Great Conversations 2011 Review

It won't take long for the Los Alamos Public Schools Foundation's annual Great Conversations dinner to become a favorite in town! Join a group of tablemates and a fascinating speaker on April 10th at the Betty Ehart Senior Center for an informative and fun conversation. The reception begins at 5:30pm.

Tickets are $60 per person and include appetizers, a gourmet meal, wine, dessert and coffee. Reservation is complete when payment has been received at LAPS Foundation, 1900 Diamond Drive, Ste. 1, Los Alamos, NM 87544.

SOLD OUT - Table 1 Secrets of a Dark Universe
Katrin Heitmann

• An astonishing 99.6% of our Universe is dark.
• Understanding physics of this dark sector is the foremost challenge of cosmology.
• How did we arrive at our current picture of the Universe?
• How simulations on the largest computers in the world can help us to shed light at the mysteries of the dark Universe.

Katrin received her PhD in 2000 in physics at the University of Dortmund in Germany. She came to work at LANL as a Director's postdoctoral fellow in the same year and was converted to a staff member in 2004 in ISR division.

SOLD OUT - Table 2 Grazing with a Gadget Guru
Steve Wells

• There's an app for that! How to make your iPod, iPad, or iPhone more useful.
• This Kitchen Essential does it all and makes you healthier.
• Soda's On Me- with SodaStream.
• High Tech- Montana Huckleberrry Ice Cream Dessert for all (made on the spot)

Steve Wells - is a bleeding edge, incurable early adopter, with an insatiable appetite for the latest and greatest in technology. His wife, Sheri, usually quips; "now we can do all those things that we never did before in no time at all."

Table 3 Snapshot: a View through the Lens
Jim Gautier

• Getting to know your camera
• Helping your camera "make" good pictures
• Showing off your great skills and camera.

Jim came to Los Alamos in 1971 as the Executive Director of the YMCA. He began a real estate career in Los Alamos in 1975, retired in 2007. He is a volunteer photographer for Cornerstones Community Partnerships and Living Treasures of Los Alamos. He has had many photography exhibitions, awards and publications.

CANCELED - Table 4 HIV Vaccine Design: The Ultimate Science Project
Brian Foley

• Vaccine design project picked as #1 of top 10 science projects at LANL 2010.
• The same design principles can be applied to any pathogen, such a Malaria.
• HIV/AIDS is a global problem, disproportionately affecting the poor.

Brian holds a PhD in molecular genetics from University of Vermont. He is interested in evolution and all types of biology.

SOLD OUT - Table 5 A Decade of Great Earthquakes '01-'10
Terry Wallace

• 2010 was an extraordinary year for natural disasters.
• The Earth is a dynamic planet.
• The increase of "natural disasters" has much more to do with dramatically growing population.
• What does this mean for the next 40 years as the world's population begins to stabilize at 9 billion people?

Terry Wallace is the Principal Associate Director of Science, Technology and Engineering at Los Alamos National Laboratory. He is a seismologist by training, and is a past president of the Seismological Society of America. He has worked for a decade in South America on a variety of seismic experiments, including one centered on the epicenter of the 2010 Chilean earthquake.

Table 6 Mary Poppins: Tips and Tools for Raising Teens
Jennifer Hanson Bartram

• Navigating through some tough times.
• Communication alternatives.
• Things I've learned that your teen may not be telling you.

Jennifer has the honor of teaching and facilitating Girls Circle, Family Solutions, Active Parenting of Teens, Tweens to Teens. She is also trained to provide Restorative Justice, Diversionary Class, Middle School WHO(We Help Ourselves) Program and High School Teen Violence Prevention Program. Jennifer is the JUNTOS Coordinator for Los Alamos, Espanola and Pojoaque High Schools.

Table 7 Trails, Vistas and Fire Adapted Forests
Craig Martin

• Everyone in Los Alamos County lives within a five-minute walk from open space.
• One of the key pillars of Los Alamos economic development should be inviting new residents and visitors to enjoy the vistas and trail network within the County.
• We live in an ecosystem where fire cannot be excluded but can be managed for both community protection and ecosystem health.

