Examining Southern Ocean natural iron fertilization through a bio-optical lens - LivestreamPrimary productivity in the Southern Ocean is seasonally limited by the micronutrient iron. Shipboard observations in this region have historically been sparse, limiting our understanding of how iron modulates productivity both at Southern Ocean basin and annual scales, and in remote coastal Antarctic regions. Bio-optical observations from autonomous platforms??"biogeochemical ocean ...
This talk will analyze the extent to which the current global climate governance system allows for the establishment of fundamental energy justice. In our energy transition, how can we avoid systemic reproductions of energy injustice that have been historically ingrained within global energy systems? To what degree does a just ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
The Lithium Economy: Supply Chain Innovation and the Business of Energy Scale-Up Join Stanford Energy Club for its first SustainX talk this winter with some insightful conversation on the intersection of supply chain innovation and business strategies in the rapidly evolving lithium economy on January 15th at 5 pm at the GSB (Room TBD). This event features Kevin Hettrich, CFO at QuantumScape, ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
Why Silicon Valley Bank Crashed -What You Need to KnowWhy did Silicon Valley Bank fail this year, despite Dodd-Frank and despite seasoned senior managers? You get an explanation of some of the more important risk issues, FICO scores, Loss Given Default, company credit risk as a background to understanding SVB’s crash, the 2nd largest bank failure. And touch on ...
Where: Mountain ViewCost: Free
Thursday, 01/16/25
AI Healthcare Conference at Stanford UniversityIntroducing T.H.I.N.K (Technology in Healthcare: Integration, Networks, and Knowledge) ??" a groundbreaking conference series that redefines the intersection of technology and healthcare. T.H.I.N.K at Stanford marks the debut of this innovative platform, bringing together thought leaders, tech pioneers, and healthcare professionals to explore the transformative potential of AI and cutting-edge ...
Where: StanfordCost: See weblink
SETI Live: Automated Discovery of Anomalous Features - RESCHEDULEDOver the past decade, NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has captured thousands of high-resolution images of the Moon's surface??"far more than humans can manually review. To tackle this challenge, scientists have developed an automated system that quickly identifies scientifically significant images from the LRO data, making it the first anomaly ...
Where: Cost: Free
Lunch Break Science - LivestreamLunch Break Science is a dynamic live web series featuring fascinating short talks, engaging interviews, and lively Q&A with Leakey Foundation scientists. Each episode digs deeper into the latest human origins discoveries, with topics like Neanderthals, chimpanzee behavior, and more! Even better, you can interact with researchers during the show ...
Where: Cost: Free
Inventing NASA Space Exploration Technologies for our Blue Planet & BeyondIs life unique to Earth in the universe? If so, how can we better explore space while preserving and protecting life as we know it? How can space exploration benefit us all and what can it teach us? These are the fundamental questions that drive my work. My research focuses ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Rising to the Challenge: A Flood-Resilient San Francisco - LivestreamSPUR and the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) invite you to an engaging conversation about bold efforts to protect our city’s future. Join this webinar to learn about the SFPUC’s Floodwater Management Grant, the newly released flood elevation map, and a groundbreaking proposal for a flood-resilient building code aimed ...
As climate hazards like floods and wildfires intensify, local governments are under growing pressure to plan for these risks. Yet, only about 40% of local governments in the U.S. have completed hazard mitigation plans that qualify them for federal funding to address local risks. Why do some governments proactively build ...
The future of our energy systems depends on cutting-edge innovations in Grid Infrastructure Technology (Grid Infra Tech), essential for integrating renewable energy and supporting a sustainable, resilient grid. This seminar will explore the evolving innovation landscape in Grid Infra Tech, with a special focus on the critical subsectors where transformative ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
ChatGPT and Beyond: Insights, Applications, and Q&AJoin us for an insightful panel discussion featuring experts from the AI industry. Explore the foundations of artificial intelligence and uncover real-world uses that can transform businesses across sectors. This event includes presentation and an interactive Q&A to empower attendees with actionable insights about AI's potential for growth and innovation. ...
Discover the mesmerizing world of honey, bees, and colonies.
Where: San FranciscoCost: $22.95 General, free for members
NightLife x SoulovelySlide through for NightLife's first-ever musical artists-in-residence with Oakland's groundbreaking cultural affair Soulovely featuring Aïma the Dreamer, Lady Ryan, Emancipation, and more.Plus, you can:Step inside the iconic Shake House and our four-story Osher Rainforest, where you can explore the Amazon’s treetops surrounded by free-flying birds and butterflies.Venture into our aquarium exhibit Venom ...
Female birds often hide in plain sight. Typically drabber and more inconspicuous than males, there is an unconscious bias towards male birds in birdwatching, photography, and even in our scientific knowledge about birds. This talk explores the history of focus on male birds, why it’s important to focus on females, ...
Where: Cost: Free
Friday, 01/17/25
AI Healthcare Conference at Stanford UniversityIntroducing T.H.I.N.K (Technology in Healthcare: Integration, Networks, and Knowledge) ??" a groundbreaking conference series that redefines the intersection of technology and healthcare. T.H.I.N.K at Stanford marks the debut of this innovative platform, bringing together thought leaders, tech pioneers, and healthcare professionals to explore the transformative potential of AI and cutting-edge ...
