Timidly to be sure but  TRIUMF (Canada’s national laboratory for particle and nuclear physics, located in Vancouver) is stepping out with a couple of public engagement projects.

First is the art/science collaboration between art students at the Emily Carr University of Art + Design and scientists at TRIUMF, which is being displayed at Science World. From the April 4, 2012 news release on the TRIUMF website,

For the first time, a collection of these pieces will be displayed at Science World in the Telus World of Science, Thursday, April 5 through Sunday, May 27, 2012. The pieces will be hung around the premises, providing visitors of all ages an opportunity to contemplate science from an artistic perspective.

“Through contemporary art in its many forms, the narrative of science enters the human story and becomes materially transformed,” says Associate Professor Ingrid Koenig, (TRIUMF’s Artist in Residence). “By visiting TRIUMF, students see examples of how the biggest questions about the universe are actually physically examined in a lab. They are surprised by the messiness factor, and puzzled by how the abstractness of physics comes to terms with human experience.”

Liz Toohey-Wiese (’11), one of the artists selected for this year’s exhibit, co-created a piece with Dan Crawford . They used typed words on recipe cards to visually explain a very strange concept in physics: particle duality in quantum mechanics. In quantum mechanics, a particle can exist in multiple states at once, until one is selected or chosen.

Says Toohey-Wiese, “I realized that quantum mechanics is like a day. Anything is possible in the morning when you wake up, and at the end of the day, you can look back and see what did happen.”

Toohey-Wiese/Crawford collaboration at Vancouver's Science World from April 5 – May 27, 2012

Unfortunately, this is not a very good image but hopefully you can get some idea of what Toohey-Wiese and Crawford are conveying.

I did check out the Science World website but was unable to find any reference to this art/sci collaboration show however I did find TRIUMF’s 2nd public engagement project, an evening talk (Sunday, June 3, 2012 from 6:30-8 pm, doors open at 6 pm) with CERN Director General Rolf Heuer titled, Unveiling the Universe. From the event webpage,

CERN Director General Rolf Heuer will speak at Science World at TELUS World of Science to engage the public with the many scientific adventures taking place at CERN, including ephemeral neutrinos that apparently disobeyed Einstein’s laws, doppelganger-like anti-atoms likely never before seen in the universe, and the frantic search for the one fundamental particle to rule them all, the Higgs. This free lecture takes place in the OMNIMAX® Theatre at Science World, and will be the opening lecture for the Physics at the Large Hadron Collider (PLHC) Conference by TRIUMF hosted at UBC the following week.

I suspect CERN (European Particle Physics Laboratory)  supplied this image, which I quite like,

CERN Director General Rolf Heuer

Free tickets can be ordered at www.plhc2012.eventbrite.ca. You may want to get your ticket soon, I think this is going to be very popular.

Sarah Chow at her eponymous blog has listed some May 2012 science events taking place in Vancouver (Canada) in her May 1, 2012 posting. Here are a couple of excerpts,

ScienceOnlineVancouver #SoVan – 7pm

Continuing to connect the science communication community, this month’s Science Online Vancouver is all about making connections through social media.
Location: Science World
Time: 7 pm

…

Tuesday May 22, 2012

Cafe Scientifique – 7:30pm

Aye-matie! All you land lubbers out there don’t miss out Dr. Andrew Holding’s talk on Forgotten Knowledge: The discovery and loss of a cure for scurvy. Or you’ll be walking the plank! ARRRR!
Location: Railway Club – 579 Dunsmuir Street
Time: 7:30pmm

…

Tuesday May 29, 2012

Cafe Scientifique – UBC Life Sciences Institute – 6pm

Sometimes great things come in small packages. The Life Sciences Institute at UBC is presents “NanoSpace Invaders: Seeing into the Subcellular World” with Dr. Wayne Vogl and Dr. Edwin Moore, Professors in the Department of Cellular & Physiological Sciences.
Location: UBC – Life Sciences Institute
Time: 6pm to 8pm

Chow notes, as she did in her April 2012 roundup of science events in Vancouver, it’s always good to check with the organizers before going as there may have been some changes. She also invites people to send her information (sswchow@gmail.com) about events she could add to her list.

I have been able to get a little more information about the events.

ScienceOnline Vancouver is holding its second event (ever) and features Eric Michael Johnson and Raul Pacheco-Vega talking about how to communicate science using social media. From ScienceOnline Vancouver’s May 15, 2012 event page,

Do you have facts that could could clear up confusion or an informed opinion to share? Do you know the question whose answer would help you and others better understand the issue? How do you contribute your knowledge and expertise to your community? Social media is supposed to make it easy but how to you pick between Facebook friends, twitter hashtags, google circles, blog posts and countless other online options?

In the 2nd ScienceOnlineVancouver event on Tuesday, May 15, [updated -- it's on the 15th, not the 17th] you’ll meet people who successfully use social media to communicate with their professional communities,  Eric Michael Johnson (@ericmjohnson, primatediaries.com) and Raul Pacheco-Vega (@raulpacheco, raulpacheco.org) They’ll describe what they do, what works (and what doesn’t.) You’ll have a chance to ask questions and share what you know, whether you’re a professional blogger or just-got-a-twitter-account-now-what-do-I-do?

Here’s a bit more about Eric Michael Johnson, from his Primate Diaries blog, which is part of the Scientific American Blog Network,

Eric Michael Johnson has a Master’s degree in Evolutionary Anthropology focusing on great ape behavioral ecology. He is currently a doctoral student in the history of science at University of British Columbia looking at the interplay between evolutionary biology and politics.

Here’s more about Raul Pacheco-Vega from his eponymous blog,

Raul Pacheco-Vega (BSc. Chemical Engineering, Universidad de Guanajuato; MBA/MEng. Advanced Technology Management, The University of British Columbia; PhD. Resource Management and Environmental Studies, The University of British Columbia) is a Vancouver-based researcher, educator and consultant in environmental politics and policy. He has conducted research in the field of environmental public policy and politics for over 10 years. Dr. Pacheco-Vega is also a Lecturer in the Department of Political Science at The University of British Columbia , a faculty member in the Latin American Studies Program at UBC and from January 2010 until February 2011, he was the Regional Director, Western Canada, for the Canadian Institute for Environmental Law and Policy (CIELAP).

