Quantized sound waves---phonons---govern the elastic response of crystalline materials, and also play an integral part in determining their thermodynamic properties and electrical response (e.g., by binding electrons into superconducting Cooper pairs). The physics of lattice phonons and elasticity is absent in simulators of quantum solids constructed of neutral atoms in ...
India has one of the most ambitious national plans for rooftop solar - 100 GW by 2023 - yet adoption by homes and small businesses remains slow due to broken customer experience and lack of awareness. Rooftop solar is expected to become ubiquitous in a few years in India, just ...
Where: Cost: Free
Changing migrations in a changing world: a big data perspectiveDr. Benjamin Van Doren studies the eco-evolutionary responses of migratory birds to environmental change. His research spans spatial and population scales and straddles ecology, evolution, behavior, and conservation. Dr. Van Doren earned a PhD in Zoology from Oxford University, and he has received achievement awards from the Linnean Society of ...
Biogeography is one of the most fascinating topics in all of natural history. The basic question is simple: Where do organisms live? But every subsequent question adds a new layer of complexity: Do they live there all the time? Why do they live there? Are there patterns that emerge when ...
Author of the groundbreaking text, Medicinal Mushrooms (1995). Dr. Hobbs will discuss the historical and modern uses of fungi for medicine, and their place in modern integrative health and medicinal practices. Discover how mushrooms work to activate our immune responses. A thorough and succinct review of the science and traditional use of ...
Where: Cost: Free
Wednesday, 01/12/22
The Youth Mental Health Crisis: What's Next? - LivestreamAccording to a very recent report from the U.S. Surgeon General, "the challenges today’s generation of young people face are unprecedented and uniquely hard to navigate. And the effect these challenges have had on their mental health is devastating." The Surgeon General suggests that, as we emerge from the COVID-19 ...
The majestic Coast Redwoods are some of the most iconic trees in the world, renowned far and wide for their size, colors, and the uniqueness of their habitat. While not associated with many edible mushrooms, these forests are home to many colorful, rare, and otherwise wonderful fungi. While the redwoods ...
Where: Cost: Free
Thursday, 01/13/22
Weekday Morning Walk at Pillar Point Bluff - FULLJoin Peninsula Open Space Trust for a morning walk at Pillar Point Bluff just north of Half Moon Bay! You will be guided by a POST representative who will share details about the area’s interesting natural history, from the coastal scrub habitat to the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve that hosts tide ...
Enhancing the sustainability of agricultural systems requires insight into how these complex techno-environmental-behavioral systems are likely to respond to changes in production technologies, anthropogenic environmental shocks, and public policies. Yet integrated models of food-energy-water systems tend to draw primarily on economic models, omitting site specific biophysical and environmental process details ...
Ever since the Klondike Gold Rush of 1898, miners in Canada's Yukon Territory today have been regularly finding the remains of animals tens thousands of years old. In an online lecture for Smithsonian magazine, Yukon paleontologist Grant Zazula will share some astonishing new finds, including woolly mammoths, prehistoric North American ...
The fascinating qualities of fungi are manifold and sometimes mind-blowing. Tonight at After Dark, discover some fun facts about the beautiful, diverse, and curious fungus kingdom, including mushrooms, yeasts, and molds. Get up-close views of majestic microscopic fungi, see the surprising ways fungi can be used as art materials, and ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $19.95 General, Free for members
NightLifeCalling all creatures of the night: explore the nocturnal side of the Academy at NightLife and see what's revealed. With live DJs, outdoor bars, ambiance lighting, and nearly 40,000 live animals (including familiar faces like Claude the albino alligator), the night is sure to be wild.Step inside the iconic Shake ...
Is DNA sequencing really the last word in our two hundred year old quest to classify and name mushrooms “correctly� What does it mean and how does it work? What are some of the biggest surprises we’ve learned? Danny will take a stroll through the history of the biggest fungal ...
Skeptics usually approach fake science armed with a diagnostic checklist, asking whether the claims in question are falsifiable, naturalistic, parsimonious, and so forth. Philosophers of science, however, have long pointed out that fake sciences need not exhibit such features. Creationist claims, for example, are very often false, not unfalsifiable. Moreover, ...
Are your big, dumb human hands preventing you from gently observing the tiny worlds on sticks, logs, moss patches, and other tiny ecosystems? Do your massive human feet endanger the inhabitants with their clumsy enormity whenever you try to approach? Fear not! For this not-strictly-fungal adventure, we will explore these ...
Where: Cost: Free
Free Telescope Viewings - CANCELEDJoin Chabot astronomers on the Observatory Deck for a free telescope viewing! Weather permitting, this is a chance to explore stars, planets and more through Chabot’s historic telescopes. Chabot’s three large historic telescopes offer a unique way to experience the awe and wonder of the Universe. Our observatory deck offers ...
Where: OaklandCost: Free
Saturday, 01/15/22
#NoToPlastic Community Clean-UpsBe part of the solution! Join other wildlife enthusiasts to help our local wildlife by cleaning up important habitats in Oakland.Meet at the Lower Entrance to Oakland Zoo (in front of the Zimmer Auditorium) at 9:45am; shuttle departs at 10:00am sharp for cleanup site.Location of cleanup will be a different ...
Where: OaklandCost: Free
Investigating Space: From the Earth To Mars: Steps Toward the First Human Journey to the Red Planet  The first human mission to Mars will be humanity’s greatest adventure in space exploration this century. As with all expeditions, its success depends on planning. The first steps are already underway, as we achieve longer spaceflight missions, plan for our return to the Moon, and work in extreme environments on Earth viewed as ...
 The James Webb Space TelescopeOur guest speaker for the evening is Dr. Thomas P. Greene, NASA  AmesThe James Webb Space Telescope is the most complex and powerful astronomical space observatory ever built. It just launched on Christmas Day and is now unfolding itself before arriving in its final orbit in the Sun ...
Where: Cost: Free
Free Telescope ViewingsJoin Chabot astronomers on the Observatory Deck for a free telescope viewing! Weather permitting, this is a chance to explore stars, planets and more through Chabot’s historic telescopes. Chabot’s three large historic telescopes offer a unique way to experience the awe and wonder of the Universe. Our observatory deck offers ...
Why study asteroids? The scientific interest in asteroids is due largely to their status as the remnant debris from the inner solar system formation process. The probability of an asteroid striking the Earth and causing serious damage is very remote but the devastating consequences of such an impact suggests we ...
Where: Cost: Free
Sunday, 01/16/22
Morning Hike at La Honda Open Space Preserve - FULLJoin Peninsula Open Space Trust for a beautiful hike at Lower La Honda Creek Open Space Preserve where you’ll experience the area’s sweeping views and gorgeous rolling grasslands! The preserve is over 6,100 acres, of which POST has contributed 5,200 acres. You will be guided by POST ambassadors on the ...
Where: Redwood CityCost: Free
Afternoon Hike at Rancho Cañada del Oro - FULLJoin Peninsula Open Space Trust for an excursion where you’ll explore the Mayfair Ranch - Longwall Canyon trails of Rancho Cañada del Oro! You will be guided by POST Ambassadors who will share with you the history of the preserve, the region, and the importance of conservation in the area. The ...