Aquaculture is the fastest growing food producing sector in the world, yet the U.S. is lagging behind in it's contribution despite being the second largest consumer of seafood globally. California being the most populous state in the nation contributes significantly to this demand, yet aquaculture has actually retracted in the state over the last ...
Where: Pacific GroveCost: Free
Saturday, 01/18/25
Keeper Academy at CuriOdysseyIf you have ever dreamed of being an Animal Keeper this is the workshop for you! In this four-hour crash course, participants will experience a day in the life of an Animal Keeper. Spend a morning with us cleaning, prepping food, and making behavioral observations as you learn what goes ...
Where: San MateoCost: $130-$150
Parks As Ancestors: A Reflective WalkJoin us for a moderate walk and talk where we will gather and reflect on Parks as Ancestors. Inspired by the books and question What Kind of Ancestor Do You Want to Be? and Elementals, park staff hope to engage participants in an interactive hike through Lands End ??" a beloved park ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free
Winter in the California Collection - FULLJoin UCBG horticulturist Jon Kanagy for a seasonal tour through the Garden’s California Collection that combines plant highlights and horticultural tips. For our winter program, we will be observing and discussing garden events and activities that are key for this cool, wet time of year. Along the way, Jon will ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: $20 General, $18 Members, $10 Students
One Tam Guided Nature Walk with Marin WaterCelebrate the Civil Rights leader’s life and legacy with a service event followed by an optional guided nature walk. Get ready to spend some time out on the watershed with your friends and family, while preserving Marin’s unique biodiversity!Join for an easy hike to learn about some of the most unique ...
Where: FairfaxCost: Free
Saturday Cinema: The Art + Science of Luminous FilmsCelebrate the Exploratorium’s winter exhibition Glow with a program of radiant animation and short documentaries, both meditative and kinetic.TV Light by Bob Kaputof (2 min.)Magnetic Movie by Semiconductor (2007, 5 min.)Nature by Numbers by Cristóbal Villa (2010, 4 min.)Daybreak Express by D.A. Pennebaker (1953, 5 min.) Rainbow Dance by Len Lye ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free with admission
Starry Nights Star PartyJoin the San Jose Astronomical Association (SJAA) and Santa Clara County Open Space Authority (OSA) for an unforgettable night of exploring the night sky. Our knowledgeable docents, members of SJAA, will be your guides to providing valuable insights into the wonders of our universe. The viewing site, Rancho Canada del ...
Where: Morgan HillCost: Free
The Science of Time TravelJoin us in the Planetarium for the inaugural event of Chabot’s Moonlight Lecture Series, featuring a captivating exploration on the science of time travel led by NASA engineer and author Bee Davis. After the talk, meet Bee during a book signing for her groundbreaking novel Fly Into the Sun, an ...
In August of 2001, an extremely bright, brief, extraterrestrial radio signal washed over the Earth. This flash of radiation lasted just a few milliseconds, originated from around four billion light years away, and contained more energy in a fraction of a second than the Sun gives off in an entire ...
Where: Santa CruzCost: Free
Investigating Plant Terpenoid Metabolism and Bioproduct Applications Plants are nature’s master chemists; they deploy complex networks of specialized metabolites to interact with other organisms and adapt to their environment. Among these metabolites, terpenoids encompass the largest class with critical functions in plant development, chemical ecology and stress adaptation. Terpenoid chemical diversity also offers a rich source for ...
A key discovery from the past six decades of solar system exploration is that liquid water oceans may be a common planetary phenomenon. At least six ice-covered moons of the outer solar system present compelling evidence for subsurface oceans, and thus provide highly compelling targets in our search for life ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
Soda Taxes in California - Public Health Impacts and the Policy Landscape - LivestreamThe recent passage of Measure Z in Santa Cruz marks an important milestone for local soda tax in California. Berkeley, the first city in the nation to implement a sugary drink tax, has demonstrated how these measures can reduce consumption, increase access to healthier options, and fund vital community programs. ...
Solid State Physics is a field which continuously renews itself through the discovery of new materials and new phenomena. This has been particularly true for the subfield of superconductivity. One of the leading figures in this field for more than six decades was Stanford's Ted Geballe. We will review the ...
Solvent-mediated chemical reactions are challenging systems for theory because the exchange of thermal energy between solvent molecules and reactants leads to a large available phase space in which only a small fraction leads to reaction. Cryogenic radiofrequency ion traps provide a powerful platform upon which to study the mechanics of ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Jonathan Mingle on Climate Policy under Trump - LivestreamThe Trump campaign has signaled its plans to undo key federal environmental regulations and roll back Biden-era clean energy and climate policies. Journalist Jonathan Mingle will discuss his reporting on the first Trump administration's dramatic impacts on environmental policy, and on the fossil fuel industry and conservative groups that are ...
