Event Calendar

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September 2025

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Frontiers in Science: Global Marine Invasions with an Eye on Alaska
Talk

Speaker: Dr. Amy L. Freestone,

Saturday, September 6, 2025 - 8:00pm
Event Location
Kenai Peninsula College, Homer, AK, Rooms P201/P202, and streaming remotely on Zoom

Over 500 (and rising) non-native species occur in the coastal oceans of the US, making the study of marine invasions both important and urgent. Through a decades-long research investment, and long-standing partnerships, the Marine Invasions Research Program at the Smithsonian Institution is working to expand knowledge, capacity, and domestic and international partnerships, to address this grand challenge. Dr. Freestone will provide an overview of this challenge, SI's ongoing research, what the current science tells us about global marine invasions, and the key questions moving forward.

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Robert Lee Forrest: The Farmer Who Became SERC’s Founding Father
Talk
Tuesday, September 16, 2025 - 7:00pm - 8:30pm

Speaker: Dr. Jim Gibb, Director of the Smithsonian Environmental Archaeology Lab

7:00pm - 8:30pm
 
 
 
 
 
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Sep 16, 2025

  • Robert Lee Forrest: The Farmer Who Became SERC’s Founding Father

    Robert Lee Forrest: The Farmer Who Became SERC’s Founding Father

    Tuesday, September 16, 2025 - 7:00pm - 8:30pm
    Advance Registration Required
    Yes

    Event Details

    Black and white photo of a young man in a black business suit with a neutral expression on his face. He is in profile, with his face turned slightly toward the camera so his full face is visible.
    Robert Lee Forrest, courtesy of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center

    In 1962, the Smithsonian received an unexpected bequest: $2.0 million in cash and realty, including 368 acres on Maryland’s Rhode River. It came from a colorful but enigmatic dairy farmer named Robert Lee Forrest. Like the Smithsonian’s first patron, James Smithson, Forrest was a life-long bachelor with no children. His gift of virtually his entire estate led to the creation of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) in 1965—then called the "Chesapeake Bay Center for Field Biology." In a special talk honoring SERC’s 60th anniversary, discover how this eccentric farmer and scientist blazed new territory long before his gift to the Smithsonian, with SERC archaeologist Dr. Jim Gibb. Part of SERC’s 60th anniversary webinar series.

    This event will be hosted entirely online, and it will be recorded. Closed captions will be available at the live event and on the recording. By signing up on Zoom, you will also receive a link to the recording a few days after the live event.

    Sign up on Zoom to watch live or on demand

    See more SERC science webinars

    7:00pm - 8:30pm