Talk Description:  Have you ever wondered what the night sky sounds like? Join us at the museum for a fascinating evening with Cal Poly Humboldt’s resident bat expert, Dr. Joe Szewczak. Joe will take us inside the hidden, high-frequency world of bat echolocation. Discover the tools and methods biologists use to extend our reach into this realm to eavesdrop on bats and know what they are doing and who's doing the talking. 

Speaker Bio:  Joe Szewczak, B.S.E. (1980) Duke University, Ph.D. (1991) Brown University, is a Professor at Cal Poly Humboldt. His prior research investigated the extraordinary physiological capabilities of bats and other small mammals, from cold torpor to the intense demands of flight and high altitude, and the physiological ecology of bats, the integrated effects of the environment upon the organism. He documented that hibernating bats can go without breathing for two and a half hours, and determined the mechanism by which they accomplish such a feat. Much of his current focus has sought to improve non-invasive recognition of bats and birds and this led him to develop SonoBat and SonoBird software to analyze and interpret bat and bird vocalization. Dr. Szewczak has taught bat field courses and workshops for more than two decades throughout the country and abroad.