Washington DC

More'Easter Jonah The Storm Continues: Updates

gregladen — Sat, 23 Jan 2016 09:41:53 +0000

More'Easter Jonah The Storm Continues: Updates

According to Paul Douglas (pers. com) there is some important news on what Jonas still has planned.

There is likely to be major flooding along the coast of Cape May, and in some areas of New Jersey there may be coastal flooding nearly of the magnitude that happened with Superstorm Sandy. So far storm surges have exceeded the original predictions.

The region from Washington DC to New York is likely to have another half foot or more of snow, and storm totals will be two to three feet with much larger drifts over that area. This snow will taper off this evening over much of the area.

The map at the top of the post is a prediction for the snowfall totals for this storm (from here).

Jeff Masters notes, "This storm will certainly rival some of the biggest mid-Atlantic storms in recent decades, and some model runs have cranked out snow totals beyond historical precedent."

For the northern regions affected by this storm, the areas it is moving into now, there is less certainty.

So far there are many places with 12 to 20 inches of snow on the ground across western New Jersey, the DC area, large areas of Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. New York around the city haws already seen a foot or moe in many places.

Boston is going to get a more normal snow storm, just a few inches total.

There have already been major power outages in North Carolina.

gregladen Sat, 01/23/2016 - 04:41

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More'easter Jonas Looks Like The Real Deal (UPDATED Storm shifts to the north)

gregladen — Thu, 21 Jan 2016 09:37:00 +0000

More'easter Jonas Looks Like The Real Deal (UPDATED Storm shifts to the north)

Friday AM Update: Overall the storm has shifted north. Washington DC is still on track to have something close to two feet of snow in the city, more to the west. The predicted snowfall for New York City, the city that eats meteorologists, is increasing, and The City may see a foot or more, with closer to two feet to the northwest. DC will have its most intensive snowfall during the night on Friday, while New York City will have most of its snow falling during the day on Saturday.

With this northward shift, Boston is likely to get more snow too, possibly over a foot. Snow will start there during the afternoon on Saturday and continue through Sunday AM and early PM.

Wave and storm surge erosion with winds gusting to 50 MPH along the coast is still expected, especially along coastal New Jersey, Long Island, southern New England, Cape Cod, and down south across the Delmarva Peninsula. Normal tides are strong this time of month. Expect power outages here and there.

Regardless of the apparently senseless and, frankly, mean spirited comments we see from some of the climate science denialists (i.e., that blizzards have happened before therefore...) it is simply true that most of the big storms that have hit this area since good record have occurred in just the last few years. That's the observation. These storms are made worse by global warming enhanced sea surface temperatures. That's part of the mechanism. Changes in jet stream patterns have also probably played a role in both the concentration of moisture and the length of storms, and their tracks. So, yes, this is a global warming enhanced storm that earns an extra merit badge for having a bit of extra energy from El Nino.

See THIS for more about the science behind the predictions and the storm itself.

A quick update (Thursday 10:30PM Central). Not much change in the overall pattern, but the "most likely" amount of snow for DC and environs has increased. You'all are likely to get way over a foot, possibly 20 inches or so, maybe more. The minimum is 9 inches. That's not too likely. Overall, predicted snowfall amounts are increased. New York is expected to receive a half a foot or more, but as I note below this is hard to predict for that area. The estimate of snow for Boston has gone down, most likely an inch or so. But, that estimate has a fat tail, and it could be much more in the Boston area or East/Central Mass (up to 10 inches). Coastal flooding in New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and parts of Virginia are still expected.

I had previously mentioned Jonas, the storm about to bear down on the US East Coast. I cautioned that we should be open to a lot of possible outcomes, and to realize that prediction of exact snowfall amounts in a given area are very difficult with this sort of storm. Here, I'll repeat that warning. If you see a big blob of predicted snow on a weather map, you can be pretty sure that if you are within or near that blob, you'll get snow. But if you look at the exact locations of 12" snow here, or 6" snow there, and expect that to be accurate, than please contact me off line, I have nice bridge to sell you.

However, as the storm approaches the predictions get more reliable. In this case, multiple weather models have been in line with each other all along, and the convergence on a big storm with certain characteristics is emerging. The storm will affect land areas staring during the day Friday, and continue through the weekend, depending on your location.

What will happen in Washington DC?

One of the big questions is what will happen in DC. At the moment, some of the standard weather services are predicting five or six inches from between some time Friday and early Sunday in the DC metro. This is conservative, and if you are ramping up your expectations about this storm but are not going to be in the DC area, keep this in mind so later you can be all surprised at a larger amount. But if you are living or working in DC, you need to know that other highly reliable sources, such as the National Weather Service, are suggesting a larger amount.

Sticking with the idea that snowfall prediction is a game of probabilities, I offer this EXPERIMENTAL prediction method showing possible snowfall for a few spots in DC:

It is pretty obvious how to read this. This information shows that there could be as little as 8 inches across the DC area, but as much as 30 inches. The chance of the snow on the ground adding up to over 18 inches is better than 50-50, meaning that the chances of there being a mere half of this large amount (the 30 inch apocalyptic number) is also 50-50. There is about a 20% chance that the total snow will be less than a foot. This means, of course, that the good money is on a total accumulation of over a foot, possibly a lot over a foot.

In a place like DC, over a foot and over two feet are not that different. Both are city-shutting amounts.

By the way, I'm hearing rumors that in the greater DC area, out in Virginia and such, there was some icing and snow over the last 24 hours that the authorities in charge decided not to plow or treat, so driving conditions in the area are currently very bad. Just rumors, but from credible sources. Maybe the snow plow people are saving up their resources for the big one. (See this!)

Will New York City get much snow?

Yesterday it was looking like New York might get a few inches. However, overnight, various model projections have started to show a big lump of snow on or near New York, suggesting that the storm might have a bigger impact there. Right now, the National Weather Service is saying that there may be 8-12 inches of accumulation in New York.

