“If it goes unaddressed, climate change has the potential to unleash massive economic, environmental and societal ramifications on how and where we live.”
Climate science and nuclear energy are both news hot topics. But is what you hear in the news relevant to the research? Join us tonight to hear from two local scientists as they share their research!
Timeline
6:30pm
Doors will be open at 6:30pm. We hope to have a food truck but maybe come prepared for all possibilities, drinks (both with and without alcohol), and chatting with our new friends.
7:00-9:00pm
Following a brief introduction to taste of science and thanks to our sponsors, we will hear from our speakers with plenty of time between for questions and refills.
Seating is limited; only a limited number of seats will be available at the door.
Drew Steen, Chemical Oceanographer and Assistant Professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at University of Tennessee
What to eat when you're 100,000 years late for dinner
Just about everywhere on Earth that we look for life, we find it, including in ocean sediments, hundreds of meters below the seafloor and miles beneath the surface of the sea. The microbes that live in these sediments are weird: they are very distantly related to any organisms that grow in a lab, and individuals seem to live for 10,000 years or more. I'll talk about how these organisms get their food, and what that tells us about the Earth's carbon cycle.
Guinevere Shaw, University of Tennessee Bredesen Center graduate student pursuing a PhD in Energy Science and Engineering and Oak Ridge National Lab researcher in the Fusion and Materials for Nuclear Systems Division
The Daily Use of a Laser Shovel
On a daily basis, I use a shovel, not the usual shovel, but a laser shovel! My research into fusion materials involves heating metals, like tungsten, up to near melting temperatures bubbles begin to form beneath and near the surface. Those bubbles are usually filled with gases like helium and hydrogen. This particular shovel scoops out a small volume of this material, quickly vaporizing it, and the remnants can be seen or even sniffed, telling me what is it that I just scooped out. I can even keep digging deeper to see if it changes. The laser shovel is most important because it allows me to dig in very harsh or hazardous environments where I can't physically go. In this talk, I will discuss how I built this shovel, what I use it on, and why it's so important.