July is Astronomy month and we’re featuring one of our astronomical partners: The Astronomical Society of the Pacific. The ASP has been around a whopping 120 years and they are celebrating with their annual meeting in Millbrae. This year’s theme is Science Education and Outreach: Forging a Path to the Future.

ASP regularly holds local events in the Bay Area (under the guise of the Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures). They podcast many of the lectures including a popular lecture making the Bay Area rounds:

Dr. Patricia Burchat (Stanford University): “The Dark Side of the Universe: Dark Matter and Dark Energy”
In the last decade or so, astronomers have been forced to accept two mysterious observations. About a quarter of the universe is made of “dark matter,” which attracts things with its gravity, but is otherwise invisible. And roughly two-thirds of the universe is composed of “dark energy,” which causes space itself to expand at an ever-increasing rate. That means only a small fraction of the universe is made of ordinary matter — the stuff we understand! In this non-technical presentation, Dr. Burchat explores the evidence for the dark side of the cosmos, and the experiments that are being developed to investigate it further..

You can sign up to receive advance e-mail notification of each lecture by clicking here.

UCSF produces a weekly podcast on the culture and science behind all the biomedical breakthrough’s at the university. Each weekly segment features a 5-10 minute conversation with a UCSF researcher along with all the relevant links to fill out your education needs.

The talks are not overly technical, easy to understand for all age ranges. I personally love the background stories of most of the scientists, you get a feel for how their love of science and research continues to drive them today.

From UCSF’s Science Cafe:

“Scientists are the spirit and soul of UCSF. Their curiosity fuels all the discoveries that ultimately improve human health and while they might be far removed from the bedside, make no mistake. That drug you take, that healing therapy you enjoy, that hope you feel, often began in the mind of a scientist who wondered why something works as it does or why it fails so completely.”

Who wouldn’t want to listen to a great series grounded in that statement?

Listen to the latest UCSF science cafe featuring a conversation about brain development disorders with neurologist David Rowitch:
Brain Cells Growing Bad: A Conversation with David Rowitch

Evolve 2009 honors Charles Darwin’s 200th birthday and the 150th anniversary of the publication of The Origin of Species. Programming and events will commemorate and investigate arguably the most important scientific concept of our time. All year, participating organizations will celebrate Darwin and evolution with lectures, performances and educational programs from the world’s foremost scientists, writers, thinkers and artists.

Programs will include lectures and presentations on Darwin, plant and animal diversity, sustainability of life on earth, and the application of evolutionary theory to such wide and disparate subjects as psychology and education. Join us as we ask: We’ve had the theory of natural selection for 150 years: what have we done with it? Throughout San Francisco, 2009 will be the year we reflect on what it means to evolve!

I’m partial to the Neil DeGrasse Tyson discussion on Pluto at the Commonwealth Club. Here is a great interview with him by one of our best journalists:

See the schedule of events and learn more about evolution on the Evolve 2009 website.

Understanding Science is an interactive website designed to illustrate how science works in the modern world. You can throw out that old diagram of the scientific method. This site was developed by the UC Museum of Paleontology.

About Understanding Science
The process of science is exciting, but standard explanations often miss its dynamic nature. Science affects us all everyday, but people often feel cut off from science. Science is an intensely human endeavor, but many portrayals gloss over the passion, curiosity, and even rivalries and pitfalls that characterize all human ventures. Understanding Science gives users an inside look at the general principles, methods, and motivations that underlie all of science.