2015-2016

Science Pubs 2015-2016


December 15, 2015 • Father Luke's Room, McMenamins Old St. Francis School, Bend

Who Are You Calling Old? Conflict and Negotiation in Eldercare

michelle-barnhartMichelle Barnhart, Associate Professor of Marketing, OSU College of Business

As the elderly population grows, family, friends and paid providers increasingly assist older people. Learn how those helping can overtly or subtly treat elders as "old," meaning unaware, confused, dependent or at-risk, and thus create identity dynamics and conflicts.  Barnhart will explain how by treating older people as valued adults, younger people can both provide valuable assistance and decrease their chances of threatening the older person’s identity and of creating conflict.

Registration is closed


February 16, 2016  • Father Luke's Room, McMenamins Old St. Francis School, Bend

The First Victims of Climate Change

Elizabeth Marino, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, OSU-Cascades

Shishmaref, Alaska is a community of 600 that sits on an island in the Chuckchi Sea, near the Arctic Circle. Here, increased windiness and storminess, diminished sea ice, and extensive erosion – all linked to human-caused climate change – create flooding that affects the community annually. The village of Shishmaref needs to relocate in order to protect their traditional lifestyle and ways of life, but so far relocating has proven problematic. This talk discusses the grounded impacts of climate change, the obstacles to adaptation, and the ethics we all must grapple with, as people and places are changed in response to a warming world.

Registration is closed.


April 19, 2016  • Father Luke's Room, McMenamins Old St. Francis School, Bend (Please note, not in Sisters)

Hummingbird Highways: Conserving Pollination in Tropical Forest Landscapes

matt-bettsMatt Betts, Associate Professor and Ornithologist, OSU College of Forestry, Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society

As tropical forests become increasingly broken up by roads, farm fields, pastures and other developments, corridors of trees provide vital pathways for pollinators, including hummingbirds. Come and follow OSU ornithologist Matt Betts' journey tracing the movement of tropical hummingbird species through patches of trees and the pollination of plants within the tree patches.

Doors at 5:30 p.m.; Presentation starts at 6:30 p.m.

Registration is closed. We are at capacity for this event.


May 17, 2016  • Father Luke's Room, McMenamins Old St. Francis School, Bend

The Color Blue

mas-subramamianMas Subramanian, Milton Harris Endowed Chair Professor of Materials Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, OSU College of Science

An intense stable blue pigment is hard to find. For centuries, artists relied on the rich hues of a precious mineral, lapis lazuli, mined in Afghanistan, to produce the bluest of skies and sacred garments. In 2009, after an accidental discovery (a Eureka! moment) in an OSU chemistry lab, a team of scientists led by Professor Mas Subramanian is writing a new chapter in color pigment chemistry.  What the team discovered was a brilliant, stable and heat-reflecting blue pigment. Now the search for new colors is underway and partnerships are being forged with industry, paint companies and artists alike.

Doors at 5:30 p.m.; Presentation starts at 6:30 p.m.

Registration is closed for The Color Blue. We are at capacity for this event.


June 21, 2016  • Father Luke's Room, McMenamins Old St. Francis School, Bend

Look Beyond Face Value: The Psychology of Disability and Communication

Kathleen BogartKathleen Bogart, Assistant Professor of Psychology and Director of the Disability and Social Interaction Lab at Oregon State University.

One out of five people will develop a disability in their lifetime. Bogart’s research focuses on the forgotten “ism,” ableism, or prejudice toward disability. Using examples from her research on facial paralysis, Bogart, who also has facial paralysis, will discuss attitudes toward disability and the way people with disabilities adapt to their conditions and manage stigma.

Doors at 5:30 p.m.; Presentation starts at 6:30 p.m.

Registration is closed


July 19, 2016  • Father Luke's Room, McMenamins Old St. Francis School, Bend

Investigations on Worldwide Coral Declines

rebecca-vega-thurber-headshotRebecca Thurber, Associate Professor, OSU College of Science; Rebecca Vega Thurber Lab

Rebecca Vega-Thurber and the team in her lab at OSU investigate the microbial ecology of reefs in the Red Sea, the Caribbean and the Pacific.  In this Science Pub, Vega-Thurber will describe what she has learned about how microbes influence the health of coral reefs. By better understanding the coral microbiome, Vega-Thurber argues, new methods for conserving reefs can be discovered.

In addition to her presentation, the Science Pub will offer scenes from “Saving Atlantis,” a documentary about the Global Coral Microbiome Project.

Doors at 5:30 p.m.; Presentation starts at 6:30 p.m.

Registration is closed.