Horizons Series
A series begun by the local, non-profit Tallahassee Scientific Society in 2011 to further its mission to promote public interest in science and technology. The series features one presentation per month beginning February and running through April. Admission is free for all students.
Upcoming Series Events
Previous Series Events
Horizons 2021 Click for more details
- January 28 – Erin McKenney, Ph.D., Department of Applied Ecology at NC State University, “Food, guts, and bugs: keys to a cultured life.”
- February 18, 2021 – Frederick Davis, Ph.D., Chair and Professor of History at Purdue University, “Rachel Carson and the Wonder of Nature.”
- March 18 – Kat Volk, Ph.D., Department of Planetary Sciences, University of Arizona, “Interstellar Visitors: What We’ve Learned from 1I/’ Oumuamua and 2I/Borisov presented”
- April 15 – Jen Locke, Ph.D., Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Ohio State University, “The Role of the Environment in Accelerating Material Failure: Real World Examples and How Research Addresses the Challenges”
Horizons 2020 – Click for more details
- February 26 – Daniela Nicastro, Ph.D., UT Southwestern Medical Center, Department of Cell Biology, “Seeing is believing: ‘Ice age’ imaging opens a new window into cells;”.
- March 26 – Jerry Coyne, Ph.D., University of Chicago Professor of Ecology and Evolution., “Why Evolution Is Still True”.
- April 30 – (Canceled due to Covid) – Erin McKenney, Ph.D., Department of Applied Ecology at NC State University, “Food, guts, and bugs: keys to a cultured life.”
Horizons 2019 – Click for more details
- February 28 – David Kaiser, Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology Professor of Physics and Professor of the History of Science., “Quantum Jitters in the Sky: The Big Bang, Cosmic Inflation, and the Latest Observations”.
- March 28 – Sam Rikkers, J.D., Executive Director, Tiny Earth; Brittany Gasper, Ph.D., Eric Warrick, Ph.D., “Student-Sourcing the Discovery of New Antibiotics in the Soil”.
- April 25 – Ryan and Rebecca Means, President and Director of Coastal Plains Institute, “Project Remote: Where the Road Ends”.
- May 23 – Helen F. James, D. Phil., National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, “Discovering a Lost World of Birds: Fossils in Hawaii’s Lava Caves.”
Horizons 2018 – Click for more details
- February 22 – Greg Erickson, Professor of Anatomy and Vertebrate Paleobiology, Florida State University, “Breathing Life into T-Rex”.
- March 22 – Elaine Osterland , Geneticist, National Human Genome Research Institute, “Genes Wagging the Tail: Genetics of Complex Traits in Domestic Dogs”.
- April 24 – John Hunt, Program Administrator, Florida Fish and Wildlife Labs, Marathon, FL, “Science and Ecosystem Management in the Florida Keys: Recent Successes and Challenge.
- May 22 – Jack Davis, Professor of Environmental History, University of Florida, “The Gulf of Mexico: History, Nature, and Hope”.
Horizons 2017 – Click for more details
- February 23 – Bruce Means, Biologist, Coastal Plains Institute, “Diamonds in the Rough: Natural History of the Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake”.
- March 23 – Gail Skofronick-Jackson, NASA Project Specialist, “Let it Rain and Snow: Global Precipitation Measurement for Science and Society”.
- April 27 – Jeffery Shanks, Archaeologist, National Park Service, “Middens, Mounds, and Mortuary Cults: The Archaeology of the Byrd Hammock Site”.
- May 17 – Don Chambers, Associate Professor of Marine Science, University of South Florida, “Sea Level Rise and Climate Change”.
Horizons 2016 – Click for more details
- February 25 – Chris Koenig, Marine Biologist, “Deep Science: The Secret Lives of Groupers”.
- March 24 – James Rice, Specialist on the Geology of Mars, “Wheels on Mars: The Adventures and Discoveries of the Mars Rovers”.
- April 28 – Tom Seeley, Biologist, “The Amazing Swarm: How Honeybees Get Smart”.
- May 25 – Ken Ford, CEO of the Florida Institute for Human & Machine Cognition, “Wright Brothers Revisited: Climbing Aloft on the AI Wing”.
Horizons 2015 – Click for more details
- February 26 – Ellen Prager, Marine Scientist, Author, “The Shark Whisperer & Other Exotic Tales of the Sea”.
- March 26 – Brian Switek, Science Writer, “My Beloved Brontosaurus: A Trip through the Days of the Big Dinosaurs”.
- April 23 – Panel Discussion, “Deepwater Horizon’s 5th Anniversary”.
- May 28 – George H. Burgess, “Man in the Gray Suit: The Truth about Shark Attacks”
Horizons 2014
- February 27 – Bruce Means, Naturalist, Explorer, Author, “Over the Rainbow: Exploring Shangri-La, The Lost Worlds of South America”.
- March 20 – Leslie Sturmer, Fisheries Biologist, “Clamelot: How a Clam Saved a Coastal Community”.
- April 24 – Carlton Ward, Jr, Conservation Photographer, “The Corridor Expedition: Connecting the Florida Wild”.