Where: Cost: Free
Popping the Science Bubble - Two TalksThe Marvelous Chemistry of Everyday LifeSpeaker: Jeremy Nicolai, UC BerkeleyFrom Pledges to Progress: City and Regional Climate ActionSpeaker: Kaihui Song, UC BerkeleyAttend in person or online (click here)
The advent of artificial intelligence has spawned numerous nightmare scenarios of a runaway technology negatively affecting everything from jobs to national security to individual rights. Now Reid Hoffman shares his unique insider’s perspective on an AI-powered future, making the case for its potential to unlock a world of possibilities. Imagine ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $35 General in person, $10 online
Radio Interferometry: Whose Baseline is it Anyway?Speaker:Jackie Champagne100 (Standard) Candles: A Century of Extragalactic AstronomySpeaker: Meredith Stone Click here to watch
Recent research highlights how our shifting climate triggers increasingly extreme conditions. In the North Pacific, this involves regime shifts, El Niño-driven events, and marine heatwaves - all spurring bottom-up changes in ecosystem productivity and structure. As long-lived, highly visible top predators, seabirds provide clear indicators of these shifts. Citizen science ...
Where: Pacific GroveCost: Free
Ectomycorrhizal fungal communities of three Pinus species on the California North Coast This master's thesis project will inventory the different species of ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi associated with three pine species occurring in coastal Humboldt County: Bishop pine, shore pine, and Monterey pine. Additionally, disjunct Bishop pine in Mendocino County will be sampled for associated ECM fungi. If successful, the project will reveal influences ...
Reconstructing Evolutionary History and Processes: Insights from Analysis of Present-day and Ancient GenomesMy lab uses genetic data from present-day and ancient individuals as a tool to understand human evolution, adaptation and disease. The historical signatures of past events such as population mixtures and expansions, as well as human diseases and natural selection, have left traces in our genomes. We combine population genetics ...
We seek to define the capability that has enabled humans to develop the civilization we have, and that distinguishes us from other species. “Intelligence” does not work here because we have no agreed definition of what intelligence is or how an intelligent entity behaves. We need a concept that is ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Gamechanger: California Sues ExxonMobil Over Plastic Recycling Lies - LivestreamOn Monday, September 23, 2024 California Attorney General Rob Bonta launched a game changing lawsuit against ExxonMobil, the largest producer of single-use plastic polymers, for its role in deceiving the public about plastic recycling and chemical recycling. This groundbreaking lawsuit seeks to hold major players in the plastics industry accountable ...
Humans are modifying the atmosphere around us??"from climate change to air pollution??"in ways that feedback on society. Emissions of both long- and short-lived pollutants have local and global impacts, with large spatial variability. As we transition our infrastructure to mitigate and adapt to our changing climate and environment, we need ...
AI and Cloud computing’s power growth will increase US electric power consumption by 2% (2026) and to 8% (2030) (EIA,GS). Jevon’s paradox has overcome 50 years of energy efficiency improvements, driving computing power consumption to TerawattHours (BIG!). This growth both power grid stability and decarbonization, datacenters are slowing the retirement ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
Thursday, 01/23/25
Harnessing natural variation to study the evolution of social behaviorNatural variation can provide powerful insights into the genetic and environmental factors shaping the origins and evolution of complex traits. Sweat bees harbor extraordinary variation in social behavior within and between species. Throughout their evolutionary history, these bees have repeatedly gained and lost sociality, resulting in many closely related yet ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
What RFK Jr.’s Confirmation Could Mean for the American Health Care System - LivestreamWhen Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination to head the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) was announced, public health advocates around the nation began sounding the alarm. The Center for Inquiry called him “wholly unqualified and manifestly unfit,” and that’s likely an understatement.In the weeks since, vaccine expert ...
Where: Cost: Free
FutureFest 2025: A conversation with the leaders of two Silicon Valley iconsAs 2025 begins, join us for a conversation about pushing the frontier of innovation with Astro Teller, Captain of Moonshots at X (formerly Google X), and David Parekh, CEO of SRI. Together, with Pulitzer Prize-winning technology journalist John Markoff, they will explore the moments that transformed our world and discuss ...
Where: Palo AltoCost: Free
Pioneering the next energy frontier: From proven pathways to disruptive breakthroughsJoin the Stanford Energy Club for a discussion with Celina Mikolajczak, chief battery technology officer at Lyten - a supermaterial applications company.Celina is an engineering executive with experience working on lithium-ion batteries for the automotive, stationary, and consumer electronics sectors. She has led teams in cell engineering, manufacturing, reliability and testing, safety, and beyond - driving ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $22.95, free for members
NightLife x SoulovelySlide through for NightLife's first-ever musical artists-in-residence with Oakland's groundbreaking cultural affair Soulovely featuring Aïma the Dreamer, Lady Ryan, Emancipation, and more.Plus, you can:Step inside the iconic Shake House and our four-story Osher Rainforest, where you can explore the Amazon’s treetops surrounded by free-flying birds and butterflies.Venture into our aquarium exhibit Venom ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Varies
Plot Twist: Could Artificial Intelligence Be the Transformative Force for Justice? Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology, from predictive analytics to advanced data systems, has emerged as a catalyst for innovation. Yet, the criminal justice system lags decades behind, as more than 3,000 counties in the United States continue to rely on outdated and manual case management systems, making the path to justice ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $22 General in person, $8 online
Microbes Mining Minerals: A New Route to Plant Cultivation Plants supply us with food, clothing, medicines, fuels, and other necessities of life. For their growth, plants need essential minerals from the soil. These nutrients can be provided by fertilizers, but over-fertilization can damage the environment. Is there another way? Many of the nutrients plants need to grow already exist ...