Pacheco-Vega also maintains a personal blog, Hummingbird604, from the About page,

In a nutshell, I blog about myself and my life in Vancouver. Hummingbird604.com is my personal online canvas, where I write about restaurants I eat at, events I attend and things that make me think (in social media, in environment, in public policy and in global politics). I was educated as an artist (I’m a former competitive dancer and theatre stage actor) and so I write about theatre, dance fine and performing arts in Vancouver and beyond. I chronicle my travels and places I’ve visited in Canada and elsewhere worldwide. While I write this blog primarily for myself, it has gained popularity in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and other areas of the world.

Café Scientifique’s Forgotten Knowledge May 22, 2012  presentation features a speaker from the UK, Dr. Andrew Holding. From the Home page on his website (I have removed links),

Welcome to the website of Andrew Holding. I am a research scientist who is currently employed by the Medical Research Council (MRC) in the Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge. My research involves the study of protein-protein binding by way of using small isotopically-labelled linker molecules. These linker molecules bind between residues that are within range of each other and then the cross-linked protein complex is digested and analysed by mass spectrometry. The interactions we investigate are important for understanding and developing new cures for a wide range of diseases including cancer.

…

I’ve worked on many Science outreach projects including founding and organizing Skeptics in the Pub in Cambridge, which holds monthly talks by various speakers with the aim of highlighting the application of critical thinking and scientific method. …

…

I have been a guest on The Naked Scientists Q&A radio show as Dr Andy, answering the public’s questions on science, and have spoken at several outreach events both around Cambridge and nationwide. I produce and host my own radio show on CamFM every Sunday that covers the science behind movies, books and TV shows with a selection of music that relates to the discussion. In addition, I have written for The Guardian’s ‘Comment is Free’ section and BlueSci magazine.

In my spare time, I have written and acted in several performances put on by the Cambridge University Light Entertainment Society and Two Shades of Blue. One of the most prominent of these was “The Matrix: The Pantomime”, which was taken to the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh in 2007 and became a sell-out show. … I still continue to part in such events; for example, in 2010 I acted in the annual Christmas skit at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology and have participated in Bright Club in London and Festival of the Spoken Nerd, the latter two of which focus on the communication of science through comedy.

…

I am qualified first-aider at work and am a volunteer at Addenbrooke’s Hospital for one evening a week.

As a preview, I found a five-minute video version of Holding’s talk, Forgotten Knowledge (not the greatest quality) which he gave on May 3, 2012, from the Forgotten Knowledge page on Vimeo,

The third event I’ve chosen to highlight is a ‘nano’ presentation at the Life Sciences Institute (LSI) Café Scientifique titled, “NanoSpace Invaders: Seeing into the Subcellular World.” There aren’t any more details on the website than Chow was able to cull for her posting although there are some pictures on the event page.

I had a chance to chat with one of the speakers, Dr. Edwin Moore, who told me that he and Vogl are aiming to give a fairly accessible talk, in other words, you won’t need a medical degree or training in microbiology. Dr. Wayne Vogl will be  (pun alert!) focusing on modern microscopes and what they can do while Ed will be discussing cell work and microscopes.

I wonder if they’re serving food (cheese on a toothpick, a grape, and celery stick,perhaps?) and drinks (cash?). After all, it’s being held from 6 pm – 8 pm.

If none of these tickle your fancy, please do check out Sarah Chow’s posting of May 2012 science events in Vancouver.

Sarah Chow at her eponymous blog has listed some May 2012 science events taking place in Vancouver (Canada) in her May 1, 2012 posting. Here are a couple of excerpts,

ScienceOnlineVancouver #SoVan – 7pm

Continuing to connect the science communication community, this month’s Science Online Vancouver is all about making connections through social media.
Location: Science World
Time: 7 pm

…

Tuesday May 22, 2012

Cafe Scientifique – 7:30pm

Aye-matie! All you land lubbers out there don’t miss out Dr. Andrew Holding’s talk on Forgotten Knowledge: The discovery and loss of a cure for scurvy. Or you’ll be walking the plank! ARRRR!
Location: Railway Club – 579 Dunsmuir Street
Time: 7:30pmm

…

Tuesday May 29, 2012

Cafe Scientifique – UBC Life Sciences Institute – 6pm

Sometimes great things come in small packages. The Life Sciences Institute at UBC is presents “NanoSpace Invaders: Seeing into the Subcellular World” with Dr. Wayne Vogl and Dr. Edwin Moore, Professors in the Department of Cellular & Physiological Sciences.
Location: UBC – Life Sciences Institute
Time: 6pm to 8pm

Chow notes, as she did in her April 2012 roundup of science events in Vancouver, it’s always good to check with the organizers before going as there may have been some changes. She also invites people to send her information (sswchow@gmail.com) about events she could add to her list.

I have been able to get a little more information about the events.

ScienceOnline Vancouver is holding its second event (ever) and features Eric Michael Johnson and Raul Pacheco-Vega talking about how to communicate science using social media. From ScienceOnline Vancouver’s May 15, 2012 event page,

Do you have facts that could could clear up confusion or an informed opinion to share? Do you know the question whose answer would help you and others better understand the issue? How do you contribute your knowledge and expertise to your community? Social media is supposed to make it easy but how to you pick between Facebook friends, twitter hashtags, google circles, blog posts and countless other online options?

In the 2nd ScienceOnlineVancouver event on Tuesday, May 15, [updated -- it's on the 15th, not the 17th] you’ll meet people who successfully use social media to communicate with their professional communities,  Eric Michael Johnson (@ericmjohnson, primatediaries.com) and Raul Pacheco-Vega (@raulpacheco, raulpacheco.org) They’ll describe what they do, what works (and what doesn’t.) You’ll have a chance to ask questions and share what you know, whether you’re a professional blogger or just-got-a-twitter-account-now-what-do-I-do?

