Happy Hour /food and beverages: 6-7 pm
Socializing and informal discussions on current events: 6-7 pm
Announcements and program begin at 7 pm
Program: The Science Behind Texas’ Climate Change
Jay Banner will discuss Texas’ unique challenge of being a climatic hotspot and population growth center. He will present his research on reconstructing past climate change in Texas (tree ring and speleothem studies), how past droughts compare with present and projected future droughts, their economic impacts, and his experience with the Texas legislature on climate adaptation bills.
Jay Banner was born and raised in New York City and was interested in science from an early age. He attended the University of Pennsylvania and pursued graduate studies in geology and geochemistry at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, where he received his MS and Ph.D. Dr. Banner was a post-doctoral fellow at the California Institute of Technology and Louisiana State University. He joined the faculty in the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin in 1990. He is presently the Fred M. Bullard Professor in the Jackson School of Geosciences and Director of the Environmental Science Institute at UT-Austin. Among the recent honors he has received are the UT Board of Regents Outstanding Teaching Award (2013) and the Texas Exes Teaching Award (2012).
Consider biking, carpooling, or taking Cap Metro to the meeting. Free parking is available after 6pm on San Jacinto and nearby streets.