Community Calendar

Join Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown for a speaking engagement addressing the importance of social justice advocacy in politics and education. At a time when marginalized communities are being silenced and erased, this event will highlight the origins of the EWU Gender, Women's, and Sexuality Studies (GWSS) major and the importance of this program in educating and transforming our world. At this event, Mayor Brown will share applications of GWSS work in society and illuminate her contributions to the creation of this major at EWU. This event will take place on Eastern Washington University Cheney Campus in the student PUB at noon on February 19th, 2026. The event will center students' voices in social change, and explore the origins of the current Gender, Women's, and Sexuality Studies program and major at EWU.

Dr. John McCloy, Washington State University

We recreated Egyptian blue (used in Egypt from the fourth millennium BC through the Roman period) to uncover the science behind its color, ranging from gray or green to deep blue. We produced 12 versions of Egyptian blue and compared them with artifacts, using advanced X-ray techniques, spectroscopy, and quantitative color measurements. We found Egyptian blue is a complex mixture of phases, with hue controlled by particle size, glass content, and cuprorivaite–silica ratios. Even small changes in materials or heating could dramatically shift its color.

These findings reveal ancient craftspeople as skilled materials scientists. Beyond cultural insights and conservation, Egyptian blue’s infrared glow continues to inspire modern technologies,
linking past creativity with future innovation.

Karen Goldberg, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, is the 39th Annual Timothy J. O'Leary, S.J., Distinguished Scientist.

Lecture Abstract: It is widely accepted that decarbonization of our energy systems will have the largest impact on mitigation of climate change. With a move away from oil as a primary energy source, we will need to develop other sustainable sources for our liquid fuels, and we will also need to reinvent our chemical industry and economy. While gasoline and other liquid fuels are the major products that are made from oil, oil is also the source of most of the chemicals that are used to make all the consumer goods that we have come to rely on. Our medicines, body-care products, detergents, paints, plastics, fibers, fabrics, and essentially everything we use every day, are currently derived from petroleum. The carbon-based building blocks used to make all these consumer goods have been available in sufficient supply and at low cost due to the economy of scale of our enormous oil refining industry. Fundamentally new pathways, from new sources, to the chemicals and liquid fuels that we depend on must be developed to successfully transition to a sustainable future. In this presentation, Dr. Goldberg will describe how we arrived at our current energy landscape, projections on where we are going, and present some of the exciting strategies that scientists are pursuing to allow us to use natural gas, carbon dioxide and even waste plastic, to prepare our chemicals and fuels in the future.

On Thursday, March 5th, Spokane Community College welcomes award winning New York Times author and professor at New York University, Kwame Anthony Appiah.

The evening Keynote address, “Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers,” is at 6:00pm in the Hagan Center for the Humanities, Building 16, Library 2nd floor. In an era of deep cultural division, how do we build a global community? Appiah proposes a "cosmpolitan" ethics that honors our shared humanity while providing a practical framework for navigating our differences.

This event is open to the community.