Here’s a bit more about Eric Michael Johnson, from his Primate Diaries blog, which is part of the Scientific American Blog Network,

Eric Michael Johnson has a Master’s degree in Evolutionary Anthropology focusing on great ape behavioral ecology. He is currently a doctoral student in the history of science at University of British Columbia looking at the interplay between evolutionary biology and politics.

Here’s more about Raul Pacheco-Vega from his eponymous blog,

Raul Pacheco-Vega (BSc. Chemical Engineering, Universidad de Guanajuato; MBA/MEng. Advanced Technology Management, The University of British Columbia; PhD. Resource Management and Environmental Studies, The University of British Columbia) is a Vancouver-based researcher, educator and consultant in environmental politics and policy. He has conducted research in the field of environmental public policy and politics for over 10 years. Dr. Pacheco-Vega is also a Lecturer in the Department of Political Science at The University of British Columbia , a faculty member in the Latin American Studies Program at UBC and from January 2010 until February 2011, he was the Regional Director, Western Canada, for the Canadian Institute for Environmental Law and Policy (CIELAP).

Pacheco-Vega also maintains a personal blog, Hummingbird604, from the About page,

In a nutshell, I blog about myself and my life in Vancouver. Hummingbird604.com is my personal online canvas, where I write about restaurants I eat at, events I attend and things that make me think (in social media, in environment, in public policy and in global politics). I was educated as an artist (I’m a former competitive dancer and theatre stage actor) and so I write about theatre, dance fine and performing arts in Vancouver and beyond. I chronicle my travels and places I’ve visited in Canada and elsewhere worldwide. While I write this blog primarily for myself, it has gained popularity in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and other areas of the world.

Café Scientifique’s Forgotten Knowledge May 22, 2012  presentation features a speaker from the UK, Dr. Andrew Holding. From the Home page on his website (I have removed links),

Welcome to the website of Andrew Holding. I am a research scientist who is currently employed by the Medical Research Council (MRC) in the Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge. My research involves the study of protein-protein binding by way of using small isotopically-labelled linker molecules. These linker molecules bind between residues that are within range of each other and then the cross-linked protein complex is digested and analysed by mass spectrometry. The interactions we investigate are important for understanding and developing new cures for a wide range of diseases including cancer.

…

I’ve worked on many Science outreach projects including founding and organizing Skeptics in the Pub in Cambridge, which holds monthly talks by various speakers with the aim of highlighting the application of critical thinking and scientific method. …

…

I have been a guest on The Naked Scientists Q&A radio show as Dr Andy, answering the public’s questions on science, and have spoken at several outreach events both around Cambridge and nationwide. I produce and host my own radio show on CamFM every Sunday that covers the science behind movies, books and TV shows with a selection of music that relates to the discussion. In addition, I have written for The Guardian’s ‘Comment is Free’ section and BlueSci magazine.

In my spare time, I have written and acted in several performances put on by the Cambridge University Light Entertainment Society and Two Shades of Blue. One of the most prominent of these was “The Matrix: The Pantomime”, which was taken to the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh in 2007 and became a sell-out show. … I still continue to part in such events; for example, in 2010 I acted in the annual Christmas skit at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology and have participated in Bright Club in London and Festival of the Spoken Nerd, the latter two of which focus on the communication of science through comedy.

…

I am qualified first-aider at work and am a volunteer at Addenbrooke’s Hospital for one evening a week.

As a preview, I found a five-minute video version of Holding’s talk, Forgotten Knowledge (not the greatest quality) which he gave on May 3, 2012, from the Forgotten Knowledge page on Vimeo,

The third event I’ve chosen to highlight is a ‘nano’ presentation at the Life Sciences Institute (LSI) Café Scientifique titled, “NanoSpace Invaders: Seeing into the Subcellular World.” There aren’t any more details on the website than Chow was able to cull for her posting although there are some pictures on the event page.

I had a chance to chat with one of the speakers, Dr. Edwin Moore, who told me that he and Vogl are aiming to give a fairly accessible talk, in other words, you won’t need a medical degree or training in microbiology. Dr. Wayne Vogl will be  (pun alert!) focusing on modern microscopes and what they can do while Ed will be discussing cell work and microscopes.

I wonder if they’re serving food (cheese on a toothpick, a grape, and celery stick,perhaps?) and drinks (cash?). After all, it’s being held from 6 pm – 8 pm.

If none of these tickle your fancy, please do check out Sarah Chow’s posting of May 2012 science events in Vancouver.

Organizers had so many speakers lining up for the May 4, 2012 mini colloquium being held by Simon Fraser University (Vancouver, Canada) and the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) Electron Devices Society (EDS) they added a second day to be held on May 11, 2012.

The times, location, and agenda for the May 4, 2012 event, from the May 2012 issue of the IEEE Vancouver Contact newsletter p. 5,

8:00 – 17:00 IRMACS Theater (Rm10900) and Atrium, Applied Sciences Building, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada (http://www.irmacs.sfu.ca/about/visitors/getting-to-sfu)

Rationale: This [colloquium] attempts to draw experts from multiple areas of interest to EDS (http://eds.ieee.org/field-of-interest.html) to stimulate discussion in how all our areas can work together toward further integration of micro/nanosystems. In addition to individual lectures, a panel discussion at the end of the day will bring together the speakers with the audience to provide insight and lively discussion on the future of integrated micro/nanosystems.