Speaker: Alex Filippenko, UC BerkeleyAttend in person or online (see weblink)
Where: NovatoCost: $20 Adults, $15 Students
Open Question: Artificial Intuition Can machines act naturally?What do machines and mother nature have in common? Finding novel solutions to existing problems, of course. Learn about AI and biomimicry at Open Question - only at the Exploratorium.Part of After Dark
Where: San FranciscoCost: $19.95 General, Free for members
Friday, 01/24/25
Designing Future Airspace Operations and Lunar HabitatThis seminar will discuss selected ideas related to the intersection of Civil and Environmental Engineering discipline, and Berkeley Space Center’s mission. The speaker will share his research related to air traffic controller workload and their decision support tools, and how those insights changed the paradigm to enable airspace operations of ...
The cyanate (NCO-), cyanide (CN-) and nitrosonium (NO+) ions are stable nitrogen-containing species that serve as functional groups in organic chemistry and ligands to transition metals. They are routinely used as illustrative examples of specific chemical properties. For example, the cyanate ion is an archetypal ambidentate nucleophile, the cyanide ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
After Dark: Look UpTurn your eyes to the skies - discover the wonders of space science at our spring experience Look Up. Learn more about robo-explorers that can navigate the terrains on Mars and the moon, and immerse yourself in the stunning natural phenomena in outer space.Ages 18+
Where: San FranciscoCost: $22.95 General, Members Free
In Town Star PartyCome join San Jose Astronomical Association (SJAA) for an evening of stargazing.Event details:Events are held at the parking lot of our headquarters, Houge Park San Jose. The event duration is 2 hours. SJAA volunteers will share night sky views from their telescopes.Please refrain from bringing your own telescopes (Binoculars are ...
Where: San JoseCost: Free
Saturday, 01/25/25
Science Saturday: Sandy's Birthday Party! (Marine Mammals)Happy Birthday, Sandy!Join us in celebrating Sandy's birthday at the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History during our Marine Mammals themed Science Saturday. This exciting FREE event will provide a unique and enriching experience for families and people of all ages. Come engage in interactive activities designed to educate and ...
Where: Pacific GroveCost: Free
Stewardship Saturday: Eyeing Elephant SealsJoin Año Nuevo State Park and The Marine Mammal Center as we explore a natural breeding ground for one of the Center’s most common patients - elephant seals! Through this event you will learn more about these amazing creatures, how both organizations work to care for them in their natural ...
Where: PescaderoCost: Free with admission
Salamander Search at SanbornSanborn is famous for its amphibians; you just need to do some extra searching to find them! Join us for a fun day of looking under rocks, logs, and other unique hiding spots that Sanborn’s Salamanders call home!Register at weblinkAges 4 - 12
Where: SaratogaCost: Free
Saturday Cinema: The Art + Science of Luminous FilmsCelebrate the Exploratorium’s winter exhibition Glow with a program of radiant animation and short documentaries, both meditative and kinetic.TV Light by Bob Kaputof (2 min.)Magnetic Movie by Semiconductor (2007, 5 min.)Nature by Numbers by Cristóbal Villa (2010, 4 min.)Daybreak Express by D.A. Pennebaker (1953, 5 min.) Rainbow Dance by Len Lye ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free with admission
Weekend Workshop: Radical ReactionsGet hands-on with several different chemistry experiments and demonstrations. Learn how common household materials can be used to measure ph, or cause explosive reactions. Get ready to see what you can cook up in this intro to chemistry.Ages 5 to 10 years old
What can we do, today, to improve muscle strength and, accordingly, to increase healthy longevity, i.e., healthspan? It starts by understanding the science of strength and of muscle function, and then appreciating how muscle changes with aging. Ultimately, we find that healthspan increases with simple and effective evidence-based strategies for improving ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Sunday, 01/26/25
Empowering Homes: Transitioning to Renewable EnergyDid you know that gas appliances cause more smog in the Bay Area than cars do? And that gas stoves are related to 1 in 8 cases of childhood asthma?GOOD NEWS: there are federal, state, and local incentives (both rebates and tax credits) available NOW to help you upgrade to ...
Where: AlbanyCost: Free
History of DrawbridgeJoin Ceal Craig, Ph.D., a 20+ year volunteer for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, for a unique opportunity to dive into the history of Drawbridge, a historic town that once housed a thriving community on an island along the South San Francisco Bay. How did this community survive in ...
Where: AlvisoCost: Free
Monday, 01/27/25
Feeding Massive Galaxies in the Early Universe from the Cosmic WebGas accretion onto galaxies is perhaps the most fundamental process driving their evolution, supplyiing fuel for star formation, setting the angular momentum and size of disk galaxies, and driving turbulence and disk instabilities. Over the last two decades, a coherent picture has emerged whereby gas is accreted onto dark matter ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Leveraging Windows of Opportunity in Early Childhood and Adolescence for Systems-Level ChangeOur goals for this session aim at a translational bridge - from actionable insights into sensitive periods of learning, to strategies for improving practices, policies, and organizational systems that support children and adolescents. We describe a framework, some key principles, and promising approaches. We highlight the need for interdisciplinary teams, ...
