Free two-hour gatherings, driven by audience questions for a panel of experts, held in Killarney’s Irish Pub on the third Wednesday of most months.
NEXT NASHUA TOPIC, JUNE 19:
“FLYING ROBOTS: The engineering and aeronautics of autonomous aerial vehicles (drones!) at home and in business”
PANELISTS:
Donald Norris, software and IT guy, former adjunct professor at Hesser College and New Hampshire College, pilot, has a book contract to write about how to design and build a multirotor helicopter “drone”. He’ll come from the amateur perspective.
Nicholas Kirsch, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at UNH. He will talk about drones with respect to electrical engineering challenges, wireless communication, other areas.
Still confirming a panelist from a drone company.
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PREVIOUS EVENTS:
* May 15: “INVISIBLE WOUNDS: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and brain injuries, in N.H. veterans and others”
PANELISTS:
Dr. Jim Whitlock is a rehabilitative neurologist, director of the Brain Injury program and Chief Medical Officer at Northeast Rehabilitation Heath Network in Salem, .NH. He was employed as a consulting neurologist to the Polytrauma/TBI Program at the Veterans Administration Medical Center at Manchester from February of 2008 until September of 2012.
Terrie Raposo is an independent clinical social worker, employed as a civilian case manager for the NH Army National Guard Office of the State Surgeon, part of
a team responsible for the medical and behavioral health readiness of soldiers in multiple
deployment cycles.
Lt. Col. Stephanie Riley of the New Hampshire Army National Guard is the state’s Occupational Health Nurse, in which she is a voice for both the Army and Air National Guards on state committees. She is assigned to the 157th Medical Group as a Clinical Registered Nurse and is Joint Medical Liaison at Joint Force Headquarters.A native of Henniker, she also works as a nurse for Concord Hospital’s Urgent Care unit.
Ronald Snow is director of marketing and development for the Brain Injury Association of New Hampshire. His projects include a major push for bicycle helmets for children, concussion seminars for ski coaches, and many events to aid veterans.
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* APRIL 17: “Cats or catastrophes?”
Domestic cats are marvelous hunters, which can be a problem for birds and wildlife that they prey on. Is this a problem in New Hampshire, which has one of the highest per-capita rates of cat ownership in the country? If so, how does it compare to the other stresses that birds and wildlife encounter when people live nearby?
The Telegraph’s GraniteGeek had an advance discussion about the column: Check it out here.
You can learn some background, including the Humane Society’s stance and news of the economist who wants New Zealand to kill all its cats, at our Homework page. The Audubon Society suspended a writer because of protests from cat fans who were angry when he discussed the damage cats can do to wildlife: Story about it here.
PANELISTS:
Brendan Clifford is a Wildlife Biologist with the Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Program of the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department. He coordinates the the protection and management of the federally threatened and state endangered piping plover on Hampton and Seabrook beaches and monitors populations of several state-listed snakes and turtles.
Anne Richards is a feline veterinarian who practices at The Cat Doctor in Bedford, Mass., and Nashua. She received her B.A. in Biology from Swarthmore College and her DVM from Cornell University. She has worked with cats exclusively since graduation in 2001.
Pamela Hunt is senior biologist for aviation conservation with New Hampshire Audubon Society. She holds a B.S. in biology from Cornell University, M.A. in zoology from the University of Montana, and a Ph.D. from Dartmouth College. She came to NH Audubon in 2000 after five years as adjunct faculty at Colby-Sawyer College in New London.
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* MARCH 20: “Mosquitoes vs. Humans: West Nile, EEE and the future of mosquito-carried disease in New Hampshire”
An excellent discussion. Did you know that bedbugs don’t pass on disease when they bite us, and researcher are trying to figure out if they can make mosquitoes have the same attribute?
UPDATE: Abigail Mathewson, the state’s public health veterinarian, sent along these links, for more information on topics that came up at the cafe:
EPA search tool for selecting the right repellent for you:
http://cfpub.epa.gov/oppref/insect/#searchform
Website that mentions dengue in Boston in the 1940′s:
http://www.cdc.gov/Dengue/entomologyEcology/climate.html
Article about dengue in Texas and how lifestyle could be influencing
transmission:
http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/9/1/02-0220_article.htm
Link to the NH Arboviral Illness Surveillance, Prevention and Response Plan
that I referenced during the discussion:
http://www.dhhs.nh.gov/dphs/cdcs/arboviral/municipal.htm
Link to the NH test results, bulletin and risk map:
http://www.dhhs.nh.gov/dphs/cdcs/arboviral/results.htm
PANELISTS:
Abigail A. Mathewson DVM, surveillance epidemiology program manager and and acting State Public Health Veterinarian, New Hampshire Division of Public Health Services. At the Bureau of Infectious Disease Control, as part of her participation in routine infectious disease surveillance for New Hampshire, Dr. Mathewson reviews case reports of vector-borne disease. During the arboviral season, this translates to investigating positive veterinary cases and evaluating the public’s risk based on positive findings of EEE and West Nile Viruses in humans, animals, and mosquitoes.
Heidi Peek, health officer and manager of the public health department for the city of Nashua. She has overseen the city’s mosquito control program since the year 2000.
Gary Nielsen, entomologist and director of training for JP Pest Services in Milford. He spent ten years working in alfalfa integrated pest management before moving to southern NH. He has PhD in botany and plant pathology with a minor in entomology.
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* February 20: “The Science of Brewing”
If you missed the February cafe on The Science of Brewing, an audio recording of the whole two hours is now online, hosted by Vetflix, a sponsor site. Check it out here.
At least 100 people packed the funky Bounty Room, with the panelists sitting on the full-sized pirate ship to answer question, as shown above. Here’s a report in The Telegraph.
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* January 2013: “3-D printing” with the MakeIt Lab folks, who brought a printer with them for a demonstration. Perhaps the biggest crowd we’ve ever had.
* November 2012: “Dark Skies and light pollution.” We can hardly see the constellations any more, which hurts astronomers and tourism, and takes away part of the pleasure that comes from living in New Hampshire. Can anything be done about it? Presented along with the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center.
* October 2012: “The science of concussions, in youth sports and daily life.” The number of concussions leading to U.S. emergency room visits has almost doubled in the past decade. Why? This cafe was part of a six-day series of stories on the topic by The Telegraph of Nashua, titled Broken Athletes. Check it out here.
Complete list of past events is here.