Agenda

8.00 Light breakfast

8:30 MC opening by Prof. Norbert Haunerland, Associate Vice-President, Research

8.45 Distinguished Lecture #1: Juin Liou, “Outlook and Challenges in Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) Protection of Modern and Future Integrated Circuits”

9:45 Invited Lecture #1: Bruce Darling, “High Temperature (0-250 C) On-Chip Temperature Sensors and Voltage References”

10:45 Coffee break

11:00 Distinguished Lecture #2: Meyya Meyyapapan, “Nanotechnology: Development of Practical Systems and Applications”

12:00 Invited Lecture #2: Karl Böhringer, “Heterogeneous Microsystem Integration with Self-Assembly”

13:00 Lunch break co-sponsored by SFU Faculty of Applied Sciences Dean’s Office

14:00 Distinguished Lecturer #3: Durga Misra, “High-K Dielectrics for Nanoscale CMOS Devices”

15:00 Invited Lecture #3: Mu Chiao, “”A Magnetically Controlled MEMS Drug Device”

16:00 Coffee break

16:15 Panel Discussion

16:55 Closing remarks and adjourn

The times, location, and agenda for the May 11, 2012 colloquium, from the May 2012 newsletter p. 11,

10:30 – 15:00 4D LABS, Seminar Room SSB 7172, South Sciences Building,

Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada. …

10:30 Coffee and Snacks sponsored by 4-D Labs SFU, IEEE Electron Devices Society (EDS), School of Engineering Science

10:45 Special Talk Series Opening by Prof. John Jones, Director, School of Engineering Science

11:00 Invited Lecture #1: Prof. Vijay K. Varadan: Nano-Sensors. E-Bra. Printable Electronics and Smart Devices for Point Of Healthcare

11:50 Invited Lecture #2: Prof. Anja Boisen: Miniaturized cantilever-like sensors

12:40 Lunch break sponsored by IEEE Electron Devices Society (EDS), 4-D Labs SFU, School of Engineering Science Distinguished

13:30 Lecturer #3: Prof. Peter J. Hesketh: Microcantiliver Sensors Using Metal Organic Framework Films and Ultra-Low Micro-bridge Gas

14:20- 15:00 Discussions, Closing Remarks and Adjourn

The newsletter features more substantive descriptions of the topics and the speakers while the April 30, 2012 SFU news release features some comments from one of the organizers describing the event and who might be interested in attending,

Bonnie Gray, associate professor in SFU’s school of engineering science, says the colloquia will provide very applicable, every day information on nanotechnology’s real-world use.

“I can see all talks being of interest to people who want to know more about what the important considerations in the microchip technology are. [It] forms the basis for our entire electronics industry and the plethora of different sensors used in our everyday lives,” she says.

She adds that while many of the lectures will feature subjects of broad appeal (such as drug delivery and air quality monitoring), the final open panel discussion could have the widest audience appeal.

“I expect the talks to be most interesting to those in science and applied science, and some for health science, but I can see the panel especially being of interest to [those dealing with] technology policy, as well.”

If you do want to attend, I suggest contacting Bonnie Gray at bgray@sfu.ca  as I was not able to access  the event registration page on the Vancouver IEEE website.

Organizers had so many speakers lining up for the May 4, 2012 mini colloquium being held by Simon Fraser University (Vancouver, Canada) and the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) Electron Devices Society (EDS) they added a second day to be held on May 11, 2012.

The times, location, and agenda for the May 4, 2012 event, from the May 2012 issue of the IEEE Vancouver Contact newsletter p. 5,

8:00 – 17:00 IRMACS Theater (Rm10900) and Atrium, Applied Sciences Building, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada (http://www.irmacs.sfu.ca/about/visitors/getting-to-sfu)

Rationale: This [colloquium] attempts to draw experts from multiple areas of interest to EDS (http://eds.ieee.org/field-of-interest.html) to stimulate discussion in how all our areas can work together toward further integration of micro/nanosystems. In addition to individual lectures, a panel discussion at the end of the day will bring together the speakers with the audience to provide insight and lively discussion on the future of integrated micro/nanosystems.

Agenda

8.00 Light breakfast

8:30 MC opening by Prof. Norbert Haunerland, Associate Vice-President, Research

8.45 Distinguished Lecture #1: Juin Liou, “Outlook and Challenges in Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) Protection of Modern and Future Integrated Circuits”

9:45 Invited Lecture #1: Bruce Darling, “High Temperature (0-250 C) On-Chip Temperature Sensors and Voltage References”

10:45 Coffee break

11:00 Distinguished Lecture #2: Meyya Meyyapapan, “Nanotechnology: Development of Practical Systems and Applications”

12:00 Invited Lecture #2: Karl Böhringer, “Heterogeneous Microsystem Integration with Self-Assembly”

13:00 Lunch break co-sponsored by SFU Faculty of Applied Sciences Dean’s Office

14:00 Distinguished Lecturer #3: Durga Misra, “High-K Dielectrics for Nanoscale CMOS Devices”

15:00 Invited Lecture #3: Mu Chiao, “”A Magnetically Controlled MEMS Drug Device”

16:00 Coffee break

16:15 Panel Discussion

16:55 Closing remarks and adjourn

The times, location, and agenda for the May 11, 2012 colloquium, from the May 2012 newsletter p. 11,

10:30 – 15:00 4D LABS, Seminar Room SSB 7172, South Sciences Building,

Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada. …

10:30 Coffee and Snacks sponsored by 4-D Labs SFU, IEEE Electron Devices Society (EDS), School of Engineering Science

10:45 Special Talk Series Opening by Prof. John Jones, Director, School of Engineering Science

11:00 Invited Lecture #1: Prof. Vijay K. Varadan: Nano-Sensors. E-Bra. Printable Electronics and Smart Devices for Point Of Healthcare

11:50 Invited Lecture #2: Prof. Anja Boisen: Miniaturized cantilever-like sensors

12:40 Lunch break sponsored by IEEE Electron Devices Society (EDS), 4-D Labs SFU, School of Engineering Science Distinguished

13:30 Lecturer #3: Prof. Peter J. Hesketh: Microcantiliver Sensors Using Metal Organic Framework Films and Ultra-Low Micro-bridge Gas

14:20- 15:00 Discussions, Closing Remarks and Adjourn

The newsletter features more substantive descriptions of the topics and the speakers while the April 30, 2012 SFU news release features some comments from one of the organizers describing the event and who might be interested in attending,

Bonnie Gray, associate professor in SFU’s school of engineering science, says the colloquia will provide very applicable, every day information on nanotechnology’s real-world use.

