Mark Breen of VPR’s ‘Eye on the Sky’ to Kick Off Lecture Series on Sept. 3

September 2, 2014

Mark Breen of VPR’s ‘Eye on the Sky’ to Kick Off Lecture Series on Sept. 3

Environmental & Health Sciences Speaker Series Features Host of Topics Through Dec. 10

Mark Breen, the meteorologist and planetarium director at the Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium in St. Johnsbury whose daily updates on Vermont Public Radio’s Eye on the Sky keep Vermonters informed about the weather and stargazing, will kick off Johnson State College’s popular Environmental & Health Sciences Speaker Series on Wednesday, Sept. 3.

Breen’s talk, “Forecasting is Like Sausage: You Don’t Want to Know How It’s Made,” will take place from 4 to 5:15 p.m. in 207 Bentley Hall.

Breen began Eye on the Sky in 1981 with meteorologist Steve Maleski. Lawrence Hayes joined the team in 2012. Eye on the Sky is produced daily at the museum and broadcast by VPR, where it is heard by more than 200,000 listeners throughout Vermont and the surrounding region.

Each fall, JSC’s Department of Environmental & Health Sciences hosts the speaker series on Wednesday afternoons featuring experts on topics in science. The talks are free and open to the public, and all lectures are held from 4 to 5:15 p.m. in 207 Bentley Hall.

Additional lectures this fall include:

Sept. 10: Sarah Vose, Ph.D, state toxicologist, Vermont Department of Health, “Toxicology and Public Health in Vermont.”
Sept. 17: Elizabeth Dolci, Ph.D., professor of environmental & health sciences, Johnson State, “Microbial Community Structure of the Vermont Asbestos Group Mine.”
Sept. 24: P. Frank Winkler, Ph.D., professor emeritus of physics, Middlebury College, “The Remarkable Supernova of 1006 A.D.: A Historical and Scientific Detective Story.”
Oct. 1: Mike Debonis, executive director of the Green Mountain Club, “Using Social and Natural Resource Science to Manage for Appropriate Use of Vermont’s Long Trail and Natural Areas.”
Oct. 15: Michael Smith, M.S., hazardous site manager, Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, “Fate and Transport of Contamination in the Subsurface.”
Oct. 22: Elizabeth Wuorine, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Biology and Life Sciences, Norwich University, “Laboratory Techniques to Evaluate the Connection Between Exercise, Hunger and Energy Intake.”
Oct. 29: Paul Frederick, wood utilization specialist, Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation, “Assessment of Timber Harvesting and Forest Resource Management in Vermont: A Second Look.”
Nov. 5: Alan Graham, M.S., state entomologist, Vermont Agency of Agriculture, “Mosquito Arbovirus Surveillance in Vermont.”
Nov. 12: Akshata Nayak, MSACN, M.S., owner, The Orange Owl, which sells environmentally friendly home and body products, “Healthy Body. Healthy Skin.”
Nov. 19: Timothy Grover, Ph.D., professor of geology at Castleton State College, “Proterozoic Mountain Building and Collapse, Eastern Adirondacks, New York.”
Dec. 3: Craig Pease, Ph.D., professor of science and law at the Vermont Law School, topic to be determined.
Dec. 10: William E. Irwin, Sc.D., CHP, radiological and toxicological sciences chief, Vermont Department of Health, topic to be determined.

For more information, contact Les Kanat, professor of environmental and health sciences, 802-635-1327 or Leslie.Kanat@jsc.edu.