Galaxies in the balance Over the past decade a quiet revolution has taken place in our picture of galaxy evolution. Rather than evolving through violent mergers, galaxies live quiet lives on narrow scaling relations. This is explained elegantly by the so-called "equilibrium model" of galaxy formation. I will present results from a simple extension ...
The Universe in a NutshellThe talk by Dr. Wim Leemans has been cancelled due to a conflict and will be scheduled for a future semester. In its place, we will present two videos: an appearance by Brian Greene on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert; and "The Universe in a Nutshell" with Michio Kaku. ...
Energy efficiency -- economically efficient reductions in energy use – supports three goals fundamental to US energy policy: the health and growth of the economy, the domestic and international environment, and domestic and international security. Although barriers still keep the United States from full implementation of energy efficient options, energy efficiency ...
The Internet provides developers of connected software, including web sites, applications, and devices, an unprecedented opportunity to accelerate innovation by evaluating ideas quickly and accurately using trustworthy controlled experiments (e.g., A/B tests and their generalizations). From front-end user interface changes to backend recommendation systems and relevance algorithms, from search engines ...
Where: San JoseCost: Free
Nerd Night East BayNerd Nite East Bay returns to the last Monday of the month in November. We'll shake you out of your turkey-day food coma with a presentation that was voted as one of the best from Nerd Nite New York: David Shuff will recall the rise and fall of Disney's 20,000 ...
At our meeting grounds under the Muir Woods archway, we catch our first glimpse of Redwood Creek. We will make our way upstream keeping an eye and ear open for the coho salmon. This tour is part of a series, and as the weather changes so too will the tour. ...
Where: Mill ValleyCost: Free
Power laws, predictable evolution, and the limits of lifeA central question in understanding the possibilities for life in the universe is what fundamental constraints and tradeoffs organize evolution. In this talk Dr. Kempes will discuss how power-laws in biology highlight common underlying constraints––often basic physical laws––across the diversity of life on our planet. He will then describe how ...
Where: Mountain ViewCost: Free
A Physics Quest for Energy Efficiency In Future Computing TechnologiesAs computing becomes increasingly pervasive in our daily life, it is generally recognized that energy efficiency will be one of the key design considerations for any future computing scheme. Consequently, significant research is currently ongoing on exploring new physics, material systems and system level designs to improve energy efficiency.In this ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
Pope Francis: Climate Change and the PoorWeare will discuss Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato Si': On Care for Our Common Home, which offers a moral argument on climate change that also includes a profound concern for the poor as a teaching on both global warming and global poverty. He describes Pope Francis' focus on the moral dimensions ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $20 General, $8 Members, $7 Students
California Mushrooms: A Talk with Dr. Dennis Desjardin Please join us in the library for a talk on California Mushrooms by Dr. Dennis Desjardin, Professor of Mycology in the Biology Department at San Francisco State University. Desjardin will highlight California's amazingly diverse population of mushrooms including when and where to find mushrooms, how to collect and identify ...
Off Ramp Oddballs An A-Z Road Map of California's QuirksCome explore California's own eccentric attractions, unnatural ironic wonders and mom and pop monster museums! Follow Doug Kirby's (literal) map from courteous cults, unsung inventors and scorpion shops to tiny tourist traps and rousing regional roadside oddities, all a short, sometimes ...
Where: NovatoCost: $5
Wednesday, 12/02/15
Free First WednesdayFree museum admission all day, to anyone from anywhere, at Bay Area Discovery Museum
Where: SausalitoCost: Free
Waterfowl Walk at Lake Merritt (California Center for Natural History)>Winter is coming and waterfowl are returning to Lake Merritt! The close-up views that can be had here make it a great place to learn duck identification. If you want to learn to tell a Canvasback from a Redhead and Scaup from Ring-necks, join the California Center for Natural History ...
Technology Tools for Data Mapping, Analysis, Visualization and CollaborationTyler Norris serves as Vice President, Total Health Partnerships at Kaiser Permanente. As a long time social entrepreneur, Tyler's mission is improving the health of people and the sustained vitality of built, natural, food, and social environments.Among his roles over the years: Tyler was founding President and CEO of Community ...