“I can see all talks being of interest to people who want to know more about what the important considerations in the microchip technology are. [It] forms the basis for our entire electronics industry and the plethora of different sensors used in our everyday lives,” she says.

She adds that while many of the lectures will feature subjects of broad appeal (such as drug delivery and air quality monitoring), the final open panel discussion could have the widest audience appeal.

“I expect the talks to be most interesting to those in science and applied science, and some for health science, but I can see the panel especially being of interest to [those dealing with] technology policy, as well.”

If you do want to attend, I suggest contacting Bonnie Gray at bgray@sfu.ca  as I was not able to access  the event registration page on the Vancouver IEEE website.

Rose Redfield seems to be everywhere in Vancouver these days. Last week (April 19, 2012) she spoke at the first ScienceOnline Vancouver Event and tonight she’s at Café Scientifique at the Railway Club, 579 Dunsmuir St. (second floor) at 7:30 pm.

Here’s the event description straight from the news release,

Our speaker for the evening will be Dr. Rosie Redfield, the biologist from UBC who was recently named one of the “10 People Who Mattered” in 2011 by Nature magazine. (http://www.nature.com/news/365-days-nature-s-10-1.9678 ).

The title and abstract for her café is:

#arseniclife and Open Science
The #arseniclife story started with a bang in late 2010, when NASA proudly announced the discovery that some bacteria could synthesize their DNA with arsenic in the backbone in place of phosphorus. But within a few days it all fell apart, as scientists used blogs and Twitter to conduct impromptu ‘post-publication peer review’. (‘#arseniclife’ is the Twitter hashtag used to identify relevant tweets.) Working with collaborators at Princeton, my lab has now shown that the key results cannot be replicated. This debacle has implications for many aspects of science, from how personal biases and funding sources affect scientific judgment to the increasing roles of social media in both the practice and public communication of science.

I hope she’s addressed that problem with overmodulation that I described in my comments about last week’s ScienceOnline Vancouver event (my April 20, 2012 posting) because she’s very interesting.

For anyone not familiar with the #arseniclife story, here’s my Dec. 8, 2012 apology  posting about it (with links to other more informed writing) and my blooper Dec. 6, 2010 posting.

NASA’s (US National Aeronautics and Space Administration) International Space Apps Challenge was held last weekend (April 21 – April 22, 2012) and citizen scientists from around the globe were invited to participate. According to the April 21, 2012 news item on BBC News online,

The two-day event will bring programmers together on seven continents to see how creative they can be with Nasa’s store of space data.

Problems Nasa wants solved include improving data sharing after disasters and spotting good lunar landing sites.

Coders on the International Space Station and at McMurdo base in Antarctica will join in.

The event runs from 21-22 April at more than 25 venues around the world. Hundreds of people have registered to go along and take part in the various challenges.

NASA’s international space apps challenge map lists two locations in Canada: Vancouver and Montréal. Other cities include: Nairobi, Tel Aviv, Boulder, Stuttgart, Oxford, Adelaide, Tokyo, San Francisco, Dublin, Santiago and others.

You can find out more about Vancouver’s network hub here. The local organizer, Angelina Fabbro (scroll down if you follow the link),  is  from Steam Clock Software, which also sponsored the event.

This wasn’t done just for fun, from the online BBC News article,

The resulting code will be judged and used by Nasa in its space exploration missions. One challenge hopes to find a way to let astronauts bake bread in space to improve morale by reminding them of home.

Other challenges are more Earth bound and are directed towards aims such as better ways to monitor water use – to ensure scarce supplies are not depleted or warn of impending droughts.

In a statement, Nasa said the Space Apps Challenge was a citizen science event that would help to change the way the US government interacted with people.

Vancouver seems to be experiencing a renaissance poetrywise. The city is about to enjoy its 2nd International Poetry Festival just on the heels of V125PC, a poetry conference, held in Oct. 2011 to celebrate the city’s 125th anniversary (mentioned in my Oct. 20, 2011 posting).

I’m not sure how I missed Vancouver’s 1st annual International Poetry Festival but here are some details about this year’s which runs from April 23 – 28, 2012 (from the Dec.16, 2011 news release on the Vancouver Poetry Festival website),

This is just a tiny reminder about the 2nd Annual Vancouver International Poetry Festival and the 2nd Annual Canadian Individual Poetry Slam Championship this coming April 23rd through 28th 2012. Some of you may note that the festival is later on ion April. This is because we wish to align our schedule with the Calgary International Spoken Word Festival and the wonderful Banff Spoken Word Program so that we can collaborate in future years and so that potentially artists may attend both.

Attending poets, pass holders and tournament volunteers will receive a festival pass that will get poets into all events including the Vancouver Poetry Slam Team Finals on Monday April 23rd, Mashed Poetics on Tuesday April 24th and of course, the  bouts, side events and workshops, and the Canadian Individual Poetry Slam Finals on Saturday April 28th.

…

Charles Hamilton will be back as tournament director. We will still be having a Haiku Death Match, a late night Nerd Slam, an Erotica show and a return of the poets brunch courtesy of Johnny MacRae and Steve Miller. The schedule will be trimmed down due to the Canada Council short fall but it should still be crazy fun and I’m going to bust my hump on the fundraising between now and then.

Again, this year we will have 38 open slots and 1 reserved for the returning champion Open Secret (should he wish to defend his championship) and 1 reserved for the Last Chance Slam on Wednesday April 25th.

…

If you have specific questions that can’t wait, please shoot me an email at mcgarragle@gmail.com and include in the subject line either Canadian Indies or VIP.

I hope you’re all really well and hopefully we’ll see you soon or at least in April.

