Golden Gate Raptor Observatory Hawk Talk & Raptor ReleaseThe Hawk Talk begins at noon, when a GGRO volunteer speaks about hawk migration and identification, and what we do here at the GGRO. Conditions permitting, a banding volunteer will bring up a newly banded hawk, talk about the banding program, and release the hawk in front of the crowd. ...
Where: SausalitoCost: Free
Monday, 09/09/19
Population III Star Formation and the Cosmic 21-cm Background The first generation of stars to have formed in the universe were likely very different than the stars we observe today. These Population III stars formed from pristine gas with no metals, and their formation was crucial to the early evolution of galaxies. While we have yet to observe a ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Optoelectronic Properties of Hybrid Halide Perovskites from First PrinciplesPerovskites are a family of materials with unparalleled chemical and structural diversity that underpin a tremendous range of functionalities [1]. Their versatility often pushes the boundaries of chemical intuition, but also promises immense opportunity for materials design and discovery. In particular, organic-inorganic metal-halide perovskites have recently emerged as one of ...
Exploiting the Malleability of Disorder to Design Biologically-Inspired FunctionThe complexity of living systems poses a formidable challenge to physical scientists interested in biology. I will discuss one theoretical approach towards gaining possible insight into biological phenomena: to design systems to exhibit similar phenomena. To do so, we start with systems with complex energy/cost landscapes, which have far more ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Building Trust in the Black Box: An Introduction to AI ExplainabilityIn recent years, the themes of transparency and trust have become increasingly central to the way that humans develop, manage, regulate, and monitor ML technologies. It is clear that now more than ever stakeholders need tools to detect model bias and understand model behavior. At Fiddler Labs, we're building a ...
After 50 years of promises and potential, robots are beginning to leave the lab to live in the wild with us. But how should we coexist with these intelligent, autonomous machines? In this lecture, Dr. Madeline Gannon discusses how art and technology are merging to forge new futures for human-robot ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Searching for Needles in an Ancient Haystack: Environmental DNA from Pleistocene PermafrostYou shed DNA constantly everywhere you go… as do all other animals, plants, bacteria and fungi - we refer to this ‘shed’ DNA as environmental DNA (eDNA). Because all organisms shed DNA into their environments, ecosystem-level monitoring can take place with a single method, making eDNA an emerging frontier in ...
Where: Santa CruzCost: Free
Mapping the Universe: The Sloan Digital Sky SurveyThe Sloan Digital Sky Survey is an unprecedented all-sky spectroscopic survey of over six million objects. It is designed to decode the history of the Milky Way galaxy, trace the emergence of the chemical elements, reveal the inner workings of stars, and investigate the origin of planets. SDSS will also create ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $15 General, $12 Members and Seniors
Rainforest Action Network, www.ran.org, has been fighting for people and planet for 30 years. Communications Director Christopher Herrera will share how RAN takes on some of the biggest causes of climate change and forest destruction - including current campaigns targeting the palm oil industry, the fossil fuel industry, and even the Tokyo ...
Genetic engineering of plants is at the core of sustainability efforts, natural product synthesis, and agricultural crop engineering. The plant cell wall is a barrier that limits the ease and throughput with which exogenous biomolecules can be delivered to plants. Current delivery methods either suffer from host range limitations, low ...
Why Do Dark Matter Haloes Die Together? The Causes of Halo Assembly Bias at Galaxy Masses At a constant mass, old dark matter haloes and young dark matter haloes cluster differently from one another. This fact, known as "assembly bias," severely complicates the construction of mock catalogues and serves as a major challenge for structure formation models. In this talk, I test and synthesize the many ...
Everyone knows someone who’s survived cancer. But no one knows anyone who’s survived Alzheimer’s - until now. Alzheimer’s disease is a global pandemic and the third leading cause of death in the United States. Of the 326 million Americans currently living, approximately 45 million will develop Alzheimer's disease during their ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $20 General, $10 Members, $8 Students
Odd Salon: EphphanySpeakers:Muriel Gordon ~ Ferris’ Wheel and the World’s Fair: Transforming a Generation of AmericansLilia Gutnik - A Smokejumper’s Guide to Fighting Fire with FireAaron Laycook ~ Filippo Di Ser Brunellesco and the Invention of Linear PerspectiveMark Linsey ~ Katharine Briggs & Isabel Meyers: Creators of the World’s Most popular Personality ...
Scientists can spend theirentire career on a single idea, or elaborate experiment, and never find anything new. But if they make a significant breakthrough and discover what they have been looking for, they can win the ultimate prize: the Nobel Prize.Is the Nobel Prize, and any other high-profile recognition, a ...
Where: Menlo ParkCost: Free
Free Bay Currents Talk: The Curious World of SeaweedJoin artist/naturalist Josie Iselin as she introduces her newest book, focused on ecological relationships of these colorful marine algae. This seventh book illustrated by Josie’s unique art brings to life the roles of seaweeds as marine engineers and providers of habitat vital to life on the Pacific's edge. Refreshments 7 PM, ...