In the past, models of human cognition attempted to capture principles of human cognition but they could not actually achieve human like levels of performance in a wide range of domains. For example, they could not recognize objects in images, learn to beat a good Chess player, or translate from ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
The Human Cost of Wildfires: Protecting Health in a Changing Climate - LivestreamAs recovery efforts continue in the wake of the Los Angeles-area wildfires, the need for clear, evidence-based guidance on protecting communities and people’s wellbeing has never been more urgent. Join leading experts in climate science, pediatrics, mental health, environmental health, and climate adaptation to explore wide-ranging short-term and long-term health ...
In this presentation, we explore how quasiparticles can be controlled and stabilized within 2-D solids by creating carefully designed atomic hetero structures. Quasiparticles give raise to phenomena such as excitons (bound states of electrons and holes), superconducting states, polaritons (hybrids of light and matter), as well as more exotic systems ...
My long-term research goal is to enable real robots to manipulate any kind of object so that they can perform many different tasks in a wide variety of application scenarios, such as in our homes, hospitals, warehouses, or factories. These tasks will require fine sensorimotor skills to, for example, use ...
Differential privacy is one of the most prominent definitions for privacy, being used not only in academic research but also in real-world applications such as Google’s next word prediction. The static data structures setting-where multiple queries must be answered in a differentially private manner over a static data set-is already ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Quantifying the physical genomeMy lab aims to understand how a 2 meter long object, the human genome, encodes for molecules which, through physical interaction with the genome itself, evince the immense cellular diversity we observe in the human body. I will discuss efforts to catalog regulatory elements and transcription factor grammars that are ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Resilience in ActionThe Berkeley Neuro-AI Resilience Center invites you to its inaugural event, hosted by center directors Professors Daniela Kaufer and Shafi Goldwasser. This evening will highlight the center’s mission to explore resilience as a unifying principle across neuroscience and computation. This event is co-hosted by the Simons Institute’s Research Pod on ...
Starting in undergraduate statistical physics, we study small systems that thermalize by exchanging quantities with large environments. The exchanged quantities - heat, particles, electric charge, etc. - are conserved globally, and the thermalization helps define time’s arrow. If quantum, the quantities are represented by Hermitian operators. We often assume implicitly ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Bitcoin+: Blockchain Architectures, Stablecoins, & Its Transformative PotentialBlockchain technology, widely recognized as the backbone of Bitcoin, has emerged as a revolutionary force poised to redefine industries far beyond cryptocurrencies. This talk delves into the foundational architectural features that distinguish blockchain from traditional technologies, including distributed ledger systems, cryptographic hashing, and consensus algorithms. These components enable blockchain’s unparalleled ...
Racial and ethnic diversity in the geosciences continues to be exceptionally low relative to other STEM fields. These demographics have not shifted over the past 40 years even as gender representation has improved and despite sustained attempts to achieve diversity. These results reflect a need to significantly alter institutional and cultural systems and ...
The concept of attractors, well-known in classical mechanics, proved very productive in the theory of black holes and inflationary cosmology. I will start with attractors in supersymmetric black holes and discuss how the discovery of Kaluza-Klein black hole attractors helped recently to explain the mysterious cancellation of ultraviolet divergences in ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
Towards predictive protein separations: Imaging protein dynamics at nanoscale interfacesRecent efforts by our group and others have shown the promise of applying single-molecule methods to link mechanistic detail about protein adsorption to macroscale observables. When we study one molecule at a time, we eliminate ensemble averaging, thereby accessing underlying heterogeneity. However, we must develop new methods to increase information ...
Water has always been the heart of California, providing essential habitat for both waterbirds and people. After the Gold Rush, California experienced rapid and widespread destruction and modification of natural hydrological ecosystems and wetlands. This included the rapid conversion of Delta wetlands to peat farmland, development of many North Bay ...
Where: Cost: Free
Euclid: Mapping the Geometry of the Dark Universe - LivestreamEuclid is a new European Space Agency space telescope with NASA contributions designed to provide new insights into the nature of dark matter and why the universe is expanding at an accelerating rate. The term “dark energy” has been given to refer to the unknown cause of this accelerated expansion. ...
Where: Cost: Free
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary - Discoveries and Surprises - LivestreamChad King, Research Ecologist at the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, will treat us to his many years exploring the Sanctuary. We will celebrate ocean protection with Chad as he leads us into the deep sea and shares his observations and discoveries, covering flora and fauna, including human impact on ...
Where: Cost: $10 donation suggested
Thinking in Planetary TimeDisrupting traditional western understandings of time that separate human history from natural history, Planetary Temporality recognizes that these two modes of history are now inseparable, and that meeting planetary challenges will require that we go beyond our lived experience of time, to think instead in terms of our deep-time embeddedness ...
Insufficient sleep dramatically changes how we feel and think, about ourselves and about others. Even a single night of sleep loss elevates levels of anxiety, depression, and asocial behavior in healthy adults. If sleep loss is chronic, this association can develop into a clinical mental disorder. Since 40% of adults ...
Oceanography remains vastly underrepresented in science communication. Take the example of a college freshman who might register for an oceanography class expecting to learn about sharks and whales, only to encounter topics like the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). While such subjects may seem less captivating, the key to effective ...
Where: Cost: Free
Engineering Real-Time Sensors and Sustainable Materials for a Healthier PlanetWe currently face rising global temperatures, dwindling natural resources, and increasing threats to human and ecological health. To help meet these challenges, my research group engineers biomolecules and microorganisms for real-time bioelectronic sensing and sustainable materials synthesis. We draw inspiration from how proteins and microorganisms transfer electrons to their environments ...