Here’s a listing of events from the festival events page (Note: I have removed links, please check the page for full details),

Monday, April 23rd

Early Festival Registration
The Rio Theatre (1660 East Broadway Ave), 5-6pm
This is an opportunity for poets taking part in the Canadian Individual Poetry Slam Competition to get registered, receive their passes and meet other poets taking part in the competition.

Ian Keteku features at the 16th annual Van Slam Finals Night
The Rio Theatre (1660 East Broadway Ave), 7pm doors open, 8pm show starts
$12 in advance at the Van Slam or online, $15 at the door (group rates available for schools)
Over 80 poets have been competing throughout the year to qualify for this playoff event. The top eight vie for a spot on this year’s poetry slam team, which will be representing Vancouver at major tournaments and festivals across North America. As our featured performer for the evening, The Vancouver International Poetry Festival is proud to have 2010 World Slam Champ Ian Keteku from Ottawa perform.

Tuesday, April 24th

Late Festival Registration
Café Deux Soleils (2096 Commercial Dr), 5pm – 6pm
This is the last chance participants in the Canadian Individual Slam Championship have to register for the tournament. Any poet that is due to take part in the tournament but does not register in person will have their slot given to the next available competitor.

Mashed Poetics
Cafe Deux Soleils (2096 Commercial Drive), 7:30pm doors open, 8pm show starts, $10
Mashed Poetics brings together spoken word and classic rock for a rip-roaring evening of electric verse. Musical and poetic collaboration create an evening filled with new work and unexpected surprises. This year, poets will be working off of songs from the Beastie Boys album, Licence to Ill.

Wednesday, April 25th

Late Festival Registration
Café Deux Soleils (2096 Commercial Dr), 5pm – 6pm
This is the last chance participants in the Canadian Individual Slam Championship have to register for the tournament. Any poet that is due to take part in the tournament but does not register in person will have their slot given to the next available competitor.

Indies Poet Orientation
Café Deux Soleils (2096 Commercial Dr), 6–7pm
This is for all participants in the Canadian Individual Slam Championship to learn about the format of the tournament, and have all their questions answered.

Canadian Individual Slam Championship Last Chance Slam
Café Deux Soleils (2096 Commercial Dr), 7:30pm doors open, 8pm show starts, $10
Didn’t get chance to register in time? Want to pit your work against some of the strongest spoken word artists from across Canada? This is your last opportunity to get into the tournament. 12 spots are available in this slam. The top five highest-scoring poets in the first round move on to the second round. The highest-scoring poet in the second round is entered into the Canadian Individual Slam Championship.

Poets’ Delight
Eternal Abundance (1025 Commercial Dr), 10:30pm doors open, 11pm show starts, $5
Poets’ Delight: A revelry of open mic innovation and awesomeness!!

This is not a competition, but a showcase of performance poetry innovation. On Wednesday morning, all poets who have signed up will be given a prompt (the same prompt for everyone) and will have the day to write an original performance poetry piece to share.

Members of the audience will be asked to write love notes to the individual poets commenting on their original words and the poets will be able to take this feedback away with them as a souvenir of the evening. Those who have written love notes can either drop them into a box bearing the poet’s name or give them to the hosts to read out between other poets.

The night will also feature the music and poetry of Chelsea D.E. Johnson and Jillian Christmas and the poetic rumbling of Scruff Mouth and there will be a DJ playing music for us after the show and during the breaks.

Come ready to be dazzled and, well, delighted!

Thursday, April 26th

Writing and performance workshop with Daemond Arrindell
East Side Yoga (1707 Grant Street) 1:30pm till 3:30pm, $20

Performance poetry is such a unique art form. It’s not just poetry, but solid writing is vital. It’s not music, but it has a musicality to it. It’s not theater, but movement and voice play a large role. There are rules and things you should never do and times to ignore both of those things. At it’s best, it is a powerful and poetic story written in a way that only you could write and brought to life onstage in a way that only you can tell.

In this workshop, Daemond Arrindell, 8-time coach of the Seattle National Slam Team, will work with you to get past the weaknesses and help find and hone the strengths in both the writing and your performance to truly bring your poem to life. The focus will be on how to best tell the story your poem wants to tell. The workshop will begin with writing and poets should bring current poems they are wanting to workshop.

Writing and performance workshop with Barbara Adler
East Side Yoga (1707 Grant Street) 3:30pm till 5:30pm, $20
Fear and (self) Loathing: Getting Over Performance (Poetry) Anxiety

Have you ever finished a performance and immediately wanted to fall into an abyss? Does the thought of sucking, like, really sucking, keep you from doing things you might love?

At the tender age of 18, Barbara Adler started competing at the Vancouver Poetry Slam. She was generally a big, dark pile of self-loathing and nerves. Over the course of a decade of performances all over the world, she’s figured out many ways to outwit her genetic predisposition to neurotic insecurity\destructive perfectionism. Join her for a workshop, where she’ll share some of her ideas on how to get over the performance fears that keep you from pushing ahead. Bring a pen and some paper, and an idea for a performance that scares you.

Canadian Individual Poetry Slam Championship: Preliminary Bouts #1 & #3
Café Deux Soleils (2096 Commercial Dr), 6:30pm doors open, 7pm first bout, 9pm second bout, $10
These bouts will feature poets from across the country competing with 4-minute and 1-minute poems in a quest to take home the Canadian Individual Poetry Slam Championship.

Canadian Individual Poetry Slam Championship: Preliminary Bouts #2 & #4
Eternal Abundance (1025 Commercial Dr), 6:30pm doors open, 7pm first bout, 9pm second bout, $10
These bouts will feature poets from across the country competing with 4-minute and 1-minute poems in a quest to take home the Canadian Individual Poetry Slam Championship.

2nd annual VIP Nerd Night
Café Deux Soleils (2096 Commercial Dr), 10:30pm doors open, 11pm show starts, $10
Come on down to the Vancouver Nerd Poetry Slam! Watch browncoats, ensigns, mathletes, comic collectors, elves, power rings, geeks and jedis all get into a Tardis and go 88 miles per hour for your viewing pleasure. Our finest nerd brothers and sisters will face off in an epic slam to proclaim a winner because in the end, ‘there can be only one’. Come on down and spit your best nerd rhymes.

