SWOCC Geology Lecture Series, Dec. 1

Southwestern Oregon Community College’s popular Geology Lecture Series continues with Dr. Roman Gomez, speaking about “Probing the Secrets of Magnetic Reconnection” at 7 p.m., Saturday, December 2, 2017 at the Hales Center for the Performing Arts on Southwestern’s Coos Campus, 1988 Newmark Ave., Coos Bay. Roman Gomez is a senior research scientist at Southwest Research Institute, located in San Antonio, Texas.  He has been employed there since 2007.  In 2011 he completed his studies at Rice University and received his Doctorate in Physics with a specialization in space plasma instrumentation.  In 2012, Dr. Gomez began working on the Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission (MMS) team as the calibration lead for the Hot Plasma Composition Analyzer (MMS-HPCA) instruments used in the mission; four units in all.  When calibration was complete, he transitioned to environmental testing, launch preparation, and eventually to the science team post-launch in 2015.  In addition to participating in research related to reconnection between the magnetic field of the Sun and Earth, he is also working on measuring the composition of the near interstellar medium (NISM) using interstellar neutrals which enter the solar system, and are ionized by the sun on their way to the Earth. This lecture is sponsored by the NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission (MMS) program. Geology Lecture Series talks are free and are held in the Hales Center for the Performing Arts on Southwestern’s Coos Campus, 1988 Newmark Ave., Coos Bay.  For those not able to attend in person, all lectures are Livestreamed and archived, with access from the College’s web site at www.socc.edu. Additional talks scheduled this year include: Dr. Justin Rubinstein presenting the 13th Annual Cascadia Anniversary Lecture (Human Induced Earthquakes) on January 26, 2018; Dr. Anne Nolin (Changing Climate) on March 3, 2018; Dr. David Montgomery (Bringing Soil Back to Life) on April 14, 2018; and Dr. Josh Roering (Insight From Geologic “Accidents”) on May 19, 2018.  Additional sponsors of this lecture include DB Western, the Southwestern Foundation and the College. For additional information please contact Ron Metzger at 541-888-7216.