7:00-7:25: Stephen Auger (Media Artist) and Benjamin Smarr(UC Berkeley/ Neuroscience) on "Interstellar Hallucination"Visualization of patterns that inform nearly all shamanic and archaic traditions...Read more7:25-7:50: Anja Ulfeldt(Media Artist) on "Subjective Infrastructure: Experiential art employing civic, domestic, and personal infrastructure as it relates to physical and auditory experience."Art that ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free
How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common ProblemsRandall Patrick Munroe is an American cartoonist, author, scientific theorist, and creator of the webcomic xkcd - primarily a stick figure comic with themes in computer science, technology, mathematics, science, philosophy, language, pop culture, romance, and physics. The popularity of xkcd among science fiction fans resulted in Munroe being nominated ...
Monterey Bay is subject to seasonal dinoflagellate blooms, many of which are harmful. These blooms were so dominant during 2004 - 2007 that this period was called the “age of dinoflagellates.” From mid-2017 through 2019, a diversity of dinoflagellates returned to dominate the phytoplankton biomass.To quantify bloom development at high ...
Where: Moss LandingCost: Free
CITRIS Research Exchange: Why are there Brakes on a Car?Drawing from examples from a career in regulated industries like operational healthcare, finance and government, this talk will focus on how controls, discipline, and boundaries in tech aren't just good for privacy and security - they can actually help us move fast.Speaker: Jutta Williams, Facebook
Daniel Ducat is an assistant professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. His lab is interested in using engineering and synthetic approaches to examine the biology and biotechnological application of these intriguing bacteria. He earned his Ph.D. in Molecular and Cell Biology at Johns Hopkins University.
'The Pollinators'Thousands of semi-trailers crisscross the country in the dead of night delivering goods through the darkness to stores, warehouses and factories nationwide. But some of them carry an unsuspected and highly unusual cargo. Honey bees. Tens of billions of them are transported back and forth from one end of the ...
Climate change requires urgent action. Regular tracking of the actions by the various actors is necessary to evaluate how far the world is progressing to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change to hold global average temperature increase well below 2°C and to make efforts to hold ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Why Cannabis? Why CBD? Why Now?Join two leading experts in the field for presentations on the changing cultural landscape around cannabis and CBD. Presentations will be followed by a moderated discussion and Q&A led by Eric Siegel.Speakers: Dr. Josh Meisel, Humboldt State University; Martin Lee, Project CBD
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Thursday, 09/12/19
Climate Smart San JoseAdopted in 2018, Climate Smart San Jose has been a national example of how local cities can address climate change and resiliency by promoting ways to reduce air pollution, save water and create a stronger and healthier community. In the year after its adoption, the city has enacted numerous new ...
Where: San JoseCost: $10 General, Free for members
Software Beyond the ScreenSoftware has had an amazing decade, as it has transitioned from desktop computers into the cloud and onto smartphones. The next decade will focus on software making an even more important jump: moving beyond the screen and into the real world around us.In his talk, Sunil Nagaraj will explore how software ...
What’s funny? The things that tickle our funny bones can range from puns and jokes, to pranks, irony, and whimsical illustration. Experience all of this at After Dark: Humor Mesift through the research on the science of laughter and humor and seek out the humor woven into many of our ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: 17.95 advance, 19.95 door, AD members free
How can scientists tap into a spirit of exploration and inspire bold dreams for young people especially young women to engage with science and engineering? From the top of Mt. Everest to the Moon and Mars, this SciComm Studio event is all about turning everyone into an explorer.Meet women whose ...
Potatoes are often invisible one one’s plate. Not considered an exotic, it has been a food you can rely on to soothe your soul and stomach. Many have claimed its origin, due to its capacity to keep people alive in so many diverse environments. But its origin history begins 10,000 ...
Successful Skepticism: Creating Lasting CommunityWe often look at youth as a source of hope for the future: we want them to be less prejudiced, more equitable, able to tell right from wrong and better equipped to build a better world. As Skeptics, we often tell ourselves that critical thinking and ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Friday, 09/13/19
King Swett Hike - Bay Area Ridge TrailJoin us for a hike on the King-Swett Ranches. This Solano Land Trust property is a protected expanse of hills and valleys between the cities of Vallejo, Benicia and Fairfield. This nearly 4000 acre expanse is only open on docent led hikes and includes a section of the Bay Area ...
Dark energy and the Hubble constant with standard candles and standard clocks In this talk, I will summarise our recent results on constraining dark energy and measuring the local expansion rate, i.e. the Hubble constant, with Type Ia supernovae and gravitationally lensed transients. Despite growing evidence of accelerated expansion of the universe, the physical mechanism driving this phenomenon is poorly understood. Using ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Adult Night Hike and Sip: Harvest MoonThe journey begins at sunset from the Center into the beautiful surrounding redwood forest. The 4-5 mile hike will be lit by the light of the moon. Along the way, you’ll learn about the local history and ecology of the forest and hear interesting stories and facts about the harvest ...
