Science Cafe - Produced by SciWorks, Reynolda Gardens, and Sigma Xi September 15, 2009

Science Cafes are informal talks, given by a local expert, at a local gathering place. Attendees are invited to come at 6 and enjoy dinner on their own, then stay for the talk at 7. The program will be Life on the Edge: Plant Life and Climate Change - How do plants manage to live at the most extreme environments of the world? Answers to this question are obtained through studies conducted in some of the world's most remote places. The knowledge gained is crucial to understanding the effects of climate change on plant life. As head of the Coastal Barrier Island Network, Dr. Smith leads an international group of scientists who are trying to determine how to coordinate human development with ecosystem sustainability. Participants in the Science Cafe will be invited to consider the implications of the scientists' finding. Presented by William K. Smith, Ph.D., Professor and Charles H. Babcock Chair of Botany, Wake Forest University.