Highline Community College’s science seminar returns winter quarter and is open to anyone on campus or in the community who wants to learn about the scientific world.
Winter quarter’s lineup features Highline faculty and staff who will discuss a wide variety of topics, including the Death with Dignity Act, love, computer science, geological disasters and Lucy, a 3.2-million-year-old fossil that is the oldest, most complete and best preserved adult fossil of our erect-walking ancestors. Lucy’s bones are currently on display at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle.
EVENT GLANCE
• Event: Science seminar
• Dates: Fridays, Jan. 9 to March 6
• Time: 2:20-3:10 p.m.
• Price: Free
• Location: Highline Community College’s main campus, Building 3, room 102. Highline’s main campus is located midway between Seattle and Tacoma at South 240th Street and Pacific Highway South (Highway 99); address: 2400 S. 240th St., Des Moines, WA 98198.
• Website: http://flightline.highline.edu/scienceseminars/
PRESENTATIONS INCLUDE:
• Jan. 9, Advance Directives and the Death with Dignity Act
In November, Washington state passed Initiative 1000, which allows doctors to prescribe lethal doses of medication to terminally ill patients. Nursing instructor Elise Muller-Lindgren discusses the implications of this new law and other end-of-life issues from a scientific and medical perspective.
• Jan. 16, Lucy — Her World and Life
Anthropology instructor Lonnie Somer explores Lucy’s world, including how she lived and died, as well as how we can tell so much from just a few bones and bone fragments.
• Jan. 23, Geologic Disasters and Human History
Geologic disasters often have far more reaching impacts than we might imagine. They can alter the course of human history. Geology instructor Eric Baer looks at a few of these events, including the 1755 Lisbon earthquake that ended the reign of Portugal as a colonial power.
• Jan. 30, Demystifying Computer Science
Tina Ostrander and other computer scientists from Highline and the University of Washington, Tacoma, explore computer science and what computer scientists do.
• Feb. 6, What is Love?
Psychology instructor Ruth Fickle looks at love before Valentine’s Day. What causes what we call love? Is it an ideal? A drug?
• Feb. 13, The Monkey in the Mirror ‑ Darwin’s Birthday Through Satire
How has satire influenced the communication and reception of British naturalist Charles Darwin’s ideas? Come find out during a presentation by Writing instructor Angi Caster. The presentation is part of Highline’s weeklong examination of Darwin’s life and work.
• Feb. 20, Virtual Computing
Cloud computing is the hottest trend in computing. But is it just hot air? Highline technology gurus Kurt Giessel and Mike Bradley examine this cutting edge technology.
• Feb. 27, Got Milk? A Fresh Look at Breastfeeding in the 21st Century
Nursing instructor Marie Esch-Radtke examines recent research on the health impacts of breastfeeding.
• March 6, Galileo Shatters the Universe
Galileo shattered the idea 400 years ago that the universe revolved around the Earth. Come find out how this is still causing us to rethink our position in the greater scheme of things with Dr. Tim McMannon, a professor of history at Highline.
Highline Community College was founded in 1961 as the first community college in King County. With approximately 10,000 students and 350,000 alumni, it is one of the state’s largest institutions of higher education. The college offers a wide range of academic transfer and professional-technical education programs, with day, evening and weekend classes. Alumni include former Seattle Mayor Norm Rice, entrepreneur Junki Yoshida and Washington state’s poet laureate Sam Green.
