of scientific information collected, visit http://www.sea.edu/plastics/index.htm

Ethics of Human Enhancement Science Café - May 12th

2010-05-04T14:57:00.000-07:00

Cal Poly Science Café at the Kennedy Library Presents:

"The Ethics of Human Enhancement"
Featuring Dr. Patrick Lin, Philosophy Professor and Director of Cal Poly's Ethics and Emerging Sciences Group.

Topic Summary:
Emerging technologies are pushing us beyond nature's limits — turning science fiction into reality. Nanoelectronics promise to give us tiny computing devices, embedded in our heads or clothing, to communicate by thought alone and access the Internet on demand. Neuroscience is helping to create soldiers that don't need to eat or sleep. Robotics is creating an exoskeleton that grants us super-human strength. Pharmacology already gives us drugs to enhance our performance in sports, school, and sex.

Our familiarity with this last category hints at the kind of concerns that new enhancing technologies will raise—from freedom to alter our own bodies to fairness in social institutions. Some view human enhancement as the natural course of our evolution; others see it as a threat to the idea of "being human" and a path toward creating a Frankenstein's monster.

This presentation will survey the ethical and practical issues in this important debate.

Dr. Patrick Lin is an assistant philosophy professor and director of the Ethics + Emerging Sciences Group at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.

The Science and Art of Taking a Risk

2010-04-21T11:58:00.000-07:00

Join us for the next Cal Poly Science Café, Wednesday, April 28 at 4:30 p.m.
Featuring Dr. Eduardo Zambrano, Professor of Economics, Orfalea School of Business.

The economic problems of recent years came about, in part, because we didn’t understand the risks we, as a society, were collectively taking. This presentation and discussion will explore what it means to take individual and societal risks, how to measure those risks, and how economics, engineering and psychology envision risk differently. Come prepared to be engaged in this lively discussion, and to take some risks (if you dare!).

Kennedy Library 2nd Floor lounge, Free! Refreshments will be served

Great Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch: Science Behind All the Trash Talk

2010-04-05T15:30:00.000-07:00

Cal Poly Science Café presents...
"The Great Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch: Science Behind All the Trash Talk"

Featuring: Scripps Institute of Oceanography SEAPLEX cruise members...
Lara Dickens (Science Teacher, Cal Poly SLO alumna - Engineering)
and
Jesse Powell( Scripps Institute Graduate Student)

We have partnered within our community to offer four age-specific events on this topic!

=> When: Thursday, April 15th, 5 to 7 p.m. hands-on, presentation at 6 p.m. (designed for pre-K to 8th grade)
Where: SLO Children’s Museum, 1010 Nipomo, SLO

=> When: Thursday, April 15th, 8 to 9 p.m. (all ages)
Where: Downtown Brew Upstairs Lounge, 1119 Garden, SLO

=> Friday, April 16th, 1:30 to 3 p.m. (all ages)
Where: Kennedy Library, 2nd floor Café Lounge, Cal Poly *Special Friday Edition - OPEN HOUSE*

=> Saturday, April 17th, 11 a.m. to Noon (designed for K to 8th grade)
Where: Exploration Station, 867 Ramona, Grover Beach

Science Café is an informal presentation by experts on a subject, which sparks conversations across disciplines. This Café features two scientists from the Scripps Institute of Oceanography research cruise (SEAPLEX) that visited the much-publicized floating garbage heap in late summer of 2009. Jesse Powell is a graduate student at Scripps and Lara Dickens is a high school science teacher and alumna of Cal Poly (Engineering). Their presentations will explain more about the Garbage Patch, the Pacific Ocean Gyre, their expeditions, and how they quantitatively and methodically sampled for plastics and made associated scientific observations. The Café is FREE, open to all ages, accessible, and refreshments will be served! Science Café is a program of the Kennedy Library at Cal Poly, and part of the international movement, Café Scientifique.

Cal Poly Science Café is a program of the Kennedy Library in San Luis Obispo. Special thanks to our co-sponsors for this topic: Cal Poly Biological Sciences; Downtown Brew of SLO; Exploration Station of Grover Beach; Ocean Informatics,Scripps Institute of Oceanography; and SLO Children's Museum.

