UA News

Topics during the spring lecture series at Biosphere 2 include solar energy, hunting hazardous space rocks, from probing the atom and the earliest objects astronomers have found in the universe.

The B2 Institute at Biosphere 2 organized a public lecture series to offer Saturday visitors a chance to hear scientists speak about some of the best physical science research under way at The University of Arizona.

Beginning Feb. 14, this spring's B2 Institute "Let's Talk Science" lectures will be held at 11 a.m. in the Biosphere 2 Theater.

The B2 Institute is Biosphere 2's center for research, outreach, teaching and life-long learning about Earth, its living systems and place in the universe. It focuses heavily on addressing the challenges of extreme growth and fragile environment that face the state of Arizona and the American southwest.

All lectures are included with the cost of admission.

Visitors who attend any of the lectures and pay the $20 adult tour admission will be given an individual membership for Biosphere 2 science events and unlimited Biosphere 2 tours for a year, said Matt Adamson, Biosphere 2 program coordinator for outreach and education.

"Let's Talk Science" topics and speakers are:

• Feb. 14: "Taming the Energy from the Sun," by Alex Cronin, associate professor of physics and optical sciences.

• Feb. 21: "The Search for Near Earth Objects," by Edward Beshore, senior staff scientist for the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory and Steward Observatory, a member of the Catalina Sky Survey team.

• Feb. 28: "Unmasking Europa: The Search for Life on Jupiter's Ocean Moon" with Richard Greenberg, planetary sciences professor and member of the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory.

• March 14: "Probing Dark Matter with the Large Hadron Collider" with Elliot Cheu, physics professor.

• March 21: "Black Hole Horizons," by Fulvio Melia, professor of astronomy and physics.

• March 28: "First Light: How We can Discover the First Objects that Ever Formed" with Donald McCarthy Jr., Steward Observatory astronomer.

• April 4: Joaquin Ruiz, dean of the UA College of Arts and Sciences and professor of geosciences, will speak on a topic that will be announced at a later date.

• April 11: "Extreme Astrophysics: Black Holes and Relativistic Stars," by Dimitrios Psaltis, associate professor of physics and astronomy.

The B2 Institute

The B2 Institute initiates, hosts and sponsors extended programs as well as shorter conferences at the state-of-the-art facilities on the Biosphere 2 campus. Themes range from sustainable energy sources to global climate change, from water management to astrobiology, and from physics research on string theory to K-12 science education.

The B2 Institute also organizes outreach programs, ranging from public lectures to an artist-in-residence and a journalist-in-residence program. It also collaborates in a growing number of docent and "citizen-scientist" programs at Biosphere 2.

A recently established Biosphere 2 membership program supports the B2 Institute and B2 Earthscience outreach programs that are designed to encourage repeat visits to Biosphere 2 and engage members with UA faculty, staff and student research. For more information, call 520-838-6200.