ASU professor Ed Garnero knew he would have to play his bass if it was to be his last lecture.
The combination of music with geophysics tells much about why his students nominated him for the "Last Lecture Series," in which professors give a lecture as if it were their last.
Garnero spoke April 13 at the Memorial Union as part of the series, sponsored by ASU's Co-Curricular Programs.
Garnero, an assistant professor of geological sciences, was selected from among 200 student recommendations and 137 professors.
The series is based on the question, "If you knew you could only give one more lecture, what would you do?" said Linda Sullivan, executive coordinator of Co-Curricular Programs.
When the audience went to sit down, it found stereo glasses on every chair. A bulky projection apparatus stood in the middle of the aisle. Even before it started, it was not the typical lecture, philosophy sophomore Camille Hartmetz said.
Two women played a clay-pot drum and percussion sticks as they jammed with Garnero playing his bass. The combination of sounds became more musical, energetic and loud as it went along.
Meanwhile, definitions of words like "discovery," "create," "science" and "music" scrolled across a screen.
Garnero explained why he loves to be a teacher, a new father, a cook and a musician.
Each one of them is a discovery experience. Then he explained that people don't hear the sound of the Earth moving because its pitch is too low. By raising the sound several octaves, it became audible.
From there, his presentation went into plate tectonics and the mantle of the Earth.
Garnero used sonogram images of his babies and other unusual examples to help people envision how scientists study the inner Earth. Seismic waves were explained and subducting plates of the Earth's crust were portrayed sinking into the mantle.
At last, the audience had a chance to try out the cardboard glasses. A couple of "oohs" were heard in the audience as people's eyes adjusted to the 3-D effect and rocks in the images "popped" out.
To wrap up the presentation, Garnero and the two women again played their music and sang a song with specially written words for geologists and geophysicists as shock waves were shown traveling through and around the center of the Earth.
"I didn't think a geophysics presentation could be that good," said Tony Salem, a graduate geology student, after the presentation. "It was outstanding.
"I hope to have a chance to have him as an instructor, but I'm only going to be here one more year," he added.
Peter Winther, physics geology senior, said that Garnero is very approachable in class.
"He puts it in simple terms so you can understand it," Winther said.
Winther said he liked the jazzy music played during the lecture because it fit the topic.
Teresa Lassak, a graduate geology student, was one of the students who nominated Garnero.
"Garnero has an awesome ability to create enthusiasm for a quantitative subject," Lassak said about the evening.
Garnero earned his Ph.D. in geophysics from California Institute of Technology in 1994. He also holds an artium baccalaureate degree in geophysics from the University of California, Berkeley.
He said he was surprised and honored to be selected since he had only been teaching for five-and-a-half years. Garnero said he could think of other professors whose lectures he admired.
But the idea was fun, so he wrote a two-page lecture proposal to the panel of student judges.
He didn't have 20 years of experience, but he did have experience with multi-media presentations.
"In Geology 101, we really mix it up and do goofy things; it's a little bit from left field so students don't know what they're going to get," Garnero said.
The students on the panel were intrigued by his proposal, Sullivan said.
Before the program started Tuesday evening, Hartmetz said she liked the premise of a last lecture and that made it more exciting.
Women's Studies professor Rose Weitz will present the next lecture, "Smurfs, Marlboro Men and Cosmo: How the Personal is Political and the Seemingly Trivial can be Truly Important" on today in the Pima Room at Memorial Union.
Economics professor Allan DeSerpa will present the last of the Last Lecture Series, "Bald Eagles, Body Parts and Haunted Houses: The Many Margins of Economics," on April 26 in the same location
The general public is invited to hear how these professors engage, enlighten and inspire their students.
Reach the reporter at bonita.kline@asu.edu.
