The Road Ahead for Wireless Technology: Dreams and ChallengesWireless technology has enormous potential to change the way we live, work, and play. Future wireless networks will support Gigabit per second multimedia communication between people and devices with high reliability and uniform coverage indoors and out. Wireless technology will also enable smart and energy-efficient homes and buildings, automated highways ...
Rocky Mountain Institute's autumn 2011 Reinventing Fire will explore practical pathways for the U.S. to eliminate oil, coal, and nuclear energy by 2050 (and natural gas thereafter), led by business for profit. This ambitious synthesis integrates transportation, buildings, industry, and electricity-the sole sector previewed in this seminar. Four divergent electricity ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
The Beginning of the End of Nuclear Weapons?: Some Open Questions for Science and TechnologyStates have over the years developed and deployed weapons capable of destroying life on Earth. The international political situation has now changed: the strategic value of these weapons is declining and international leaders, including President Obama, have called for their eventual elimination. Easier said, of course, than ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Coopers Hawks and Local CreeksAll bird and nature lovers will enjoy hearing Allen Fish, director the Golden Gate Raptor Observatory, speak on "East Bay Cooper's Hawks -- Sentinel Species for Happy Urban Creeks." Free, all welcome, and delicious refreshments!
Where: AlbanyCost: Free
Free 3-Session Climate Action WorkshopPut the gloom and doom of climate change aside for a moment. Instead, imagine living in a resilient community where your bills are smaller, your air is clearer, and your personal and national security are protected. That world is possible, and the Ecology Center invites you to co-create it. Minimize ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Mark Kurlansky, Author of 'Cod' 'Salt' & 'A World Without Fish'Master storyteller Kurlansky asks the question – what would our world be like without fish? In his new children's book, he examines what's happening to the fish we commonly eat – tuna, salmon, cod, and swordfish and the domino effect it would have on our ecosystem if it disappeared in ...
Where: SaratogaCost: $12 Members; $20 Non-Members; $7 Students
The Power of Knowledge: Reversing Stress and Rapid Aging in Adults, Adolescents and ChildrenScientists agree that aging coincides with the accumulation of stress. Stress causes or worsens the negative effects of unnaturally rapid aging across all age groups, from children and adolescents to mature adults. All experience health, mental and family problems when they accumulate stress caused by unsuccessful adaptation to today's rapid ...
Vice, Virtue, and the Brain's Pleasure CircuitsUnderstanding the biological basis of pleasure leads us to fundamentally rethink the moral and legal aspects of addiction to drugs, food, sex, and gambling and the industries that manipulate these pleasures. Merging an evolutionary perspective with cutting-edge research in neuroscience, David Linden addresses provocative questions about the relationship between pleasure ...
Celebrated mountain man and National Geographic explorer Jonathan Waterman talks about his experience following the Colorado River from its high mountain sources to a dry mudflat just across the Mexican border. Illustrated with stunning photographs, his talk brings home the message that water, our most essential resource, will slip away ...
Dr. Eng Lim Goh oversees technical computing programs at SGI with the goal to develop the next generation computer architecture for the new many core era. His talk on high performance computing, storage and visualization applications will draw on examples from numerous fields, including:* Space: from star formation to black ...
Trapped-ion Quantum Information Experiments at NISTDr. David Wineland of NIST will give a Phsyics/Applied Physics colloquium on Tues., May 3, 2011 entitled, "Trapped-ion Quantum information Experiments at NIST"
Three experts will discuss the most common maladies of the digestive tract, such as belching, bloating and flatulence, heartburn, inflammatory bowel disease, constipation and dietary fiber intake, absorption of nutrients, and the effects of aging and medication on the digestive tract.Panel: Liz Lipski, Ph.D., C.C.N.Richard Auld, M.D.Len Saputo, M.D.Event Link
Where: San FranciscoCost: $20 General, $8 for Members, $7 Students
Healthy Kids, Healthy Lives: Adolescent Brain Development: Understanding Unique Opportunities for Early-Intervention & PreventionHealthy Kids, Healthy Lives: Adolescent Brain Development: Understanding Unique Opportunities for Early-Intervention & PreventionAdolescence is an exciting period of maturation that combines biological, behavioral and social changes, and brings with it an increased vulnerability in children. Families can use this window of opportunity to support their child's brain development, adjust the ...
Where: San FranciscoCost:
'Packing for Mars: Challenges and Oddities of a Human Mission to Mars' NRP Exploration Lecture Series 05.03.11The NRP Exploration Lecture Series presents, "Packing for Mars: Challenges and Oddities of a Human Mission to Mars" in Building 3 in the NASA Research Park. Mary Roach, author of "Packing for Mars" and Pascal Lee, planetary scientist with the SETI Institute and the Mars Institute, ...
