Ask a Scientist

Hudson River Park’s Ask a Scientist returns with Secret Science Club!

Secret Science Club flows into Hudson River Park’s Discovery Tank on beautiful Pier 57 for this event.

About Ask A Scientist

This event invites participants to explore a fascinating science topic and engage in a live Q&A session with the experts. Hudson River Park is teaming up with local partners to offer this special series of informative and entertaining events. Invite your friends to an evening of science fun and ask the scientists your burning questions.

Registration includes a selection of complementary beverages including beer and soft drinks.

Meet the Scientists

Learn more about your presenters at this edition of Ask a Scientist:

Shannon Curley is a bird biologist and postdoctoral fellow at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, where she studies bird migration using weather surveillance radar to understand how migration patterns change over time and differ between seasons. She works with the lab’s BirdCast team, which studies the mass night-time migrations of birds across North America—and makes the data available to the public via stunning visualizations, presenting live and historic bird movements, as well as the birds likely to be found in your area. Previously she has researched the wildlife returning to Fresh Kills Park (once the city’s landfill) as it’s been reconstructed as a green space, as well as the heron species that secretively nest on islands around New York Harbor. She and her work have been featured in the Associated Press and on CNN.

Maxine Montello is the Rescue Program Director at the New York Marine Rescue Center in Riverhead, NY, where she leads rescue missions and the rehabilitation of sick and injured seals, dolphins, and sea turtles. At the rescue center, she has helped develop critical care methods for sea turtles found stranded and cold-stunned throughout the region. She has also developed the Center’s research program, which documents cases involving human interaction and tracks the migrations of rehabbed and released animals via satellite. She received her masters from Pace University in Wildlife Ecology/Environmental Science where her thesis focused on the ecology and distribution of nesting sea turtles on the island of Barbuda. Her work has been featured in the New York Times and numerous other publications and outlets.

Jill Pryor is a senior biologist at the New York Marine Rescue Center where she provides clinical care to sick and injured seals and sea turtles.  As a New York native, her passion for marine life and wildlife rehabilitation started at a young age exploring the coastal beaches of Long Island. She received her bachelor’s degree in Environmental and Ocean Science from the University of San Diego. Outside of her work with NY Marine Rescue Center, Jill has worked as a marine mammal trainer with both the Long Island Aquarium and National Marine Mammal Foundation. She also has experience in veterinary medicine, working as a veterinary technician assistant in emergency and specialty vet hospitals in Hawaii and San Diego.