The Story Collider is delighted to be returning to the Bay Area Science Festival for the third year in a row! Full lineup to be announced soon!
Stories by:
Sebastian Gaston Alvarado went into science so he could make the X-men. During his Ph.D., he studied the molecular switches that regulate gene function. As a result, his work has shed light on chronic pain, size variation in ants, and metabolism in hibernating squirrels. He is also co-founder of Thwacke, a science consulting firm for the entertainment sector. As a consultant, he has rationalized the science behind Captain America's Super Soldier Serum and the reversible nature of the Incredible Hulk's transformations . Sebastian is currently an A.P. Giannini Fellow at Stanford University where he studies how social environment can shape the way genes change behavior in a fish.
Sandy Aylesworth is an environmental policy maker and former captain and mate. Over the course of her nine-year sailing career voyaging in French Polynesia, Hawaii, Baja, the United States and the Caribbean, Sandy became intimately familiar with the oceans and learned a great deal about humanity. On semester-length sailing and research expeditions, Sandy taught hundreds of students ship maneuvering, sail handling, and nautical science. She was also a Marine Technician for the United States Antarctic Program on seven oceanographic cruises. Land-based for now in DC, Sandy works in climate change mitigation at the U.S. Department of State. Sandy has a Masters from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and a 500 Ton Ocean Master’s license.
Erika Check Hayden is an award-winning San Francisco-based science, health, and technology reporter. She writes for the science journal Nature, and on a freelance basis for a variety of publications. She is the incoming director of the University of California, Santa Cruz, Science Communication Program. Find her at erikacheck.com or on Twitter @Erika_Check.
Trace Dominguez is a passionate science communicator who dissects topics in science, world news, history, technology, politics, space, and psychology. He writes, hosts, and produces DNews, Discovery’s flagship digital science show. He also can be found hosting DNews Plus, a podcast and video series, SeekerDaily, a news and world affairs show, and on Science Channel spreading the knowledge far and wide. When not in front of the camera he’s trying to make a good cup of coffee, or nerding out about the latest gadgets.
Julie Soller is a Bay Area storyteller and creator of "StorySlam Oakland," a slam-style monthly true story show. She's geeked out on breeding leopard geckos, teaching her cat to pee in the toilet (check out 'Kitty Potty Training – Julie' on YouTube) and her latest geekfest is teaching herself how to cultivate top-shelf medical marijuana in the backyard. Her mission to help people meet each other unfolds at two more open-mic storytelling shows, "Spontaneous Storytelling" every 2nd Saturday at the Layover Music Lounge in Oakland and "Tales in the Tasting Room," every 3rd Saturday in Jack London Square.