Where: Mountain ViewCost:
Dobsonian Telescope MakingBuild a telescope the Dobson way. You will learn about John Dobson and his reflector telescopes, as well as how these telescopes work. You'll learn the step-by-step method for grinding and polishing the mirror, building the mount, and assembling a complete telescope. Seeing the rings of Saturn, the moons of ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $170 + materials & supplies
Humans now engage the Earth at Gaian scale. How did Earth and humans get to this state? Given how we got here, how should we proceed? Tim Flannery finds that the evolutionary perspective of Alfred Russell Wallace offers better guidance than the more familiar Darwinian version of evolution.Australian biologist Tim ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $10
The Science of Liberty – Coming of Age in the Milky Way Conversations at the Herbst: Timothy Ferris In Conversation With Roy EisenhardtTimothy Ferris is the author of twelve books including his most recent book The Science of Liberty. In this latest book Ferris argues that just as the scientific revolution rescued billions from poverty, fear, hunger, and disease, the enlightenment values ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $20 General, $18 Members
Wednesday, 05/04/11
Self-Optimizing Microprocessors: A Machine Learning ApproachAs each technology generation brings additional transistors, the computer industry hopes to convert these into performance growth by stamping out a greater number of cores on a die. On the one hand, in many environments, that seems like a lot of hope. On the other hand, ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free, $2 parking
Fast, Automated, 3D Modeling of Building InteriorsSpeaker: Avideh Zakhor, UC BerkeleyLive broadcast at mms://media.citris.berkeley.edu/webcast; Questions can be sent via Yahoo IM to username: citrisevents. The complete schedule for the spring semester is online at http://www.citris-uc.org/events/RE-spring2011. All talks may be viewed on our YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/citrisuc.
CSE is a rapidly growing multidisciplinary field that encompasses real-world complex applications (scientific, engineering, social, economic, policy), computational mathematics, and computer science and engineering. High performance computing (HPC), large-scale simulations, and scientific applications all play a central role in CSE. i4Science will focus mainly on smaller subset of CSE applications ...
Whether residing in low-earth orbit or traveling through interplanetary space, spacecraft must shield against environmental threats that could result in minor to catastrophic failure. One such threat is an impact by a meteoroid, which is a natural object ranging from 62 microns to meters in diameter that could cause either ...
Where: Mountain ViewCost: Free
Two Earthquakes in Christchurch, NZ: Lessons for CaliforniaUCB's own professor of architecture, Mary Comerio, visited Christchurch, New Zealand, after the September 2010 M7.1 earthquake and after its surprisingly damaging February 2011 M6.3 aftershock. She will talk about the tectonic setting of the two earthquakes and why the damage from the smaller one harbors important lessons for California. ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Thomas Friedman on Democracy and EnergyThomas Friedman is the foreign affairs columnist of the New York Times, a three-time Pulitzer Prize winner, and a best selling author. He covered the Middle East for the NYTimes during recent events.
Where: StanfordCost: $10 General, Students Free
Dr. Tim Flannery, Author of 'Here on Earth: A Natural History of the Planet'Professor of Science at Maquarie University, Chair of the Copenhagen Climate Council & Author of "Here on Earth: A Natural History of the Planet"According to Jared Diamond, "Tim Flannery's books have made him the rock star of modern science". An internationally acclaimed scientist, explorer, and conservationist, Flannery explores the transformation ...
Bill Joy joined KPCB in 2005 as a partner in KPCB's Greentech Practice. He helped develop KPCB's strategy of funding game-changing technologies broadly addressing the twin problems of climate change and sustainability. He is working broadly on ventures in areas such as wind, solar and thermoelectric power generation; low-cost electrical ...
The Hawaiian Islands are >4100 km from the nearest continental landmass; the islands of French Polynesia are > 4800km. Yet, organisms managed to cover these huge distances to establish on the world's most remote islands. How did they get there? I will be looking at organisms that have naturally (before ...
The Americorn Way: An Analysis of the Consumption and Dependency on Corn in the United StatesPerspectives such as immigration, seed diversity, history of American agriculture, agricultural economics, and biofuels will be viewed through a "corn lens" in order to provide frameworks for the Berkeley campus and community to consider. Everyone is welcome to attend. There will be time for questions and ...
This talk will review the exciting current trends and future directions in ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) to enable a Smarter Planet. The implication for society, ICT workforce, and technical education will be explored. With an anemic economic recovery underway and globalization concerns creating uncertainty, community-minded ICT educators should take ...
