Scientists are visiting Eugene Science Center! Meet scientists from our community, learn about their exciting research, and ask questions!

Join us on Monday, May 27th to meet our Scientists of the Month: David Wineland, Addy Pletcher, David Frey, and Tyler Guyer!

Included with general admission, free for ESC members.

About this month’s scientists:

David Wineland (he/him) received a B.A. degree from the University of California, Berkeley in 1965 and a Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1970. Following a postdoctoral position at the University of Washington in Seattle, he joined the Time and Frequency Division of NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) in Boulder, Colorado, from 1975 to 2018, where he was a group leader and NIST Fellow. He is now a Philip H. Knight Distinguished Research Chair and Research Professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Oregon in Eugene, OR. Starting with graduate school, a long-term goal of his work has been to increase the precision of atomic spectroscopy, the measurement of the frequencies of atoms’ characteristic vibrations. This research has applications to making better atomic clocks and has led to experiments that enable precise control of atomic energy levels and atomic motion. Such control can be applied to metrology whose precision is limited only by the constraints of quantum mechanics and to demonstrations of the basic building blocks of a quantum computer. For this work, he shared the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physics with Serge Haroche, Collège de France, Paris.

Addy Pletcher (she/her) – Hi! I’m Addy Pletcher, currently a grad student at UO getting my M.S. in Geography. I focus on arctic lakes utilizing remote sensing (satellites!) to see changes in ice breakup. I love all things hydrology and have worked for both NASA and the National Parks Service doing so. Last summer I was able to travel to Alaska to help ground-truth a new satellite with lake elevation surveys & play around in some bogs, which I had lots of fun doing. I’m originally from Michigan and grew up on the Great Lakes – it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see how I landed in hydrology! Other things I love: science communication, advocating for diversity in STEM/outdoor spaces, and getting outside (in all its forms).

David Frey – Hi everyone! My name is David Frey and I’m currently a Bioengineering PhD student. I grew up in Atlanta where I worked on designing biomimetic tissue models and immunotherapies. Now I’m living life on the west coast, working with neural implants while leading my soccer league team to the top of the table.

Tyler Guyer – My name is Tyler Guyer, and I am currently a bioengineering PhD student. I grew up living on the Oregon coast and in central Oregon, I previously studied at Oregon State University, and I am now a student in my fourth year at University of Oregon, so I am a native Oregonian through and through! I am currently researching bone injuries and how they are affected by the immune system, with hopes of uncovering new ways to help human patients heal and thrive. I would love to talk with you about my research, my experiences as a student, or just about anything else!