Science Under the Dome

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Join us for our Science Under the Dome monthly live talk series. Talks in this series are presented by graduate students and postdoc researchers at CU Boulder.

CU Boulder students are admitted FREE with valid BuffOne card. Tickets must be picked up in person.

Regular ticket prices apply. Groupons can be used too!

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Photo of the Isabelle Glacier in Colorado at Sunrise with green tundra grasses, some snow and small glacier

Climate Change in Our Backyard

Our climate is changing and we must adapt to a world that is transforming right before our eyes. Early warning signs of climate change were seen in far away places like the Arctic, Antarctica, and Greenland. Now these impacts are affecting us here at home and changing the way we live our lives. Join us as we explore the local and global impacts of climate change and ways in which we can contribute to a solution.

Graphic of an astronaut during a spacwalk next to a solar panel which merges into a earth based solar panel in a field with trees

Science and Society

Science and technology don’t exist in a vacuum - there are countless ways that research and innovation play a significant role in society at large. What are some of the ways in which they overlap? This series explores the intersection of science and society, addressing topics such as light pollution, GMOs, and mining asteroids, and the talks invite the audience to consider ways in which they have been impacted by this intersection.

Still image from film 2001 a space odyssey of a person space ship

Science of Sci-Fi

From warp drives to artificial intelligence to living on Mars, this series is to explore a variety of scientific ideas that surface in science fiction books, movies, and video games. Where have popular sci-fi movies portrayed science correctly, and where has Hollywood gone off the deep end? What technologies were once ‘sci-fi’ but are now rapidly becoming a reality?

Photo of grasses and permafrost with a mountain in the background

CLIMATE CHANGE IN OUR BACKYARD - Previous Talk

Permafrost Thaw in a Warming World - April 20 at 7pm

You might have heard about permafrost. Even though most of its research is carried out in the Arctic, we also have it here in Colorado! Permafrost is frozen ground that keeps ancient carbon locked in the Earth and supports stable land surfaces. Permafrost holds three times the amount of carbon that currently exists in our atmosphere, and if it thaws, could substantially warm our planet. Should we be concerned about permafrost thaw? And what can we do to keep permafrost frozen? In this talk, we will smell permafrost previously collected and go on a journey to the Arctic to learn about permafrost. We will also discuss permafrost in Colorado since it has been estimated that some high-elevation regions of the Front Range might have permafrost thicker than 60 meters. Permafrost thaw in Colorado will likely have very different consequences than in the Arctic, and we should find out how widespread permafrost thaw is in the Rockies and how this might impact Coloradans.

Bio: Hailey grew up in Gilroy, California, also known as the garlic capital of the world. She got her undergraduate degree at Montana State University, worked as a research assistant at a nonprofit for a year, and then moved to Boulder to pursue a Ph.D. in Ecology. Her research is focused on abrupt climate change and permafrost thaw in Alaska. She has a deep love of northern ecosystems and hopes to one day move to Alaska with her fiancé and dog. In her free time, Hailey enjoys many outdoor activities: hiking, camping, skiing, paddle boarding, and more.

Graphic with the Juno spacecraft and earth with a mirrored and blurry image on the bottom

SCIENCE AND SOCIETY - Previous Talk

Cosmic Mirror: Earth’s Reflection in Space Exploration - March 16 at 7pm

Less than 70 years ago, within the timeframe of a single human lifespan, humanity first ventured to the edge of space. In the decades since, we have witnessed an explosion of space-faring technologies. From reusable rockets, to advancements in spacecraft propulsion systems and ground-based communication, to precise determinations of orbital dynamics and intricate designs for space habitats, it is clear that we are headed toward the stars. However, as we drift further from our home planet and deeper into the vast unknown, what traits of our humanity will be mirrored in space? Shows like “For All Mankind” forewarn us of the potential for human conflict in space, fueled by nationalistic and financial objectives. How would such a fate impact our species’ ability to survive in the cosmos? In this talk, we will consider these implications further and consider Carl Sagan’s inquiry, “who speaks for Earth?”.

Jimmy Negus is a lead facilitator for Science Under the Dome and is currently pursuing his Ph.D. in astrophysics at the University of Colorado Boulder. He earned his B.A. in physics, with a specialization in astrophysics, from the University of Chicago in 2013. At CU, he analyzes the properties of Active Galactic Nuclei, which are supermassive black holes that consume nearby matter! In his spare time, he enjoys stargazing, riding his motorcycle, and engaging in public outreach. He has also authored two books - Mysteries of Space: Black Holes Explained and Mysteries of Space: Supernovas Explained.

Graphic of a whale with cross hatch teal and green lines in background against a starry night sky

SCIENCE AND SOCIETY - Previous Talk

Whale Talk: Animal Communication and the Search for Extraterrestrial Life - February 16 at 7pm

For a long time, scientists have been interested in deciphering whale and dolphin communication. From “The Order of The Dolphin,” to SETI’s (Search for Extraterrestrial Life) creation, to today's quest for decoding nonhuman animals' syntaxes, we get closer every day to translating their languages. Due to human impacts, like climate change, we find ourselves in a race to learn as much as we can about nonhuman animal communication to help aid the protection of the ocean. In this talk, we will go to the depths of the ocean to discover how whale communication is being studied, the human impacts they are facing, and how their communication can aid the search for extraterrestrial life and conservation on Earth.

Joanne Marras Tate (she/her) (B.Sc., B.Sc., M.Sc.) is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Colorado Boulder. She is a Communication scholar and multimedia producer interested in humanature communication practices and their cultural understandings. Her research interests include environmental communication, human-animal studies, science communication and public engagement of science, Indigenous studies, ethnography, discourse, governance, ocean science, and conservation. She is currently working on her dissertation which focuses on humanature relations during COVID-19 lockdowns in Brazil, Australia, United States, and Japan. If you are wondering what humanature means, it is a discursive play on the expected dichotomy of human-nature. By combining the words, I follow other scholars in acknowledging that we are part of, and inseparable from nature.

SCIENCE OF SCI-FI - Previous Talk

From Ents to Audrey II: How do Plants Actually Communicate? - January 26 at 7pm

From Ents to Audrey II, plants have been depicted talking for years in modern science-fiction and have been talking for a millennia if we include ancient mythology. However, plant communication is not science-fiction and while your potted basil plant will never ask you about your career plans, it is still able, through its own means, to send messages to us, other plants, microbes, or nonhuman animals. Join us in finding out how plants talk and what they are talking about.

Capucine Baubin is a postdoctoral researcher at CU at the Barger and the Fieres labs working on the smell of rain and the potential impacts of its components on the soil environment and all its inhabitants. She is originally from France but has done her education in Ecology all over the world. Apart from lab and field work, she enjoys singing, cooking, and exploring the neighboring grasses with her cute puppy, Tao.

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Science Under the Dome

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Climate Change in Our Backyard

Science and Society

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CLIMATE CHANGE IN OUR BACKYARD - Previous Talk

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