New York is tricky because it has a strong urban heat island effect. Also, it is adjacent to not one, but two seas, and can be quite windy. Also, while New York has a lot of people in it, and the "Greater New York Area" is huge, overlapping large portions of three states and several counties (at least a dozen), when people go and look at the snowfall in New York City, they look at downtown Manhattan, and that is a tiny area (comparatively) that happens to be situated in a way that makes weather prediction extra hard. It is very common for a substantial snowfall predicted for New York to end up being nothing, or an inch or two. So, expect the unexpected. It is not unreasonable to assume a better outcome for The City than the forecasters suggest. But it may not be wise to rely on that assumption.

Will Boston get much snow?

In a way, Boston is even worse than New York. At the larger scale, Boston has a sort of barrier island, Cape Cod, which can influence some of the weather that comes its way, but Cape Cod is very far away covers only part of the sea in that area. Most storms sneak around it from the northeast. Nor'easters are not named as such for no reason.

Boston is a very small city surrounded by many, many other cities, that are together called "Boston" as in "I lived in Boston" but actually lived in Somerville or Medford or something. Also, Boston is in a basin (the "Boston Basin") snuggled up to the harbor and Mass Bay, and the highlands rise quickly (but not too much) around it, so it is not at all uncommon for Boston to get one inch of slush proceeded by some rain, while Lexington and Concord (commuting bedroom suburbs of Boston) get several times that.

And, in this case, the northern extent of More'Easter* Jonas is somewhere around Boston but nobody can say for sure yet.

The National Weather Service is suggesting that the worst case, but unlikely, scenario for the Greater Boston Area is 5-6 inches, the most likely 2-3 inches, but with a distinct possibility of zero. The Cape and Islands, and southern Rhode Island and SE Mass may get 6-8 inches. So, for that region, snowfall wise, just a typical winter snow but windy.

Where will the biggest accumulations be?

The biggest accumulations of snow are likely to be inland, at somewhat higher elevations, focusing around a couple of points. Here's a map I cribbed from Paul Douglas' blog:

No, wait, here is a more recent updated version, read the discussion below with that in mind:

Technically, since over a foot of snow is a lot, the answer to this question is "everywhere form Long Island across most of New Jersey, half of Pennsylvania, Much of Virginia and West Virginia, and Maryland." But, there seems to be two major centroids of heaviest accumulation being predicted, one in New Jersey south of New York City, and the other wet of Washington across Maryland and the Virginia-West Virginia border. But, as I've now said a half dozen times or more, these sorts of snowfall projections are notoriously inaccurate at any level of detail. If you live anywhere in the area of this map bounded by the yellow stripe, expect snow. If you are in or near the red and purple zones, there is a chance you will be snowbound. So, run out to the store now with all the other people and get stuff.

The big problem with Jonas may be the wind

But when you do get to the store, if you want to be a True Survivalist, don't get frozen food or anything that requires electricity to prepare. And get extra batteries. And when you get home, do your laundry so you can get that done before your power goes out. The heavy snow amounts have the potential of knocking down power lines, of course, but there will also be windy conditions during this blizzard, and that will very likely knock a few wires off their poles. If this happens in many places over a large area, a simple outage that could be fixed in a few hours may take much longer. Between roads being closed because of snow and a high demand for repairs, some outages could last much longer than average, maybe even a day or a few days in the worst case. So be ready for that.

Coastal Erosion

My friend Paul Douglas referred to this storm as roughly like a "tropical storm with snow".* It isn't really a tropical storm, as he notes, but it is like one in the sense that there will be strong coastal winds and, owing to the winds and very low pressure, a storm surge in some areas.

The storm surge may be most severe between the central New Jersey coast and the Chesapeake. However, the effects of a storm surge are highly local. So, for instance, the Delaware coast, because of the shape of the coast line and its position in the maw of the fetch, may experience high water. Small embayments along the Jersey coast may see very high local surges. There will also be high water in the same areas where Superstorm Sandy rose up to flood New York City and nearby New Jersey, but the height of those waters will not be as bad as during that storm.

The other local phenomenon that determines the severity of a storm surge is, of course, local elevation. Areas with low relief behind the strandline facing the ocean may see several feet of water washing inland, and serious damage to property and natural areas. Places where the land rises quickly behind the beaches will still be affected by wind and spray (expect to see a lot of damaged or dead trees in some areas next spring form the salt) but structures and roads would be less affected. Pay close attention to what your local authorities are saying. At this point, though, the storm surges are expected to cause possibly record-book altering floods. From Paul:

Unseasonably warm water in the Gulf Stream will fuel rapid intensification and pressure falls, a partial vaccuum that will pull air into the core of this developing Nor'Easter, whipping up high winds and pounding surf; the rough equivalent of a wintertime tropical storm (without the warm core). Here's an excerpt from WXshift: "...On Saturday, powerful winds in excess of 60 mph could whip up waves that could reach 30 feet. As they come ashore, beaches will take a pounding and face widespread erosion. Models also show a current storm surge of around 5 feet coming ashore with Saturday’s high tide. In Cape May, N.J., the current forecast high tide mark on Saturday evening would be the third-highest on record while Atlantic City would come in at 10th in the record books, according to Stephen Stirling at NJ.com. That could push water inland and cause widespread property damage..."

Bottom line: If you live or work in a place within the range of this storm that has been storm-flooded in the past, assume this is a possibility this time.

UPDATE: The storm surge and coastal flooding is starting to ramp up as one of the more likely negative outcomes here. Paul Douglas just sent me these words of warning: "I'm increasingly concerned about the threat of widespread coastal flooding from this super-sized Nor'easter. Blizzard and 50+ mph winds arriving during full moon with sustained onshore winds creating a 4-7 foot storm surge capable of lowland flooding and beach erosion. Facilities that were impacted by Sandy in 2012 may experience problems with this storm."

The National Weather Service in New York is warning that this may be one of the top five flooding events on record in the area.

THE MOST SIGNIFICANT COASTAL FLOODING MAY COCUR AT HIGH TIDE SATURDAY EVENING. So check your tide chart.

More'Easter*

So, when Paul made mention of the "Tropical Storm with Snow" to some mutual colleagues, the idea came up that this sort of storm needed a new name (Snowicane, or something like this). I suggested that during the last two decades, there have been more Nor'easters, with more moisture and precipitation, covering more geographical areas (mainly to the south) than in the past. So, maybe the term "More'easter" would be appropriate. Paul anointed the idea, and now you can use the term as well, if you like. I don't expect the meteorology textbooks to be updated any time soon, but who knows?

