Through Two Doors at OnceIn the early 1800s, Thomas Young performed a homespun experiment with a sunbeam split into two, and challenged our understanding of the nature of light. He had done the first ever double-slit experiment. With the birth of quantum mechanics, starting in the early 1900s, this experiment - now done with ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Feedback-driven outflows, from star-forming clouds to star-forming galaxiesStar formation "feedback" takes many forms, with the common feature that energy created by young stars is returned to the interstellar environment from which they were born, and that this strongly affects evolution of the surrounding gas on a range of scales. Radiation feedback (both ionizing and non-ionizing) from OB ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Signal Integrity and How It Fits in Your CareerThe large amount of processed digital information and the ever-increasing data rate create a dire need for signal integrity (SI) engineers. By 2021, the monthly global Internet traffic is predicted to reach 278 exabytes, the same amount of data if every individual in the world has a 32 GB IPod ...
Where: Rohnert ParkCost: Free
8th Annual San Francisco Green Film FestivalNumber of Films Forecast: 50 films in 8 daysNumber of Guest Speakers/Filmmakers Forecast: 100+ guest speakers including filmmakers, environmental experts, and global partners.Venues: Venues across San Francisco including Opening & Closing Nights at the Castro Theatre, with additional screenings at Cowell Theater at Fort Mason Center, YBCA, Koret Auditorium at ...
How do pets affect their humans? From mental health to microbiome, we are significantly altered by animals in our care. Explore the complex relationships between humans and our non-human companions at After Dark: Pets. And yes, there will be cute animals.Presentations Pets, People, and Personality With Heike Winterheld 7:30 p.m. ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: 17.95 advance, 19.95 door, AD members free
Cafe InquiryMeet up with rationalists, skeptics, and freethinkers south of San Francisco.Cafe Inquiry is a social event hosted by the Center for Inquiry|San Francisco.For more information or if you have questions please email sf@centerforinquiry.net
Where: Menlo ParkCost: Free
Fermented NightlifeTonight we’re breaking down the science of fermentation, showing you the chemical magic behind cider to kimchi and everything in-between.Co-presented by JCCSFDiscover fermented food traditions from around the world with a series of talks presented by the JCCSF: Mariko Grady of Aedan Fermented Foods will give a demo and talk ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $15 General, $12 Members
Astro Night: Fantastic Worlds and How to Find ThemSince the first exoplanet discovery in 1995, astronomers have discovered and characterized more than 4000 planets orbiting stars other than our own Sun. In this talk, I will take us on a tour of these thousands of unique and fascinating worlds discovered in the past 2 decades. I will discuss ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: f
Friday, 09/07/18
Beginner PhotographyThis class is for those who have an interest in getting better photographs with their cameras. It is designed to take beginners who are using the “Auto†mode most of the time and want to use the other features to improve their results. The approach will be to make the course ...
New Frontiers in Language Technology for Minority LanguagesProfessor Kevin Scannell (Computer Science, Saint Louis University) will discuss some of the challenges faced by minority language communities when developing advanced languages technologies such as machine translation and speech recognition, and strategies for meeting those challenges. Most of the talk will focus on Irish and Celtic languages, but will ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Bio-Inspired Metal-Coordination Crosslinking: Easy Access to Broad Dynamics When Engineering Polymer Gel MechanicsEfforts to engineer polymer material mechanics are increasingly coupled to the design of transient crosslink dynamics. We have sought to gain a deeper understanding of how polymer gel mechanical properties can be controlled over multiple hierarchical time-scales via design of bioinspired metal-coordinate crosslink structure on multiple length-scales. By ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Collaborative control and autonomy for traffic optimizationUrban and suburban communities are experiencing rapid growth in both population and density, adding considerable strain on transportation infrastructure. This in turn detracts from quality of life through the consequent increased commuter delays, energy consumption, and pollution associated with transit. While autonomous vehicle technology promises to improve traffic conditions through ...
Catalytic carbene transfer reactions commonly rely on diazoalkanes as storable precursors to reactive transition metal-bound carbenes. A well-established limitation of these reagents is their poor stability in the absence of electron-withdrawing substituents. As a consequence, there are few catalytic processes that are amenable to the use of non-stabilized carbene equivalents ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: 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
From STEM to STEAM: How an Engineer Wrote a Play How can software engineering inspire work in theater and film? After spending more than a decade at Hewlett Packard, learn how Susan Marie Frontczak’s background in engineering, math and performing arts helped her create an acclaimed living history portrayal of world-renowed scientist Marie Skłodowska Curie. Join ...