Please mark your calendars for upcoming Science Cafés:
April 28th, 4:30 - 5:30 p.m. "Risk-taking" Featuring Dr. Eduardo Zambrano, Economics department, Orfalea School of Business, Cal Poly

May 12th, 4:30 - 5:30 p.m. "The Ethics of Human Enhancement" Featuring Dr. Patrick Lin, Philosophy Department, Cal Poly

Jurassic Beer: Brewing a 45 million year old Beer!

2010-02-04T09:28:00.000-08:00

Join us for Cal Poly Science Café at the Kennedy Library!
When: Wednesday, February 10 from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m.

Our speaker is Dr. Raul Cano, Professor Emeritus Biological Sciences and Founding Scientist of Ambergene. Dr. Cano will tell the story of his accidental discovery of ancient yeast and his subsequent foray into Beer-making with Fossil Fuels Brewing Company. He will also tell of his future plans for the Environmental Biotechnology Institute, of which he is founder and director. Refreshments will be served.

Recent Space Exploration Reveals Mystery Objects

2010-01-05T09:25:00.000-08:00

2009 marked the 400th anniversary of Galileo's telescope and 2010 marks the 400th anniversary of his first published accounts of his telescopic observations of Jupiter's moons.

Fast-forward to 2010, here is contemporary news from the Kepler Telescope. The telescope has discovered 5 planets since it was launched by NASA in March of 2009.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/01/04/science/AP-US-SCI-Space-Mystery.html?_r=1&ref=science

You can track the Kepler Telescope Mission here: http://www.kepler.nasa.gov/

2009-11-10T10:25:00.000-08:00

Join the conversation on Tuesday, November 17th from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. at the Kennedy Library, when Cindy Douglas, from Cal Poly Organic Farm, presents Community-Sponsored Agriculture as an enterprise and educational tool for Cal Poly students. We'll explore how community supports education in other ways, and assess what intellectual freedom means for our learning process during an interdisciplinary conversation for students, faculty, staff and all campus constituents.

Reading In Public joins with Kennedy Library Science Café to bring you "Day of the Book" at Cal Poly

2009-10-22T13:20:00.000-07:00

On October 27th, we're joining with Reading In Public (www.readinginpublic.com) and declaring "Day of the Book" at Cal Poly. Look for the reading chair to appear around campus, and stop for a while to listen to a book read aloud. By the start of the Science Café, at 4:30 p.m., the chair will be up at the 2nd floor Café Lounge for all to see.
Also to be included in the October 27th event is Library, another Reading in Public project, which has just launched in San Luis Obispo. This re-purposed newspaper rack, labeled "Library" is now billed as an "informal traveling book and culture exchange," where you can borrow a book or art piece or contribute a book or art piece. Read more about these projects and see photos from their recent events at www.readinginpublic.com.
See you on October 27th at Cal Poly!

October 27, 2009 Science Café topic, "Is it Still a Book?"

2009-10-13T10:54:00.000-07:00

Join us on October 27th to launch the 2009 - 2010 Science Café at Cal Poly's Kennedy Library. The informal discussion will focus on what makes a book a book. Participants can cozy up and test drive a new Kindle or handle beautiful bound books to compare and contrast this idea. Cal Poly Graphic Communications professors Lorraine Donegan and Ken Macro, along with Cuesta College Fine Arts faculty David Prochaska will lead the discussion that runs from 4:30 to 6:00 pm, at the 2nd floor Café Lounge.

What is it like to call the International Space Station home?

2009-05-05T17:57:00.001-07:00

Just ask astronaut and Cal Poly engineering alum Greg Chamitoff, who will give a public presentation from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Friday, May 8, in the Christopher Cohan Performing Arts Center at Cal Poly. Everyone is encouraged to attend this free event. Chamitoff will talk about his experience living on the International Space Station for approximately six months last year.

Nobel Laureate Carl Wieman

2009-04-28T11:10:00.000-07:00

Science Education for the 21st Century: Using the Insights of Science to Teach Science
Sunday, May 3, 1:30 P.M.
Spanos Theatre, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo

Dr. Wieman will address the failures of traditional educational practices, even as used by "very good" teachers, and the successes of newer practices, showing how these results are consistent with findings from cognitive science. The event is free and open to the public.