Come out to this late night event where we celebrate all things nerd-like. There will be prizes and costumes will be encouraged and will be featuring a performance by The Klute and hosted by our very own cosmonaut of cartoons, knight of the comic book kingdom, Duncan Shields.

Friday, April 27th

Chapbook making workshop with Warren Dean Fulton
East Side Yoga (1707 Grant Street) 1:30pm till 3:30pm, free for all poets and poetry fans
Are you looking at taking your poetry to the next level? Are you looking at producing your first chapbook or simply wanting to see a myriad of different style of chapbooks, then come to this workshop. Warren Dean Fulton has produced hundreds of chapbooks and has seen thousands more. Come pick his brain and learn from the chapbook guru himself.

Banter workshop with Brendan McLeod
East Side Yoga (1707 Grant Street) 3:30pm till 5:30pm, $20
Whenever you’re showcasing a group of poems for an audience, you always have to figure out how best to contextualize them. This workshop tackles what to do between poems onstage. What subjects should you talk about? What kind of stories/snippets/haikus/jokes should you tell? How do you change your performative style to accommodate these? The difference between a good set and a killer set is often how a poet relates to the audience. In this workshop, we’ll talk about how to do this in a way that is effective and true to your personality.

Canadian Individual Poetry Slam Championship: Preliminary Bouts #5 & #7
Café Deux Soleils (2096 Commercial Dr), 7pm doors open, 7:30pm first bout, 9pm second bout, $10
These bouts will feature poets from across the country competing with 2-minute and 3-minute poems in a quest to take home the Canadian Individual Poetry Slam Championship.

Canadian Individual Poetry Slam Championship: Preliminary Bouts #6 & #8
Eternal Abundance (1025 Commercial Dr), 7pm doors open, 7:30pm first bout, 9pm second bout, $10
These bouts will feature poets from across the country competing with 2-minute and 3-minute poems in a quest to take home the Canadian Individual Poetry Slam Championship.

Late Night Erotica Poetry Mic hosted by Jessica Mason Paull and Erich Haygen
Café Deux Soleils (2096 Commercial Dr), 10:30pm doors open, 11pm show starts, $5
Erotic Poetry shows are often celebratory and light-hearted, but they can also carry commentary regarding serious matters of sexual health such as personal boundaries, sexual identity, and sex trade and violence.

Even if you’re not competing in the slam, every true poet knows that the real measure of success is winning the affections of a crowd of beautiful strangers. Put on that scandalous outfit you’ve been waiting for an excuse to flaunt and bring your sestina about fisting to The Late Night Erotica Open Mic! Hosts Jessica Mason-Paull and Erich Haygun will be awarding prizes, shaming thinly-veiled sexism and encouraging strangers to make out all night long.d of beautiful strangers.

Saturday, April 28th

The Annual Haiku Death Match hosted by Jessica Mason Paull
Eternal Abundance (1025 Commercial Dr), 3:30 pm doors open, 4:00pm show starts, $5
Can you write a note in seventeen syllables? Then come to this show. The show will feature 16 haikusters doing battle with the winners getting amazing prizes. If you’re interested in reading please speak to incoming Van Slammistress, Jessica Mason Paull on the day of. And this is an audience participation event, so bring your outside voices to this inside event.

Canadian Individual Poetry Slam Finals
The Rio Theatre (1660 East Broadway Ave), 7pm doors open, 8pm show starts
Advance tickets $12, At the door $15
The finals of the Canadian Indies Slam Championship will be a three-round poetry slam. The ten best poets from the preliminary bouts will square off, and at the end of the night, one of them will walk away with the title of Canadian Poetry Slam Champion and $1000.

This international poetry festival is a Vancouver Poetry House initiative, which includes podcasts, poetry event listings, and more.

Meanwhile, Simon Fraser University (SFU) hosts its 2nd poetry lunch event,

Lunch Poems @SFU returns for its second installment with Wayde Compton and his guest poet Rahat Kurd.

Time: 12-1 p.m.
Place: Teck Gallery, Harbour Centre, 515 West Hastings Street
Cost: Free

Compton is a Vancouver writer whose books include After Canaan: Essays on Race, Writing, and Region, Performance Bond, Bluesprint: Black British Columbian Literature and Orature and 49th Parallel Psalm. Compton is the Director of The Writer’s Studio, a creative writing program in Continuing Studies at Simon Fraser University. He also teaches English composition and literature at the Emily Carr University of Art and Design.

Kurd is an arts, politics and culture writer whose first suite of published poems, Surplus Knowledge, appeared in The New Quarterly in spring 2011, and has been nominated for a National Magazine Award.

There’s still more but this is getting too long. In any event, you should be able to find lots of poetry in Vancouver for the foreseeable future.

Vancouver-based, Sarah S. Chow writes an eponymous science blog (thank you for the tweet Robyn Sussel) and her latest post, March 30, 2012 offers a listing of April 2012 science events being held in Vancouver (Canada). I’ve excerpted a small portion of her listings and I encourage you to take a look at the full list (there are close to 1/2 dozen more listings plus she may be adding to these as the month goes on) and to read her blog. Tonight,

Wednesday April 4, 2012 – 6pm

Nerd Nite (formerly known as Beer and Brains)

Hang out with the cool people for a change! Every first Wednesday of the month, scientists, science journalists and science communicators congregate at their favorite watering hole for some good, thought-provoking conversations. And of course, some awesome beer.
Location: Railway Club 579 Dunsmuir Street
Time: 6 pm

In a couple of weeks,

Thursday April 19, 2012 – 7 pm

Science Online Vancouver #SoVan

It started in New York City #SONYC, and now it’s coming here. Science Online Vancouver is a monthly discussion group led by a panel who are experts in the  topic of the month. This month: Where do you get your science?
Location: Science World
Time: 7 pm

Brain Talks

BrainTalks is a series of talks designed to invigorate your brain, and how you think about your brain! Neurologists, neuroradiologists, psychiatrists, neuroscientists, and related professions, gather to discuss current leading edge topics on the mind. Speaker this week: Dr. Max Cynader [

Director of the Brain Research Centre and the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health at Vancouver Coastal Health and the University of British Columbia (UBC) and he holds the Canada Research Chair in Brain Development and is Professor of Opthalmology (UBC)], whose research is focused on the neuronal and molecular mechanism of the sensory cortex.
Location: Vancouver General Hospital
Time: 5:30 pm – wine and cheese
6 pm – presentation

Events can get cancelled or rescheduled so please do check the links to the event websites for confirmation.