Where: Mountain ViewCost: Free
8th Annual San Francisco Green Film FestivalNumber of Films Forecast: 50 films in 8 daysNumber of Guest Speakers/Filmmakers Forecast: 100+ guest speakers including filmmakers, environmental experts, and global partners.Venues: Venues across San Francisco including Opening & Closing Nights at the Castro Theatre, with additional screenings at Cowell Theater at Fort Mason Center, YBCA, Koret Auditorium at ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $15 per screening
Green Glam SFGreen Glam SF: Live & Party Consciously...Are you fashionably mindful of our planet? Join us at the Green Glam SF to celebrate Community, our achievements and look forward to climate action!An official Affiliate Event of the Global Climate Action Summit 2018. Official, Elegant, Green!Join us!www.GreenGlamWorld.com
Where: San FranciscoCost: $40-500
Towards a Robotic Architecture: From 3-D Printing to Life on MarsDrawing from inspirations of Towards a Robotic Architecture (ORO Editions), this talk and presentation features Petr Novikov, Head of Research and Development at Asmbld, on the state-of-the-art technology that is being researched and developed to create buildings on the “Red Planet.â€Towards a Robotic Architecture presents a comprehensive overview of developments in ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: MI and AIA Members $10; Public $15
'Passage to Mars'Prepare yourself for an adventure! Before man makes it to Mars, he must conquer the Arctic. 'Passage to Mars' is the incredible true story of six men led by Dr Lee who embark on a treacherous, 2,000-mile journey across the forbidding ice of the Northwest Passage - an alien voyage ...
Where: San MateoCost: Free
Saturday, 09/08/18
Bird Walk & Kent Island Restoration Day, Saturday, September 8th, 2018Join the Greater Farallones Association, Marin County Parks, and renowned ornithologist and marine biologist Peter Pyle for a day of restoration and exploration on Bolinas Lagoon’s Kent Island. After an early birding walk, we’ll remove invasive plants that interfere with normal tidal flow. As we work, we will learn about ...
Discover the world of drones with flight simulation, real flight training in the Museum’s Drone Plex, exploration of historical aircraft and more!Launch an adventure into multi-rotor flight accessible for the youngest aspiring drone aces!  Drone Rangers is designed for children ages 5-10 and includes a range of explorations into remotely ...
Where: San CarlosCost: $69 – $59 Members
Hayward Fault 150th Anniversary of Great Quake tour Tule PondsFree tours of the Hayward Fault (registration required), with lecture, activities, and tour included. Children welcome, under 10 must be accompanied by an adult. Wear comfortable shoes.
Where: FremontCost: Free
Plants for Beginners: Seeds and FruitThey’re in cracks in the sidewalk and they make up entire forests-plants are everywhere! Did you know that you can learn a lot about plants with some basic knowledge? We’ll take a walk around the upland garden at a botanist’s pace (slooowly) using the native plants to learn easy-to-remember plant ...
Where: AlvisoCost: Free
Wine Country Nature & Optics FestivalOver 30 Bay Area nature organizations will be participating along with 12 leading binocular and scope companies from across the U.S. Displays, demonstrating, artisians, live education birds, and optics experts will be on hand with the latest binocular and telescope technology. This is the only time in 2018 all the ...
Where: SonomaCost: Free
Golden Gate Raptor Observatory Hawk TalkThe 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
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
Regional Parks Garden Open HouseAll are welcome to join us for this special opportunity to learn about California’s spectacular plant diversity, natural history and ethnobotany. Many interpretative stations will be located throughout the Garden where docents, volunteers, Friends and staff will give short presentations and answer questions. Visit as many stations as you like. ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
8th Annual San Francisco Green Film FestivalNumber of Films Forecast: 50 films in 8 daysNumber of Guest Speakers/Filmmakers Forecast: 100+ guest speakers including filmmakers, environmental experts, and global partners.Venues: Venues across San Francisco including Opening & Closing Nights at the Castro Theatre, with additional screenings at Cowell Theater at Fort Mason Center, YBCA, Koret Auditorium at ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $15 per screening
Sunday, 09/09/18
Climate Science for 200,000 humans -- hands-on!The Mobile Climate Science Labs will be presenting hands-on demonstrations at the annual Solano Avenue Stroll, with 200,000 plus attending. Climate science is a serious matter, absolutely; but it is also of field of discovery that families love to personally take part in. Together, we'll be exploring the invisible world where global warming takes place. ...
Where: AlbanyCost: free
Draw Majestic Elk and Epic Landscapes!In September, join Marley Peifer to hike out on Tomales Point in Marin County and see the elk herds during their rut! The Tule elk will be on their most dramatic behavior this time of year and we will get an opportunity to document it in our journals. We will ...
The size, strength and skills of the ocean's top predators are simply one of a kind. This month we celebrate National Wildlife Day with those animals that rule the ocean in Top Predators: Orcas and Sharks! Come learn more at Marine Science Sunday - fun educational programs for kids and adults! ...