A quick word about climate change and El Niño

Yes, this storm is getting its extra moisture and power from climate change with a does of El Niño added in. The driver of this wetness (which will be snowness) is very high sea surface temperatures in the Atlantic. El Niño influences this, but frankly, the sea surface temperatures off shore right now are not a lot different than they were last January, when a huge More'easter blanketed New England in a big pile of snow. This is a global warming enhanced storm.

gregladen Thu, 01/21/2016 - 04:37

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“Yes, this storm is getting its extra moisture and power from climate change with a does of El Niño added in. The driver of this wetness (which will be snowness) is very high sea surface temperatures in the Atlantic…This is a global warming enhanced storm.”

The Atlantic’s GW enhancement may have been in greater 94 years ago, at least for Washington, D.C.
That's when they got their all-time record – 28 inches!

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Ten-Worst-Storms-in-DC-History-…

Hey, See Noevo found an anomalous event at one particular time in one particular place! Good job!

Truly, you have a dizzying intellect.

sn: it's been pointed out to you numerous times that the fact there were large storms years ago does not mean discussions of and about storms currently active are incorrect, no matter how strongly your feeble little dishonest intellect wants them to be.

“Yes, this storm is getting its extra moisture and power from climate change with a does [sic] dose...

See-No-Context can always be relied upon for cherries.

The driver of this wetness (which will be snowness) is very high sea surface temperatures in the Atlantic

An interesting thing about ice ages is that, initially, the winters may be warmer and the summers cooler which means more snow accumulation in winter and less melting in summer. So a decrease in the temperature differential between summer and winter such as is caused by orbital variations (with no change in the average) can lead to an ice age.

However, unlike the conditions leading to an ice age, our (we caused it) global warming is increasing the temperature in every season. We might be lucky to get a positive ice balance change in some seasons and in some places but usually it's negative.

Plenty of flooding on the New Jersey coast. Governor Christie did not consider global warming a "crisis" in December of 2015. I wonder how many extreme events it will take to raise his level of concern to that of "problem" or "worthy of consideration"? Or are his opinions about climate change strictly molded by the amount of petro-dollars in his campaign war chest?

Coastal New Jersey communities are now suffering their second major flooding event in less than four years. This must be disheartening .

As to attribution... we know that global warming is raising sea level through ice melt water and through local changes like slowing of the Gulf Stream. Sandy was a record sized storm. Jonas has broken a number of records. Is this all just bad luck for New Jersey? Is this all just a bad combination of natural effects like high tides, el Nino, and random weather? Or are these harbingers of more infrastructure wrecking climate change to come during Christy's term? How much of a putz is governor CC going to prove himself to be?

Stay tuned.

The Superbowl of STEM was one for the Books! The 3rd USA Science & Engineering Festival Reaches over 325,000!

carlyo — Tue, 29 Apr 2014 17:56:54 +0000

The Superbowl of STEM was one for the Books! The 3rd USA Science & Engineering Festival Reaches over 325,000!

It is difficult to grasp the magnitude of what was accomplished not only this past weekend, but also the entire two years leading up to the 3rd USA Science & Engineering Festival. The official numbers from the Washington D.C. Convention Center reveal that over 325,000 attendees visited our Nation's Capital to partake in the largest celebration of STEM or as we have dubbed it- the Superbowl of STEM! In addition to our Expo Finale weekend, we reached over 180,000 students and teachers with our STEM initiative programs including our Nifty Fifty and X-STEM School Programs.

Numbers of course matter to us, but the feedback from our attendees, performers, sponsors, exhibitors and authors have really given us a reason to celebrate the success of the 3rd Festival. The mission of the USA Science & Engineering Festival is to re-invigorate the interest of our nation’s youth in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) by producing and presenting the most compelling, exciting, educational and entertaining science festival in the United States. We believe that with the help of our sponsors and exhibitors, including our Founding & Presenting Host Lockheed Martin, we achieved our goal. Our email boxes have been flooded and our social media sites are full of thank-you's, congratulations and most importantly, notes from parents telling us how much our Festival inspired their children and possibly initiated a career path in STEM.

If you participated in the Festival then you deserve a pat on the back. Job well done! Please take a few moments to visit our Facebook Page and Twitter feed (follow us @USAScienceFest, #Scifest) to view more pictures and read the comments expressing gratitude from our Festival attendees. Thank you and we hope to see you 2016!

carlyo Tue, 04/29/2014 - 13:56

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The Need to Connect on An Emotional Level With STEM Learners

carlyo — Thu, 13 Mar 2014 16:26:16 +0000

The Need to Connect on An Emotional Level With STEM Learners

By Larry Bock

Co-Founder of USA Science Science & Engineering Festival

No doubt, the influences that move individuals into their chosen field of science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) are often as different as night and day, but one thing seems constant: most STEM professionals, in remembering how they made their selection, can trace that ¨A-ha!¨ moment back to a pivotal experience in their lives that connected them on an emotional level for the first time with their chosen line of work.

That moment for scientist James E. West, inventor of the foil electret microphone, came at the age of eight when he experienced a jolting electric shock while trying to plug a radio he had just repaired into a ceiling outlet. Strange as it may seem, that emotional episode was the one that inspired him to become an acoustical scientist. "I became fascinated by electricity after that, just completely fascinated,¨ he recalls. ¨I needed to learn everything I could about it."

For others, these pivotal moments may be sparked by episodes less arresting but equally poignant, such as something a teacher or mentor said to them, something they read, something they saw on a field trip, or a hands-on demonstration they participated in.

That's the power of positive emotional experiences. These meaningful moments are captured and stored by the brain for vivid memory and, on an unconscious level, become key to enhancing learning, motivation and decision-making, says noted neuroscientist Antonio R. Damasio, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Iowa College of Medicine.

Such findings are significant as we explore new and creative avenues to inspire and motivate more students in STEM. One thing is clear to me in this quest: We must begin connecting with young learners in STEM on an emotional level by exposing them to exciting, interactive experiences, inside and outside the classroom -- encounters that immerse the senses and touch various emotions. Which is what really thrills me about the USA Science & Engineering Festival, due to kick off nationally again this April.

