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British physicist Dr. Helen Czerski believes that simple, even mundane, observations can help us understand the properties that govern our universe. By linking ordinary objects and occurrences—like popcorn popping, coffee stains, or refrigerator magnets—to big ideas like climate change, the energy crisis, or innovative new medical testing, she gives us the tools to alter the way we see the world. In an age of string theory, fluid dynamics and biophysics, it can seem as if the science of our world is only for specialists and academics. Czerski disagrees, asserting that science exploration is a constant and commonplace opportunity for anyone who’s paying attention. She explores the patterns and connections that illustrate the grandest theories in the smallest everyday objects and experiences. A night of readings celebrating the launch of "The Writers Studio at 30" (Epiphany Editions), a new anthology of work by the Writers Studio's dedicated community.
Featuring, in order of appearance, Philip Schultz, Monica Banks, Odette Heideman, Nancy Matsunaga, Rebecca Gee, Joel Hinman, Lisa Bellamy, Therese Eiben, Peter Krass, Reneé Bibby, Michele Herman, Mark Peterson, Liz Kingsley, Lesley Dormen & Cynthia Weiner
The Writers Studio, the landmark school for creative writing and thinking founded and directed by Pulitzer Prize winning poet Philip Schultz, celebrates its 30th anniversary with the launch of "The Writers Studio At 30." The anthology features fiction and poetry by current and former students and faculty, as well as pieces from distinguished members of the Writers Studio Advisory Board. 
Dava Sobel is a former New York Times science reporter and a repeated New York Times bestselling author. Her past books include "Longitude", "Galileo's Daughter", and "The Planets". A recipient of multiple awards, including the prestigious Bradford Washburn Award from the Boston Museum of Science for her “outstanding contribution toward public understanding of science, appreciation of its fascination, and the vital roles it plays in all our lives”, Dava even has an asteroid named after her. Dava visited Google Seattle office to discuss her latest book, "The Glass Universe", named one of the best books of the year by NPR, The Economist, Smithsonian, Nature, and NPR's Science Friday.
In the mid-nineteenth century, the Harvard College Observatory began employing women as calculators, or “human computers,” to interpret the observations their male counterparts made via telescope each night. At the outset this group included the wives, sisters, and daughters of the resident astronomers, but soon the female corps included graduates of the new women's colleges—Vassar, Wellesley, and Smith. As photography transformed the practice of astronomy, the ladies turned from computation to studying the stars captured nightly on glass photographic plates.
The “glass universe” of half a million plates that Harvard amassed over the ensuing decades enabled the women to make extraordinary discoveries that attracted worldwide acclaim. They helped discern what stars were made of, divided the stars into meaningful categories for further research, and found a way to measure distances across space by starlight.
