Not to go elementary on you, but our speakers will breakdown the fundamentals of their research in three unique topics: baseball science, robotics, and communicating climate change.

Join us for our second night at Cage Brewing in St. Petersburg to meet some local scientists and the work they’re doing to make St. Pete a better city.

Will Cousins

Science and Technology in Baseball - Over the past decade, technology has allowed for the measurement of detailed information on what happens in a baseball game, ranging from the spin of pitched baseballs, exact trajectories of home runs, and the motion of players on the field. We'll talk about this new information and how it impacts the game.

About Will: Will is the Director of Research and Development for the Tampa Bay Rays.

Sandra Vernon-Jackson

Bots… Robotics that is! - Robotics in the classrooms for All students: Access and Equity. The discussion is Bots/robotics education in the classroom, the necessary evil for teacher…and Why Bots

About Sandra: Dr. Jackson is a STEM Educator and the Director of the STEM INQ Innovation Lab at the USFSP College of Education. Her research interest focus on equity, gender, cultural identity in STEM education and STEM-related fields.

Joanna Huxster (@Doc_Hux)

Public Controversy Over Science: Lessons for Communication - Why is there a disconnect between scientists and the public when it comes to scientific issues like climate change, vaccine safety, and GMOs? How can we better communicate about science that has become publicly and politically "controversial?"

About Joanna: Assistant Professor of Environmental Science at Eckerd College. I study public understanding of science, particularly for issues like climate change.

Whether you’re celebrating Earth Day or want to kick off the 2019 taste of science festival, join us at Cage Brewing for three local speakers sharing their research over a glass of Galaxy Cat APA or Mango Bob’s IPA (or any number of their craft beer selection).

Ryan Venturelli studies Antarctica to better understand what changes in ice over thousands of years means for the future of the planet. Jennifer Sedillo is the program director of the USFSP Brewing Arts Program, but for tonight she's talking about the Science of Taste!

Ryan Venturelli (@raventurelli)

Subglacial lake science: from space lasers to sediments - Antarctic subglacial lakes remain one of the most unexplored regions of Earth's surface. Throughout the last decade, almost 400 of these lakes have been identified with the use of multi-mission satellite altimetry (SPACE LASERS), but only two have been directly sampled. As part of the Subglacial Antarctic Lakes Scientific Access (SALSA) project, Mercer Subglacial Lake was recently sampled (January, 2019). Here I will discuss preliminary findings and what this means for the way we view Antarctica.

About Ryan: PhD Candidate at USF-CMS using novel geochemical techniques to answer questions about, "What happened?" and, "When?" in the geologic past!

Jennifer Sedillo

Science of Taste (of Beer) - Beer tasting and judging uses all of the senses to evaluate beer and its quality. The flavor of a beer depends on the taster's perception. The use of gustatory, olfactory, and trigeminal senses help us to perceive flavor. There is a lot of research in this field but individuals are unique in how they perceive flavor. There are many chemical compounds and combinations of compounds found in beer that will alter the flavor and the quality of beer based on the style and local palate.

About Jennifer: I am the director of the USFSP Brewing Arts Program. I am a microbiologist by training and a certified beer judge.