Horizons Speaker Series
A Spring Speaker Series
Promoting Public Interest in Science and Technology
February 19
Bright Lit Place: Florida’s epic effort to reset the clock on Florida’s Everglades.
Jenny Staletovich
Environmental Reporter for WLRN and the Miami Herald; she reports on the region’s major environment stories
March 26
Artificial Intelligence in Physics: Then, Now, and Tomorrow
Harrison B. Prosper, Ph.D.,
Kirby W. Kemper Endowed Professor of Physics, Department of Physics,Florida State University
April 16
Magnets Matter
KATHLEEN AMM, PH.D.,
Director of the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory and Materials Science & Engineering faculty at FSU
Previous Series Events
— Horizons 2024 —
February 21 | Jeanette Wolak Luna, Ph.D.,
Chair and Associate Professor, Department of Earth Sciences, Tennessee Tech University
Chair and Associate Professor, Department of Earth Sciences, Tennessee Tech University
March 27 | Maria Fuentes, Ph.D.,
Associate Professor at the Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science at Florida State University
Life Through A Sea Turtle’s Eyes: Challenges and Opportunities in a Changing World
April 17 | David Blackburn Ph.D.,
Digital Specimens and the Future of Natural History Museums
Digital Specimens and the Future of Natural History Museums
May 22 | Amy Lien, Ph.D.,
Assistant Professor, Physics, University of Tampa
Exploring the Universe with Gamma-Ray Bursts, Space Telescopes, and Citizen Science
— Horizons 2023 —
February 22 | Cynthia Barnett
Author and Environmentalist, Gainesville, Florida
The Sound of the Sea: Seashells and the Fate of the Oceans
March 22 | Matthew Greenhouse
Project Scientist for the JWST, Laboratory for Observational Cosmology, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
The James Webb Space Telescope Mission
April 19 | Thomas M. Scott, PhD, PG
Assistant State Geologist Emeritus, Florida Geological Survey, Tallahassee, Florida
Florida’s Geology – A Story of Beaches, Lakes, Sinkholes and More!
May 17 | Akito Y. Kawahara, PhD
Professor and Curator of Lepidoptera, McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity, Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida
Evolution and Diversification of Butterflies and Moths: Anti-Bat Ultrasound Jamming, Acoustic Deflection, and Visual Lures
— Horizons 2022 —
February 24 | Stephen Leatherman, PhD
AKA Dr. Beach Professor and Director of the Laboratory for Coastal Research at Florida International University
Beach Ratings, Rip Currents, and Surf Safety
April 27 | Bruce Means, PhD
Ecologist and President and Executive Director of the Coastal Plains Institute and Land Conservancy
Lost World Found
May 19 | Elizabeth Jones, PhD
Cretaceous Creatures Coordinator at the the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences
Ancient DNA: The Making of a Celebrity Science
— Horizons 2021 —
January 28 | Eric McKenney, PhD
Department of Applied Ecology at NC State University
Food, guts, and bugs: keys to a cultured life
February 18 | Frederick Davis, PhD
Chair and Professor of History at Purdue University
Rachel Carson and the Wonder of Nature
March 18 | Kat Volk, PhD
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,/em>
The Role of the Environment in Accelerating Material Failure: Real World Examples and How Research Addresses the Challenges
— Horizons 2020 —
February 26 | Daniela Nicastro, PhD
UT Southwestern Medical Center, Department of Cell Biology
Seeing is believing: ‘Ice age’ imaging opens a new window into cells
March 26 | Jerry Coyne, PhD
University of Chicago Professor of Ecology and Evolution.
Why Evolution Is Still True
April 30 | (Canceled due to Covid) – Erin McKenney, PhD
Department of Applied Ecology at NC State University
Food, guts, and bugs: keys to a cultured life
— Horizons 2019 —
February 28 | David Kaiser, PhD
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.
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 —
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 —
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 —
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 Steeley
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 —
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 | Brian Switek
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