Be sure to put SAMFest on your calendar for Saturday, April 16. This will be PSC’s third annual Science Art, Music Festival at the Paul Smiths VIC, in which scientists use the arts to communicate their science, and artists use science to inform their art. It will include a mix of short, exciting performances and presentations by faculty, students, alumni, and special guests as well as paintings and photos by local artists, and a showing of “Chasing Ice,” a spectacular documentary about the melting of glaciers around the world due to global warming, which will be introduced by student Jhanelle Rahim.
This year’s theme is “The Art and Science of Time.” Among the guest presenters will be SUNY Potsdam archaeologist Tim Messner, who will talk about Native American history in the Adirondacks, including a 1000-year old hearth found recently at Long Lake. Ekaterina Zharinova, a modern dancer in Russia, has composed a video performance specifically for SAMFest, and SUNY Geneseo professor Glenn McClure will present a 1500 year climate record from an Adirondack lake sediment core as a musical composition.
A major highlight of the festival will be TED-style talks by PSC students. Izaac Cooper, Dom Rickicki, and Leanne Ketner will give presentations on long views of time which will blend science and the arts in creative ways. Other presenters will include members of Mel Johnson’s GIS class, David Press’s film class, and Craig Milewski’s Stirring of An Ecological Conscience class.
North Country musicians including Peggy Lynn, Dan Berggren, Celia Evans, Larry Montague, and Jamie Savage will perform between the talks as well as PSC students Ben and Blake Parker. There will also be displays and activities by visual artists from the North Country in the main gallery, hosted by Professor Lee Ann Sporn, as well as live fiddle music by PSC students Tyler Dezago and Izzie Padron. Maple syrup and refreshments will be on sale, and PSC chef Alec Abt and his students will prepare and serve lunch 12:30-1:30 PM.
SAMFest runs from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $5. The Paul Smith’s College community and Friends of the VIC will be admitted free of charge.
A schedule of events and more information about the festival can be found at www.samfest.org or contact Curt Stager at cstager@paulsmiths.edu.
Curt Stager is a climate scientist, educator, and science journalist whose research deals with the climatic and ecological histories of Africa, Peru, and North America. He has published numerous articles in major journals including Science and Quaternary Research, spoken on climate change for diverse audiences all over the world, and served as an expert reviewer for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
His writings have also appeared in National Geographic, The New York Times, Fast Company, Huffington Post,and Adirondack Life, and he co-hosts Natural Selections, a weekly science program on North Country Public Radio (http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/programs/local/naturalselections.html).
Curt is the author of three books: “Deep Future: The Next 100,000 Years of Life on Earth,” “Your Atomic Self: How Your Atoms Connect You to Everything Else in the Universe,” and “Field Notes from the Northern Forest“(www.curtstager.com). In 2013, the Carnegie-Case Foundations named him Science Professor of the Year for New York State. He holds the Lussi Chair in Lake Ecology and Paleo-ecology at Paul Smith’s College in the Adirondacks and is a research associate with the University of Maine’s Climate Change Institute.
In his spare time, he enjoys playing guitar (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TH8Syz0NvD4) and banjo(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltq70PU2M9g).