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CORVALLIS, Ore. - Presentations about the world's tides and about exploding stars will be featured at Corvallis Science Pub in two separate events Monday, June 5, and Tuesday, June 6.

On June 5, author Jonathan White will share what he learned about the tides after nearly losing his 65-foot wooden schooner along the coast of Alaska. He has traveled to the Arctic to shimmy down a hole in the ice with an Inuit elder to hunt for blue mussels in the dark cavities below; to the Qiantang River in China to witness the Silver Dragon, a 25-foot tidal bore that crashes its way up the 80-mile river; and to California to shadow the Mavericks competition, where surfers paddle into deadly waves 60 feet high.

White wrote a book about his experiences, "Tides: The Science and Spirit of the Ocean," which will be available at the Science Pub for purchase from Grass Roots Books.

On June 6, Enrico J. Ramirez-Ruiz, a professor of astrophysics at UC-Santa Cruz, will discuss how the common elements of life emerge from stellar explosions. This process has occurred since the birth of the first stars in the galaxy. Without it life on Earth would not be possible.

Science Pub events are free and open to the public. They begin at 6 p.m. in the Old World Deli, 341 S.W. 2nd St. in Corvallis.

Sponsors of Science Pub include Terra magazine at OSU, the Downtown Corvallis Association and the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry.