Many events are being cancelled due to concerns related to COVID-19. While we strive to make sure information here is accurate, please check the host's website for up to date event details.
Drive for the Nobel PrizeSince 2012 the Center for Japanese Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, and the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science have co-sponsored annual international symposiums on a variety of topics concerning research on Japan. This year the symposium, Drive for the Nobel Prize, will be examining Nobel-caliber research at Berkeley and in Asia.The ...
This seminar will discuss two different topics: unmanned system control and diagnostics, both of which are fundamentally related to autonomy.First, I will discuss some interesting aspects of dynamics and control of unmanned surface vehicles including the development of a novel control algorithm. Also discussed will be my experience with RobotX, ...
Steve Cousins is CEO of Savioke. He is passionate about building and deploying robotic technology to help people. Before founding Savioke, he was the President and CEO of Willow Garage, where he oversaw the creation of the robot operating system (ROS), the PR2 robot, and the open source TurtleBot. Steve ...
India, with one of the fastest growths in energy demand and emissions, and some of the most ambitious renewable energy targets in the world, is in the midst of an enormous energy transition. In this presentation, Ranjit will share results from sections of his dissertation on analyzing India’s future low ...
The Russia Hack and the Challenge to American DemocracyWhen the F.B.I. called the Democratic National Committee in early fall 2015 and said they suspected a foreign state was inside the D.N.C.’s computers, few paid attention or thought it was anything out of the ordinary. Two years later, we regard it as a defining moment in the use of ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Climate Change: The Defining Health Challenge and Opportunity of the 21st CenturyClimate change impacts human health directly and indirectly and no country is immune to its effects. The 2015 Lancet Commission concluded that anthropogenic climate change threatens to undermine the last 50 years of gains in public health. More hopefully, the Commission also agreed that a comprehensive response to climate change ...
From the director of Chasing Ice comes an epic adventure to capture our changing oceans.Coral reefs around the world are vanishing at an unprecedented rate. A team of divers, photographers, and scientists set out on a thrilling ocean adventure to discover why and to reveal the underwater mystery to the world.With its ...
A noted science communicator, Foley’s presentations on global environmental issues have been featured at hundreds of venues, including the Aspen Environmental Forum and TED. Foley leads the greenest museum on the planet and one of the most future-focused scientific institutions in the world.He has also written many popular articles, op-eds, ...
How can you tell what’s fact and what’s fake when it comes to science? Join biological anthropologist Todd Disotell for an evening separating the factual from the fantastical. Dr. Disotell uses DNA evidence to test hypotheses on everything from the intricacies of our evolution to the existence of “Bigfoot.” His ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $10
Women in Science: A Panel Discussion Exploring Gender in Scientific FieldsOur next Café Sci will explore the topic of gender in science with three female scientists from a variety of backgrounds. The presenters will include Janet Gunzer-Toste, PhD, Senior Project Manager at Genentech; Megan Jensen, PhD, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Hopkins Marine Station Stanford University; and Patricia Burchat, PhD, ...
Where: Palo AltoCost: Free
Learning with limited supervisionMany of the recent successes of machine learning have been characterized by the availability of large quantities of labeled data. Nonetheless, we observe that humans are often able to learn with very few labeled examples or with only high level instructions for how a task should be performed. In this ...
Where: Santa ClaraCost: $5 General, Free for members
Today, “artificial intelligence” seems to be everywhere - in our phones, vacuums, hospitals, and inboxes - but it can be hard to separate science fiction from science fact. Many discussions about AI imagine a fully autonomous superintelligence that designs itself with little to no human intervention, making decisions in ways that ...
Where: AlbanyCost: Free
Thursday, 11/02/17
Exploring the Nano-World with Electrons - SOLD OUTCome and explore the inner workings of a cell! See how electron microscopes are used to peer deep into the world around us and even our very own cells. Look at the building blocks of life: DNA, RNA, proteins, and lipids, and see how they combine to form a cell. ...
Drop by our art study centers on Free First Thursday for an up-close look at treasures from the BAMPFA collections, laid out on the five tables in the seminar area. UC Berkeley scientists give us their take on a nonrandom selection of art from our collections. Works on view might ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Gold Foams as Advanced Biomedical Device CoatingsNanostructured materials offer tremendous opportunities for engineering advanced device components for diagnostic and therapeutic applications. Nanoporous gold (np-Au), produced by a nano-scale self-assembly process, is a relatively new material and has mostly attracted attention for catalyst applications due to its high effective surface area, electrical conductivity, and ease of surface ...