The Festival, the largest science outreach event of its kind in the country, brings kids, teachers and the public up close and personal with some of the nation's most inspiring leaders and innovations in STEM via exciting hands-on venues -- proving one thing: science and engineering isn't boring!

The Festival's finale Expo celebration on Saturday, April 26 to Sunday April 27 at the Washington, DC Convention Center, will be a prime example of this. Did you ever think science and engineering could engage so many different emotions in one weekend? Here are just a few examples of how the Expo, through its dazzling array of presentations, will strike various emotions while immersing audiences in science:

Adventure: You'll be spellbound while learning the science of extreme sports from some of the world's most daring ZOZI extreme sports champions -- including big wave surfer Maya Gabeira, triathlon athlete Chris Lieto, and kayaker Tao Berman. Plus you'll be captivated as Hollywood stuntman Steve Wolf takes you behind the scenes to discover the science behind TV and movie stunts and special effects.

Think and Ponder: You'll be moved by the thought-provoking presentation by the Innocence Project and the New York Hall of Science that reveals the important role DNA evidence is playing in exonerating a growing number of wrongfully convicted prisoners. And Mike Rowe of ¨Dirty Jobs" will enlighten you with a timely fact: skilled labor jobs are becoming some of the most highly-paid and in-demand jobs today in STEM.

Mystery and Intrigue: You'll gasp as Chris Hackett, America's consummate DIYer, demonstrates his secrets of surviving an apocalypse and zombie invasion! And the science of illusion and sleight-of-hand action with Apollo Robbins, the ¨Gentleman Thief¨ and star of National Geographic's Brain Games, will have you on the edge of your seat.

Inspiration: You'll cheer and shed a tear as Amanda Boxtel, an athlete paralyzed in a skiing accident 21 years ago, reveals how the emerging field of bionic exoskeletal technology is helping her to walk again. And meeting and learning from basketball great Kareem Abdul Jabbar how his nonprofit organization, the Skyhook Foundation, is motivating low-income kids in STEM will have you standing up and applauding.

Perseverance: You'll be wowed by the mission of actress, mathematician and bestselling author Danica McKellar -- known for her acting roles in TV's The Wonder Years, and The West Wing -- to help more girls gain the confidence and perseverance to succeed in mathematics.

Awe: Bill Nye the Science Guy will captivate you as he takes you inside the awesome frontiers of science through the dynamic hands-on demonstrations that have made him famous.

Humor and Music: You'll laugh while increasing your science IQ through the humor of science comedian Brian Malow! And the science-inspired music of two-time Grammy Award winner, They Might Be Giants, will have you singing and humming along.

Empowerment: You'll be fascinated as well as bolstering your level of science literacy when science advisors to some of the hottest TV shows today --Drs. Donna Nelson of Breaking Bad; David Saltzberg of the Big Bang Theory, and John Sotos of House, MD. -- demonstrate the importance of ¨Getting the Science Right in Hollywood.¨ Plus, increase your science acumen in football with ¨The Physics of Football¨ panel featuring scientist Ainissa Ramirez, and John Urschel, a math genius and college gridirion star at Penn State.

Undoubtedly, connecting students with such powerful emotions via STEM can do wonders to inspire the next generation of innovators.

Follow Larry Bock on Twitter @USAScienceFest: www.twitter.com/usasciencefest

carlyo Thu, 03/13/2014 - 12:26

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"...is motivating low-income kids in STEM will have you standing up and applauding." That's really great, but shouldn't one rather encourage low-income kids to have careers in fields which increase their income, such as medicine? Or the financial industry where we learn that bonuses go up, even if profits are down ( http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/03/12/wall-street-bonuses-go-up-as-the… ).
When I was a lecturer, I remember a conversation with a very bright minority physics undergraduate student, whom I tried to encourage to go to graduate school, where undoubtedly he would have done well. he pointed out to me that -as first in his family to go to college - he'd have to provide for younger siblings and parents once working, and clearly, science with endless postdocs positions, engineering with outsourced jobs wasn't it; with a MD he'd be reasonably assured of a reasonable income.-- But in my leafy wealthy suburb, my kids and their friends in high school observe that parents in engineering or CS have to change jobs every so often, because of outsourcing, layoffs, and are unemployable after age 50; but the kids with parents in some financial business or corporate law can retire at age 45.-- But at least for a graduate degree in science or engineering one can avoid student loans by being an underpaid teaching or research assistant for a few years.

The USA Science & Engineering Festival Revolutionizing STEM Education Through Groundbreaking Nifty Fifty Program

carlyo — Thu, 03 Oct 2013 21:28:33 +0000

The USA Science & Engineering Festival Revolutionizing STEM Education Through Groundbreaking Nifty Fifty Program

By F. Mark Modzelewski

The USA Science & Engineering Festival, supported by presenting host sponsor Lockheed Martin, is pleased to announce the launch of the 2013/14 school year “Nifty Fifty,” an innovative program that brings over 150 noted science and engineering professionals to schools across New York, California and the Washington, D.C. metro area to speak about their work, careers, and discoveries. Featuring some of the most inspiring role models in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), this signature program of the Festival presents students with the latest discoveries in green technology, engineering, human health and medicine, astronomy and space exploration, nanotechnology, computer science, and more.

The USA Science & Engineering Festival was co-founded by serial entrepreneur Larry Bock and Lockheed Martin Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Dr. Ray O. Johnson. The Festival will next take place April 25-27, 2014 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. The free, nonprofit Festival is the largest STEM outreach event in the world, and is filled with hands-on exhibits, experiments, concerts, and talks from leading technology entrepreneurs, Nobel Prize winning scientists, Hollywood celebrities, Fortune 500 CEOs, and many others.

The Nifty Fifty program quietly launched in 2010. Officially kicking off in October 2013, the 2013/2014 program will close in April 2014. This year’s program will include schools in Maryland, Virginia, New York, California, and Washington, D.C., and is on its way to expanding to a fifty state effort. Schools can still apply to take part by going to: http://www.usasciencefestival.org/schoolprograms/niftyfifty.html.

“The goal of the Festival is to create wonder and to inspire young people,” said Larry Bock, founder of the USA Science & Engineering Festival. He added, “The Nifty Fifty program is at the very core of our mission to stimulate and motivate students, exposing them to incredible role models who open new pathways for their futures in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.”