ETHICS OF FACEBOOK

2009-04-22T13:29:00.001-07:00

Continuing the Technology and Ethics Lecture Series, the Ethics + Emerging Technologies Group holds its third talk on Monday, May 4, from 2-3:30 p.m., in the Graphic Arts Building, Room 103. The talk is free and open to the public.

Anthony F. Beavers, philosophy professor at the University of Evansville and visiting scholar at Indiana University, will explore less-obvious ethical issues arising from Facebook, the increasingly-popular social networking site. These go beyond the usual privacy concerns and include new worries such as whether Facebook redefines friendship in helpful or harmful ways, how its news feed influences which relationships will develop or will not, its impact on our sense of purpose and self-identity, and more.

For more information and a flyer, visit http://ethics.calpoly.edu/.

NanoCafe Pictures

2009-04-16T09:50:00.000-07:00

Check out the great photos Kathy Chen's students took of the NanoCafe!
http://picasaweb.google.com/dr.kathchen/NanoCafe?authkey=Gv1sRgCO63tLKZroq0NQ&feat=directlink

Thank you Cal Poly!

2009-04-09T14:27:00.000-07:00

Our last event of the year was fantastic. NanoCafe was a huge success with 78 participants, a carbon balloon nanotube, 6 tables of interactive nano examples, and more.

Thank you to all the speakers, moderators and students, plus a special thanks to all the library staff, students and faculty, that have made this inaugural year of the Science Cafe an amazing experience!!!

More to come Fall 2009! Stay tuned...

NanoCafe and Nanotube Ballons Oh My!

2009-04-07T13:14:00.000-07:00

is small the new big?
find out at the nanocafe tomorrow, wednesday, april 7th, 3:30pm-4:30pm at kennedy library. there will a nanotube ballon display that will indicate you have found the right place, speakers, and hands on activities. it should be a blast! see you there!

NanoCafe

2009-04-03T14:28:00.001-07:00

Please join us next Wednesday!

WHAT: Just how small is "nano" anyhow, and why should you care? Is nanotechnology here yet? Could you be using nano products right now without even knowing it?

WHO: Cal Poly faculty Kathy Chen (Materials Engineering) and Jane Lehr (Women's & Gender Studies and Ethnic Studies) and special guest Frank Kusiak. Kusiak is an informal science educator and nanotech outreach specialist at Berkeley's Lawrence Hall of Science. His background is in instructional design and education via computer gaming and robotics.

WHEN: April 8, 3:30-4:30 pm

WHERE: Kennedy Library Second Floor Cafe Lounge. The Science Cafe is free and open to the public.

HANDS ON! As part of the Café event, on Wednesday morning, Kathy Chen and students in materials engineering will create a hanging, giant model nanotube made out of balloons in the Library, and guide participants in simple demos of nanotechnology during the cafe.

Are you ready?

2009-04-03T14:10:00.000-07:00

Well this weeks even with Brian Wansink was a huge success with more than 60 participants. Are you ready for next week?

Science Cafe - How mindless eating works in government

2009-04-01T13:24:00.000-07:00

Join us tomorrow for the Science Cafe at 3:30pm on the 2nd floor of library. Brian Wansink's discussion is titled "How mindless eating works in government." There will be a Healthy Foods and Used Sporting Equipment Drive in the Pac Plaza after his presentation.

2009-03-26T16:43:00.000-07:00

Please join us at the next Science Cafe "Cornell to Washington: how mindless eating works in government" April 2nd, 3:30-4:30pm at the Kennedy Library.

Cal Poly Students Rock Out

2009-03-24T08:12:00.000-07:00

Check out this fun YouTube video about nano by Cal Poly Students...Ferromagnetic Funk Fluid (a.k.a Evil Porcupine), Alex Stanley and Ryan Satchet, Cal Poly Records 2009
Note: Go to ~5 minutes to get the song.

Spring Quarter Science Cafe's

2009-03-23T10:45:00.000-07:00

We have a couple of great Science Cafés lined up to launch the spring quarter.
******************************
APRIL 2: CORNELL TO WASHINGTON: HOW MINDLESS EATING WORKS IN GOVERNMENT

On Thursday, April 2, we will be hosting national bestselling author
Brian Wansink from 3:30-4:30pm, for an informal talk about his recent
stint in the US Department of Agriculture in relation to his work as
expert in nutritional science, behavior and food psychology

For more information, see: http://www.mindlesseating.org/
*****************************
APRIL 8: NANOCAFE: IS SMALL THE NEW BIG?

