Hartnell College science faculty announce the STEM Colloquium series for the fall semester. The STEM series (standing for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) will comprise talks by scientists, and those whose careers depend on understanding scientific principles, on the second Thursday afternoon of each month.

The first talk, on September 11, will feature two students from Hartnell’s MESA Rocketry and Robotics Club who competed in an international robotics competition over the summer. Their talk, Adventures in Robotics: Remotely Operated Vehicle Construction and International MATE (Marine Advanced Technology Education) Competition, will recount their experiences at the competition, held at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and University of California San Diego in June. The Hartnell College team won the “Biggest Bang for the Buck Award” at the contest, where they outperformed teams from many four-year colleges and universities.

The colloquium provides informal opportunities for students and others in the community to meet everyday scientists from nearby regions, as well as prominent investigators from around the country, and learn about their cutting-edge scientific work. The talks will introduce information that is specialized in content, but intelligible to the layperson.

Each session will begin with a half-hour reception at 1:30 p.m., followed by a seminar-type talk at 2, which will last about an hour. All activities are in Merrill Hall, room 1, on the main campus in Salinas. Hartnell, which has produced many world-class scientists over the years, encourages the free exchange of scientific ideas.

Future sessions will include a talk about orchids by Andy Matsui of Matsui Nursery on October 9, a talk about seaweed research by Dr. Kathy Ann Miller, a research associate at UC Berkeley on November 13, and a talk on California sharks by Dr. Dave Ebert of Moss Landing Marine Laboratories on December 11.

For more information, please contact Hartnell biology professor Dr. Jeffery Hughey at jhughey@hartnell.edu or 831-770-7054.

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