EARTHx
Inspiring speakers share Earth-changing ideas.
You are invited!
Join us for EARTHx, a series of talks by best-in-class speakers making a difference in their fields. No matter your age or level of expertise, these talks are for everyone. Whether you want to participate in person or online, we invite you to get inspired by our great lineup.
Philanthropic Supporters behind the Series:
This year's EARTHx series is possible due to a generous philanthropic contribution from the Gallagher family. Legendary oilman and geologist Jack Gallagher was a dedicated supporter of UCalgary, and his sons Thomas, Frederick and James have continued this tradition of generosity. The Gallagher family has also established the Gallagher Library, the Gallagher Fellowship in Geoscience, and many other university initiatives for more than 40 years. We thank the family for their continued support and contributions to UCalgary.
Contact us
If you would like to receive information about the EARTHx Series, please email scialumni@ucalgary.ca and ask to be included on the Faculty of Science events and communications list.
Riley Black
How to Survive a Mass Extinction
On a spring day 66 million years ago, life on Earth suffered an unprecedented catastrophe. An asteroid six miles wide struck the planet, sparking a global heat pulse and impact winter that drove about 75% of known species to extinction practically overnight - including all dinosaurs except for birds. Despite the terrible consequences of the impact, however, life survived in the water and underground, survivors that set the foundation for life as we know it today. In this lecture, award-winning science writer Riley Black will recount the events of the K/Pg mass extinction and what made the difference between life and death as the Cretaceous came to a close. The story is not merely one of loss, but how life bounces back from even the most unexpected disasters.
Date: Thursday, January 30, 2024
Joining us in person:
- Networking Reception: 6:15 p.m. (MT)
- EARTHx Presentation: 7:00 - 8:15 p.m. (MT)
- Location: MacEwan Hall Ballroom (3rd Floor MacEwan Students Centre)
- Registration coming soon!
Joining us online (via Livestream):
- EARTHx Presentation: 7:00 - 8:15 p.m. (MT)
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Presented by:
Riley Black
Award Winning Author and Science Consultant
Riley Black is the award winning author of The Last Days of the Dinosaurs, When the Earth Was Green, and many more fossiliferous books. A frequent contributor to National Geographic, Smithsonian, Slate, and other publications, Riley has also enthused over the latest fossil discoveries on NOVA, Science Friday, the CBC, and more, and she has acted as a science consultant for the Jurassic World franchise. When not writing or talking about fossils, Rileyregularly joins museum field crews each summer to help uncover new prehistoric clues about life's deep history.
Wendy Bohon
Risky Business: Life Along an Active Plate Margin
California is known world-wide for its lofty mountains, cliff-lined beaches, and sweeping vistas, but the geologic processes that created this spectacular scenery can also threaten the lives and livelihoods of the nearly 40 million people that reside within the state. In this talk we’ll explore the faults of California and the hazards that they pose, tell the stories of the earthquake that changed California, and discuss ways that we can use science to inform decision making so that we can survive the earthquakes of the future and thrive in their aftermath.
Date: Thursday, November 21, 2024
Joining us in person:
- Networking Reception: 6:15 p.m. (MT)
- EARTHx Presentation: 7:00 - 8:15 p.m. (MT)
- Location: MacEwan Hall Ballroom (3rd Floor MacEwan Students Centre)
Joining us online (via Livestream):
- EARTHx Presentation: 7:00 - 8:15 p.m. (MT)
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Presented by:
Wendy Bohon
Seismic Hazards & Earthquake Engineering Branch Chief for the California Geological Survey)
Wendy Bohon is a geologist who studies earthquakes and works to improve the communication of science. She has a BA in Theatre and Geology from James Madison University, a MSc in Geology from Ohio State University, and a PhD in Earthquake Geology from Arizona State University. Currently, Dr. Bohon is the Seismic Hazards & Earthquake Engineering Branch Chief for the California Geological Survey. Previously she has worked as the Head of Strategic Communication at NASA Goddard for the Earth Sciences Division, the Senior Science Communication Specialist for the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology, and the Education and Outreach Coordinator for the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program in Pasadena, California. She is also a AAAS If/Then Science Ambassador and a mother of 3. Visit her website at: wendybohon.com.
Jeffrey Bond
Elizabeth Hall
Debbie Nagano
EARTHx & Alumni All-Access Presentation: The Ice Age Time Traveller
Placer gold miners discovered a mummified baby woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) in the Klondike region of the Yukon in the summer of 2022. Its discovery and rapid recovery was made possible because of the strong relationship between Yukon government scientists and the mining industry.
The mammoth was given the name Nun cho ga by the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation, which means “Big animal baby” in the Hän language. They have also assumed a guardianship role of this mammoth and, importantly, introduced Indigenous spirituality to the discovery.
Travel back in time and learn about the discovery of Nun cho ga, our current understanding of the mammoth, the landscape it inhabited, and its mechanism of preservation. You'll also learn more about how important it is that the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation uses culture as a leadership foundation when caring for ancient ancestors.
Date: Tuesday, October 15, 2024
Joining us in person:
Networking Reception: 6:15 p.m. (MT)
EARTHx Presentation: 7:00 - 8:15 p.m. (MT)
Location: MacEwan Hall Ballroom (3rd Floor MacEwan Students Centre)
Joining us online (via Livestream)
EARTHx Presentation: 7:00 - 8:15 p.m. (MT)
Video of presentation coming soon!
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Speakers:
Jeffrey Bond
Founder, Mammoth Terrain Inc.
Jeffrey Bond, BSc’93, a surficial geologist and former manager with the Yukon Geological Survey, played a leading role in the recovery of the baby mammoth and led the geological investigation of the site. Bond completed his Bachelor of Science in physical geography at UCalgary and holds a Master of Science in geomorphology from the University of Alberta.
Elizabeth Hall
Assistant Palaeontologist with The Yukon Palaeontology Programme
Elizabeth Hall is the Assistant Palaeontologist with The Yukon Palaeontology Programme. She’s a long time Yukoner and is passionate about fossils, especially Ice Age Mammals. She decided to become a palaeontologist when she was six years old after spending time in the Alberta badlands. She spends most of the summer finding fossils and the rest of the year in the lab playing with bones. She is especially interested in pathologies in past and present animal populations.
Debbie Nagano
Director of Heritage, Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation
Debbie Nagano is an artist, a Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in citizen and a member of the Wolf Clan. She has worked for the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in Government for most of her adult life, with a focus on culture and well-being. Her lifelong connection with the land has given her the knowledge about our role in maintaining its integrity. Lajit dedha’a ts’a lighe tr edaho ay. Respect one another in working together.
“The series is excellent and provides a good variety of speakers and subjects to keep it very interesting and give a good overview of what is happening in the scientific world. It also helps me keep up to date with what is going on in the world. It is one of the very few good things happening in the world these days. Thank you.”
Attendee from January 2020 lecture by Dr. Barbara Sherwood Lollar