Category: Podcasts

From Mars to Europa: A Comparison of 82N 82W & 23N 58E

This talk focuses on research sites located at Canada’s Ellesmere Island and Muscat, Oman—locations that help scientists further research on far-flung locations like Jupiter’s moon Europa and planet Mars.
Borup Fiord Pass, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada is an amazing site and model for Europa. It also is a remarkable location for explaining, tracking and better understanding the effects of Climate Change, which is causing the disappearance of this site.

The area west of Muscat, Oman, provides a model site for better understanding the origin of life and how to find life on places like Mars. Research on the biogeochemistry of the subsurface is possible in this unique location, the only site of its kind on planet Earth.

Both of these projects are funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and Dr. Spear’s work takes him to both of these sites.

Colorado School of Mines Chemical & Biological Engineering Department and University of Colorado Denver Department of Pediatrics

The 1966 science fiction classic The Fantastic Voyage depicted a submarine and its crew, shrunk to microscopic size in order to remove a blood clot from the brain of a defecting Soviet scientist. This talk will describe a better, alternate approach that relies on microbots that researchers call microwheels. These microwheels consist of small blood cell-sized particles assembled, driven and powered by magnetic fields. In his talk, Dr. Keith Neeves will share from his experience and show how microwheels are utilized to ablate blood clots.

Speaker Bio:

Dr. Neeves is a Colorado native, born and raised in Colorado Springs, who obtained his B.S. in chemical engineering at University of Colorado Boulder and a Ph.D. in chemical and biomolecular engineering at Cornell University. He was a postdoctoral fellow in the Institute for Medicine and Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania before starting his own lab at Colorado School of Mines in 2008 that focuses diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases. His research is supported by grants from National Institutes of Health, Department of Energy, National Science Foundation and American Heart Association.

 

We define sustainability as making a positive and meaningful impact on the social, environmental and economic issues that affect our business, employees and other stakeholders.

Great Environment
Our environmental sustainability strategy strives to reduce environmental impacts at every stage of the brewing process and focuses on three main areas:

• Reducing water use in our manufacturing facilities and agricultural supply chain
• Reducing our carbon footprint across our value chain
• Eliminating waste at all major manufacturing facilities

I’ll share some of the gains across MillerCoors and some of the gains we’ve achieved at the Golden Brewery and how we achieved them.

Speaker Bio:

I have a chemical engineering degree from Colorado University and an MBA from Denver University.  I’ve worked at the Golden Brewery for 26.5 years and held multiple positions during that time.  Currently, I’m the Environmental and Sustainability Engineer for the Golden Brewery.  Prior to that I worked at Phillips 66 as a reservoir and production engineer.

Avalanches can happen to those skiing, snowboarding, snowmobiling, hiking, driving, hunting, bike riding, and more. If you live, work, or recreate in snowy mountains, you need to learn about avalanches – it may save your life, or enable you to provide important information for friends and family members likely to benefit.

Avalanches kill an average of 42 people each year in North America, and hundreds more are injured. This talk provides vital coaching from the Know Before You Go (KBYG) program, bolstered by the extensive field experience of our speaker, Rick Grubin.

Speaker Bio:

Rick is a member of the Loveland Ski Patrol snow safety / mitigation team, and oversees avalanche education and training for all on-mountain ski area staff. He is a qualified course leader and instructor for the American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education (AIARE), and a former member of the American Avalanche Association governing board. He presents KBYG to honor the memory of his friend who perished in an avalanche in December, 2010.

From October 11, 2016

From the earliest colonists to the today’s hobbyists, Americans have made their own beer for centuries. These home brewers have, at times, met demand in times of scarcity, thwarted embargoes and prohibitions, kept traditions alive, pioneered new styles, and ultimately given rise to today’s craft beer industry. This talk will raise a pint to this rich history as we explore who these home brewers were, why they brewed their own, and what they brewed.

This will be Jason’s third appearance, and the 3-year anniversary, for Golden Beer Talks!

Speaker Bio:

Jason Hanson is the Director of Interpretation and Research at History Colorado, where he facilitates the exhibit program for the History Colorado Center in downtown Denver and at community museums around the state.

In a world of boring, heavy, complex information about energy and climate change, Ken’s talks are a breath of fresh air – fun, upbeat, quick, and clear! This talk will cover renewable energy cost and comfort, as well as strategies for transitioning to 100% renewable energy—or darn close. Other topics will be electrifying cars and the surprising changes in the last year that may indicate a tipping point for renewable energy.

