US Geological Survey Evening Public Lecture Series

Description

The US Geological Survey holds monthly lectures at the Menlo Park Science Center Campus.  Topics vary (as you can see from the list of 2009 lectures), but are usually related to geology.  (Wait, the US Geological Survey lectures are about geology?  What are the odds?)  The lectures are almost normally held on Thursday nights, and they are usually scheduled for the last Thursday of the month.  The schedule is sometimes modified to avoid holidays, or to accommodate the needs of the speakers.

The lectures are also posted online at the USGS site, usually a few weeks after they take place.  It's a little harder to ask questions of a video - well, OK, you can ask them, but it's unlikely the video will answer them, and if it does, you might consider upping the dose on your medication.  Ahem.  However, you can still at least see the lectures that you've missed.

The current schedule for 2009 is:

January 29 - Exploring Mars:  Geology, Climate Change and Prospects for Past Life

February 26 - Petroleum in the Arctic:  Geology, Climate, and National Interests

March 26 - Can Our Western Forests Take the Heat?

April 30 - Soils, Carbon and Global exCHANGE

May 28 - International "Volcano Diplomacy"

June 25 - Tracking Mercury from Ore to Organism

July 30 - USGS Research Activities at the Salton Sea

August 27 - Geothermal Energy

September 24 - The Loma Prieta Earthquake 20th Anniversary

October 29 - Coast Salish Native American Puget Sound Water Quality Survey

November 19 - Aleutian Island Mega-Earthquakes and Pacific Basin Tsunami Generation

December 17 - TBD

The USGS also occasionally adds special speakers, so check their web site for the most recent information.

Main Web Site

http://online.wr.usgs.gov/  (the main USGS site)

http://online.wr.usgs.gov/calendar/  (the current schedule of lectures)

http://online.wr.usgs.gov/calendar/current.html  (the video archive for 2009)

Location

Menlo Park Science Center Campus

US Geological Survey

Building 3, Second Floor, Conference Room A

345 Middlefield Road

Menlo Park, CA 94025-3591

Drive Time

per Google:  16 minutes from Ames

Note:  Google doesn't list traffic delays, and if you're heading to a 7 PM lecture the road usually isn't bad.  However, that stretch of Highway 101 can be pretty ugly from 4 until maybe 6:30 PM, so if you're planning on arriving early, expect to see some traffic.

Public Transit

Hours

7 PM to 8 PM, usually on the last Thursday of each month

Cost

FREE