This series explores the connections between great leadership and the actual achievement of sustainability and wellbeing for everyone, across generations.Speaker: Kate Brands, Google
The human world population is projected to reach 9.8 billion by the year 2050, according to the United Nations. To prepare for growing demands on increasingly limited resources, scientists are researching new and sustainable sources of nutrition. Insects, seaweed, and overlooked crops are on the menu, as well as 3D-printed ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: 17.95 advance, 19.95 door, AD members free
Cafe InquiryMeet up with rationalists, skeptics, and freethinkers south of San Francisco
Where: Menlo ParkCost: Free
Design Lab NightLifeScience and art unite! This week, NightLife partners with the California College of the Arts to explore the many ways design impacts lives, culture, and science.Explore innovative ideas in fields from industrial and interaction design to illustration and architecture when African Hall transforms into a gallery full of projects, games, ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $15 General, $12 Members
Astronomy Night: Are We Alone? Searching for Cosmic CompanyJoin us for our monthly Astro Night series at UC Berkeley! This month, come learn all about the search for intelligent life in the Universe. After, you are invited on our rooftop for stargazing and a grew view of the city!Speaker: Steve Croft, SETI
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Wonderfest - Pleasure vs. Happiness: The Neuroscience & Sociology of Two GoodsThe Declaration of Independence proclaims our right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," but not to the pursuit of pleasure. What is the neurological difference between these two positive emotions of happiness and pleasure? Has society's exploitation of pleasure systematically weakened our grasp on happiness? What has caused the ...
Former chairman of the Sierra Club and co-author of the new book, Climate of Hope, Carl Pope will present an evening of environmental insights and inspiration. Climate of Hope, a collaborative effort between Pope and former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, elicits hope and motivation regarding the power of cities, ...
Where: Palo AltoCost: $10
Friday, 11/03/17
How to Work with Local Govt's: A Workshop for BiologistsBiologists are familiar in working within or alongside state and federal agencies, but knowing a local government's involvement in wildlife management is key. This 2-day workshop goes into the steps it takes to coordinate with municipal, county, special district, and joint powers authorities as a consultant, conservationist, agency biologist, or ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: $295
Birds & BotanyHike 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 seasonal interplay between bird foods, habitat history and current activity ...
Where: GeyservilleCost: Free
First Friday Family Night at CuriOdysseyFamilies with small children can swing into the weekend with music, science, food and fun! On the first Friday of every month, from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m., parents and kids celebrate together at CuriOdyssey. Dance to live music including soul, funk and jazz of the 60’s and 70’s. Purchase ...
Where: San MateoCost: $12.50-9.50 / Free with Admission / Members Free
Sunset/Full Moon Walk to the Point Bonita LighthouseJoin park staff and docents for a tour down the Point Bonita Trail, through the hand carved tunnel and out to the Lighthouse. We will walk along a half-mile trail which is steep in places. Arrive early as parking is limited. Meet at the Point Bonita Lighthouse trailhead. Dress warmly ...
Where: SausalitoCost: Free
The Aging Brain, and the Early Detection of Alzheimer’s DiseaseOver the past several decades, new tools have been developed for understanding brain function, structure and chemistry. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has enabled us to understand how the brain forms memories, explaining a complex neural system that works together to encode experiences so that they can be later remembered. ...
Where: OaklandCost: $26 General, $23 Members, $30 at door
Are Red Dwarf Planets Habitable?Most of the news about exoplanets this past year has revolved around the discovery of “Earth-sized” planets in the “habitable zone” of "red dwarf" stars. This is partly due to the fact that such planets are more easily found, partly because most stars are red dwarfs (cooler and smaller than ...
New York Times bestselling author David Eagleman takes his Emmy-nominated PBS series The Brain to the next level. Teaming up with award-winning composer Anthony Brandt, Eagleman unravels the complicated neuroscience behind how creativity works.Remaking, reshaping, and reimagining the world is a uniquely human act. Observing brain-functions and thought-processes, big and ...
Where: Menlo ParkCost: $25
Saturday, 11/04/17
History of the Headlands HikeExplore the natural and cultural history of the Marin Headlands on an engaging naturalist led hike! Learn about the plants, animals, minerals and people that have inhabited this national park. Fun for all ages and fitness levels.To register see weblink
Where: SausalitoCost: Free
Salt Marsh Walk - FremontTake a walk with docent Gregg Aronson around the wetlands of the wildlife refuge and learn about their history. See examples of salt collection ponds and learn what is being done to convert them back to their original, natural salt marsh state. Hear how wildlife is affected by the two types of habitat, and why it ...
