"The genesis of this idea was an event called Sci Foo--Science Foo Camp--sponsored by Google, Nature, and O'Reilly," explains Tim O'Reilly, founder and CEO of O'Reilly Media. "Sci Foo brings together people who are passionate about science and technology, who are doing ground-breaking work in these areas. This summer, there were such important discussions taking place that we were inspired to bring them to a larger audience.
"Our world is increasingly interconnected and not just by technology," O'Reilly continues, "There are challenges facing us that can only be solved when we get enough good minds looking at and thinking about them, and the failure to solve them will adversely affect huge numbers of people. With this series, we hope to encourage people to consider these issues and motivate them to be part of the solution."
Kicking off the series is Energy Literacy presented by Dr. Saul Griffith, on Wednesday, September 23 at 10am PT. Griffith has multiple degrees in materials science and mechanical engineering, and is the co-founder of numerous companies, including WattzOn, a free online tool to quantify, track, compare and understand the total amount of energy needed to support all of the facets of your lifestyle. Registration is required in advance.
On Thursday, October 15, Prof. Per F. Peterson, chair of the Department of Nuclear Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, will present Nuclear Energy: Future Directions. Peterson's talk will cover the current status of nuclear energy, and review the potential directions the technology may go in the future. Other speakers in the series include Dr. S. Pete Worden, NASA Ames Research Center Director and Sameer Padania, Hub Manager for Witness.org.
Rather than offering a passive experience, webcasts provide the opportunity for audience participation. Attendees view the live presentations via their computers and are encouraged to share comments, questions, and resources through the event chat room while the event takes place.
"Our webcasts typically attract a global audience. It's not unusual to host participants from thirty countries or more," says Allen Noren, O'Reilly's vice president of online initiatives. "Each webcast generates an explosion of creative participation, much like our conferences. We fully expect that attendees of this series will be informed, and we fully expect to see solutions offered."
For more information about the O'Reilly Radar Global Issues Webcast Series and other O'Reilly webcasts, see: oreilly.com/webcasts
About O’Reilly
O’Reilly Media spreads the knowledge of innovators through its books, online services, magazines, and conferences. Since 1978, O’Reilly Media has been a chronicler and catalyst of cutting-edge development, homing in on the technology trends that really matter and spurring their adoption by amplifying “faint signals” from the alpha geeks who are creating the future. An active participant in the technology community, the company has a long history of advocacy, meme-making, and evangelism.