Craig Martin is the author of 20 books on outdoor recreation and local history. He currently works as the Open Space and Trails Specialist for Los Alamos County.

Table 8 Alpha Shmalpha: Training your Pups & Pooches
Sue Barns

• Worried that your dog is trying to "dominate" you, take charge of your "pack" and be the "Alpha"?
• Relax! That's old school. We now know that dogs are rarely interested in pulling rank on us, and you don't need to make your dog "submissive" to have a happy, well-behaved pet.
• Find out what we currently know about how dogs learn and how to best teach them.

Sue's twenty-three years in microbiology research (11 at LANL) proved valuable in preparing her to embrace a scientific approach in understanding animal learning and behavior. Over the past 20 years, she has applied this approach in training dogs for obedience, assistance work, search and rescue, hunting and therapy. She is currently a service dog trainer for Assistance Dogs of the West, in Santa Fe, as well as an instructor at the Los Alamos Dog Obedience Club.

Table 9 Doing Business My Way in LA
Rick Reiss

• "It's not my job" does not apply if you own a business.
• Building a building or building a business can be very satisfying.
• "Hi, I'm from the county and I'm here to help you" ???

Rick was raised in southern New Mexico and came to Los Alamos in 1992. He was formerly a stockholder and officer with Mountain Community Bank. He has spent the last 11 years as an independent mortgage broker with LA Solutions, LLC and is a real estate developer. Rick is the Managing Member of 999, LLC which built the building that houses LATA, Radio Shack and Don Taylor's Photography and the Managing Member of Main Gate, LLC which developed Entrada Business Park and is building the Los Alamos Co-Operative Market facility.

SOLD OUT - Table 10 Stethoscope: Listen to Heath Care's Heartbeat
Dick Mason

• The U.S. spends twice as much on health care than does the next highest industrialized country.
• The U.S. health care system is ranked 37th in the world by the World Health Organization.
• Does the federal health care reform bill (PPACA) hurt or help?
• What will PPACA mean for New Mexico?

Dick is the Chair of the Legislative Committee - Health Action New Mexico, Co-Chair of the Sandoval County Community Health Alliance, and Member of the Board of Directors - UNM Sandoval Regional Medical Center.

SOLD OUT - Table 11 Science's Debt to Religion
Nels Hoffman

• Science and religion are often thought to be in conflict, but modern experiment-based science began to flower in Christian Europe in the late middle ages.
• Pagan religions considered the Earth, if not the heavens, to be chaotic and dangerous, filled with willful spirits who were not to be trusted.
• By contrast, the Judeo-Christian universe, including the Earth, was viewed as being governed by laws and understandable by the human mind, which was a reflection of the mind of the universe's creator.
• Human logic is limited, so we must observe and experiment with nature.

Nelson Hoffman is a physicist working at Los Alamos National Laboratory. He has authored or co-authored numerous publications in the field of laser-driven fusion, especially relating to hydrodynamic stability, charged-particle transport, and the behavior of fusion capsules. He is a member of First United Methodist Church of Los Alamos, where he has often taught courses and led discussions on the relationship between scientific understanding and religious faith.

Table 12 Classical Music-What Good Is It?
Rosalie Heller

• What role does classical music play in your life?
• What role will it play in the world 50 years from now.
• Can you imagine a world without it?

Rosalie provides a KRSN Radio program "Excursions in Classical Music" 2006 to present. She was involved in the Los Alamos Coffee House 1979-2006. She is the Artistic Director Emeritus for Los Alamos Concert Association.

SOLD OUT - Table 13 The Battle of the Bulge and on to the Rhine
Steve Stoddard

• Genius or jerk-call him what you will, General George S. Patton, Jr. managed to do the impossible while alienating peers and subordinates alike.
• 80 combat days in one of Europe's deadliest winters
• More than 1,000,000 men (600,000 Americans, 500,000 Germans, and 55,000 British) participated in the Battle of the Bulge. 19,000 American killed, 23,554 captured, along with 1400 British casualties and 200 killed.

