Bradbury Science Museum Association upcoming events

POSTPONED: Night with a Nerd: Advanced Visualization Systems in the ASC Era at LANL (29 Jul 2026)

Thu, 30 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT

POSTPONED: Will be rescheduled for a later date

Advanced Visualization Systems in the ASC (Advanced Simulation and Computing) Era at LANL Talk by Dr. Dave Model, HPC Design Group, LANL

Dave Modl has and continues to support advanced visualization systems going back to the beginning of ASC [as ASCI] in the 1990s. Large and personal display systems supporting stereo 3D video output have been a part of this all the way through to today. The High Performance Computing [known as just Computing] Division when ASCI started was very involved with staff in X Division to create large scale support for analyzing larger and larger datasets as systems like Blue Mountain, Q, RoadRunner, et al, came on line. Users needed better visualization software and hardware to perform state-of-the-art analysis of these larger datasets. We will discuss those beginnings and the road that led to what we now do.

$10 admission; free for BSMA members (you can become a member on our Join Us page).

Wednesday, July 29 6-8pm at the Bradbury Science Museum (doors open at 6 and the talk starts at 6:30).

About the Speaker

Dr. Dave Modl has been a LANL Staff Member since 1996. Dave has worked in the Computing Division under various names over that time. Dave has been a part of the Visualization/Computer Graphics Group/Team in the Computing Division throughout his time at LANL. Dave started working with computer technology in the 1970s for the US Air Force. Dave is a UNM Lobo graduate with a CompE BS degree in 1990 and a EEMS degree in 1996. Dave has always been interested in how to create systems that allow users to visualize their work. It started at Kirtland AFB for the Air Force Weapons Laboratory in the 1980s. Once Dave signed on at LANL he was lucky enough to work with the Graphics Team that developed hardware and software systems which allowed users to see their complex data from simulations. That work has continued through to today supporting the Advanced Simulation and Computing (ASC) program where he helped support and develop display systems starting in the old ‘Ad Building’, then the CCF ‘RAVE Facility’ and the Nicholas C. Metropolis Strategic Computing Complex where the Powerwall Theater and La Cueva Grande SuperCAVE™ continues to be supported and available for users to view and analyze complex simulation results.

Night with a Nerd: Peaking Beneath the Paint: Using multi-band imaging to discover Georgia O’Keeffe’s evolving creative process for the 1970’s oil on canvas, Untitled (City Night) (19 Aug 2026)

Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Peaking Beneath the Paint: Using multi-band imaging to discover Georgia O’Keeffe’s evolving creative process for the 1970’s oil on canvas, Untitled (City Night) Talk by Dale Kronkright, Head of Conservation at the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum who discovered two of O’Keeffe’s earlier compositional drawings under the painted surface of Untitled (City Night), an 84” by 48” oil on canvas.

The evolution of the three compositions on this large canvas reflects the recurring role of memory in O’Keeffe’s creative process. The work also underscores O’Keeffe’s life-long interest in the dynamic compositional relationships between primary and secondary forms, and between positive and negative spaces. Both career-long, creative themes will be revealed in Dale’s 40 minute presentation, with time afterwards for questions and discussion.

$10 admission; free for BSMA members (you can become a member on our Join Us page).

Wednesday, August 19, 6-8pm at Fuller Lodge, Los Alamos, NM (doors open at 6 and the talk starts at 6:30).

Untitled (City Night), 1970s

Oil on canvas, 84 1/16 x 48 1/16 inches

Collection: Georgia O'Keeffe Museum

Gift of The Georgia O'Keeffe Foundation

2006.5.542, CR No. 1689

Courtesy of Georgia O'Keeffe Museum. Photo: Tim Nighswander/IMAGING4ART

About the Speaker

Dale Kronkright has been Head of Conservation at the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum since its inception in 1997. Dale began research into O’Keeffe’s studio materials and techniques in 2000 with scientists and conservators at the National Gallery of Art, resulting in the 2006 exhibition and catalog “Color and Conservation” which documented the 40-year friendship of New York conservator Caroline Keck and Georgia O’Keeffe.

