The Maryland Science Center is introducing a new speaker series where you can get a deeper understanding of topics which are making headlines in the fields of science and technology. Tuesday Talks take place in the morning and focuses on issues which are connected to the city, state and region that cover issues related to the environment, health and wellness, recent discoveries, and other topics curious people want to know more about. Experts will present the latest information and research on a particular subject and time for Q & A will follow the presentation. Tuesday Talks are free to anyone with advance registration.

Coral Science From Outer Space to Inner Space
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
8:30 am Coffee and Bagels
9:00 am Presentation

A coral reef specialist, with a Ph.D. in Biological Oceanography from the University of Miami, Dr. Eakin is Coordinator of NOAA Coral Reef Watch, an effort focused on the monitoring of coral reef ecosystems through satellite, in situ, and paleoenvironmental observations. In particular, Coral Reef Watch is a part of the NESDIS Center for Satellite Applications and Research and uses NOAA satellite data to monitor environmental conditions that lead to coral bleaching.

Dr. Eakin has worked for NOAA since 1991. From 2000-2005, Dr. Eakin directed NOAA Paleoclimatology (part of NOAA's National Climatic Data Center), and was Director of the World Data Center for Paleoclimatology in Boulder, CO. Prior to that, he was a program manager for the NOAA Office of Global Programs in Silver Spring, MD, funding and coordinating research to improve our understanding of climate variability in the past, how to predict it in the future, and the influence of climate variability and change on our environment.

Join the Maryland Science Center and Dr. Mark Eakin in an intimate discussion about coral science and how it affects more than just our oceans.

Force of Nature
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
8:30 am Coffee and Bagels
9:00 am Presentation

Hurricanes, Katrina, and the future of Louisiana - recent events have shown what kind of havoc waves can cause. We may never calm the seas, but advances in coastal engineering could reduce their damage. Join Tony Dalrymple, a professor in the Department of Civil Engineering in Johns Hopkins Whiting School, he works as a coastal engineer, trying to better predict the behavior of the shoreline during short-term events like a hurricane, and over longer durations, like the next century of human development. His contributions to the field resulted in his election last February to the National Academy of Engineering. As a scientist, he analyzes and models waves. As an engineer, he studies the human implications of all that moving water.