Steve Stoddard served in the US Army during WWII. He started out in the Army in the Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP). His training and education was interrupted by his call to service in an Armored Infantry Battalion of the Eleventh Armored Division. After discharge and attending college, he came to Los Alamos in October, 1952.

Table 14 Brillig Beer Works: A Brewpub That Never Was & the Beers It Serve
Geoff Reeves

• How do you make a glass of beer anyway?
• What makes one beer style different from another?
• Brewing for fun, brewing for profit: what's the difference?

Geoff Reeves is a space physicist who started brewing in 1986 and has made over 200 batches of beer of various styles (and levels of quality). Geoff moved to Los Alamos in 1989 and has lamented Los Alamos' lack of a brew pub for over 20 years. He manages to survive by visiting brewpubs and breweries around the world and by making some of his favorites at home and by having friends who do the same.

SOLD OUT - Table 15 Dull No More...the New World of Finance
Bill Enloe

• What has changed?
• Where we go from here?
• When will inflation return?
• Is the economy really getting better?
• How has banking changed?

Bill has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Trinity Capital Corporation, a financial holding company, since 1979 and as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Los Alamos National Bank since 1994. Bill is a member of the American Bankers Association Government Relations Committee and a Director of the New Mexico Bankers Association and well as a past Board Member of the Denver Federal Reserve Bank. He serves on many other boards and committees, has participated in financing and obtaining venture capital funds for a number of companies, and has also consulted with many of these companies in the areas of business plans, management and market analysis.

Table 16 Teach Like a Champion
Suzanne Lynne & Ronda Harmon

Teach Like a Champion is a group of 30-40 teachers that meet weekly to learn techniques that teach teachers how to:

• Set high student expectations
• Structure and deliver powerful lessons
• Engage students
• Challenge students to think critically while building character and trust between teachers and students.

Suzanne and Ronda will share their excitement about changes they have already seen in LA classrooms, what they observed in NYC schools, and their plans for expanding the journey into the future.

Table 17 Viva la Skiing
George Lawrence

Skiing and Pajarito Ski Area are deeply entwined in the Los Alamos way of life, providing outstanding winter recreation for community members and visitors of all ages. Skiing can give physical and emotional satisfaction for a lifetime, and can change the way one thinks about winter. We'll talk briefly about why this activity is so much fun and so beneficial. Then we'll discuss the skiing business and how ski areas function, focusing on the special challenges facing Pajarito Mountain and how we are planning to meet them.

• Skiing involves mastery of many elements. What are they?
• Let's talk ski equipment.
• Large ski resorts vs. "hidden" jewels that are dedicated to no-frills skiing.
• Economic-survival with snowmaking system and how it will change the equation.

George Lawrence is a retired LANL particle-accelerator physicist and project leader who has lived in this community for more than 45 years. He learned to ski at Pajarito Mountain Ski Area in the 1970s. Since retirement he has worked to improve this community asset, serving for the past 9 years on the Ski Club Board, including two years as president. He developed and spearheads Pajarito's snowmaking project, which is currently approaching completion.

Table 18 Tomatoes & Potatoes, Meet the New Co-op Guy
Steve Watts

• What is a co-op and would you want one?
• Let's explore the triple bottom line of the Los Alamos Cooperative Market: people, planet, and profits.
• How will this impact our community?

Steve is the project manager/general manager of the Los Alamos Co-op Market. He brings over 10 years of co-op experience to his work at LACM. He will oversee the building project including store interior design, equipment sourcing and the supervision of project participants. Prior to working for the Los Alamos Co-op, Steve was the general manager of French Broad Food Co-op in Asheville, NC and Mountain View Market Co-op in Las Cruces, NM. Additionally, Steve worked for La Montanita Co-op where he was the Business Development Director, responsible for opening the Gallup, NM store and transitioning the former Santa Fe Market Place into a cooperative retail store. Steve has a Bachelor of Science from Purdue University in Industrial Supervision and a Master of Public Affairs from Indiana University in International Business & Environmental Policy.

Great Conversations 2012

Great Conversations 2011 Review

Great Conversations 2010 Review