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Science Pubs at Cozmic Pizza - 2010
![]() ![]() When: The 2nd Thursday of the month at 7:00pm Where: Cozmic Pizza, The Science Pub is open to anyone and everyone, no RSVP required. Science Pub is meant for adults. Tell your friends, and we hope to see you there! Thursday, February 11 Weird Science: Knowledge and Intuition at the Fringe How can we distinguish what is probably true from what is probably not? What about ESP? What about UFOs? What about certain strongly held beliefs that are claimed to be “scientific”? How can scientists determine what is fact and what is fiction? This Science Pub will discuss how science can be used to tackle difficult and weird questions. We will learn that while scientists are human, and as such are susceptible to all the usual human foibles, they have learned to avoid some of the more obvious cognitive pitfalls and even picked up a few tricks of the trade along the way that make it possible to understand both nature and human nature. These insights have allowed scientific knowledge to achieve remarkably reliable and predictive results and yet our knowledge will always remain tentative. As Jacob Bronowski said “science is a tribute to what we can know, even though we are fallible.” John Donovan is the director of the Microanalysis Facility in the Center for Advanced Materials Characterization for Oregon (CAMCOR) Facility at the University of Oregon where he specializes in the physics of electron beam microscopy. He is also president of Probe Software, Inc., a software company founded in 2005 which provides scientific software, training and research to university, government and corporate laboratory scientists around the world. Thursday, March 11 The Cheese Stands Alone: The Science behind Oregon’s Acclaimed Artisan Cheeses with Lisbeth Goddik, PhD Oregon wine is mighty fine, but, increasingly, no one does cheese like the Beaver State, either. In recent years, Oregon’s specialty artisan cheeses have achieved international acclaim. Oregon’s Rogue River Blue, for instance, was named Best of Show in 2009 in the prestigious American Cheese Society’s annual artisan cheese competition, beating out more than 1,300 other entrants. Oregon cheeses took a jaw-dropping 22 prizes overall in the competition. Business for our cheese makers, even in a down economy, is booming. What’s so special about the way we separate the curds from the whey? What’s different for manufacturers today as they approach the ages-old craft of cheese making? What do they know that you can benefit from in shopping for and/or making your own cheese? Lisbeth Goddik, an associate professor of Food Science and Technology at Oregon State University and an extension dairy processing specialist, has helped the artisan cheese industry grow in Oregon through her cheese making classes and work in France studying with artisan cheese makers at two leading cheese schools. She has grown OSU’s support efforts for the industry as the number of artisan cheese businesses has expanded from just a handful to 19 commercial operations over the past 10 years. The Oregon Dairy Industries, in fact, donated $25,000 to support her work in 2007, providing critical funding for cutting-edge equipment for classes at OSU, and Oregon dairy farmers and Tillamook Creamery have supported her research on milk quality, cheese, and whey. Join Goddik for a lively, interactive presentation on the modern science of cheese making and a discussion of what Oregon is doing so well that makes our cheeses stand out from the crowd |
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