Where: SausalitoCost: Free
Golden Gate Raptor Observatory Hawk TalkThe 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
Aero Workshop: Water RocketsPut your engineering skills to the test in the Aero Workshop! Each session is a special 2-hour mini design challenge designed for children ages 8-12. Each workshop centers on a particular problem in aerospace illustrated by a pair of hands-on experiences. Participants then work in small teams of 3-5 to ...
Where: San CarlosCost: Free with admission
'Spirit of Discovery'San Francisco Premiere - Walter Munk’s brilliant scientific “failures†and pursuit of daring exploration have changed the way we understand our Blue Planet and literally helped save western civilization. His work in oceanography pioneered our modern understanding of tides, ocean circulation, and surf forecasting. Now, at age 96, Walter is ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free
8th Annual San Francisco Green Film FestivalNumber of Films Forecast: 50 films in 8 daysNumber of Guest Speakers/Filmmakers Forecast: 100+ guest speakers including filmmakers, environmental experts, and global partners.Venues: Venues across San Francisco including Opening & Closing Nights at the Castro Theatre, with additional screenings at Cowell Theater at Fort Mason Center, YBCA, Koret Auditorium at ...
Negative Capacitance in a Ferroelectric Material and Its Potential Use for Beyond Boltzmann Limit TransistorsNegative capacitance in a ferroelectric material is characterized by a state of the polarization where the polarization charge and the net electric field oppose each other. In a prototypical ferroelectric this situation occurs where the polarization is significantly suppressed. Conventionally, this is the region where the material experiences a polarization ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
GLOBAL WARMING DEMYSTIFIEDDr. Jeffrey Bennett, noted astrophysicist and author, and winner of the American Institute of Physics Science Communication award, will present a clear summary of the science, the consequences and the solutions of Global Warming.
Where: Rohnert ParkCost: Free
Black Holes, Quantum Information, and Unification The study of black holes have revealed a deep connection between quantum information and spacetime geometry. Its origin must lie in the quantum theory of gravity we seek. Precise formulations of this relation have already led to new insights in Quantum Field Theory, some of which we have been rigorously ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
8th Annual San Francisco Green Film FestivalNumber of Films Forecast: 50 films in 8 daysNumber of Guest Speakers/Filmmakers Forecast: 100+ guest speakers including filmmakers, environmental experts, and global partners.Venues: Venues across San Francisco including Opening & Closing Nights at the Castro Theatre, with additional screenings at Cowell Theater at Fort Mason Center, YBCA, Koret Auditorium at ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $15 per screening
Planning for Climate ActionAs we continue to experience extreme weather as a result of Earth’s changing climate, planners around the world have joined forces to better understand the role that city planning can have in creating meaningful environmental change. Come hear about the role of planning in climate change and the tools and ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $10 General, Free for members
Our Journey Toward MarsOur journey toward Mars and beyond will be humanity’s greatest adventure. It will determine the fate of our species and the extent of our legacy. This journey is already underway. Humans have walked on the Moon and have survived long-duration spaceflight. Our spacecraft have explored the solar system and mapped ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $15 General, $12 Members & Seniors
Tuesday, 09/11/18
Workshop on Applying Advanced AI Workflows in Astronomy and MicroscopyThis one-day workshop will focus on the challenges shared between observational astronomy and modern microscopy workflows. Advances in instrumentation, computation and data management for both microscopy and astronomy suggest opportunities for the broader scientific community to learn from the challenges common to both fields. The high-velocity, high-volume data generated by endeavors ...
Lester Gertrude Rowntree (1878-1978) was a pioneering California native plant botanist and horticulturalist who popularized the study, use, and protection of native flora through voluminous writings, lectures, and photographs. As testimonial to Lester's important role she was named life-long honorary president of the California Native Plant Society (CNPS) upon its ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free with admission
The Whole Iceberg: Completing the Census of Exoplanets with the WFIRST Microlensing SurveyThe Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) will be NASA's next flagship mission to follow James Webb. Roughly a quarter of WFIRST's primary mission will be spent conducting an exoplanet microlensing survey. The survey will provide a statistical assay of the cold exoplanet population with masses greater than that of ...
Our group is broadly interested in understanding how metazoan cells fold complex proteins. The development of chemical genetic techniques to allow precision engineering of proteostasis network composition and activities will be discussed. Applications of these techniques have enabled a variety of advances related to the folding and quality control of ...
Homegrown Energy for the Golden StateCalifornia has established itself as a global leader in climate action, committed to producing 100 percent of its electricity from renewable energy sources by 2045. To prepare for this important deadline, innovative local energy programs, private sector partnerships and new technologies are being tested across the state. Come learn how ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $10 General, Free for members
Broadband Intensity Tomography: Spectral Tagging the Cosmic UV Background Most of the photons ever recorded by astronomers are in the form of imagesâ€"or broadband intensity mapping, while the photons’ redshift and frequency information has largely lost. I will introduce a data-driven technique to recover these otherwise collapsed dimensionalities by exhausting information in the spatial fluctuations. As the first application, ...