An incredibly diverse group of leading science and technology visionaries are taking part in this year’s Nifty Fifty, including: Dr. Reggie Brothers, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, who ensures that America remains safe through science and technological innovation; Dr. Elizabeth Cottrell, Geologist, Smithsonian Institution, who will take students on a journey to the center of the Earth with her latest findings on volcanoes and the planet’s core and mantle; Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, Physician and Scientist, NIAID, who as Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease serves as a key advisor to the White House on a wide range of health issues, from the global AIDS epidemic to bioterrorism; Dr. Diandra Leslie-Pelecky, who studies the physics of NASCAR when not researching nanoscience; Dr. Donald A. Thomas, Astronaut, who has been on four different Space Shuttle missions but now focuses on motivating the next generation of young scientists as director of Towson University’s Hackerman Academy of Mathematics and Science; Dr. Geoffrey Ling, a world renowned specialist in brain and spinal cord injury who is revolutionizing the development of highly functional prosthetic limbs for returning wounded soldiers; Dr. Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa, a former migrant worker turned internationally known neurosurgeon and researcher at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine; and, Hayat Sindi, Ph.D. who works to overcome cultural and gender barriers in her native Saudi Arabia and has co-founded a biotech company that is changing the face of how developing countries diagnose disease.

To find out more about Nifty Fifty Speakers and many other Festival events and activities visit www.USAScienceFestival.org, connect with the Festival on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter @USAScienceFest.

carlyo Thu, 10/03/2013 - 17:28

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Spotlight on X-STEM Speaker Dr. David Gallo!

carlyo — Wed, 02 Oct 2013 18:32:36 +0000

Spotlight on X-STEM Speaker Dr. David Gallo!

X-STEM - presented by Northrop Grumman Foundation and MedImmune - is an Extreme STEM symposium for elementary through high school students featuring interactive presentations by an exclusive group of visionaries who aim to empower and inspire kids about careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). These top STEM role models and industry leaders are sure to ignite your students’ curiosity through storytelling and live demonstrations.

Our spotlight on our X-STEM Speakers continues with Titanic Explorer Dr. David Gallo!

The world deep beneath the surface of the ocean is a dark, mysterious, and fascinating place. Renowned oceanographer David Gallo should know -- he's been there numerous times.

"Sea life at those depths -- two to three miles down-- is also bizarre, resilient, beautiful and shockingly abundant," he adds.

A pioneer in ocean exploration, David (who participated in the exploration of the legendary Titanic) is one of the first scientists to use a combination of manned submersible vehicles and robots to map and study the undersea world with clarity and detail. In his work, he's traversed and plumbed the depths of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans, and the Mediterranean Sea.

"It's absolutely amazing to consider that the Earth's surface is covered 75 percent by water, yet we've explored only 3 percent of the oceans and seas thus far," David muses. "This tells us we don't know much yet about this planet at all."

As the Director of Special Projects at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, he has taken part in some of the most adventurous deep sea exploration projects of this era, including: serving as co-expedition leader during the exploration of RMS Titanic and the German battleship Bismarck (using Russian MIR submarines), as well as a recent expedition to find the lost WWII submarine USS Grunion.

Read Dr. Gallo's full biography by clicking here.

We thank Dr. David Gallo for participating in our new X-STEM Extreme Symposium! We look forward to X-STEM becoming a new school tradition!

For a full list of our X-STEM Speakers click here.

Follow the USA Science & Engineering Festival on twitter here.

carlyo Wed, 10/02/2013 - 14:32

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Festival Welcomes Back Bill Nye, ‘The Science Guy® ‘, to Expo Performer Lineup!

carlyo — Wed, 25 Sep 2013 16:47:22 +0000

Festival Welcomes Back Bill Nye, ‘The Science Guy® ‘, to Expo Performer Lineup!

Bill Nye -- scientist, engineer, comedian, author, and inventor -- is a man with a mission: to help foster a scientifically literate society, and to help people everywhere understand and appreciate the science that makes our world work. Making science understandable, entertaining, and accessible is something Bill has been doing much of his life, starting with his days as a math tutor in high school and later studying under Planetary Society co-founder Carl Sagan in college and working as a stand-up comedian. Following in Sagan's footsteps, Bill now serves as Chief Executive Officer of the Society. He says the Society, the world's largest and most influential group fighting for space exploration is "Your place in space, where we advocate, create, and educate for and about space science and exploring the solar system."

See Bill Nye at the Festival: "The Science Guy" is bringing his exciting, trademark style of science interaction and discovery to the Festival Expo next April 26 and 27 during an unforgettable stage show performance! You'll be enthralled as Bill -- clad in his characteristic bow tie and lab coat -- takes you deep inside the mysteries of everything science through dynamic demonstrations.

Bill is part of an exciting lineup of celebrity performers set for the Expo in Washington, D.C., which also includes organic chemist Donna Nelson, science advisor to AMC's hit TV series, "Breaking Bad"; physicist David Salzberg, science consultant for CBS TV's "The Big Bang Theory"; and professional tinkerer Chris Hackett, host of the Science Channel's popular DIY show, "Stuck With Hackett".

Bill Nye, a self-described geek since childhood, was born and reared in Washington, D.C. where he discovered that he had a talent for motivating others while serving as a math tutor to fellow high school students. His fascination with science and how things work led him to Cornell University where his coursework included an intro to the cosmos by Carl Sagan, the famous astronomer and astrophysicist (who would later co-found The Planetary Society). After earning a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Bill headed for Seattle where he worked as an engineer at Boeing. There, Bill's achievements included designing a hydraulic pressure resonance suppressor which is used in Boeing 747s.

Eventually, he quit his day engineering day job and made the transition to comedy writer and performer on Seattle's home-grown ensemble comedy show "Almost Live." This is where "Bill Nye the Science Guy®" was born. The show appeared before Saturday Night Live and later on Comedy Central.

Bill would win seven national Emmy Awards for writing, performing, and producing. In all, the show won 18 Emmys in five years. Between shows, he wrote five kids' books about science, including his latest title, Bill Nye's Great Big Book of Tiny Germs. Bill also hosted three television series: The 100 Greatest Discoveries, The Eyes of Nye and an environmental education show called Stuff Happens.

