Calendar of Events

Science Distilled, a new lecture series created by DRI and The Discovery, makes cutting-edge science approachable through presentations on current and curious topics held at hip locations in a social atmosphere. Personal power storage is transforming the way people think about energy independence. Ripples created by the Tesla Gigafactory have put Nevada in the spotlight for renewable energy and power storage. You may have heard of emerging technologies for personal energy storage, such as Tesla’s Powerwall 2, but likely haven’t…

Science Distilled, a new lecture series created by DRI and The Discovery, makes cutting-edge science approachable through presentations on current and curious topics held at hip locations in a social atmosphere. Are you in love with the land? If we listen closely enough, it will tell us its stories. Stories come to us in many forms. Myths and legends are one way to understand what came before, and science has another tale to tell, drawing from evidence and observations of…

Science Distilled, a new lecture series created by DRI and The Discovery, makes cutting-edge science approachable through presentations on current and curious topics held at hip locations in a social atmosphere. How snow impacts life, from the forest to the microbes. “When snow falls, nature listens.” Antoinette van Kleffe may have been speaking more literally than figuratively when she penned this quote. At this Science Distilled, DRI researchers Kelly Gleason and Alison Murray will share perspectives from the ecosystem on…

Science Distilled, a new lecture series created by DRI and The Discovery, makes cutting-edge science approachable through presentations on current and curious topics held at hip locations in a social atmosphere. Genetically Speaking Scientists and health researchers are discovering that one size does not fit all when it comes to advice for promoting heart health.  Why is it so hard to predict who is going to have a heart attack? Why do seemingly healthy people die of heart attacks? Sometimes…

Science Distilled, a new lecture series created by DRI and The Discovery, makes cutting-edge science approachable through presentations on current and curious topics held at hip locations in a social atmosphere. What do cybersecurity and paintball have in common? For the majority of us, pondering cybersecurity risks makes us worry about our bank account. But in reality, the major challenges of cybersecurity may lie more in large critical infrastructure (like electrical grids and water systems) vulnerabilities or vulnerabilities in the…

Science Distilled, a new lecture series created by DRI and The Discovery, makes cutting-edge science approachable through presentations on current and curious topics held at hip locations in a social atmosphere. How collaboration, citizen science and community participation in conservation has kept Tahoe blue. We are all proud of our bright blue, watery gem that splashes at 6,225 feet above sea level. It is easy to soak in the vistas of Lake Tahoe while forgetting the labors of love that…

Science Distilled, a new lecture series created by DRI and The Discovery, makes cutting-edge science approachable through presentations on current and curious topics held at hip locations in a social atmosphere. Evidence of industrialization, plagues, and wars hidden in polar and glacial ice. There are many ways of looking back in time to garner clues from unwritten history: fossils, artifacts, and tree rings are a few. Ice cores are another. These long, cylindrical samples – containing layers of hundreds to…

From inquiry to inspiration: how can science guide on-the-ground, resilient land management practices? From experiment to excitement: can good science really lead to practical stewardship of the land? From data to driven: how can approaches inspire sustainable practices among diverse stakeholders? Come wrestle with these big questions at this exciting Science Distilled event. It takes a special breed of scientist to dedicate his or her life to the most complicated, global, long-term challenges of our time. Wildfire, watershed health, and…

Stories from wildland firefighters: What firefighters’ journals can teach us about risk, values, and decision-making. Fire behavior is becoming more unusual and unpredictable—we know this all too well after yet another incredibly destructive fire season. On the fire line, firefighters are faced with complex moment-to-moment decisions, negotiating the tensions that can exist between protecting personal safety, private property, and shared resources. What can we learn about how firefighters assess risk and take action on the ground, and what can that teach…

Alien encounters, science fiction movies, dreams of becoming an astronaut—the possibility of life beyond Earth has always fascinated us. But our curiosity has outpaced our ability to explore space. Scientists must turn to the known to learn about the unknown, finding clues about life among the stars in places like dark caverns, ice-covered Antarctic lakes, and Yellowstone’s geysers. If we imagine that life on Mars will be cold and dry, for example, we can find similar locations on Earth to…

Why do you see one thing in an optical illusion while your friend might see something completely different? What is it about the brain that allows for these differences, and what can we learn about our brain function and behavior from animals? At this event, our speakers will explore the intricacies of how humans see the world and how they study perception, bias, and behavior using animals as different as dogs and octopuses. DRI’s Mary Cablk, PhD, will share insights…

The challenge of building self-driving cars is not purely a question of engineering; it’s also a social one. Unwritten rules, social cues, and even unexpected friendly gestures dictate how traffic flows, and without them, it’s not clear how we’d navigate even the simplest intersection. How robots sense the social fabric that makes our communities function is a central question for researchers studying AI (artificial intelligence). In the same way, our social dynamics deeply affect how we perceive robots and integrate…

Imagine standing at your kitchen sink, looking out the window to expansive almond orchards and tomato fields. You turn on the tap for a glass of water, but you’re not sure if it’s safe to drink. If it’s contaminated by chemicals from pesticides and fertilizers, how will it be cleaned, and who will pay for it? Rural communities are in just this dilemma, grappling with how to pay for treatment of underground water supplies contaminated by agrichemicals. At this installment…

The number of Spanish-speaking patients in hospitals is increasing, in Northern Nevada and across the nation. The number of bilingual healthcare providers and researchers, however, remains troublingly low. What can we do to make the STEM-healthcare workforce better reflect the diversity of our communities? At this installment of Science Distilled, consider with our speakers why building a diverse STEM-healthcare workforce matters and how to put this inquiry into action. Faculty, students, and staff in the University of Nevada, Reno’s Community of Bilingual…

When commercial cannabis growing facilities were approved by the Nevada State Legislature just a few years ago, there were no emissions data nor industry standards to guide environmental and public health regulations. Not here in Northern Nevada, not anywhere in the world. Faced with this challenge, scientists from the Desert Research Institute and managers from the Washoe County Health District forged ahead into the “Wild West” of air quality research. At this installment of Science Distilled, explore with our speakers…

Crafting natural hazard warnings that people take seriously. It’s safe to assume that we’ve all seen a weather forecast and muttered, “I’ll believe it when I see it.” How do we decide when to take warnings about natural hazards seriously? And when do we brush them off, assuming the forecasters are just crying wolf? At this installment of Science Distilled, hear from the researchers probing this decision-making process and the science behind it. A communication expert from the University of Nevada, Reno and a…

Over the last two months spent at home, many of us have realized what architects and urban planners have long known to be true: our well-being is tightly linked with the physical places we live, work, and play. In cities, particularly those in the desert Southwest like Las Vegas, pressing challenges like sustainable mobility, climate change, and now a global pandemic are forcing us to change the way we think about space and urban design. How can we build more…

Why is it so hard to just take the darn bus? We know it’s good for our carbon footprint, and we’re the first to advocate for sustainable options. But when the rubber meets the road, it can be hard to make our values match with our everyday transportation needs, especially in Western American cities like Reno. How can we make sustainable transportation options more practical? At this virtual edition of Science Distilled, you’ll hear from speakers designing sustainable transport solutions…