AOF Activities & Events
For the 17th year running, our community of reason joins hands with other civic groups to bring you Sacramento's go-to event of science and human reason, the fabulous Sacramento Darwin Day Birthday Gala. This one will mark Mr. Darwin's 205th birthday. And he's still tough as talons, so stop snickering. "Gala." Really. Grow up.
As usual it will all happen in John Smith Hall of the La Sierra Community Center in Carmichael. Can you miss a party like this? Don't even think it.
Darwin Day is a science-rush like no other, an annual celebration of scientific inquiry honoring of the life and work of the great Charles Darwin (b. 12 February 1809), sponsored by community and educational groups worldwide. To learn more of this mind-expanding event, please visit the International Darwin Day Foundation.
So do not go to AOF's usual Sierra 2 site this time. Like one of Darwin's wonderful finches, fly straight to the La Sierra Center in Carmichael instead. Doors will open at 2 o’clock, the main program begins 2:30. Arrive early, tour the displays, visit the vendors, schmooze a bit, then find a good seat, relax and enjoy the opening entertainment. Soon it will segue to our main speaker, Dr. Lynn Rothschild, evolutionary biologist and astrobiologist at NASA Ames. Who is Dr. Rothschild? We're glad you asked! Here are a few words on her, prepared by our crack publicity team:
Dr. Lynn Rothschild is an evolutionary biologist/ astrobiologist at NASA Ames. She has broad training in biology, with degrees from Yale, Indiana University, and a Ph.D. from Brown University in Molecular and Cell Biology, and a love for protistan evolution. Since arriving at NASA Ames in 1987, her research has focused on how life, particularly microbes, has evolved in the context of the physical environment, both here and potentially elsewhere, and how we might tap into “Nature’s toolbox” to advance the field of synthetic biology. Field sites range from Australia to Africa to the Andes, from the ocean to 100,000 feet on a balloon. In the last few years Rothschild has brought her expertise in extremeophiles and evolutionary biology to the field of synthetic biology, addressing on how synthetic biology can enhance NASA’s missions. Since 2011 she has been the faculty advisor of the Brown-Stanford award-winning iGEM team, which has pioneered the use of synthetic biology to accomplish NASA’s mission, particularly focusing on the human settlement of Mars and astrobiology. Her lab is working on expanding the use of synthetic biology for NASA with projects as diverse as recreating the first proteins de novo to biomining to using synthetic biology to precipitate calcite and produce glues in order to make bricks on Mars or the Moon. Rothschild is a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London, the California Academy of Sciences and the Explorers Club.
She is quite the bright mind. Rounding the show will be more entertainment, snacks, and of course, yummy birthday cake. (It is Chucky D's birthday, after all.)
Admission, as always, is a pittance. Just $7.50 in advance (until Feb 1), $10.00 at the door, or with your current Student ID, $5.00. To purchase or for more information, please click to the main event website, http://sacdarwinday.info/.