Speaker Bio:

Ken Regelson is an energy policy analyst, storyteller, and a clean energy advocate. As the founder of EnergyShouldBe.org, (meaning Energy Should Be News), he makes short videos encouraging action toward a 100% renewably-powered world by 2035 – videos with more than 95,000 YouTube views. Regelson has many awards for his work in renewable energy and a Masters Degree in electrical engineering.

 

Filmmaker, Entomologist and Dynamo Dr. Robert G. Hancock has studied, taught about and filmed insects all over the world.  His spectacular close-up footage has been featured on network and cable television programs world-wide and his documentary series “MosquitoMan” has won significant international awards.  As an authority on mosquitoes, bedbugs and other blood-sucking insects, Hancock is the author of many scholarly articles on their behavior and physiology.  After serving 15 years as a beloved and highly-decorated Professor of Biology at the University of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg, KY, Hancock brought his talent and enthusiasm in 2008 to Metropolitan State University of Denver.

A native of Scottsbluff, Nebraska, Hancock graduated with Bachelors degrees in Biology and Chemistry from Hastings College (Nebraska) and M.S. and PH.D. degrees in Medical Entomology from the Ohio State University.  Hancock currently lives in Denver, CO with his blues/jazz/soul singer wife Diane Jobe.  On weekends he can often be seen playing the trumpet in her band.

Judy Denison and Don Parker

Many people enjoy and utilize the open space areas found on Golden’s North and South table mesas, yet not all are aware of the fight to keep Nike from building a complex for 5,000 employees on North Table Mountain in 1998. Although both mesas are well used recreation areas today, this was not always an assured outcome.

Judy Denison and Don Parker, two of the founders of Save The Mesas, will discuss the work of the citizen group they helped create and led during the controversy. The legacy of their activism continues to echo through daily life for Goldenites and visitors.

Speaker Bios:

Judy Denison grew up in rural western Massachusetts, and came to Colorado for graduate school.  She has lived in Golden for 25 years.  She was a co-founder of Save The Mesas, Mesa Music Fest, Table Mountains Conservation Fund, CINQ (beltway issues), Golden Relief Group, Belize Education Project, Golden Action for Public Safety, Golden Community Choirs, and Golden Votes, and has been active in the Rotary and political campaigns.  She has published the Golden Newsletter for 18 years.  Her children and their families live in Parker, Laramie, Torrance CA, and Germany.

Don Parker and his wife Mary moved from Denver to Golden in 1989.  When Nike proposed a development on South Table Mountain in 1997 he and Mary and many other Golden residents formed Save the Mesas and the Table Mountain Conservation Fund and became active in working to counter the proposal and then to get both Table Mountains into Open Space so there would be no further development threats.  Don grew up in rural Sedgwick County Colorado (where the population has been dropping since the 1930s).  Don owns Golden Solar, a solar panel installation company.

Jason Hason, Deputy State Historian

Beer Here! A Local History of Brewing in Colorado

The first locally brewed key of Colorado beer was tapped in Denver to rave reviews from residents at the end of 1859, and today more than 300 breweries throughout the state pour locally made libations for appreciative patrons.

Hanson explores the history of the state’s early breweries and the agricultural enterprises that supported them. Along the way, Hanson investigates what the state’s brewing industry can tell us about broader economic forces–and what exactly it means to buy local when you’re buying the next round.

In addition to his duties as Deputy State Historian at History Colorado, Hanson is a member of the research faculty at the Center of the American West at the University of Colorado Boulder. His work focuses on issues related to natural resource development, land use and Colorado history–with a beer in hand when applicable!

Dr. Kathryn Johnson, Colorado School of Mines

The Evolution of Wind Energy in Colorado and Beyond

Wind energy systems have the potential to contribute significantly to the electricity mix in Colorado and across the United States. Between 2005 and 2014, Colorado’s wind-generated electricity increased from 1.5% to 13.6% of total generation, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Colorado currently ranks 10th in the U.S. for wind energy installations, with approximately 3000 MW of installed capacity.

Wind energy presents a major growth opportunity spanning 2014’s 4.4% of national electricity generation and the 20% penetration described in the U.S. Department of Energy’s 20% Wind Energy by 2030 report.

Dr. Kathryn Johnson will describe how advances in wind turbines have contributed to the rapid growth of wind energy systems and how local research has contributed to that growth. She also will describe future directions for wind energy systems that will enable more cost-efficient clean energy generation.

Dr. Kathryn Johnson is an Associate Professor at the Colorado School of Mines in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and is Jointly Appointed at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s National Wind Technology Center.  Since 2002, she has studied wind energy control systems, in which she and her team work to improve the operation of wind turbines and wind farms using advanced control system methods. Recently, she was part of a successful bid for a DOE “ARPA-E” award to design and study a Segmented Ultralight Morphing Rotor to enable a 50-MW turbine.