Where: OaklandCost: $30 General, $20 Member
Green FridayJoin Laura Cunningham for a presentation with her artwork, photos, and research on the ecology and management of Point Reyes National Seashore. An ongoing National Park Service General Management Plan revision is ongoing, and public comments are welcome, for Point Reyes National Seashore and the northern portion of Golden Gate ...
Quantum mechanics, the physics of the very small, is the most accurate and far-reaching theory in science. (Bear in mind: theory is as good as it gets in science!) Still, physicists themselves admit that they don't fully understand the quantum world. Caltech physicist and New York Times best-selling author Sean Carroll suggests that we do have a very ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free
Film screenings: 'California on Fire' & 'Wilder Than Wild'CALIFORNIA ON FIRE screeningQ&A with Jeff FrostWILDER THAN WILDA one-hour documentary that reveals how fire suppression and climate change have exposed our forests and wildland-urban landscapes to large, high-severity wildfires, and explores strategies to mitigate the impact of these fires.Producers Stephen Most and Kevin White will be joining us for ...
Where: ValejoCost: Free
Saturday, 09/14/19
Hayward Fault Walking TourOver the last million years, the natural beauty of Fremont has been shaped by the Hayward Fault. Instructors will be leading these 'ground breaking' tours and exposing the science and beauty of the Hayward Fault. This fault is one of several active faults in the world actually creeping at 5 ...
Where: FremontCost: $15 adults
8th Wine Country Nature & Optics FestivalThe 8th annual "Wine Country Nature and Optics Festival" will be focused on the black bears and a wide range of fascinating nature organizations representing fauna, flora, fur, feathers, and family fun. Over 40 non-profits, optics companies, and artists will be tabling at this free public event on the plaza. Additional festival ...
Where: SonomaCost: Free
Princes of Plants, Trees of Life: How People Use PalmsPalms are the third-most economically important plant family, after grasses and legumes. But you'd never know it living here near the 38th parallel. Jason Dewees, palm expert at Flora Grubb Gardens and author of the award-winning Designing with Palms (Timber Press, 2018), will talk about the rich economic and cultural ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: $15 General, $10 Members (incl garden admission)
Golden Gate Raptor Observatory Hawk Talk & Raptor ReleaseThe Hawk Talk begins at noon, when a GGRO volunteer speaks about hawk migration and identification, and what we do here at the GGRO. Conditions permitting, a banding volunteer will bring up a newly banded hawk, talk about the banding program, and release the hawk in front of the crowd. ...
Where: SausalitoCost: Free
Sean Carroll: Quantum Worlds and the Emergence of Space-TimeQuantum mechanics is the most accurate and far-reaching theory in physics, yet physicists themselves readily admit that they don't understand it. But Caltech physicist and New York Times best-selling author Sean Carroll suggests that we do have a very promising way of understanding the mysteries of the quantum world.This event ...
Where: Palo AltoCost: $22 General, $15 Member, $8 Student
The Bigger Picture: A Brush with Nature - Artist ReceptionA show and sale of landscape paintings, a portion of the proceeds to be donated to the Open Space and Parks Fund of the Marin Community Foundation Free and open to the public.Chris Adessa and Thomas Wood are landscape painters in Marin County, California. Their work has supported nature-conservation organizations, ...
Where: SausalitoCost: Free
Trekking the ModelJoin a Ranger or docent on a guided tour of the Bay Model, a 1.5-acre hydraulic model of the San Francisco Bay and Delta. Discover the stories of the two major operations that took place at this location between 1942 - 2000.
Where: SausalitoCost: Free
Film Screenings: Wild ChildWild Child is a curated program for kids and families. Join us on an educational and inspirational journey from the cold Alaskan North, to the remote Karnali River in Western Nepal. We will learn about the importance of wolf and bison in our ecosystems and culture, and how anyone, regardless ...
Where: ValejoCost: Free
Adult Night Hike and Sip with Michael CharnofskyLed by East Bay Regional Park District and Chabot, join us for a special edition of Hike & Sip with special guest Michael Charnofsky. Michael has worked for over 20 years in outdoor science education as a Naturalist and he has served on the Board of the California Association of ...
Where: OaklandCost: $30 General, $27 Member
Full Moon Night HikeAre you interested in what animals come out after the sun goes down? Now is your chance to find out! Come join Youth Science Institute for a mild walk through Alum Rock Park, and discover who is waking up as the sun sets. This leisurely walk is suitable for all ...
Where: San JoseCost: $16
Exploring Pluto, Charon & the outer reaches of the solar systemIn 2015, the New Horizons spacecraft flew past icy Pluto and Charon and sent back the first images of these objects in the furthest outskirts of our solar system. I will review what we now know about Pluto and Charon, and how the study of these bodies has evolved. I'll ...