Decarbonizing the industrial sector to mitigate climate change is challenging: not only must multiple processes within existing coupled production systems be transformed, but changing technology and production geography will have consequences for workers, the local environment, and community health. Focusing on the iron and steel industry in the United States ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
A Philosophy of Planetary Computation: From Antikythera to Synthetic IntelligenceThe Antikythera mechanism, sometimes called the “first computer,” was more than a calculator; it was also an astronomical device. Thus the birth of computation is in the orienting of intelligence to its planetary condition. From Climate Science to Synthetic Biology, this remains the case.As computation becomes planetary infrastructure, its myriad ...
NASA’s VIPER lunar-rover is being planned as humanity’s first resource mapping mission on another celestial body. The Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) will go to the South Pole of the Moon to get a close-up view of the locations that can sustain water ice - ice that could eventually ...
Where: Los Altos HillsCost: Free
Restoring Wetlands for Climate Resilience - LivestreamJoin us for an informative webinar with Ecological Engineer, Christina Toms, and Senior Water Resources Specialist, Judy Nam to discuss how wetland restoration helps communities adapt to climate change. Discover how these efforts enhance community well-being and foster climate resilience. Explore actionable ways to contribute and make a meaningful impact.Register ...
What are those amazing auroras we’ve been seeing around here in recent years? Laura Peticolas earned her B.A. in mathematics and physics at the University of Oregon Honors College and her Ph.D. in physics studying the aurora at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. She then spent 3 years as a ...
Where: San RafaelCost: Free
Thursday, 01/30/25
SETI Live: Automated Discovery of Anomalous FeaturesOver the past decade, NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has captured thousands of high-resolution images of the Moon's surface - far more than humans can manually review. To tackle this challenge, scientists have developed an automated system that quickly identifies scientifically significant images from the LRO data, making it the ...
In this talk, Karan Bhuwalka will discuss how a game theory modeling approach to firms’ decision-making can lead to environmental outcomes significantly different from those predicted by system optimization. Karan will present results from a model of four mining companies making production decisions, to show how competitive behavior can lead ...
This talk will examine how technology can amplify deliberative democracy to foster a more informed and engaged society. Drawing on findings from two nationally representative online Deliberative Polls called America in One Room, the talk will demonstrate how online deliberation is alleviating polarization and producing lasting effects with hopes for a ...
Earthquakes occur when faults slip. While the most devastating earthquakes are of tectonic origin, human activities have been associated with the triggering of earthquakes that have caused substantial economic damage and societal concern. The demonstration that fluid injection can cause earthquakes dates back to the 1970s (Raleigh et al., Science ...
In many markets, protecting participants’ privacy comes into tension with economic and social objectives. We outline a framework for comparing the privacy of different protocols used to implement market rules and carry out computations. Protocols produce a set of contextual privacy violations - information learned about participants that may be ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Shaping Public Health Amidst Political Change - LivestreamThis session features Gina Daly, Director of Federal Government Relations at UC Berkeley and Eve Granatosky, Principal at Lewis and Burke Associates. Our guests will be giving a brief presentation, moderated by Frederick Smith, Assistant Dean for Students on the incoming Trump administration and how it may affect public health.Register ...
Where: Cost: Free
Adaptation Incentives in a Risky World: Lessons from Los Angeles - LivestreamIn this fireside chat, the Stanford Sustainable Finance Initiative (SFI) is delighted to host Matthew Kahn, Provost Professor of Economics at the University of Southern California and Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution, in conversation with Marc Roston, SFI Senior Research Scholar, as they discuss Adaptation Incentives in a Risky ...
Where: Cost: Free
Innovative Women in Climate & TechAn evening with women entrepreneurs, funders, and founders to discuss innovation and opportunities to create change.Discussion panel followed by networking and light refreshments.Moderator: Sri Kurniawan, Professor of Computational Media, Baskin School of EngineeringPanelistsMartina Doleshal, Entrepreneur, ESG and Sustainability LeaderKim Kolt, General Partner at Bay Bridge Ventures and Founder of For ...
Where: Santa CruzCost: Free
Female Founders in Healthtech: A Panel DiscussionJoin us for an engaging and insightful panel of mid-stage Female Founders in HealthTech, hosted by Female Founders Edge in collaboration with the Berkeley Haas Alumni Department. Hear from accomplished founders about their journeys, challenges, and successes in driving innovation in healthtech.What to Expect:Gain valuable insights from healthtech founders innovating ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $20 General, $15 UC Berkeley Alum
Science on Tap: Fungus Among UsJoin us for a special night featuring fungus with local mycologists and mushroom experts! Fungi and mushrooms are still shrouded in mystery, and it often seems that the more we learn the more questions we have. Neither straight plants or animals, living in colonies and completely alone, able to provide ...
Where: Pacific GroveCost: $25 General, $15 Members, Students free with ID
Every year around the world, dozens of universities, civil space agencies, and nonprofit organizations plan crucial space missions focused on exploration, science, and education objectives, and then they struggle to get the funding needed to turn their dreams into reality. Ironically, at the same time, there are hundreds of family ...
