Highline Community College

MEDIA RELEASE

 

FOR RELEASE:  IMMEDIATELY

DATE:                  March 19, 2009

CONTACT:         Eric Baer: (206) 878-3710, ext. 3513, ebaer@highline.edu

Lisa Skari: (206) 870-3705; lskari@highline.edu

 

Highline’s Science Seminar examines seafood, home brewing and clothes

 

DES MOINES, Wash. — Highline Community College’s Science Seminar closes out the 2008-2009 academic year exploring a wide variety of topics, such as psychology and the paranormal, air pollution from China, and the science behind seafood, home brewing and clothes.

 

Spring quarter’s Science Seminar, featuring Highline’s staff and faculty, is open to anyone on campus or in the community who wants to learn about the scientific world.

 

Event:          Science Seminar

Dates:          Fridays, April 3 to June 5

Time:          2:20-3:10 p.m.

Price:          Free

Location:       Highline Community College’s main campus, Building 3, room 102

                                Highline’s main campus is located midway between Seattle and Tacoma at South 240th Street and Pacific Highway South (Highway 99); address: 2400 S. 240th St., Des Moines, WA 98198.

Website:        http://flightline.highline.edu/scienceseminars/

Presentations include:                       

April 3           The Science of Sustainable Food

Oceanography and Marine Biology instructor Rus Higley investigates the science behind seafood and how what people eat can affect the ocean’s environment and life.

April 10         The Reform Math Movement

Math instructor Mayra Hernandez examines the trials and tribulations of the reform math movement, mathematics and achievement myths, and struggles in problem solving.

April 17         Psychology and the Paranormal

Psychology instructors Bob Baugher and Sue Franz explore why people believe in ghosts, unidentified flying objects (UFOs) and extrasensory perception (ESP).

April 24         Importing Air Pollution from China

Dr. Heather Price, a professor of chemistry at Highline, presents this special Earth Week seminar that explores how air pollution from China impacts air quality in the Pacific Northwest.

May 1             Life on the Edge

Geologist Beth Mahrt looks at the impact of great earthquakes on Washington state and Alaska and the consequences of living on a subduction zone.

May 8             Northwest Weather

Computer scientist Ron Davidson explores why the Northwest’s weather is the way that it is.

May 15           Exploring Ancient Inca Mathematics Through Khipus

Biologist Chris Gan examines the mathematics of the ancient Incan empire through the study of khipus ‑ knotted string records that were used in place of written messages to send messages and store numerical data.

May 22           The Man in the White Suit: Fabrics and Innovation

Interior designer Meg Ryan explores the science behind all the things we wear, such as why cotton gets wrinkles. She will also discuss why the cables are not twisted on the new Tacoma Narrows Bridge.

May 29           TBA

Physics instructor Igor Glozman will speak.

June 5             The Science of Home Brewing

Highline staff member Kurt Geissel and Joy Strohmaier, coordinator of the Life, Ocean and General Science department, discuss the science of home brewing, including how yeast makes beer.

Highline Community College was founded in 1961 as the first community college in King County. With approximately 10,000 students and 350,000 alumni, it is one of the state’s largest institutions of higher education. The college offers a wide range of academic transfer and professional-technical education programs, with day, evening and weekend classes. Alumni include former Seattle Mayor Norm Rice, entrepreneur Junki Yoshida and Washington state poet laureate Sam Green.

 

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