Where: FremontCost: Free
Fish DaysLearn about fresh water fish that are found in local ponds and rivers. Games show native and non native fish and how they arrived at Tule Ponds. Compare fishing ponds for people versus fishing ponds for wildlife. Explore how the early peoples of area went fishing as well as the ...
Where: FremontCost: Free
Trekking the ModelJoin a ranger 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 to 2000.
Where: SausalitoCost: Free
Science on Saturday: 3D Printing: From Imagination to RealizationRevolutionary changes to materials and structures are now possible with 3D printing, bringing concepts that were previously only imagined into reality. In conventional manufacturing processes, such as machining, material is typically removed. Additive manufacturing (AM), commonly known as 3D printing, is a breakthrough technology which fabricates components by adding material ...
Where: OaklandCost: Free with admission
Full Moon Oyster BioBlitzJoin our friends at WhollyH20 for a full moon citizen science Oyster BioBlitz at Pt. Pinole Regional Park in Richmond. We'll be measuring and counting oysters during the full moon low tide, together with The Watershed Project.This event is part of a project to BioBlitz the Wildcat Creek watershed from ...
Water is widely believed to be the key to the existence of life. Water was discovered in the interstellar space in 1969, and is now known to be wide-spread in the universe, from nearby star-forming regions to distant galaxies. Dr. Kaufman will discuss how we study water in the space.Lecture: 7:00 - 8:00, stargazing until 10:00
Where: San JoseCost: Free
Sunday, 11/05/17
Grand Tour of the Modini MayacamasJoin this Grand Tour of the Modini Mayacamas, including the best views, with veteran hike leader and retired Engineering Geologist Simon Lowings. The route is about 7.5 miles long, with an elevation gain of approximately 1,000 feet, on trails over fairly rough terrain. The hike will be moderately strenuous. We’ll ...
Where: GeyservilleCost: $20 suggested donation
Hands On Science: Explore what you EatExplore what you eat: do you know about the biology, chemistry, physics and even math of your food? Get hands-on with science to find out! Join Cal scientists for some fun, food-related investigations at East Bay farmers’ markets during the Bay Area Science Festival.
Where: OaklandCost: Free
Surgical Tools and TechniquesGet the scoop on surgery from members of the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN). These fascinating demonstrations will illustrate lifesaving surgical tools and techniques. Come perform surgery on a pumpkin - using real instruments to remove slippery gummi bears and worms!
Lithium (Li) has long been known to be the best anode material for rechargeable batteries, however, lithium metal batteries (LMB) have never been successfully used in rechargeable applications due to dendrite formation, resulting in thermal runaway and fire or explosion. During charging, Li ions nonuniformly deposit onto the Li anode ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
Bill Nye: Science GuySifting through the Trump administration’s misleading statements on climate change can be a daunting task. That’s where scientist Bill Nye comes in. The Science Guy is on a quest to set the record straight when it comes to anti-scientific thinking and climate denial.A new documentary, Bill Nye: Science Guy, chronicles the ...
Modern cosmological data enables extensive tests of the degrees of freedom and interactions operating nearly 14 billion years ago. We will show how a basic feature of quantum field theory -- enhancement of multipoint correlations -- enables a substantial improvement on our ability to constrain this early universe dynamics. The ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS AND MATERIALS SCIENCEFrances Hellman will describe the developement of a series of experiments based on MEMS "lab-on-a-chip" devices utilizing a silicon nitride membrane as a thermal isolation platform which allows us to study orders of magnitude smaller sample sizes than other available thermodynamic measurements such as thin films (as thin as 20nm), ...
Where: Rohnert ParkCost: Free
Risk aware multi-objective planning for mobile roboticsRobotics is experiencing a period of explosive growth in academia and industry. As robots are assigned more and more complex tasks to be performed in a variety of situations, it becomes essential being able to pursue multiple objectives at once while coping with uncertainty and possible failures. In this talk I ...
Tech startups and the gasfields seem worlds apart. Today’s top oil and gas industry executives are seeking innovative solutions from the world’s brightest minds in technology, but they don’t always speak the same language. Tech companies need to sell into a well-established, risk averse industry. On the flip side, natural ...