Where: Mountain ViewCost: Free
Silicon Valley Reads 2025 - Empowering Humanity: Technology for a Better WorldJoin us for a thought-provoking conversation about technology and humanity with Silicon Valley Read’s featured authors Charlee Dyroff (Loneliness & Company), Dr. Fei-Fei Li (The Worlds I See: Curiosity, Exploration, and Discovery at the Dawn of AI), and Ray Nayler (The Mountain in the Sea).Attendees are invited to come early ...
Rapidly changing ocean conditions are resulting in changes in marine species and across entire ecosystems that, in turn, affect communities and individuals who rely on these resources for their livelihoods, culture, and sustenance. Marine social science, an emerging field that embraces diverse methods to understand human??"ocean relationships, is increasingly called ...
Photonic research has a distinguished legacy beginning with the invention of the semiconductor laser diode 63 years ago that has enabled countless applications entrenched into modern society. Today we still mostly rely on Gaussian modes emitted from semiconductor lasers with often the objective of reducing the number of lasing modes. ...
Fungus Fair at Presidio Tunnel TopsJoin us outside the Field Station at Presidio Tunnel Tops for the Parks Conservancy Fungus Fair to explore the weird and wonderful world of fungus! Learn the process of how mushrooms grow, how to identify them in the wild, and what ecologists have been learning about fungus in the park. ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free
First Saturday: Free Tour of the Santa Cruz ArboretumAround the World in 60-90 Minutes!On the first Saturday of each month, the Arboretum offers a docent or staff-led tour of the Arboretum.Sometimes you will see New Zealand, South Africa, California, and Australia. Sometimes you might see combinations of several gardens or the developing World Conifer Collection or Rare Fruit ...
Where: Santa CruzCost: Free with admission, and for members
Sunday, 02/02/25
Native Seed Ball WorkshopLet's make native wildflower seed balls! Seed balls (or "seed bombs") are an easy and fun way to distribute seeds. We'll use native wildflowers such as California poppies because they support a variety of local pollinators such as bumblebees and butterflies.First we'll do a short walk around the Butterfly Garden, ...
Where: AlvisoCost: 0
Hidden Brain: An Evening with Shankar VedantamAre there parts of our minds that are hidden from us? This question launched the Hidden Brain podcast ten years ago. Since then, the program has helped millions of listeners accomplish their goals, improve their relationships, and develop a deeper understanding of their emotions.Now, host and creator Shankar Vedantam brings ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $58.50 - $78.50 (including fees).
Nina Beguš will present artificial humanities, an interdisciplinary framework using the humanities to thoughtfully approach the development of AI. We will focus on both fictional and historical representations of AI - from Eliza Doolittle to Eliza the chatbot - and reflect on recent product developments in AI and language while ...
White Dwards as Probes of Convective Overshoot and Evolved Exoplanetary SystemsWhite dwards are the stellar remnants left behind by the majority of stars. In 30 - 50% of the population, material such as asteroids, comets, moons, and even planets from their disrupted planetary systems can be identified by metal absorption lines detected in the white dwarf atmosphere. These stellar remnants ...
This presentation will trace the remarkable journey of Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) from its invention in 1985 by G. Binnig, C. F. Quate, and Ch. Gerber at Stanford University - during my time as a graduate student under Prof. Quate - to its current role as a critical tool in ...
Most sporting activities involve a ball. In comparison to the impacting device (bat, club, racket, paddle, etc) the ball is consumable and tends to receive relatively little attention. Yet the ball is complex, inelastic, highly non-linear, and is an integral part of determining equipment performance. This presentation will consider mechanisms ...
Continuous approximation modelling is a logistical paradigm with origins at UC Berkeley in which detailed operational data is replaced by statistical summaries to analyze large-scale routing and distribution problems. This presentation introduces some new applications of computational geometry and geometric probability theory to study modern problems in last-mile delivery, districting, ...
More than a century ago, Albert Einstein presented his general theory of gravitation. One of the predictions of this theory is that not only particles and objects with mass, but also the quanta of light, photons, are tied to the curvature of space-time, and thus to gravity. There must be ...
There is a large body of work from the learning sciences providing us with insights into how people learn; and from Discipline Based Education Research (DBER) we know what discipline-specific difficulties students face. However, it is quite surprising that relatively little of this understanding has made its way into ...
Fracturing on small planetary bodies is controlled by low gravity, which differs from what is observed on Earth and other large planets. Studying the tectonics of small bodies is crucial for understanding the planetary evolution of recent and past lithospheres, from large to small, rocky to non-rocky bodies in the ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
Rethinking Clark Kerr: The Uses of the University in the Age of Generative AISpeaker: Gerald Chan, a scientist and legendary venture capitalist, has started over a dozen companies with intellectual property spun out from universities. Currently working at the intersection of AI and medicine, he is pushing the frontiers of population health. As a philanthropist and thought leader in higher education, his work ...
Extreme thinness can reduce the weight of electronics, which dramatically reduces discomfort when wearing. Furthermore, it also improves their mechanical robustness to bending because applied strain is determined by the material's softness and device thickness. In the simplified model, the film thickness is inversely proportional to the strain value, such ...
X-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy (XANES) is a powerful technique for electronic structure determination. Recent developments in extreme ultraviolet (XUV) light sources using the laser-based technique of high-harmonic generation have enabled core-level spectroscopy to be performed on femtosecond to attosecond timescales. We have extended the scope of tabletop XUV spectroscopy ...
