Photo credit: CC BY-NC 2.0/by Flickr user Brick 101
Patrick Buckley ’19 will launch his Discovery Cafe with three public events this fall. Buckley, a student ambassador in the college’s Center for Inquiry, Discovery & Development (CIDD), created the series as part of his ambassador project.
The concept of a discovery cafe is not new, but Buckley thought the model would be perfect for people who aren’t comfortable with science or may be skeptical of scientists. “The events allow individuals to have face-to-face interactions with a scientist about their research and can they break down misconceptions about scientists or science in general,” he says.
The first “cafe,” talk, “A Series of Discrepant Events: Some Physics in Action,” presented by Kurt Fletcher, SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor of Physics & Astronomy. This event will take place on Tuesday, Sept. 26, at 7 p.m. at the Wadsworth Library on Center St. A Q&A discussion will follow the presentation. All talks are free and open to the public.
On Oct. 24, the Discovery Cafe will move out of Geneseo to Burlingham Books in Perry where Elizabeth Hutchison, assistant professor of biology, will discuss “Personalized Genomics” at 7 p.m. On Nov. 28, the last talk of the semester will return to the Wadsworth Library at 7 p.m for assistant professor of biology, Sara Burch's talk, “Understanding the Biology of Extinct Animals.” Visit the Discovery Cafe site for more details on next semester’s offerings.
Buckley says that an important aspect of the series is to make all people feel welcomed. His hope is that it will “bring together people who are skeptical, those who love science, and everyone in between!”
Author: Heather Molzon '18