Hello! Here’s what’s happening in the world of STEM this week.

All Chicago residents 16 years and older are now eligible to receive the COVID vaccine. Plus, what do you know about immortal hydras?

What we’re working on

Our upcoming slate of programming is made up of some eye-opening originals and some sequels to crowd-pleasers. Take a look. 

Working Together to Keep the Lakes Great

Since 1970, the Alliance for the Great Lakes has been working to protect the Great Lakes, and now Anna-Lisa Castle and Tyrone Dobson play key roles in caring for–and helping others care for–these five lakes that span numerous states and provinces across the U.S. and Canada. As you might imagine, caring for 20% of the world’s entire surface freshwater is no small feat which is why the Alliance engages more than 15,000 volunteers across a number of programs throughout the region. 

Sign up so you can hear firsthand about our Great Lakes, and learn about how you can help keep them that way.

Who knows? Maybe one day you’ll become Volunteer #15,001.

Here to There: The History & Future of Chicago’s Transportation

While looking to the future of transportation, it’s vitally important to consider how we arrived at the present. To that end, we’ve paired two Chicago transportation experts with two experts who are focused on the future of transportation! 

How has transit changed over the years? How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected the way we use transit? How will emerging technologies allow us to modify and enhance the transit systems we have in place? Join us on a tour of Chicago’s transportation systems both past, present, and future to hear answers to these questions and many more.

Science & Sandwiches

Darion Crawford is an urban farmer and instructor with Urban Growers Collective, a nonprofit organization that manages 8 farms predominantly on Chicago’s south side. Darion has been farming since he was 16 years old, giving him plenty of time to grow his knowledge of urban agriculture. He has presented nationally on topics like hoop-house and aquaponics construction, and large-scale composting.

Bug of the Week

Every week, we will look into the hidden world of bacteria and learn how these microscopic critters affect humans and the world around us. This week it’s Saccharomyces cerevisiae!

Yeastie Boys, (You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Rise)

Saccharomyces cerevisiae (S. cerevisiae, sack-a-roe-MY-seas sair-a-VIS-e-eye) is a species of yeast that has been widely used, dating as far back as 5,000 years ago! This sugar eating fungus is responsible for fermentation in winemaking, baking, and brewing. It ferments sugars from grapes for wine, flour for bread, and barley for beer to make alcohol and carbon dioxide by-products. There are even different flavors of S. cerevisiae that are used to change the taste and smell of wine, bread, and beer. Talk about brewing and baking rising to the next level!

Our partners

• How quantum computing, communication and sensing will change the world (May 5, 2021)
• SAVE THE DATE: 2021 Veterans Advanced Energy Week (August 2-6, 2021)
• STEM Illinois Nobel Project

What we’re reading/watching/playing

“Rare baby stegosaur prints have been uncovered in China. Why haven’t more tiny prints been found in the past? It is a mystery. While scientists figure that out, I’ll be daydreaming about having a cat-sized stegosaur as a new wfh office buddy.”

— Katie, Director of Operations

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Thanks for spending part of your day with us. Please try to not tamper with the space time continuum. We’ll see you next week.

— C2ST Staff

Have a tip or something you’d like to see us talk about in the newsletter? Or just a general question/comment/concern? You can reach us at info@c2st.org.

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