Ground-Penetrating Radar is a nondestructive geophysical surveying technique used increasingly in archaeological site assessment throughout the world. The technique has been very effective for characterizing features and strata at several sites in California and Oregon. These range from shell mounds and lithic sites to mission adobes and gold rush camps. ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Three talks at the Romberg Tiburon CenterCharles Wingert (Cochlan) The Effects of Ocean Acidification on Growth, Photosynthesis, and Domoic Acid Production by the Toxigenic Diatom, Pseudo-nitzschia australis Lindsay Faye (Stillman) Physiological effects of salinity and temperature increases in the San Francisco estuary on Phyllaplysia taylori Jennifer Souther (Stillman) As climate ...
Building the future with biology: A conversation about synthetic biologyThe emerging field of synthetic biology builds biotechnologies to meet societal challenges in areas like healthcare, energy, agriculture and the environment. By making biology easier to engineer, the field also connects to human values around science and technology. This Conversations about Synthetic Biology event will bring diverse community members together with synthetic ...
Where: BerkeleyCost:
Mushroom MadnessCome and learn what all the fuss is about mushrooms! Where do they hide out? What's their role in our local ecology? We'll focus on common fungal families and genera and learning to identify the larger mushroom species of the area. Our mushroom guru will be Christian Schwarz, co-author of ...
Where: OaklandCost: $15
Thursday, 12/03/15
Highly magnetic neutron stars: bewildering astrophysical laboratories and cosmological tools Anomalous X-ray Pulsars and Soft Gamma-Ray Repeaters (SGRs) are young neutron stars characterized by high X-ray quiescent luminosities, outbursts, and, in the case of SGRs, sporadic giant flares. They are believed to be magnetars, that is neutron stars powered by ultra-strong magnetic fields. However, the diversity of their behaviours, and, ...
After Dark: GlowExcite your atoms at After Dark: Glow, a festival of ebullient lights and subtle glows celebrating the close of the year. Bask in the mesmerizing gleams of special artworks and installations, take a shine to illuminating films and exhibits, and show your sparkle with scintillating activities. Featuring:Firmament by Christopher Schardt ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $15 General, $10 Members
Cafe InquiryMeet up with rationalists, skeptics, and freethinkers south of San FranciscoCafe Inquiry is a social event hosted by the Center for Inquiry|San Francisco. We'll meet at Café Borrone http://www.cafeborrone.com/ next to Kepler's Books. Look for CFI t-shirts.For more information or if you have questions please email sf@centerforinquiry.net ...
Channel your inner Jedi during an evening of galactic entertainment inspired by a galaxy far, far away.Noise Pop Performances ("Hoth" aka Piazza) 8:00-8:30 pm & 9:30-10:00 pm, Enjoy a DJ set by Johnny Hwin of SF's own Cathedrals.8:30-9:30 pm, Catch a live performance under falling snowflakes by Canadian indie-electronic duo HUMANS.Lightsaber Skills Workshop ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $12 General, $10 Members
Friday, 12/04/15
Birds and Botany HikeHike the forests, meadows and hills around Pine Flat and up Redhill with ACR Volunteer Patrick Woodworth & ACR Resource Ecologist Dave Self. We'll be watching (and listening) for birds on the hike out. After lunch, we'll botanize as we consider the interplay between bird foods and habitat history.Registration Required through the Modini ...
How do scientists learn what Bay Area birds are eating? Come see for yourself, as biologists from Point Blue Conservation Science invite visitors to watch them while they work. They'll be studying the diets of local cormorants by dissecting the indigestible pellets coughed up by these birds. Each pellet contains ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free with admission
'The Effect of Fuel Economy Standards on Vehicle Weight Dispersion and Accident Fatalities' The firm response to regulation is seldom as controversial as in the context of fuel economy standards, the dominant policy to reduce emissions from vehicles in the United States. It has long been argued that such standards lead to vehicle weight changes that increase accident fatalities. Using unconditional quantile regression, ...
Single-cell transcriptome sequencing (scRNA-Seq), which combines high-throughput single-cell extraction and sequencing capabilities, enables the transcriptome of large numbers of individual cells to be assayed efficiently. Profiling of gene expression at the single-cell level is crucial for addressing many biologically relevant questions, such as the investigation of rare cell types or primary ...
