Saturday Morning Science is back for 2019 at The University of Toledo with five programs to give the community the opportunity to learn about hot topics in modern science.

The free, public talks, which are presented by the UT College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, kick off 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 2 in Memorial Field House Room 2100 with “Regional Water Resources Management: A Great Lakes Perspective,” presented by Dr. Andrew Gronewold, associate professor in the School for Environment and Sustainability at the University of Michigan.

“We’re excited to bring in speakers who will discuss issues of great importance to the city of Toledo, such as the intersection of science and art in glassmaking and the past and future of Lake Erie,” Dr. John Bellizzi, associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry and co-director of Saturday Morning Science, said. “We are also fortunate to have experts discuss topics that have generated a lot of media coverage, including gene-editing technology in the wake of reports that a Chinese scientist edited the genomes of two babies, and blue light research carried out here at UT showing how digital devices may be damaging to your eyes.”

Listed by date, additional programs and speakers are:

• 16: “And There Was Light” by Dr. Ajith Karunarathne, assistant professor in the UT Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.
• 23: “Archaeology and Shipwrecks” by Carrie Sowden, archaeological director of the National Museum of the Great Lakes.
• March 16: “Gene Editing with CRISPR/Cas9” by Dr. Ron Conlon, associate professor in the Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences at Case Western Reserve University.
• April 27: “Glass is a Verb, Just Like You” by Dr. Jane Cook, chief scientist at the Corning Museum of Glass.

All talks begin at 10 a.m. and include complimentary light refreshments donated by Barry Bagels and Costco. The program is funded by the Office of the Dean of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.

For more information about the upcoming events, visit the program’s Facebook page.