Smarty Pints is a celebration of science and beer!

Usually the third Monday of every month, 630PM
Clever people tell us about their work. Sometimes scientists, sometimes engineers, sometimes artists!

Are you a clever person who would like to present a 30 minute talk on what you do? Reach out at smartypints@burkegilmanbrewing.com

 

Check out previous Smarty Pints topics here.
 

Upcoming Smarty Pints Topics:​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

May 18
Mount St. Helens night!

 

May 18th (Monday) - Smarty Pints!

 

🌋  Prof. Harold Tobin
Professor and Paros Endowed Chair in Seismology and Geohazards, UW Earth and Space Sciences
Director, Pacific Northwest Seismic Network
“When Mt. St. Helens blew its top - and how we (probably) will know before it happens again”
Mt. St. Helens blew itself to pieces in 1980 in the largest eruption on record in the Cascade volcanoes. 46 years later, we can still see the effects in the landscape today. UW and USGS scientists recognized the signs of an impending eruption months in advance and sounded the alarm, undoubtedly saving many lives. Now, MSH is considered the most likely of Cascades peaks to erupt again – but how do we know? We monitor tiny earthquakes, bulges and changes in the land with GPS, temperature, and gases, all to detect any signs of unrest. I'll discuss the state of the science then and now and our role in it here at the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network.

🌱 Dr. Eric Wagner
Writer and researcher
UW Center for Ecosystem Sentinels
“After the Blast: The ecological recovery of Mount St. Helens”
On May 18, 1980, the world watched in awe as Mount St. Helens erupted, killing 57 people and laying waste to hundreds of square miles of land. Everyone thought life would take ages to return to the mountain, but scientists who visited soon after were shocked to find plants sprouting up through the ash, and animals skittering around downed trees. Ecologists have since spent decades studying life’s resilience in the face of seeming total devastation. Through their work, the eruption of Mount St. Helens has become known as the greatest natural experiment in Pacific Northwest history. Tonight, author Eric Wagner will take everyone on a journey through the blast zone. He will talk not just of the surprising ways animals and plants survived the eruption, but also the complex roles that people have played, all while showing how fascinating Mount St. Helens still is more than forty years after the blast.

(he literally wrote a book on it!)

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June 15
🦭 Ellen Weatherford
Host and Producer, “Just the Zoo of Us” podcast
“Man Vs Pinniped: How the humans of Seattle have tried (and failed) to keep seals and sea lions out of the Ballard Locks”

🐦 Dr. Valentina Alaasam
NSF Postdoctoral Fellow, UW Biology
“Bright lights and hot summer nights: how birds are coping with urbanization”

July 20
⛏️ Zach Pratt
Docent and lecturer, Black Diamond Historical Society
“From Swamps to Shafts: The Geology and History of Black Diamond”

🦟 Cassandra Fieldson
Malaria researcher, Seattle Children’s Research Institute
“Mosquitoes, Malaria, and the Science Behind the Buzz!”

 

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