A book talk with Dr. Juli Berwald
with musical performance by Chad Cannon
Followed by a panel discussion with
WHOI microbial ecologist Dr. Amy Apprill
Reception and book signing to follow.
Join us for a book talk with ocean scientist and author, Juli Berwald. Honored as a finalist for the LA Times Book Prize, Juli’s book, ‘Life on the Rocks,’ is an ode to reefs and the undaunted scientists working to save them against almost impossible odds.
This event will open with selections from 'Music for the Ocean' an original violin composition by Chad Cannon, which includes recordings from coral reefs captured by WHOI Scientist Aran Mooney.
Following the book talk, Juli Berwald will join WHOI microbial ecologist Dr. Amy Apprill and violinist and composer Chad Cannon for a compelling discussion on the coral reef crisis, and techniques being developed to save our reefs, moderated by Richard Vevers.
Reception and book signing to follow.
This event is free and open to the public.
Juli Berwald received her PhD in Ocean Science from the University of Southern California. The author of Spineless and Life on the Rocks, which was an L.A. Times Book Prize Finalist, she has written for a number of publications including National Geographic, Texas Monthly, Smithsonian, Nature, and Science. Juli is the Embajadora de los Arrecifes in Tela, Honduras where she has also co-founded the non-profit Tela Coral to support an unusual healthy reef.
Amy Apprill is a microbial ecologist at WHOI. Her research focuses on the importance of microorganisms to the health of sensitive ocean animals and ecosystems, including whales and coral reefs.
She is developing microbiomes as health diagnostic tools for coral reefs and marine mammals, and brings unique approaches to her field work. Examples of her approach and research include using drones to examine the upper respiratory microbiome of large whales, bringing the first foreign vessel into the pristine coral reefs of Cuba for interdisciplinary studies and applying genomic sequencing at sea for coral disease diagnostics. Apprill is an avid SCUBA diver and has brought her research approach to worldwide reefs.
Chad Cannon is a composer and violinist with a decade of experience working in film/TV/videogames, mainly documentaries. Recent credits include the Oscar-winning Netflix documentary American Factory, the BAFTA-winning PlayStation game Ghost of Tsushima, and the Peabody Award-winning HBO documentary Night is Not Eternal.
Chad studied at Harvard and Juilliard and runs Asia-America New Music Institute (AANMI), which produces cultural exchange concerts between Asia and the US. Chad is fluent in Japanese, is a US-Japan Leadership Program Fellow, recently got into scuba diving, and swims with the US Masters Swimming team at the Rose Bowl in Los Angeles.
Richard Vevers is the Director of Room 71 at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
His work has been featured in over 10,000 media articles and numerous books and documentaries.
Richard played the lead role in the Emmy Award-winning documentary Chasing Coral on Netflix, which exposed the devastating effects of climate change on coral reefs. Overall, his work has resulted in over $200 million in funding for ocean science and conservation initiatives, particularly in the protection of coral reefs, through projects such as 50 Reefs.
The Yawkey Foundation is committed to continuing the legacy of Tom Yawkey and Jean Yawkey by making significant and positive impacts on the quality of life for children, families, and underserved individuals in the places that the Yawkeys called home, Eastern Massachusetts and Georgetown County, South Carolina.