I did some further checking on Brain Talks and Science Online Vancouver.  Here’s the Brain Talks website/blog (excerpted from the home page),

… talks include:

dialogue around current topics in the news and popular press
up-to-date reviews of current literature in academic press
videos and/or film excerpts of relevant discoveries
CME [continuing medical education] credits for select talks

I also found the title for the upcoming talk by Dr. Max Cynader, Enhancing Brain Plasticity. (The March 22, 2012 talk was titled, Art and the Brain: How dance, music, sports, and storytelling may support critical cognitive development in children and youth.) They do request an RSVP although they have yet to provide the function online. More details about the talk and the ability to RSVP are coming here soon.

ScienceOnline which originally started out as a science blogger’s conference then morphed into a very (my Nov. 2, 2011 posting notes that they sold out their first block of tickets for the 2012 conference in roughly two minutes) successful ScienceOnline conference in North Carolina is rapidly becoming an international brand. The ScienceOnline Vancouver website, understandably, doesn’t provide a lot of information at this point. They do encourage you to sign up/register and become part of the community.

I was intrigued to note that the journal Nature is supporting this effort, from the ScienceOnline Vancouver home page,

ScienceOnline Vancouver is a local meeting of the ScienceOnlineNOW community and is co-presented by nature.com. The local co-organizers are Catherine Anderson, Sarah Chow, and Peter Newbury. ScienceOnlineVancouver.com built and hosted by the Open Science Federation. Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

I’m glad to see so many science-themed get togethers in the Vancouver region.

ETA April 5, 2012: The ScienceOnline Vancouver event may or may not be free on April 19, 2012. There’s no information about cost but I did find some more information about the inaugural event which features a panel  (from the April 19, 2012 event page),

Dr. Rosie Redfield – Named Nature’s most influential person of 2011, this associate professor of microbiology at UBC hit science fame through her blog RRResearch disputing NASA’s claim life exists in arsenic.
The local reporter will depend on availability but he/she will focus on science and work for a mainstream media organization.

Rosie Redfield and her blogs were last mentioned in my Dec. 29, 2012 posting, my annual roundup of Canadian science blogs.

Lunchtime poetry readings are being held at Simon Fraser University at its Harbour Centre campus in Vancouver’s downtown core and this one on March 28, 2012 marks the beginning.

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

lunch poems @sfu with poets Evelyn Lau and Daniela Elza

Time: Noon-1 pm

Place: The Teck Gallery, Harbour Centre, 515 West Hastings

Cost: Free

Lunch poems @sfu is a new series of volunteer-run poetry readings held monthly, featuring well-known and new poets. This inaugural event features Evelyn Lau, current Vancouver Poet Laureate, and Daniela Elza.

Evelyn Lau was born in Vancouver in 1971 and is the author of five volumes of poetry, two works of non-fiction, two short story collections and a novel, with works translated into a dozen languages worldwide. She is at work on her sixth collection of poetry. She has received various awards for her work. Runaway: Diary of a Street Kid, published when she was only 18, was a Canadian bestseller and was made into a movie.

Daniela Elza’s work has been published in more than fifty literary and peer-reviewed publications and to date she has released more than 200 poems into the world. In 2011 Daniela received her doctorate in Philosophy of Education from Simon Fraser University.

Here’s a bit more about Poet Laureates in Vancouver, from  the City of Vancouver’s Poet Laureate page,

The Poet Laureate is an honorary position that was established by City Council in December 2006 to honour and celebrate the contribution of literature and poetry to life in Vancouver. The position is funded by a generous endowment established by Dr. Yosef Wosk, OBC [Order of British Columbia], in 2006.

George McWhirter, Professor Emeritus of UBC’s Creative Writing Program was named Vancouver’s first Poet Laureate on March 8, 2007. In 2009, McWhirter published the anthology A Verse Map of Vancouver with Anvil Press, which included upwards of 100 poets who mapped Vancouver’s verse geography.

Brad Cran, Vancouver’s second Poet Laureate, [completed] his term on October 22, 2011. He organized the Vancouver 125 Poetry Conference (October 19-22, 2011), a national gathering of a generation of poets who published their first book after 1990.

Evelyn Lau is Vancouver’s 3rd Poet Laureate. Here’s more from the City of Vancouver Oct. 14, 2011 news release announcing her appointment,

The City of Vancouver, in partnership with the Vancouver Public Library and the Vancouver International Writers Festival, is proud to announce celebrated local poet and author Evelyn Lau as Vancouver’s third Poet Laureate.

…

Ms. Lau plans to raise the profile of local poets and bring poetry into public spaces and public discourse, continuing the work her predecessor. She will also meet with aspiring poets in the community through a series of poet-in-residence consultations and continue to work on her sixth collection of poetry.

….

Runaway: Diary of a Street Kid, published when she was 18, was a Canadian bestseller and was made into a movie. You Are Not Who You Claim won the Milton Acorn People’s Poetry Award, and Oedipal Dreams was nominated for the Governor-General’s Award for poetry. Her poems have been included in Best American Poetry and Best Canadian Poetry and received a National Magazine Award. Her most recent collection, Living Under Plastic, won the Pat Lowther Award for best book of poetry by a woman in Canada.