Saturn’s moon Enceladus harbors a global water ocean, which lies under an ice crust and above a rocky core. Through warm cracks in the crust a cryo-volcanic plume ejects ice grains and vapor into space that contain materials originating from the ocean. Hydrothermal activity is suspected to occur deep inside ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
8th Annual San Francisco Green Film FestivalNumber of Films Forecast: 50 films in 8 daysNumber of Guest Speakers/Filmmakers Forecast: 100+ guest speakers including filmmakers, environmental experts, and global partners.Venues: Venues across San Francisco including Opening & Closing Nights at the Castro Theatre, with additional screenings at Cowell Theater at Fort Mason Center, YBCA, Koret Auditorium at ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $15 per screening
Decoding the Weather MachineThe earth’s weather machine - our climate - is changing, becoming hotter and more erratic. Join us as we screen a portion of a new NOVA documentary that cuts through the confusion around climate change. Afterward, stay for a panel discussion about what it will take to bend the trajectory ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $10 General, Free for members
In this talk the speaker will discuss the Robot Operating System, better known as ROS.ROS is an open source software platform created to support all layers of robotics systems development.The talk will briefly discuss the origins and growth of ROS from its days at Stanford University and Willow Garage to ...
Where: San JoseCost: Free
Calaveras Dam Fossils: a Whale of a Tale -- Free Bay Currents talkFossils discovered and "salvaged" from rebuilding Calaveras Dam brought us a wealth of new knowledge about the East Bay's ancient past -- from whales to the tiniest of creatures. Dr. Cristina M. Robins, senior scientist with the UC Museum of Paleontology, tells us about the Bay Area's most significant fossils ...
Program (the order of the speakers might change):7:00-7:25: John Bischoff(Composer & Mills College) on "Free Association: Snapshots of an Electroacoustic Musical History"From electro-acoustic music to computer network music...Read more7:25-7:50: Clair Brown(UC Berkeley) on "Buddhist Economics"Buddhist economics guides us in creating a compassionate economy in a sustainable world...Read more7:50-8:10: ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free
SF Green Film Festival screening of POINT OF NO RETURN Point of No Return follows the journey of two Swiss pilots as they make an historic attempt to circumnavigate the globe in an airplane fueled only by sunlight. Their mission: to prove the potential of clean technology and inspire hearts and minds. Along the way, technical failures, unplanned landings, and stormy weather put ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $15 general, free for under 18
I propose a framework to estimate demand and analyze welfare in water markets using transactions data. To infer preferences from observed choices in an existing market, this framework overcomes two key empirical challenges. First, it can recover marginal valuations in the presence of unobserved transaction costs, which lead observed prices ...
Air pollution is a vexing problem for emerging countries that strike a delicate balance between environmental, health, and energy for growth. We examine these difficulties in a study of disparate levels of exposure to pollution from coal-fired power generation in India, a country with high levels of air pollution and ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Nonequilibrium Dynamics in Colloidal Semiconductor NanomaterialsStructure, surface chemistry, and energetic disorder can dramatically affect excited state dynamics in low-dimensional systems. Using a combination of ultrafast laser spectroscopy, time-resolved optical microscopy, and kinetic modeling, I will show how these effects manifest in assemblies of colloidal quantum dots (QD) and atomically thin 2D semiconductors, which are promising ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
8th Annual San Francisco Green Film FestivalNumber of Films Forecast: 50 films in 8 daysNumber of Guest Speakers/Filmmakers Forecast: 100+ guest speakers including filmmakers, environmental experts, and global partners.Venues: Venues across San Francisco including Opening & Closing Nights at the Castro Theatre, with additional screenings at Cowell Theater at Fort Mason Center, YBCA, Koret Auditorium at ...
Join an interdisciplinary panel of Bay Area experts, featuring museum educators, scientists, resilience designers, and governance and policy leaders. Participants will share approaches to climate change adaptation and engagement that help create a better future for the Bay and its communities. Topics for this lively discussion will include:Large-scale investment in ...
Radio AstronomyKeith Payea will discuss the basics of radio astronomy and how it relates to visual astronomy. He will also inform us how amateurs can do meaningful radio astronomy with simple backyard equipment or by on-line remotely accessible radio telescopes. We are receiving radio signals all of the time from our ...
Julia Galef is the president and co-founder of the Center for Applied Rationality, a nonprofit organization focused on improving reasoning and decision making through building new tools and strategies and connecting interested people to them. Galef also sits on the board of the New York City Skeptics and hosts the ...
