March 5, 2013
News Digest: UW students speak at Town Hall, nominations due, celebrate Philosophy in Schools program, tobacco cessation help
UW Science Now kicks off at Town Hall tonight
The second season of UW Science Now, which trains University of Washington graduate students to communicate their research to the general public and gives them the opportunity to speak at Seattle’s Town Hall, kicks off with two speakers this week, one tonight (March 5) with a look at how viruses adapt to their environments and the other Wednesday evening (March 6) concerning whether we’re noisily loving whales to death.
Sonia Singhal, a doctoral student in UW’s Department of Biology, says evolution is a prominent force in the present as well as the past. As the website about her talk says: We don’t even need to wait centuries to see its results. With bacteria and viruses, we have the powerful ability to watch evolution happen before our eyes in a matter of days. It can help advance technology against the flu, the common cold and even computer viruses. Singhal speaks at 5:30 p.m. at The Pub at Town Hall, enter on Eighth Avenue.
At 5:30 p.m., Wednesday (March 6) Juliana Houghton, a master’s student at UW’s School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, addresses the impact of San Juan whale-watching on the whales themselves. The website about her talk says: As researchers consider steps to help killer whales recover, they study the effects of vessel presence and a noisy environment yet still don’t know what whales actually hear as they travel through the water. Recently, a suction-cup-attached tag with an underwater microphone has been used to measure the noise whales actually receive.
A total of 19 UW Science Now talks have been scheduled, often before or after other science talks by local and national speakers at Town Hall.
The students are in the course “Communicating Science to the Public Effectively,” that grew out of efforts in 2010 by UW graduate students who felt students needed better opportunities for training in science communication, says the instructor for the course, Jessica Rohde, a graduate student in aquatic and fishery sciences.
“They started teaching each other, which eventually turned into a course and speaker series at Town Hall. The College of the Environment has fully supported their efforts, and now funds a TA -ship for the course,” Rohde said.
Tickets are $5 at www.townhallseattle.org or 888-377-4510, and at the door beginning at 5:30 pm.
Celebrating UW Women nominations due March 11
Members of the campus community can submit nominations for female UW students, staff and faculty deserving of recognition. All women nominated will be recognized at a reception in late March at the Hub Lyceum. The award was created to honor women from across campus as part of Women’s History Month.
Nominations require an essay of 250 words or less describing the contribution of the nominee. Deadline is Monday (March 11).
Nominations sought for fourth annual Husky Green Awards
Nominations are due March 30 the fourth annual Husky Green Awards meant to recognize individuals or teams from the UW community who demonstrate leadership, initiative and dedication to campus sustainability.
Last year’s winners are featured in a video produced by a student volunteer with the UW Environmental Stewardship & Sustainability Office.
Nominations should include a description of how an individual or team from the UW community demonstrated environmental stewardship or campus sustainability at the Seattle, Tacoma or Bothell campuses. Submissions are encouraged to include descriptions of measurable outcomes resulting from the nominee’s actions as well as descriptions of collaborations and efforts to engage the broader community in sustainability efforts. Two references are required for a nomination submission.
Grade-school students take on philosophy in panel discussion
The UW Department of Philosophy will celebrate its Philosophers in the Schools program and the new book “The Philosophical Child” by Jana Mohr Lone with a panel discussion from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 7, in the HUB Lyceum. The event will feature fourth- and fifth-grade students from Seattle’s Whittier Elementary School. Lone is an affiliate UW faculty member and director of the Northwest Center for Philosophy for Children. RSVP if possible to kgoldyn@uw.edu.
Hall Health Center expands tobacco cessation program
Hall Health Primary Care Center is increasing its free services for those in the UW community who want to quit using tobacco through a new program called “Tobacco Talk.”
The campus medical center now has a part-time tobacco cessation specialist who can meet with students and employees on a one-to-one basis. After the first session, subsequent meetings can be done by phone. Tobacco Talk also provides nicotine replacement products such as patches and gum. All services are free to both students and UW employees.
For more information, contact Colin Maloney, Tobacco Cessation Program coordinator, at 206-685-QUIT (7848) or quittalk@uw.edu.