His latest research on O’Keeffe’s studio materials and techniques was published in 2021 in the essay “An Intentional Language: The Studio Materials and Methods of Georgia O’Keeffe, 1915 -1975” in the 2020 exhibition catalog for Georgia O'Keeffe, at the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, in Madrid.

Dale earned his BA in American Culture Studies from the University of California at Davis and his postgraduate certificate in Conservation at the Peabody Museum, at Harvard.

Prior to coming to work for the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, Dale was Senior Conservator for the Museum of New Mexico, in Santa Fe for seven years and was Senior Conservator at the Regional Conservation Center, Bishop Museum, Honolulu for six years.

He has served as an instructor and author for the Getty Conservation Institute and as adjunct faculty at the Art Conservation Graduate Program at SUNY Buffalo and the Department of Art Conservation at the University of Delaware at Winterthur.

Dale’s current conservation research projects include:

the efficacy of micro-climate framing systems for the preservation of O’Keeffe’s paintings, pastels, watercolors and drawings since 2000.
with engineers from the Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena, Los Alamos National Lab in New Mexico, Polytec, Inc in Michigan and vibration engineers from White Noise, LLC. on preventing vibration-induced damage of works of art in transit. For this work, Dale has co-authored multiple US and foreign patents.

Film Screening: Picture a Scientist (24 Sep 2026)

Fri, 25 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Film Screening: Picture a Scientist

Picture A Scientist is a powerful documentary that explores the systemic challenges faced by women in science and the ongoing efforts to build a more diverse, equitable and inclusive research community. Directed by Ian Cheney, Sharon Shattuck and Manette Pottle, the film follows biologist Nancy Hopkins, chemist Raychelle Burks and geologist Jane Willenbring as they confront discrimination ranging from blatant harassment to subtle, persistent bias. Through personal stories and perspectives from leading researchers in social science, neuroscience and psychology, the film examines the structural barriers within scientific fields and highlights pathways toward meaningful change.

Join the Bradbury Science Museum Association for a screening of Picture A Scientist on Sept. 24 from 6 to 8 p.m at the SALA Event Center in Los Alamos, NM. This event is open to the public, and admission is by donation.

Night with a Nerd: Canfield Solitaire through a Monte Carlo Lens (29 Sep 2026)

Wed, 30 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Canfield Solitaire through a Monte Carlo Lens Talk by Joel A. Kulesza, PhD, PE

The invention of the modern Monte Carlo method is generally attributed to Stan Ulam, where the idea was sparked during a period of convalescence while playing a game of Canfield solitaire. His goal was to calculate the probability of winning, but because of the many possible deals he realized that calculating this was intractable, but it may be possible to estimate the likelihood if many games were played and the fraction of wins was computed. This talk introduces the history and rules of play for this unique, largely unknown, and frequently misidentified patience-game variant. It then describes a couple recent efforts to perform win-probability analyses similar to those at the origin story of Monte Carlo. Along the way, shuffling, randomness, Shannon entropy (and its relationship to nuclear engineering) are discussed. Future research directions coming from this topic will also be described. Time for Q&A and general discussion on Monte Carlo will follow.

$10 admission; free for BSMA members (you can become a member on our Join Us page).

Tuesday, September 29 6-8pm at the Bradbury Science Museum (doors open at 6 and the talk starts at 6:30).

About the Speaker

Joel Kulesza is currently the group leader of the Monte Carlo Codes Group (XCP-3) at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). Previously, he was a staff member in the same group where he focused on development of the MCNP code and supporting its users in the areas of variance reduction, unstructured-mesh geometries, and scientific visualization. He has been at LANL since 2016, before which he spent almost 10 years at Westinghouse Electric Company working in the areas of pressurized-water reactor core design, radiation shielding design, and reactor pressure vessel fluence analysis validated with passive ex-vessel neutron dosimetry measurements. Throughout his professional experience, he has worked at the intersection of particle transport methods, codes, and applications.