Science on Tap - Oregon & Washington

EVENT DESCRIPTION:
“Your package couldn’t be delivered.”
“Put tape over your webcam.”
“Click here to pay your ticket.”
“Your geek squad protection renewal is due”

You’ve heard all of these. Which are real/scams? Which matter? Which are valid security tips vs urban legends? As with most things in life, it’s complicated.

In this talk, two security specialists will discuss a number of the security questions that come up in everyday life to help you understand why they happen, how to respond to them, and maybe, when you can just ignore them.

We’ll start by discussing threat modelling. What’s at risk? How much effort are you willing to expend for prevention or response? How is that different from person to person? This context will help us explore concerns including hardware security (why can’t I unlock my late relative’s iPhone?), national security (why were Netgear routers banned?), and personal security (why is having a good credit score a liability?).

We’ll leave you with some tips for how to improve your overall security posture, as well as a few ideas to help you think about security as you encounter everything from sensational reporting and SMS scams, all the way to nation-state attackers knocking on your company’s door.

Joe FitzPatrick (@securelyfitz) is a trainer and researcher at SecuringHardware.com with a personal mission to make all hardware devices at least a bit more secure. He builds tools like Tigard and Erebus, and teaches Applied Hardware Attacks trainings to help people break – and secure – their hardware devices.

Eric is a Business Information Security Officer at Thoughtworks, a software consulting company. His background is in computer security, systems administration, and detection engineering and threathunting.

COST:
$15.00 DISCOUNT (senior, student, it's your birthday, just can't afford the GA price right now)
$25.00 GENERAL ADMISSION
$35.00 VIP Premium seating (front center rows)
$45.00 SUPPORTER: Premium seating, pint glass (beer not included), and good feelings for supporting the program

EVENT DESCRIPTION:
In the 1960s, biologists introduced wolves to Coronation Island in Alaska after deer overran it and decimated the forest understory. The wolves ate all the deer and, with nothing left to eat, starved. About 50 years later, the wolves of Pleasant Island Alaska found themselves in a similar situation: living on an island in the Pacific with no deer left to eat. The wolves of Pleasant Island, however, have not died out. Instead, they’ve broadened their palate to include sea otters.

What scientists don’t know is how widespread this surf-and-turf phenomenon is. How does the complex web of wolf, deer, sea otter, hundreds of islands and a massive logging industry interact?

In 2024, a rescued border collie named Barley joined the investigation. Employed with K9 Conservationists, Barley is a professional scat detection dog with three field seasons under his belt. With the “understudy” dogs Tooma, Niffler, and Skipper, they have located over 1,500 wolf scats across 25 islands. Back at OSU, Kayla Fratt works to extract the DNA of the wolves and their prey from the fecal samples. She then uses cutting-edge genetic techniques, lasers shot from airplanes, and an awful lot of math to tell the story of the Tongass National Forest through the bum of a wolf.

Bonus ending: This talk will conclude with a live demonstration from one of Kayla’s trained conservation detection dogs in the theater!!

EVENT DESCRIPTION:
Imagine Oregon more than 12,000 years ago. The coastline stretched miles farther west, vast lakes filled today's high desert, and megafauna like mammoths, giant ground sloths, and camels still roamed the land. People were raising families, sewing clothing with bone needles and thread, harvesting plants, caring for one another, and adapting to a rapidly changing world.

How do archaeologists uncover stories as old as the Ice Age? Join archaeologist Dr. Katelyn McDonough for a behind-the-scenes look at how researchers piece together the past using clues like stone tools, pollen, campfires, animal bones, microscopic plant remains, proteins preserved on tools, and even ancient poop. Hear some of archaeology's biggest misconceptions and explore how discoveries at every scale—from molecules under a microscope to entire ancient landscapes—are transforming our understanding of the past.

This talk also explores what archaeology looks like today. Discover how archaeologists collaborate with Tribal Nations, geologists, paleoecologists, and many other specialists to better understand the past while respecting Indigenous histories and knowledge.

• Why is central Oregon important for studying the Ice Age?
• How can everyone help protect cultural heritage?
• What do you do if you ever find an artifact?

EVENT DESCRIPTION:
Few conservation behaviors have captured the public’s interest as much as recycling. But sorting your trash and placing it at the curb isn’t recycling . . . it’s just the start of a long and somewhat surprising journey for your empty milk cartons and back issues of Cat Fancy.

• Where do those materials go once in the bin?
• How do they get sorted out? And where do they go from there?
• What about those rumors that recycling trucks just deliver materials to the landfill . . . or dump them in the ocean?
• How can recycling even deliver environmental benefit, given all of the trucks and machinery involved?
• What’s the deal with plastic, anyway?

You have questions, and we have answers!

After pioneering recycling policy in the late 1980s, Oregon is now implementing the first “extended producer responsibility” law for packaging in the U.S. The Plastic Pollution and Recycling Modernization Act, adopted in 2021, was launched July 1, 2025 and is designed to provide residents and businesses a recycling system that can be trusted to deliver the environmental benefits that recycling has long promised. But even a fully modernized recycling system has limited potential to stem the tide of unsustainable levels of production and consumption.

Explore how recycling is simultaneously necessary and insufficient, how recycling needs to be improved, and what else Oregon could be doing to use materials sustainably.

David Allaway and Justin Gast work at the OR Department of Environmental Quality, and between them have over 57 years of experience with recycling systems.
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COST:
$15 DISCOUNT (senior, student, it's your birthday, just can't afford the GA price right now)
$25 GENERAL ADMISSION
$35 VIP Premium seating (front center rows)
$45 SUPPORTER (Premium seating, pint glass (beer not included), and good feelings for supporting the program)