Wayne Woldt, associate professor of Biological Systems Engineering and School of Natural Resources, will discuss water from frames of both known and unknown physics, concepts of metaphysics, and global vulnerability 7 p.m., Oct. 25 as part of the Nebraska Colloquium.
Woldt, with more than 25 years of research and education in water resources, will present “WATER: Physics, Metaphysics and Vulnerability”, a far-reaching discussion on our relation with water and its implications for global sustainability.
"Water is a mysterious substance," Woldt said. "Many of its physical properties are not well understood, and this lack of understanding opens the door to metaphysical frames of reference as we try to understand the water environment and its place in global security.
"At the same time, water is life. It is the salty basis of our origins, the rhythmic circulatory system of our planet, a rather perilous thin edge on which the human dimension thrives. A map of the world reveals two-thirds water, just like our bodies, and the ocean is saline, just as our vital fluids, our atmosphere bathes us in water."
Woldt will explore mysteries of water and consider questions that challenge our theories of reality.
"Is our universe based in water, and does the cosmos have a water connection? How vulnerable are we, and is there a conscious, or ethereal world of abundance in which unexplained phenomena reside, and conflict over water can be resolved?"
This presentation will explore water from the frames of both known and unknown physics, concepts of metaphysics, and our vulnerability as a world community. It will conclude with a new idea for research that seeks to connect these otherwise disparate views.
Woldt has primary areas of research that include groundwater modeling, groundwater and surface water interaction, complex systems analysis, and soft computing. He uses his WATER Machine to help educate the public about water resources.
The Nebraska Colloquium is a series of lectures designed to engage students and faculty inside and outside of the classroom and to foster discussion over issues of international importance. This season's lectures have been organized around the theme of water and global security.
Read more about the lectures at http://nebcolloquium.unl.edu/nebraska-colloquium.
More details at: http://go.unl.edu/x93