Wednesday, April 8, 3:30 - 4:30pm we will be hosting a Science Café on nanotechnology, featuring Frank Kusiak from the Berkeley Lawrence Hall of Science and the NISE Network (Nanoscale Informal Science Education Network).

Sponsored by the Department of Materials Engineering and the National
Science Foundation's "Nanodays" program, Kusiak will give a talk on
"Nano 101." Cal Poly professors Kathy Chen (Materials Engineering) and
Jane Lehr (Women's and Gender Studies, Ethnic Studies) will facilitate
hands-on demos of nanotechnology and a discussion of how
nanotechnology affects our lives.

For more on Nanodays or on Frank Kusiak, see:
http://www.nisenet.org/nanodays
http://www.nisenet.org/users/fkusiak

Please join us!

Ethics of Cyberweapons

2009-03-18T15:34:00.000-07:00

Dr. Neil Rowe will be speaking on the Ethics of Cyberweapons as part of the Cal Poly Technology & Ethics Lecture Series. The talk will discuss the ethical issues related to warfare using cyberweapons: software weapons (viruses, hacking, etc.).

When: Friday, April 10, 11am-12:30pm
Where: Philips Hall, Room 124 (5:124)

Is there a way to be notified about new events?

2009-03-18T12:50:00.001-07:00

If you want to be notified about the Science Cafe please sign up for our listserv

This list is for announcements of news and events related to the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Science Café at the Kennedy Library.

Type is everywhere >> March 11th

2009-03-10T08:47:00.000-07:00

Join top graphic experts at Cal Poly's Kennedy Library for “The Science of Type: Original Typeface Designs in the Digital Age,” the latest in the Science Café series.

The event is free, open to the public and set for Wednesday, March 11, 4:30-5:30 p.m. in the library’s second floor Café Lounge. The speaker is Christopher Slye of Adobe Systems.

Date: Wednesday March 11th
Time: 4:30pm — 5:30pm
Speaker: Christopher Slye, Adobe Systems
Moderator: Lorraine Donegan, Graphic Communication
Location: Kennedy Library, 2nd floor Café Lounge

Image credit:
University Archives, Kennedy Library
Cal Poly Printing Press, c. 1960s

The Science of Type: Original Typeface Designs in the Digital Age

2009-02-27T16:39:00.000-08:00

Join us for “The Science of Type: Original Typeface Designs in the Digital Age” with speaker Christopher Slye of Adobe Systems. Slye will discuss the history and accomplishments of Adobe Originals, their leadership role in the industry, and how new technology over the years has affected their work. The talk will include examples of old and new designs, and will illustrate how the OpenType format has allowed users to achieve ever better typographic quality. Graphic Communication professor Lorraine Donegan will moderate.

This event is sponsored by the Graphic Communication Department and the Kennedy Library, and is free and open to the public.

WHAT:
Science of Type
Original typeface designs in the digital age.

WHEN:
Wednesday March 11th
4:30pm - 5:30pm
Kennedy Library, 2nd floor Café Lounge

Talk:
Christopher Slye, Adobe Systems

Moderator: Lorraine Donegan, Graphic Communication

Speaker Christopher Slye of Adobe Systems, will discuss the history
and accomplishments of Adobe Originals, their leadership role in the
industry, and how new technology over the years has affected their
work. The talk will include examples of old and new designs, and will
illustrate how the OpenType format has allowed users to achieve ever
better typographic quality.

2009-02-17T14:41:00.001-08:00

Darwin 200 was a huge success with over 120 students, staff, administrators, and faculty in attendance. Darwin himself appeared and blew out his birthday cake candles.

The next event will be the Science of Type, March 11th. Stay tuned for details.

The Galapagos: not as Darwin saw them

2009-02-09T15:33:00.001-08:00

Thursday, February 12
3-4pm
Library Cafe Lounge (2nd floor next to Julians)

"Darwin 200" will feature conversation with Christy Strand, Cal Poly Biological Science Assistant Professor, "The Galapagos: not as Darwin saw them."

