2018 Programs

Precious gemstones have captured the imagination for centuries, with the allure, value and often mystery. Mr. Walker will dazzle us with stories about Sapphires, Rubies and Emeralds. Where are they found and why are some regions more desirable than the others? What contributes to their color and other properties? Additionally, he will examine some of the most notable gems owned by monarchs, celebrities and American royalty, past and present.

Brad Walker is a fourth-generation jeweler and executive vice-president of Shreve Crump and Low, one of America’s oldest institutions. He received his Graduate Gemology degree prior to graduating from Babson College with a BA in Business. Shreve Crump and Low was first opened in 1796 just 20 years after the Declaration of Independence.

Current estimates are that over 150 million Americans viewed the solar eclipse on August 21, 2017 with another 60 million watching it electronically from TV or the internet. It’s amazing to think that we are still using this opportunity to do new and exciting science even though eclipses are a regular occurrence. Eclipses are the “obscuring of the light from one celestial body by passage of another between it and the observer”. We use nearly the same definition for describing occultations and transits. In reality, the phenomena of eclipses, occultations and transits that create shadows has been a critical technique to do amazing things from finding new rings at Saturn to new planets orbiting other far away stars. This is a brief story of how we continue to use shadow techniques to uncover new science with spectacular examples that have occurred the last year.

Dr. James Green became the Director of the Planetary Science Division at NASA Headquarters in 2006. He received his Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Iowa. He has written over 115 scientific articles.

Dr. Brian Fallon, director of the Lyme & Tick-borne Diseases Research Center at Columbia University Medical Center, will present a message of hope. He will review recent scientific advances in diagnosis, treatment and prevention that will help to stem the tide of this most challenging disease. While the controversies and uncertainties associated with Lyme Disease are well known, less well known are the great strides being made by contemporary science that are leading to remarkable new approaches to conquer this disease.

Dr. Fallon received his BA and M.Ed. from Harvard University. He has been associated with Columbia University since 1979 where he obtained a MPH in epidemiology and a MD. He co-authored a book “Conquering Lyme Disease: Science Bridges the Great Divide” with Jennifer Sotsky, MD which was published by Columbia University Press in December 2017.