Migratory BirdsBirds migrate to warmer climate and stop by the San Francisco Bay Esturary. Tule Ponds is alive with birds that use this as a stopover and some of them call home.
Where: FremontCost: Free
Exploring the myths and facts about Black HolesIt is a non-technical talk about Black Holes. These are one of the most mysterious and fascinating objects in the Universe. If nothing can escape from black hole, not even the light, then how do we know that they exist in this universe!Free Parking after 6:00 in lot 6.
A talk for the Silicon Valley Skeptics. Ten years ago, the decision in Kitzmiller v Dover determined that Intelligent Design was a form of creationism, and thus unconstitutional to advocate in public schools, but what if the decision had gone the other way? What would have been the legal, political, ...
Free Public Stargazing at the Montgomery Hill ObservatoryEnjoy a free public stargazing event at the Montgomery Hill Observatory after the talk about Black Holes, during 8 pm – 10 pm. View the skies with our two observatories and several telescopes set out for the public. Kids learn how to use telescopes and identify objects in the sky!
Where: San JoseCost: Free
Saturday, 12/05/15
Inviting all Science Teachers: How to teach PCRAlways wanted to teach PCR? …Now you can!Learn how to teach the Alu PV92 Polymerase Chain Reaction Lab to your students• An introduction to teaching PCR: Tips and tricks for making the message stick• How to use common laboratory equipment: Pipettors, thermal cyclers, gel electrophoresis rigs, & more!• A walk-through ...
Where: San BrunoCost: Free to Science Teachers
Geology Hike with Iain Jamieson Led by Bouverie Preserve docent and retired geologist Iain Jamieson. Be prepared for a moderate hike with many stops to discuss the rock formations and geological history.Registration Required through the Modini Mayacamas Preserves Meetup page. Limit 15 participants.Bring Lunch, water, magnifying glass, binocularsMeet Iain and ACR Resource Ecologist Dave Self ...
Where: GeyservilleCost: Free
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
Teddy Bear Tea with Friends!It's tea time at Oakland Zoo and you are cordially invited! Bring an adult, bring your stuffie, and learn all about Meerkats. Enjoy a morning of snacks, activities, books and play while making and delivering an enrichment gift straight to the zoo's Meerkats. When the fun is done, your child ...
Where: OaklandCost: $12 - $26
The Delta, Where Two Rivers MeetHow did a collection of tranquil farming communities become a hot bed of contention? Is California on the brink of another Water War? Is life in the delta on the verge of collapse? It all depends on who you talk too. Meet Ranger Linda in the Delta section of the ...
Where: SausalitoCost: Free
'The Drunken Monkey': Why do we Drink?The holidays are a time for celebration. For many, these celebrations include drinking alcohol. But why do we drink? And why do we sometimes drink too much?According to Author Robert Dudley, the reason may have deeper roots than one might think.Dudley, a professor of Integrative Biology at the University of ...
Where: Pacific GroveCost: $5 General, Free for members
Headlands Nightlife: Family Night Hike & CampfireExplore the mysterious lifestyle of nocturnal animals that start their day just as you're going to bed! Learn about special adaptations that allow owls, bats, and other nighttime critters to hunt by moonlight. This program features an Environmental Science Educator led hike in the Marin Headlands. Our evening hikes are usually ...
Where: SausalitoCost: $12
Sunday, 12/06/15
Annual Fungus FairHands-on activities at the Fungus Fair include crafts, mushroom dyes, and do-it-your-self mushroom growing kits.We have many educational tables on varied subjects such as: Identification table - bring your specimens to find out what you found!medicinal mushroomsmyco-remediationcultivationecologylichenspsychedelic fungitoxicologymicroscopes and spore printsThere will be a naturalistic woodland display of more than 300 ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $10 General, $8 Students and 65+, $5 age 6-12
Come create your very own Ghost Heart!Decellularization is a tissue engineering technique designed to strip out all the cells from a donor organ, leaving nothing but the connective tissue that used to hold the cells in place. This scaffold of connective tissue - called a "ghost organ" for its pale ...
