Upcoming Events

This is the Washburn CHAOS Lab mission tracker: fieldwork, conferences, outreach, public events, cave trips, scientific briefings, and the occasional descent into the underworld. If the lab is out doing feral science somewhere, chances are it ends up here. Want more information? Reach out at director@washburnchaoslab.com, follow @WashburnCHAOSLab on social media, or send us a message through the form here.

July 2026

7.04. Holiday: Independence Day

USA, Various locations

The United States turns 250. Today we celebrate a quarter millennium of exploration, innovation, stubborn problem-solving, and occasionally setting things on fire to see what happens. Happy Independence Day from the Washburn CHAOS Lab.

7.09. Holiday: Cancerversary

No where or various locations

An annual celebration of the event that helped set the Washburn CHAOS Lab in motion. Dr. Washburn's thyroid chose violence. She chose biomedical science. Science is feral. Sometimes so are thyroids. And seriously, get your neck checked. Early detection matters.

7.08. Meeting: Louisville Grotto Meeting

Louisville, KY

Monthly meeting of the Louisville Grotto - our partners in chaos for cave studies! For more information, visit their website.

7.11. Convention: G-FEST

Chicago, IL

We're heading to G-FEST with a small contingent of the Avengers of Academia. Find us if you're attending! We may have free stickers, questionable amounts of enthusiasm for giant monsters, and very strong opinions about the science of kaiju (and yes, Godzilla still wins). For more information about G-FEST, check out the event website. If you'd like to meet up, say hello, or know we'll be there, fill out the form here.

7.15. Concert: AC/DC Power-Up Tour with The Pretty Reckless

Columbus, OH

We're heading to the AC/DC Power Up Tour with The Pretty Reckless. Metal has been fueling fieldwork, data analysis, road trips, and questionable amounts of caffeine for years, so we're paying our respects to one of the greats. Science is metal.

7.17-7.18. Concert: Inkcarceration Music & Metal Festival

Mansfield, OH

We're heading to Inkcarceration, the annual music and tattoo festival held at the Ohio State Reformatory (yes, the one from The Shawshank Redemption). Inkcarceration has some of the biggest names in rock and metal, hundreds of tattoo artists, and access to one of the most famous allegedly haunted locations in the country. So basically, this event gives you metal, tattoos, and ghosts into a single weekend. In other words, this is pretty much the Washburn CHAOS Lab brand in festival form. If you're gonna be at Inkcarceration and think science is metal, let us know using the form here.

7.26-7.30. Conference: American Society of Pharmacognosy Annual Meeting

Denver, CO

Dr. Rachel Washburn is heading to ASP to present our work on what happens when natural products chemistry, microbiology, and geology are locked in a room together and forced to figure it out. ASP is one of the major natural products conferences, which means several days of science, new ideas, and conversations with people who also spend an alarming amount of time thinking about the chemistry produced by living systems. If you're going to be there, or you're in the area and want to meet up, let us know using the form here.

Washburn CHAOS Lab

Science is metal. Science is feral. Science is CHAOS.

director@washburnchaoslab.com

#washburnchaoslab

complex host and abiotic systems

@washburnchaoslab

Feral scientists exploring hostile systems, unstable environments, and the chemistry shaping what survives there.