And, just in case you haven't heard the exciting news about Dancing With The Stars, Bill Nye released this statement, "Something remarkable has come up. I've been cast as a "star" on Dancing With The Stars. The show is watched by millions...As unusual as this may seem, I believe we can broaden awareness of The Planetary Society and thereby humankind's exploration of the Cosmos one ballroom dance at a time. Nerds can dance, too!" Be sure to tune in to watch Bill Nye take the stage on Dancing With The Stars on ABC!

For more details on the Festival Expo's performers stay tuned by following us on Facebook and Twitter! And be sure to visit our website for more details including performance dates.

carlyo Wed, 09/25/2013 - 12:47

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Dancing with the Stars

LOCKHEED MARTIN TO ACCLAIM AMERICA’S ENGINEERING ACHIEVEMENTS AT THE FESTIVAL

carlyo — Mon, 08 Jul 2013 16:38:52 +0000

LOCKHEED MARTIN TO ACCLAIM AMERICA’S ENGINEERING ACHIEVEMENTS AT THE FESTIVAL

By Dr. Ray O. Johnson, Lockheed Martin senior vice president and chief technology officer

As the founding and presenting host of the third USA Science & Engineering Festival, Lockheed Martin returns to the 2014 Festival with inspiring, hands-on exhibits designed to drive excitement in our next generation of engineers, scientists, and technical professionals. The Lockheed Martin Experience promises to once again be a premier attraction at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, located in the nation’s capital. We will bring fresh exhibits that provide an innovative engineering and technology Exploratorium.

The USA Science & Engineering Festival is a fun, hands-on experience, but make no mistake – it has seriousness of purpose. The competiveness of the United States depends on a skilled workforce of engineers and innovators who are equipped to design solutions to our nation’s most critical needs. As a generation of scientists, engineers, and mathematicians retires, young people are not sufficiently preparing for these important technology positions. In fact, according to a U.S. Bureau of Labor statistic, 24 percent of our engineering workforce will retire by 2020. Just to fill the void, we need 365,000 engineers. To build for the future, we need many more.

We need to change the way we perceive, experience, and prioritize science and engineering in this country. Larry Bock and I founded the USA Science & Engineering Festival with this in mind. During the Festival, we elevate engineers and scientists to celebrity status. Taking their rightful place on the Festival’s main stages, they captivate audiences of the next generation, who get to experience how much fun it is to make science and engineering part of their life.

The Festival also provides the hands-on aspect that is essential to move from the theoretical to the practical side of engineering and science. Integrating visual, auditory, and hands-on experiences, the Festival helps students gain confidence through exploration.

We are confident that students will leave the Festival exhilarated and inspired to build the pipeline of technical talent that our nation needs to prosper into the future.

Link to Dr. Johnson on Twitter (@Ray_O_Johnson)

carlyo Mon, 07/08/2013 - 12:38

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Washington DC

ASPO-USA Conference LiveBlog!

sastyk — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 07:45:11 +0000

ASPO-USA Conference LiveBlog!

Well, we've finally got a mostly-complete ASPO Conference schedule. The problem is exactly the sort of problem you'd really like to have when running one of these - that there are just too many serious thinkers who need a spot. It is really tough to finalize the conference schedule when every day you are receiving calls that say things like "This is Bianca Jagger, Chair of the Human Rights Foundation, calling to say that I'd like to speak at your conference on the connection between Climate, Energy Depletion and Human Rights...here are the texts of my UN speeches if you'd like to see them." Or "The Rear-Admiral would be delighted..."

What we're seeing is that the scientific debates about peak energy are really over - the IEA, the US Military, the Department of Energy - all of them have had to admit that we are facing instability and supply constraints, coming upon us very soon. Former Secretary of State Dr. James Schlesinger has come out in the mainstream media to point out that the discussion is over - and now we have to deal with the realities.

The heartening thing (on an issue that obviously doesn't have a lot of heartening things) is that this is so far a non-partisan issue, so much so that ASPO's scheduled Press Conference and Congressional Briefing can actually bring together people who simply don't appear on the same stage together. We've got Anti-poverty Activists and Billionaires, Right-wing Congressfolk and Left-Wing Presidential Candidates, Human Rights Campaigners and Military Folk, and even me. They don't agree on anything - except that Energy Depletion represents a fundamental threat - and it isn't controversial anymore.

ASPO is changing fast with this new reality - we are leveraging this new understanding as hard and fast as we can. Because even though we know that the boat isn't going to turn around fast or in time, we also know that policy changes on the state, federal and local level can make huge differences in quality of life and basic security for thousands and millions of people. It isn't an all-or-nothing game here.

My presence on the board is part of another change - once upon a time, Energy Depletion was primarily the territory of Geologists and Scientists, who spent a lot of time discussing the detailed parameters. All of us who know about peak oil now are deeply enriched by that work. At the same time, however, now that the basics are fully established, the territory of peak oil extends to everyone who has a stake in the future, and investment in their security and the hope for their posterity. And while technical responses have a role in the future, so do everyday actions by ordinary, engaged citizens.

ASPO brought me onto the board in the hope of building a new balance between supporting the research and technical knowledge and bringing the message to the mainstream and supporting social change. In some ways, my presence, as a writer and small farmer, is a challenge to what ASPO has been in the past, and an investment in what it can be in the future - an investment in the ties between the technical and personal ends of this quest for a way forward.

So I need to ask several things of my readers. First, if you can attend the conference in Washington DC, please do - the more of you who are present, who have something to add to the discourse, the more we build that connection between the people who have technical answers and those who have answers about what they want for the next generation. Come to the conference. Take part. Ask questions. And make sure that you are seen as the face of this issue. Make sure that when the media comes through, they don't just see the faces of scientists talking to each other, but of parents, thinking of their children and of community activists engaging with the scientific and technical knowledge.

For those who can't come, I'll be liveblogging the conference as much as I can. There's simply too much valuable knowledge there for it not to be transmitted as far and wide as we can. But I can't do it alone - my responsibilities as a board member and a press liason, as well as the fact that I'm speaking twice during the conference means I'm going to miss a lot. So if you will be attending, email me if you'd be willing to help blog the conference - I'll put your posts up here (with full credit, obviously) as the conference progresses. If you tweet, consider tweeting the conference as well. Email me at jewishfarmer@gmail.com if you'd like to be part of my blogging team!

If you can attend, please take time to visit your congressional office and let your congressperson or their staff know how concerned you are that peak oil planning get on the agenda. ASPO is organizing visits, and will give you talking points and strategies. If you can't attend, you can still email and phone your congressperson and the White House and let them know that you care about this issue.

This is our opportunity to get stories in the major media as well that aren't "Here's a crazy person and her pile of MREs" ;-). The reality about this conference is that the aggregate of the experts here simply don't allow you to sustain the idea that this is a marginal or highly debatable idea. So if you have ties to media - national or local to the conference, encourage them to write a story. Everyone who knows and understands can do something to help their community - we're that much richer for every opportunity.

The more you distribute the liveblogging I and others do, the more you circulate the articles, and draw your neighbors' attention to the reality, the closer we get to a moment when we can say "look, we have to deal with this." And even if it doesn't happen to everyone, every person you engage makes a difference. So spread the word. We don't know how many more chances like this we'll get.

There's no way the ASPO conference alone can turn the tide of denial about peak oil - but the reality is we aren't alone. There are thousands of you - I know that each of my posts gets read by thousands of people, and they in turn can pass the stories on, lend a hand, raise a voice. I'd be grateful for your help.

Sharon

sastyk Tue, 09/21/2010 - 03:45

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..the scientific debates about peak energy are really over -

The scientific debates have been over for a long time. It's only been vested economic interests that have kept the debates alive for the sake of propaganda.

They don't agree on anything - except that Energy Depletion represents a fundamental threat -

The really fundamental threat would be if reduced carbon resources weren't being depleted. This would mean that climate warmed to the point where humans & other animals couldn't lose heat to the environment at night and the pH of the surface ocean dropped to the point where marine environments went septic. This is likely to happen as things stand but would be absolute certainties if we weren't rapidly depleting the easily extracted portion of these resource bases.

if you can attend the conference in Washington DC, please do -

One of the things people are going to have to do is refrain from traveling across continents & oceans. I have made a personal commitment to never flying again. I guess that it would be possible for someone like me to travel to DC on Amtrak - not that I would want to - but rather difficult for Bianca Jagger to get there from the UK by train. People like her need to set an example for others by staying home. Actions really do speak louder than words.

..what they want for the next generation.

Maybe the next generation needs to decide for itself what it wants.

That moment was in the past. Now the only thing that can be done is to attempt to accommodate to the changes that have already occurred and are in the pipeline. The harm that's already been accomplished can't be remediated on any timescale relevant to a human lifetime. The best that can be done is to attempt to compensate, on a personal level, for the anthropogenic environmental damage already inflicted. I hope that the take-home message of the APSO conference will be that resource depletion is a good thing; the only thing, apparently, that will check human population growth and slow the pace of environmental carnage already threatening ecosystem integrity worldwide.

DD, I think you are being unreasonably narrow in interpretation. Of course the question of whether oil would peak has been over forever, but the dates have been up in the air for some time, and really weren't resolved until recently - presumably you know that. Hubbert's linearization projected earlier, etc... Just because people aren't arguing about what you want them to argue about doesn't mean that there's no point to talking. And just because you know this doesn't mean most people do. Believe it or not, you aren't my only reader ;-).

I agree with you about climate change - but there's absolutely no question there's enough carbon to cross the critical tipping points, so that won't help much.

Like you I don't fly - period. That said, however, a substantive portion of the US lives in easy train travel of Washington DC - a lot of them can take the Metro.

In fact, Bianca Jagger was going to be in Washington already for another event - and I gather she resides there part of the year. We aren't flying her over - and wouldn't. Would it be better for the planet if she didn't fly - yup, but I'm not personally responsible and neither is ASPO for why Bianca was in DC already. In fact, we've made a considerable effort to bring in people local to that area, and get people *not* to fly. But I'm betting I've got enough readers in the I95 corridor that can ride Amtrak, just like me. Plenty of them live and work in and around DC or in the nearby population centers.

As for the last, to put it bluntly, bullshit. The next generation is my kids and all the children and babies in this world. They are 10, 8, 6 and 4. They will face all these problems, but we have to do what we can now to soften the blow. My parents put this problem off in the 1970s. Their parents put it off in the 1950s. Their parents put it off in the 1930s...and so on. The buck has to stop somewhere. To the extent I have the power - and that isn't very great, but I'll do what I can, it stops with me and my generation. We take as much of the hit as we can, do as much as we can to soften the blow. We don't leave it to the next generation.

Every single person speaking at this conference knows that we have to do what we can to deal with the crisis that is coming. And they also know that every single person they can engage is one more body in the great project of making this disaster less awful. I understand what you hope for - but that's not going to happen. But the moral return on a thousand blows softened - disabled people who get a safety net, forests that don't get cut, kids who get to grow up in a world that's a little less hot, and who have something to eat, old folks who don't get left in the cold - that's worth shooting for too. It is a failure. And it is the most worthwhile failure on the earth.

Sharon

Well, I don't know about a substantive portion, as I live nowhere near the 95 corridor. (Midwest FTW)

I digress though.
I was commenting to say that I'm most interested to hear what the rear-admiral has to say. I have a bunch of conservative-type relatives who watch way too much Fox and I'm hoping that hearing something from a military type might sway their thinking. So, if you're taking requests for the live-blogging, there's mine. :-)
-Jennie

I hope that the take-home message of the APSO (sic) conference will be that resource depletion is a good thing; the only thing, apparently, that will check human population growth and slow the pace of environmental carnage already threatening ecosystem integrity worldwide. - DD

I understand what you hope for - but that's not going to happen. - SA

Interesting! So you're saying that the ASPO people would prefer that reduced hydrocarbons were even more abundant than they are, or have been historically, even knowing that their oxidation is poisoning the atmosphere & surface ocean? The problem, then, as the ASPO crowd sees it, isn't environmental degradation so much as it's liquid fuels depletion impacting the affordability of flying around the world to attend conferences - along with more mundane things like heating a home or cooking a meal, of course? You're saying that the ASPO conference is going to focus exclusively on "PO awareness" and a broader ecocentric perspective is "not going to happen"?

