Avatars – Women in Science
Instructor: Seetha Subramanian
Dates and Times: Tuesdays, September 15 – October 27,
2 – 3:15 p.m.
Location: Online Zoom Course
Maximum Enrollment: 50 | Course Fee: $25
This course will explore a variety of topics from different fields of science. Presenters are invited to speak about their own research work or about their favorite pioneer women in science. Students will learn about new ideas developed by various scientists in their research and gain an understanding of how different systems work.
Effects of Chemical, Biological and Nuclear Weapons
Instructor: Diane Vance
Dates and Times: Wednesdays, October 14 – November 18,
1 – 2 p.m.
Location: Online Zoom Course
Maximum Enrollment: 30 | Course Fee: $25
This is a continuation of the class that was interrupted due to the pandemic, so this class will discuss only biological and chemical weapons. You don’t need to have attended the nuclear classes to take this course. No science background is necessary.
It will be easy to use the events of the past few months to discuss how biological agents can be effective weapons of mass “disruption” as much as mass “destruction.” We’ll discuss the 3 CDC categories of bioweapons; the BioWatch program to monitor for the release of an agent, and add some information about the SARS-CoV-2 virus, such as basic information on its cellular mode of action, the different types of tests, and a bit about vaccine development. The section on chemical weapons will include information about the 8 classes of weapons and the activity now going on near Richmond to destroy the last remaining nerve agents in the US. There will be extra information about riot control agents, since we’ve been hearing a lot about these during recent protests.
Geology Rocks! The People and Ideas that Shaped the Science
Instructor: Diana Rast
Dates and Times: Thursdays, September 3 – October 1,
10 – 12 Noon
Location: Online Zoom Course
Maximum Enrollment: 50 | Course Fee: $25
We will follow the development of geology & geological thought through five “eras” Preclassical & Classical, Dark & Middle Ages, Renaissance & Age of Reason, Darwinian Age and finally the Contemporary Age. From a time when early peoples extracted red ochre from the earth to use for body art & cave art, through fevered discussions by geologists on the age of the earth and fossil life forms to the ideas of plate tectonics & paleomagnetism to contemporary geological discoveries on other planets.
