CU Scientists to Engage Public Oct. 24 through Hands-on Demos, Conversations

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Scientists from the University of Colorado Boulder and University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus are stepping out of their offices and labs to share their work through hands-on activities Saturday, Oct. 24, at the Boulder Public Library, 1001 Arapahoe Ave.  

“Portal to the Public: Meet a CU Scientist” will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. and is free and open to all ages.

Hosted by CU Science Discovery, Portal to the Public is a national network that connects the public with current science in their own communities through direct interactions with local science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) researchers and experts. It’s Colorado’s first such event.

Eleven CU scientists representing the latest research in biotechnology, cancer prevention, hydrology, microbiology, climate science and engineering have been training for two months to share their scientific expertise in the most impactful way for a lay audience. 

“Portal to the Public is designed to prepare scientists to effectively communicate about their work to non-scientific audiences,” said Stacey Forsyth, director of Science Discovery at CU-Boulder. “The Meet a CU Scientist event provides an opportunity for people in our community to talk one-on-one with scientists about the exciting research happening at CU.”

Activities and researchers include: 

  • Water in the Rocky Mountains with Kelsey Dailey, Environmental Studies, graduate research assistant;  
  • Turn on Your Genes! with Tess Eidem, Chemistry and Biochemistry, postdoctoral fellow;  
  • Get Cracking with Rachel Glade, Geological Sciences, graduate student;
  • Aquifers with Stephanie Higgins, Geological Sciences, postdoctoral fellow;
  • Microscopes: Seeing Small with Sarah McQuate, Biochemistry, postdoctoral associate;  
  • Modeling Coastal Erosion with Irina Overeem, Geological Sciences, research scientist;
  • The Earth Beneath Our Feet with Dorota Porazinska, Soil Microbial Ecology, research associate;
  • Save the Cell! with Eugenia Silva Herzog, Microbiology, postdoctoral fellow;
  • Motion of the Ocean with Katherine Smith, Mechanical Engineering, graduate student;
  • Growing Your Brain with Nicole Speer, Cognitive Science, operations director for the Intermountain Neuroimaging Consortium;
  • Personalized Medicine with Meredith Tennis, Cancer Biology, assistant professor, CU Denver – Anschutz Medical Campus.

Science Discovery is CU-Boulder’s science education outreach program housed in the Division of Continuing Education. Founded in 1983 to heighten young students’ interest in science, CU Science Discovery coordinates an array of programs that connect K-12 students, teachers and more to current CU scientific research and expertise.  

To learn more about Science Discovery visit http://sciencediscovery.colorado.edu/. 

The Portal to the Public Network is a collaboration of museums and science centers. It is facilitated by the Pacific Science Center and supported by the National Science Foundation and U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services. To learn more visit http://popnet.pacificsciencecenter.org. 

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