DD, I think you are being unreasonably narrow in interpretation. - SA

Sharon, I think that a bit of projection is going on here. (Sorry, dewey, for my continued psychologizing.) It's okay, though. I understand that youthful involvement in the iustus quod optimus causa will look good on a CV later in life, and that smoozing with the jet set can be fun. I wonder where ASPO-Europe will be held. Saint-Tropez?

DD, you can kiss my ass - you want to put the harshest possible interpretation on everything I say, have your fun, but you are the elitist here. As far as I can see, you are only are interested in this if everyone says and undestand everything you want, just the way you want to hear it. If it isn't perfect, it doesn't count. Well, fuck that.

Awareness is what we're shooting for - not masturbatory, self-satisfying perfect awareness of our terrible state, but the kind of functional awareness that penetrates enough that people who aren't ecologically aware, who don't know what a white pine is, and who are just plain ordinary people who don't think about energy and ecology much, begin to grasp how their worldview has to change. They can get to your worldview from there - and I might even try and help them get part of it. But first they have to know there's a problem and what it is and where to start.

In a country where out of 320 million people, maybe 1 million on a good day even know what the words Peak oil mean, or have the faintest idea that their lives depend on a lifeline of resources that is fragile and subject to disruptions that will kill them, victory is getting 2 million people to know what the fuck is going on and maybe do something in their community to protect themselves. In a country where half the population thinks that climate change is a leftist conspiracy just getting people to talk a little about basic data is a victory.

So no, we're not going to stand up and offer the harshest possible "you'll all be extinct soon" worldview at a press conference designed to get a message out to those 319 million people who have never thought about this in their lives. We're not going to tell them they'd be better off with no fossil fuels, because it would save the planet. We're going to talk about the basics - why they should pay attention, and what you can do at the personal, community and political level. And yes, this should have been done by someone else long ago - so? You do what you can when you can.

And for that, we're going to use any celebrity power we can get, and any political power we can get, and any other power we can get - I don't give a fuck about the moral high ground, I want people to have shelter and food and not freeze to death. Because the reality is that those extra million people talk to other people, and they might at least get themselves a little coverage, or start building up the kind of community resources that can protect someone else.

That is quite literally the only goddamn hope we've got, and I'm sorry, I'm violating my own comments policy, but fuck you and the horse you rode in on for pretending you get the moral high ground for sitting on your ass and keening the death of the white pine and taking the death of people as a given, without doing fuck all to stop it. I'm going to fail at stopping it - am failing now, and so are all the other people - some of whom are probably in it for themselves. But I'll use them and any other tool I've got if it means that there's a little less suffering. You want to take the long view, in which we're all dead, and take that suffering as a given, go ahead. All I know is that when I've been suffering, even a little amelioration made all the difference.

You want to accuse me of whoring myself - fine with me, everyone has a price, I'm no different. But as I keep saying, I'm not a cheap whore. If I were going to prostitute myself for a "jet setter (not very rewarding to a woman who doesn't fly)", it wouldn't be for someone who got famous for wearing clothes and marrying an aging baby boomer who pretends he was born on a delta instead of Liverpool. Or I suppose I could be persuaded by someone really hot, maybe - elderly stick-thin fashionistas just aren't my type.

If you want to know the truth, I'd rather stay home and have sex with my husband, dig in my garden and play with my kids than go to ASPO - it is a royal pain in my ass, frankly. Eric teaches and I've got to find childcare and I'm going to miss my synagogue harvest festival and the visit of a wonderful friend of mine, and I've got shitloads of stuff to do at home. You've simply got the wrong girl if you think my dream is to hobnob with anyone if it means I have to wear something that isn't jeans - this is three full days of fucking dress shoes and that alone sucks enough for me to long for my pjs, my blog and my husband in anticipation.

I may be a self-aggrandizing jerk, but I'm also a really lazy one - I'm not going to San Tropez since I don't fly, and you can't raise goats and jet set. But I do think that this is the chance to make the difference between 1 and 2 million people - a chance, it might fail, but it is there. And that's worth a lot to me - even if it isn't worth anything to you.

Sharon

Alright Sharon!

Now you're showing some of the spunk you're going to need if you're to be even the least bit effective. Good show! ;)

Oh, how I want to go to this! But I can't really afford to, and don't have the vacation time available. : {
And it would require flying ...
Will help to spread the word for you, instead. And thank you, thank you, thank you, for the work you do.
The most worthwhile failure on Earth ... Yes. It is. We are so very fortunate you are here, failing so valiantly.

I think the reference to Liverpool was wrong, surely you meant Dartford (which is near London)?

Wow Sharon -- that's for the "spunk" and the great program. Unfortunately I can't be there. Looking forward to the liveblog.

DD, I was all set to come back this morning and write an apology for responding so harshly - instead, you cracked me up. Thank you.

Sharon

Sharon,

I have a suggestion for you and ASPO. I don't know if you read Andrew Sullivan at all or what you think of him. But his blog is very widely read, and won a Webby a year or two ago for best blog. He's an intelligent, sincere, humane, wide-ranging and thoughtful writer, and curious about a lot of subjects. Peak oil is among the many, many topics he covers -- though not, so far, in a very in-depth or focused way. He has linked to items on the Oil Drum a few times. He identifies as a conservative, but he's a very unconventional conservative, with positions on a lot of issues that most people would call liberal. So, he's open-minded and intellectually flexible. And he has readers from all over the political spectrum, all over the world, and all walks of life.

I think ASPO should make an outreach effort to Andrew Sullivan (and to similarly widely-read, influential bloggers -- especially those who aren't doctrinaire, have a diverse readership, and might be somewhat open to the message. Who are some others? Ask your readers and other people to suggest some). Invite him to attend the meeting -- and/or to send one of his assistants. Try to schedule a meeting with him and some of the speakers.

He is based in DC.

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/

These days establishing connections with such people is at least as important and useful as getting coverage by conventional news media, I think.

i'd love to attend the meeting, but can't do it this year -- maybe next year!

i really like to attend this conference.it will be a great experience for me.so i will like u to send me more information about the conference.am here waiting for your respond.take care wish u all the best......