Science Lectures Playing To Packed House ‘Nova’ Set Can’T Wait For News Of Latest Amazing Discoveries

Wed., March 10, 1999

Grayden Jones Staff writer

Tonight after hours, 400 thrill seekers will gather at Spokane Community College for a vicarious voyage to the bottom of the sea.

The same group came in January to climb the Himalayas, and last October to spelunk the 55-kilometer Chiquibul Cave in Belize and Guatemala.

In what has become a curiously popular event for Spokane’s “Nova” generation, geology lectures with mind-numbing titles are playing to packed houses whose thirst for amazing science discoveries can’t be quenched.

“I’ll be there!” said David Holloway, a retired teacher who can’t wait to hear tonight’s lecture on the “Submarine Hydrothermal Systems and Life in the Solar System.”

“This is going to be very exciting,” Holloway said.

While such topics may not provide the rush of a Gonzaga University basketball victory, they’re intellectual sustenance to starving science buffs who track each new discovery like fresh game.

“People love `Nova,’ they love National Geographic and they love to hear about this stuff,” said SCC geology instructor Andrew Buddington, who launched the lecture series four years ago when he was a part-time teacher.

“These are the diehards,” he said. “They’re always there like the panting puppy dog wanting to please.”

Buddington said he’s amassed a mailing list of 600 people who want to be alerted to upcoming events. He also gets support from Eastern Washington University and other schools that teach earth science and send their students and staff.

Buddington’s 75 geology students get extra credit for attending the lectures, but they are easily outnumbered by members of the general public who sense a connection to the Earth - and recognize a good deal. The lectures are free.

“The price is right,” said Sam Vanwyk, who has attended almost every lecture.

The astute science fans aren’t dissuaded by high-sounding lecture titles such as “Submarine Hydrothermal Systems.” They know that’s code for the discovery of life around volcanic vents on the ocean floor. Scientists believe that if life thrives without sunlight at the bottom of the Earth’s sea, then it’s possible that life could be present around volcanic vents on planets or moons elsewhere in the solar system.

“We are on the threshold of exploring the solar system and beyond,” said John Delaney, an University of Washington oceanography professor who will present the lecture and multi-media show. “The place to look for guidance is deep in our own ocean.”

This sidebar appeared with the story: TONIGHT John Delaney, University of Washington professor of oceanography, speaks at 7 p.m. in the Lair Student Center Auditorium of Spokane Community College. The event is free and open to the public.

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