Plus, you won't want to miss meeting a very special guest...

Cake, coffee, and tea will be served!
The event is free and open to all.

High Tea for Darwin's 200th Birthday

2009-01-29T16:47:00.000-08:00

Darwin would have turned 200 years old February 12th. Join us for conversation and birthday cake to celebrate the work of this influential naturalist.

The program will feature a 10-minute talk by a Cal Poly faculty member and subsequent audience conversation and questions.

WHEN:
February 12th, 3:00p-4:00pm

WHERE:
Kennedy Library, 2nd Floor Cafe Lounge

WHO:
Moderator
Francis X. Villablanca, Cal Poly Biological Science Associate Professor

Speaker
Christy Strand, Cal Poly Biological Science Assistant Professor
"The Galapagos: not as Darwin saw them"

What is the future of research on the Galapagos?
--> Bring Your Unique Perspective on the Future

What might Darwin say about society today?
--> Stretch and Get Creative

How have Darwin's ideas shaped society?
--> Think About Them

First Cal Poly Science Cafe

2009-01-27T13:07:00.001-08:00

Your opportunity to participate in the conversation!
Please join us tomorrow at the 2nd Floor Library Lounge for Improbable Vehicles, 4:30-6:00pm.

Va-va-voom!: Improbable Vehicles Drive Home a Point at Kennedy Library

2009-01-14T09:19:00.000-08:00

INAUGURAL PROGRAM: "Improbable Vehicles" will introduce work produced at and around Cal Poly on unusual vehicles of all kinds.

The program will feature four 10-minute talks by Cal Poly faculty, staff, and students, alternating with audience conversation and questions. Moderated by JOHN DUNNING, Cal Poly Research Scholar.

WHEN:
JANUARY 28th, 4:30p-6:00pm

WHERE:
KENNEDY LIBRARY, 2ND FLOOR CAFÉ LOUNGE

WHO:
ART MACCARLEY
"My Methanol Motorcycle"

ELECTRIC VEHICLE ENGINEERING CLUB
"RX7 Race Car Speeds Forward"

CAL POLY ROSE FLOAT
"Seaside Amusement"

HUMAN POWERED VEHICLE
"Athena Pedals to First Place"

ABOUT:
:: Thematically, without the oil crisis (resource substitution) the methanol motorcycle is improbable;

:: without batteries (technical push), the electric car is improbable;

:: without fiber composite materials (technical push), the human powered vehicle is improbable;

:: and without the Rose Parade (social demand), the float is improbable.

What are Driving Forces and Creativity behind these Vehicles?
--> Think About Them.

What will be Future Driving Forces and Creativity?
--> Bring Your Unique Perspective on the Future

What are Future Improbable Vehicles?
--> Stretch and Get Creative

Science Cafe Launch

2009-01-07T13:26:00.000-08:00

Cal Poly's Science Cafe Launches with "Improbable Vehicles"

Wednesday, 28 January 2009

4:30pm-6:00pm

Library Café Lounge

(2nd floor of Kennedy Library next to Julian’s)

Join campus scholars and students for snacks and conversations about methanol motorcycles, electric race cars, human powered vehicles, and Cal Poly’s rose float.

Science Cafe at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo

2008-09-08T12:18:00.000-07:00

ABOUT SCIENCE CAFÉ
Science Café is an informal speaker series on scientific topics, led by an expert. The series stimulates discussions in the arts and sciences; encourages open, easy-to-understand conversation exploring scientific topics and interdisciplinary interactions. We choose topics, formats, and speakers that will:

Spark conversations across and beyond the Cal Poly community;
Create an ambiance that is relaxing and stimulating;
Foster a spirit that is open, friendly, and inclusive; and
Create opportunities for student participation.

Series Descriptions
Double-shot:
Point/counterpoint or paired featured speakers (e.g. from Cal Poly and from community/elsewhere; different perspectives on similar topic)

Short-pull:
A brief event, single featured speaker with Q&A

Conversation brewed quarterly:
Informal group meetings of book/reading groups, journal clubs, or other groups that meet to share their ideas about the work of writers, scientists, artists, and technologists.

High Octane Science:
Local and nationally known scientific personalities talk about their research with Q&A.

More information on the launch of Cal Poly's Science Cafe will be posted soon.