DeSalvo draws 320, Roggenthen lectures at Yates

Two events made Thursday, Sept. 18, a big public outreach day for the Sanford Underground Laboratory at Homestake.

Dr. Bill Roggenthen of the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology lecture to 55 science students from Spearfish and Lead-Deadwood High School.  He used the top floor of the Yates Dry — a building that was once a locker room for gold miners. A few hours later, Dr. Riccardo DeSalvo of Cal Tech drew a crowd of 320 for a public lecture on “gravity waves” at Spearfish High School Auditorium.

This day would not have been possible without the original brainstorm from Spearfish High School physics teacher Steve Gabriel and without support and help from Lead-Deadwood High School science teacher Rose Emanuel.  (High school teachers interest in similar experience should contact Bill Harlan at 605 722-8650, ext. 225.)

Dr. DeSalvo’s lecture was the fifth in the Sanford Lab’s “Deep Science for Everyone” series. Attendance broke the previous record of  280, set at South Dakota School of Mines & Technology in Rapid City. More “Deep Science” lectures are in the planning stages. They’re free. They’re fun. They’re educational. If you’d like to be notified by e-mail, send a note to bill.harlan@state.sd.us and put “Sanford Lab e-mail list” in the subject line.