Dave Knows Portland

OMSI Science Pub: Arctic Change (20 October 2015)

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OMSI Science PubArctic Change is the topic of the latest OMSI Science Pub Portland on 20 October 2015 at the Empirical Theater at OMSI (1945 SE Water Ave.).

Join climate scientist Zach Brown as he describes his research in the High Arctic. Through photos and stories, he will share the experience of climbing aboard an icebreaking vessel for weeks in the 24-hour daylight and frigid temperatures of the polar seas. Zach will also delve into what his team has learned: the way that changes in sea ice are affecting the biological realm of this harsh and remote region of the planet – as well as inviting controversial industrial expansion.

Zach will also share his current work: creating an institute for education and research at a remote and beautiful homestead in his homeland of Alaska. To spread word of this effort, last summer after completing his PhD, he set off on a 4-month, 2,300-mile trek from Stanford University to Southeast Alaska, traveling solo on foot and by kayak.

Zach Brown grew up surrounded by the wilderness of Southeast Alaska. With parents in the National Park Service, Zach had ample opportunity as a boy to explore Glacier Bay and the Tongass National Forest, experiences that gave him a lasting love of the natural world.

The Portland Science Pub takes place monthly at the Empirical Theater at OMSI. Check in at the theater entrance (doors open at 5 PM) – there’s a $5 suggested admission. OMSI’s restaurant Theory, and the Empirical Cafe are open and you can take food and drinks into the theater with you.

Parking is free for the event, but consider taking the streetcar or any of the multitude of buses that cross the Hawthorne Bridge (eastbound/westbound), which has stops a few blocks from OMSI.

Stumptown Stories: Portland’s Demented! (13 October 2015)

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Stumptown Stories: Portland’s Demented! (13 October 2015)

Portland’s Demented! – the latest installment of the Stumptown Stories series, begins at 7 PM on Tuesday, October 13 at Jack London bar (basement of the Rialto, SW 4th and Alder).

Nearly a century ago, Portland found itself in the throes of Ouija madness, and the only way out of the occult world was a one-way ticket to the insane asylum! Join host Heather Arndt Anderson for a special Halloween edition of Stumptown Stories, including a surprise film that critics say “might make you insane!”

Host Heather Arndt Anderson will be joined by JB Fisher, co-author of Portland on the Take. Kick Ass Oregon History’s Resident Historian Doug Kenck-Crispin will MC.

Stumptown Stories, batshit crazy stories from the murkiest, weirdest, and nuttiest corners of Portland history, takes place the second Tuesday of every month at the Jack London.

Admission is free. Doors open at 7 PM, 21 and over only.

OMSI Science Pub: Deep-Sea Hot Springs (5 October 2015)

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OMSI Science PubOMSI presents Deep-Sea Hot Springs as part of the Science Pub series on 5 October 2015 at the Hollywood Theatre (4122 NE Sandy Blvd).

Most of the biodiversity of life on Earth is microbial. These microscopic organisms occupy almost any conceivable habitat where there is available water, energy and carbon for growth. They live in some of the most salty, cold, hot, nutrient-starved, dry and acidic places on this planet, and they form critical partnerships with many other organisms, including us. At deep-sea vents, microorganisms form the base of the food web, fueling the chemosynthetic-based ecosystem. Here, as the very hot hydrothermal fluids mix with the cold seawater, minerals precipitate out a solution to form mineral deposits called ‘chimneys’. These porous rocks provide habitats for a plethora of new heat-loving microbes, thermophiles.

Using a combination of genomic, ecological and microbiological approaches, Dr. Reysenbach will provide insights into how the geology and geochemistry at the deep-sea vents helps drive the diversity of microbes in these systems, and has led to the discovery of many novel branches on the Tree of Life. Many of these organisms have potential medical and industrial applications, and help inform us better when looking for signs of life elsewhere in the Solar System.

Anna-Louise Reysenbach, PhD, Professor of Microbiology in the Biology Department at PSU

Presenter Anna-Louise Reysenbach, PhD, is Professor of Microbiology in the Biology Department at PSU.

The Hollywood Theatre Science Pub takes place monthly and is open to all ages. There’s a $5 suggested cover charge.

History Pub: Portland Communists, A Longshoreman Strike, and The United States Supreme Court (28 September 2015)

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Portland Communists, A Longshoreman Strike, and The United States Supreme Court: Oregon v. DeJonge and the Right to Freedom of Assembly is the latest History Pub on Monday, 28 September 2015 at the Kennedy School (5736 NE 33rd).

On July 27, 1934, the Portland Police “Red Squad” arrested Dirk De Jonge, a World War I veteran, longshoreman, former Portland mayoral candidate, and Portland communist. The State charged him with criminal syndicalism for speaking at a meeting sponsored by the local Communist Party. The meeting was called in response to a police crackdown on striking longshoremen, who had shut down every West Coast port from southern California to northern Washington. De Jonge’s crime was speaking about jail conditions experienced by the arrested strikers. A jury found him guilty, and the judge sentenced him to seven years in prison. Ultimately, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the conviction, holding that the criminal syndicalism statute, as applied to De Jonge, unconstitutionally infringed on his right to assembly as protected by the First Amendment.

Presenter Marc Brown is an appellate public defender with the Oregon Office of Public Defense Services. He has taught at Washington State University-Vancouver and is a recent recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship to teach about the U.S. Constitution in Guangzhou, China.

History Pub, presented by McMenamins, Oregon Historical Society, and the Holy Names Heritage Center, is free and open to all ages. Doors open at 6 PM, and the talk begins at 7 PM.

Building the Panama Canal – OMSI Science Pub (3 August 2015)

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OMSI Science PubOMSI presents Building the Panama Canal as part of the Science Pub Portland series, on Monday, 3 August 2015 at the Hollywood Theatre (4122 NE Sandy Blvd).

During the early 20th century strategic control of the oceans was essential to all of the great industrial powers of the world. In 1904 President of the United States Theodore Roosevelt would commit the brains of American engineering and the brawn of America’s industrial machine to build a canal of unprecedented scope and challenge.

Panama Canal’s successful construction was the result of the convergence of extraordinary men, machines, and methods. In the decades preceding Panama Canal’s construction, tremendous advancements were realized in every discipline of engineering. In the realm of heavy civil construction, these collective engineering advancements provided the construction technology that made Panama Canal possible. This presentation highlights how the right men, the right machines, and the right methods all came together in 1904 to build a project of unprecedented scope and challenges.

Presenter Raymond “Paul” Giroux is a construction engineer and civil engineering historian.

The Hollywood Theatre Science Pub takes place monthly and is open to all ages. There’s a $5 suggested cover charge.