Join us for a broadcast of NPR‘s popular “Science Friday” with host Ira Flatow. Tickets are free, and will be distributed at 1 pm from the M St. lobby desk the day of the event. One ticket per person. Doors open at 1:30 pm. No advance registration is necessary for this event, however, please note that taping begins promptly at 2pm. As this is a live broadcast, please arrive early or you will be asked to wait outside until an appropriate break in the program.

Hour One: 2:00–3:00 PM
Scientist Shortage: Myth or Reality?
For decades, science advocates and educators have called for larger investments in STEM—science, technology, engineering and math—education. Increased funding, they hope, will result in more STEM graduates and ultimately, more workers in those fields to fill vacant positions. However, some labor experts say those efforts are misguided and that the data don’t support claims of a scientist shortage. We’ll look at both sides of the debate.

Guests:
-Dr. Charles Vest, President of the National Academy of Engineering and President Emeritus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
-Dr. Michael Kassner, Director of Research, Office of Naval Research
-Dr. Lindsay Lowell, Director of Policy Studies, Institute for the Study of International Migration, Georgetown University
-Anthonette Pena, 8th grade science teacher, Stuart-Hobson Middle School in Washington, D.C.

Hour Two: 3:00–4:00 PM Eastern
Nobel Prize Winner Adam Riess (3:00–3:30 PM)
Nobel Prize-winning astrophysicist Adam Riess joins Ira Flatow to discuss dark energy, the expansion of the universe, and whether theories like the ‘multiverse’ are science fact or fiction. (3:00–3:30 PM)

High Altitude Science (3:30–4:00 PM Eastern)
As he prepares for another ascent of Mount Everest, mountaineer Conrad Anker joins Ira Flatow to talk about high-altitude science, including how thin air affects the human body, and how scientists measure the height of mountains.

Guests:
-Conrad Anker, Climber, National Geographic Grantee
-Bryan Taylor, Post-doctoral research fellow, Division of Cardiovascular Diseases, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
-David Lageson, Professor, Structural Geology, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana