Robert E. Kennedy Library
Archived Science Café Events
Start Me Up! Are you an innovator?
February 21, 2013. Explore the psychology of successful business owners with Professor Jon York, entrepreneur Eric Meyer, and recent Cal Poly graduates who are currently moving forward with their innovative ideas.
» Learn more about Start Me Up
Pyroprints! Fingerprinting Bacteria
February 7, 2013. Professor Chris Kitts and biology student Maria Zuleta Alvarado talk about fingerprinting bacteria.
» Learn more about Pyroprints
On Foot! Community design and public health
October 18, 2012. James Rojas and Cal Poly researchers discover transportation habits, and interactively explore alternatives in our own community.
» Learn more about On Foot
Transformed! Closing the loop with Worms
May 24, 2012. Experts share how vermicomposting turns organic waste into high quality compost prized by gardeners.
» Learn more about Transformed
Stitched! Hands-on Japanese Bookbinding
April 5, 2012. Erin Zamrzla discusses traditional (and non-traditional) bookbindings and walks the audience through binding their own book.
» Learn more about Stitched
DIY: Physical Computing at Play
February 10, 2012. Extend computers into the physical space to create a large-scale, interactive game in the library's main stairwell.
» Learn more about Physical Computing at Play
January 11, 2012. Find out how technology is making commercial travel to space possible with our featured speaker, Professor Dianne DeTurris, who specializes in propulsion and high-speed aerodynamics.
» Learn more about Hypersonic space fight
Taste Test! Can you Taste Good Coffee?
Science Café: November 4 & 5, 2011. This is a two-part series. First, learn about coffee and your tasting abilities on campus Friday morning. Then, challenge your taste buds to more nuanced flavors Saturday at a pour-over event in town at Sally Loo's Wholesome Cafe.
» Learn more about the Taste Test
Harm Reduction: Intravenous Drug Use Solutions in SLO County
May 4, 2011. Harm reduction is a set of practical strategies that reduce negative consequences of drug use, incorporating a spectrum of strategies from safer use, to managed use to abstinence. It meets people who use drugs "where they're at," addressing conditions of use along with the use itself, such as distributing "Overdose Prevention Kits."
Bionics: Merging Man and Machine
April 15, 2011. Technology has reached a point where we can now effectively merge man and machine. We call these Bionic devices Exoskeletons and have designed devices to help augment a soldier's ability (HULC) as well as a device that allows paraplegics to standup and walk again (eLEGS).
Underwater exploration: Discovering ancient shipwrecks and cargoes
February 16, 2011. Addressing modern society's complex problems requires creativity, collective vision from diverse perspectives, time, and a lot of work. New communication strategies can collectively generate possibilities and identify collaborative and realistic pathways for co-creating change.
The Tree of Life: From metaphor to reality
February 9, 2011. Addressing modern society's complex problems requires creativity, collective vision from diverse perspectives, time, and a lot of work. New communication strategies can collectively generate possibilities and identify collaborative and realistic pathways for co-creating change.
January 28, 2011. Cancer is everywhere, and almost everyone has experienced cancer on a personal level. Learn and basic information and images about the biology of cancer, its context, and its causes in the 21st century.
November 3, 2010. Addressing modern society's complex problems requires creativity, collective vision from diverse perspectives, time, and a lot of work. New communication strategies can collectively generate possibilities and identify collaborative and realistic pathways for co-creating change.
October 13, 2010. How can one prevent the potentially disastrous effects of THE BIG ONE if one doesn't know when, where, or how it will hit or even what IT will be?
May 12, 2010. Emerging technologies are pushing us beyond nature's limits — turning science fiction into reality. Some view human enhancement as the natural course of our evolution; others see it as a threat to the idea of "being human" and a path toward creating a Frankenstein's monster. This presentation surveys the ethical and practical issues in this important debate.
The Science and Art of Taking a Risk
April 28, 2010. The economic problems of recent years came about, in part, because we didn't understand the risks we, as a society, were collectively taking. Explore what it means to take individual and societal risks, how to measure those risks, and how economics, engineering and psychology envision risk differently.
The Great Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch
April 16, 2010. The debris at the center of the North Pacific Ocean has the potential to damage one of the largest ecosystems on Earth. This is the story, shared by a scientist and a teacher who recently traveled to the Garbage Patch as part of a graduate-student led scientific research expedition, SEAPLEX.
Jurassic Beer: the making of a 45 million year old brew
February 10, 2010. While searching in amber for bacterium to be screened for pharmaceutical properties, Dr. Cano discovered live yeast, which was ultimately used to brew beer. Dr. Cano tells the story of this accidental discovery, the surprising way he became a partner in beer-making, and the future of his Environmental Biotechnology Institute.
Community-Supported Agriculture, Education, and Intellectual Freedom
November 17, 2009. Cindy Douglas, from Cal Poly Organic Farm, explores how community supports education in other ways, and assess what intellectual freedom means for our learning process during an interdisciplinary conversation for students, faculty, staff and all campus constituents.
October 27, 2009. This informal discussion focused on what makes a book a book. Participants can cozy up and test drive a new Kindle or handle beautiful bound books to compare and contrast this idea.
April 08, 2009. Kathy Chen and students in materials engineering created a hanging, giant model nanotube made out of balloons in the Library, and guided participants in simple demos of nanotechnology during the cafe.
Cornell to Washington: How Mindless Eating Works in Government
April 02, 2009. Food psychologist Brian Wansink shows why you may not realize how much you’re eating, what you're eating–or why you're even eating at all.
Science of Type: Original typeface designs in the digital age
March 11, 2009. Speaker Christopher Slye of Adobe Systems discussed the history and accomplishments of Adobe Originals and how new technology over the years has affected their work.
February 12, 2009. A celebration of Charles Darwin's 200th birthday and and Darwin Year 2009. Conversation about the Galapagos. Professors Christy Strand, Francis Villablanca, and a very special guest.
January 14, 2009. Cal Poly faculty, staff, and students introduce work produced at and around Cal Poly on unusual vehicles of all kinds. Moderated by JOHN DUNNING, Cal Poly Research Scholar.