Dr. Melinda Hutson discusses the discovery of the Willamette meteorite and the controversies surrounding it in the context of meteorites in general and Oregon meteorites in particular.Melinda Hutson is the curator of the Cascadia Meteorite Laboratory at Portland State University. She is married to the lab’s director and together they have been doing research on meteorites since 1983.
Presentation by John Patterson. The case for solar powered electric transportation is compelling, cost effective, and doable. “Mr. Sun” tells us how to go about it. John Patterson has served as President of the Oregon Solar Energy Industries Association and Chair of the Citizens Utility Board. He has been instrumental in passing key renewable energy legislation on the state and federal level in America. He has recently built a solar powered electric bicycle.
Dr.Jeffrey Proulx explores how mindfulness can reduce the strain of uncontrollable events. The events of 2020 have made many people feel consumed by anxiety with little outlet for coping. This presentation also explores the role of mindfulness practice as part of a global consciousness promoting peace and compassion in response to the disruption, hate, and noise so common today. Jeffrey Proulxis a professor at the Mindfulness Center at Brown University. He earned his Ph.D. at Oregon State University and he has been a practitioner of mindfulness practices for over 30 years.
Elements of the extreme right-wing have taken advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to further agendas rooted in anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, racist scapegoating, and a desire for armed revolution. In today’s program, Dr. Randy Blazak focuses on the current threat posed by activists behind anti-shutdown protests. Dr. Blazak is professor of sociology at PSU and works as a consultant on hate crime cases and on diversity issues.