CSE is a rapidly growing multidisciplinary field that encompasses real-world complex applications (scientific, engineering, social, economic, policy), computational mathematics, and computer science and engineering. High performance computing (HPC), large-scale simulations, and scientific applications all play a central role in CSE. i4Science will focus mainly on smaller subset of CSE applications ...
The Redwood Center for Theoretical Neuroscience is a group of theorists consisting of faculty, postdocs and graduate students. The goal is to develop mathematical and computational models of the underlying neurobiological mechanisms involved in perception, cognition, learning, and motor function. The center collaborates with experimental neuroscience labs in the design ...
Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion can exploit natural temperature gradients in the oceans to generate usable forms of energy (for example, cost-competitive baseload electricity in tropical regions such as Hawaii) free from fossil fuel consumption and global warming emissions.The #1 acknowledged challenge of constructing an OTEC plant is the Cold Water ...
Where: Palo AltoCost: Free
Cafe InquiryMeet up with rationalists, skeptics, and freethinkers south of San Francisco. Beers and Books is a social event co-hosted by the Center for Inquiry|San Francisco. We'll meet at Cafe Borrone http://www.cafeboronne.com/ between Kepler's Books and the British Banker's Club! Look for the black balloon.
A cutting-edge evening series for adultsThe first Thursday of every month6:00–10:00 p.m.Featuring Artists Miwa Matreyek, Caroline Brown and Bryan Lence, Nate Boyce, Paul Clipson, and Tracey SnellingJoin us for an exploration of new frontiers in film-where cinematic artworks range beyond the screen to encompass unique combinations of animation, objects, and ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $15 General, Free for Members
Dinner, Movie and the Universe: Rub Elbows with the StarsJoin us Friday* and Saturday evenings for Chabot's evening social rendezvous: Dinner, A Movie, and the Universe. Enjoy a chef-prepared dinner, as part of a unique after-dark experience at the Center. From your table, take in the views of Chabot's telescope ...
Where: OaklandCost:
Open House: Net Zero Energy Backyard CottageBack by special demand! We will be exploring the potential of secondary units for infill development in this open house, followed by an expert panel at Wurster Hall. The Delaware Cottage, winner of the Diablo Magazine Eco Award, comes out of an energy-efficient design by a team of city and ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
The Incredible Human Body with Science Smart KidsIn"The Incredible Human Body", children ages 7 - 12 can explore the amazing human body-from the skin (the body's largest organ) down to the bones of the human skeleton. Theywill learn about how food is digested, how the brain makes sense of the information brought in through the 5 senses, ...
Join Mary Roach to celebrate the release of the paperback version of Packing for Mars. Ms. Roach is a columnist and popular science writer and author of previous books Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife, and Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex.
Bedtime with the Beasts is a special overnight program for youth groups (ages 6-18) and their chaperones. An Oakland Zoo education specialist will lead your group on an evening hike around the zoo where you'll get a look at what the zoo is like after all of the guests leave. ...
There's a scientific revolution occurring today in the branch of astrophysics called cosmology, and it's revealing our true cosmic context. The meaning of this earthshaking discovery could transform our minds and thus our world.Two cutting-edge thinkers - one a cultural philosopher and the other a leading astrophysicist - combine their ...
Where: San MateoCost: Free
Come to Foothill Observatory and join us in the exploration of our Universe!Foothill Observatory Friday Evening ProgramCome to Foothill Observatory and join us in the exploration of our Universe!Foothill Observatory is open for public viewing every clear Friday evening from 9:00 p.m. until 11:00 p.m. Visitors can view the wonders of the universe through the observatory's new computer-controlled 16-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope. Views ...
Where: Los Altos HillsCost:
Saturday, 05/07/11
Solar ObservingRequest a parking pass from the Park Ranger at the entrance booth and/or read and adhere to the parks admission policies posted at the gate. (You will be charged the "Day Use" fee of $8.00 and receive a parking pass.) Failure to do so will result in a parking fine.
If you have ever wished to learn more about the amazing sharks, crabs, fish and sea stars from the Bay and nearshore ...
Where: Redwood CityCost: Free
The Incredible Human Body with Science Smart KidsIn"The Incredible Human Body", children ages 7 - 12 can explore the amazing human body-from the skin (the body's largest organ) down to the bones of the human skeleton. Theywill learn about how food is digested, how the brain makes sense of the information brought in through the 5 senses, ...
Where: San JoseCost: Free
Mt Tam Astronomy Program - Tiny Moons Around Small AsteroidsImmerse yourself in the universe! FREE public lecture "Tiny Moons Around Small Asteroids" by Dr. Franck Marchis of the SETI Institute and UC Berkeley in the Mountain Theatre on Mt Tam at 8:30pm followed by telescope viewing in the Rock Spring Parking Lot. Sponsored by the Mount Tamalpais State Park. ...