- May 22 – Joe Hutto, Naturalist, Author, “Wyoming Wild: The Mule Deer of Deadman Gulch”
Horizons 2013
- February 28 – Cynthia Barnett, Science Writer, “Blue Revolution: A Water Ethic for Florida and America”.
- April 1 – John D. Hofmeister, Retired President of Shell Oil Co, “Staring at the Abyss: Economic Growth and Energy Security or Recession and Energy Rationing?”
- April 25 – Maria Jacobsen, Archaeologist, “The H. L. Hunley: Surprising Facts About the South’s Secret Weapon”.
- May 23 – Jim Fowler, Naturalist, TV Personality, “Wild Planet: What the Animals are Telling Us”
Horizons 2012
- February 23 – Frank DiBello, President, Space Florida, “The State of the Space Industry in Florida”.
- March 22 – Tom C. Shirley, Marine Biologist, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, “Run Silent, Run Deep: New Life on WWII Shipwrecks in the Gulf of Mexico”.
- April 25 – Joe Hutto, Naturalist, Author, Wildlife Artist, “My Life as a Turkey: One Man’s Study of Nature & Nurture in the Wilds of Sopchoppy”.
- May 24 – Janisse Ray, Author, Poet, Naturalist, “The Ecology of Southern Nature”.
Carol, as a TSS board member is continuing her life-long interest in science and science education. After receiving her BS in Chemistry from Youngstown State University and MS from Florida State University in Science Education, She taught chemistry for 35 years, first at Godby High School and then Tallahassee Community College (TCC). At TCC, she also served as science program chair and was an active participant in TCC’s science student mentor program (STEM Stars).
The Tallahassee Scientific Society announces the award of their 2019 Gold Medal to Dr. Laura Greene, Chief Scientist at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory. The Society’s Gold Medal, established in 2004, is bestowed annually on a scientist or scholar selected from the Tallahassee community whose career achievements in science or mathematics, and contributions to science education and outreach, are deemed exemplary.
Mabry specializes in earth science and promoting scientific literacy. She earned her Ph.D. in Geological Sciences from FSU, with her research at the MagLab, while serving as a NSF GK12 Fellow, working in public school classrooms. Mabry has also enjoyed working at the Florida Geological Survey, the Florida Center for STEM at FSU, and teaching earth science for seven years at TCC.
Yvonne worked in the Public Health Laboratory in Jacksonville and then as Bureau Chief in the Food Safety Laboratory at the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. After retirement from the State of Florida, a move to Denver, she is now back to Tallahassee. Yvonne works with the Association of Public Health Laboratories and the Association of Food and Drug Officials. She has a BS Biology from FSU and MS Community Health from UNF.
Tangy is a cardiac physiologist and Instructor in the sciences at Florida A&M University and Tallahassee Community College. One of her life goals is to offer an academic advantage to Middle and High Schoolers, and as a result she is the founder of the non-profit organization, Skolier Institute Summer Camp, Inc. She prides herself in mentoring, educating, and propelling scholars to higher levels. She enjoys reading and engaging outdoor activities with family.
Bill is a retired invertebrate biologist. He studied parasitology and genetics at the Florida State University, where his graduate studies focused on the genetics of digenetic trematodes. After graduating he spent 32 years as a marine fisheries manager with the state of Florida and federal fishery management councils. He has two grown children and has resided in Tallahassee since 1970. His interests include world history, paleontology, evolution, music, cycling, and kayaking.
Kerry brings a background of science teaching, training, research, and community outreach to the Board of Tallahassee Scientific Society. She presently teaches biology at Thomas University and serves on the Tallahassee Science Festival Board. In her professional career, she has worked to communicate complex concepts in science to a diverse range of students, from K-12 through seniors.
Chris earned a degree in Meteorology from FSU in 1995 and began teaching Physics, Physical, and Earth/Space Science at Godby High School, moving to Chiles High School in 2000. In 2008, Chris joined a team creating science assessments for Florida, then becoming the Mathematics and Science Coordinator while also overseeing the development of Florida’s state-wide Mathematics and Science assessments. Chris is the Instructional Certification Specialist for Leon County Schools and oversees the Beginning Teacher Program.
Tony is a Professor Emeritus of Computer Science from Southeast Missouri State University and retired Professor of Chemistry from Stephan F. Austin State University (TX). He is a physical / computational chemist who earned his B.S. in chemistry and mathematics from Marquette University and Ph.D. in physical chemistry from the Pennsylvania State University. 
George taught middle and high school in Louisville, Ky before becoming a faculty member in science education at FSU in 1967 where he retired with the rank of Professor Emeritus in 2001. His work, in addition to teaching, included curriculum development that evolved from print materials to multimedia. His projects have been used broadly in the US and internationally. 
Dana served for 30 years in the Florida Park Service, mostly as the state-wide chief biologist. Dana earned an MS in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from FSU. He is an authority on the limpkin, the snail-eating wading bird, about which he authored several scientific accounts. Dana has been active on boards and as an officer for Florida Audubon Society, Apalachee Audubon Society, Birdsong Nature Center, and the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge Association.