How can stories help us create hopeful climate futures? What storytelling strategies might open pathways to imagine what lies beyond the dystopian and post-apocalyptic narratives so prevalent in popular culture? If we are not only to survive but to thrive over the next century, we need to reframe the stories ...
Human beings are remarkable for the many ways we can impact the world. We move through and interact with the world directly, or with the help of tools, using our brains and our muscles to control those tools. Robots can be thought of as tools, often with computers instead of ...
Join us for this talk to learn about scientific achievements that might give you and your loved ones access to transformational treatment options today or in the near future.Maybe you've heard about CRISPR gene editing or stem cell therapy in the headlines - now you can find out what these ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $22 General in person, $5 online, free students
Chemical synthesis is responsible for significant emissions of carbon dioxide worldwide. These emissions arise not only due to the energy requirements of chemical synthesis, but since hydrocarbon feedstocks can be overoxidized or used as hydrogen sources. Using renewable electricity to drive chemical synthesis may provide a route to overcoming these ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Identifying energy poverty in the built environment using large datasetsBroadly, energy poverty is defined as insufficient energy access. One often missed sign of energy poverty is an inability to maintain a safe and comfortable indoor temperature. Using residential electricity consumption datasets in multiple regions, we determine the outdoor temperatures at which households start using their heating and cooling systems. ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Deep Learning and Deep Sequencing for mRNA DesignTwo decades past the human genome project, genomics is at an inflection point from an era of discovery to an era of engineering. My research journey has paralleled this transition from uncovering fundamental mechanisms of gene regulation to developing new therapeutic applications. I’ll describe how our lab combines machine learning ...
Interactions among organisms are catalysts for biological innovation; this is especially true for symbiotic relationships between marine bacteria and their animal hosts.? From the glowing symbioses of anglerfish to gooey lesions on sharks and the intricate partnerships between bacteria and coral reefs, my research unravels the diverse and fascinating microbial ...
The transition to sustainable energy systems presents a fundamental paradox: developing nations are expected to achieve both rapid modernization and environmental sustainability in a fraction of the time that developed nations took to industrialize. This talk examines this temporal disconnect through the lens of coal-powered electricity, comparing the centuries-long industrialization ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
Transforming Pacific salmon recovery from genes to ecosystemsFor millennia, Pacific salmon have been integral to the health of coastal ecosystems and human communities from California to Alaska. Salmon are ecological and cultural keystone species, connecting marine and freshwater food webs and supporting thriving fisheries. Yet, wild salmon have declined precipitously due to a combination of factors including ...
Sci-Fi movies often depict hibernation as the secret to long-duration human spaceflight. (Note: Even with ideal starship acceleration and deceleration - AND with the benefit of relativistic effects - the nearest exoplanet is 3.6 YEARS away!) Of course, the boundary between science fiction and science fantasy is hazy. Advances in ...
Where: San RafaelCost: Free
Thursday, 02/06/25
Innovation-Driven Environment of Silicon Valley - LivestreamThis webinar in collaboration with Movetia will discuss two trending topics on the US West Coast that are shaping the future of workplace: Artificial Intelligence and Entrepreneurship.Register at weblink to receive connection information
Unistellar Citizen Science Q&A (Part 5) - LivestreamJoin Dr. Franck Marchis, Chief Science Officer and co-founder at Unistellar and director of Citizen Science at SETI Institute, and Dr. Lauren Sgro, Outreach Manager at the SETI Institute, for a conversation on citizen science with the Unistellar network in partnership with the SETI Institute. We will review the 2024 ...
Where: Cost: Free
A Ruthless Criticism of AI and CapitalismRecently, the science fiction author Ted Chiang observed that “most of our fears or anxieties about technology are best understood as fears or anxiety about how capitalism will use technology against us.”The sudden boom of interest in artificial intelligence - driven by torrents of cash and threats to transform society ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Do look back: Glacial history of Thwaites and Pine Island Glaciers in the Amundsen Sea, AntarcticaEarth’s glaciers are currently retreating to positions not yet observed by humans and thereby contributing considerably to global sea-level rise. Recent results of paleo-studies in the Amundsen Sea, West Antarctica, undertaken mainly by the International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration (ITGC), demonstrate a possible range of ice-sheet dynamical behavior not captured by ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
Human evolution in comparative perspectiveIn the early 1970s, Milford Wolpoff suggested that a trait then considered unique to hominins - ‘culture’ - likely changed how speciation occurs in hominins compared to how it does in other taxa. Although culture (socially transmitted behaviour or information), technology, and other ‘uniquely human’ traits are now known to ...
The future of our energy systems depends on cutting-edge innovations in Grid Infrastructure Technology (Grid Infra Tech), essential for integrating renewable energy and supporting a sustainable, resilient grid. This seminar will explore the evolving innovation landscape in Grid Infra Tech, with a special focus on the critical subsectors where transformative ...
Whereas incremental innovation in RF and microwave instrumentation is continuously happening and even accelerating, radical innovation remains a rare event. I will highlight 2 radical innovation examples from my career: X-parameters and Vector Component Analyzers. Both innovations are dealing with the characterization of active high-frequency devices and components and are ...
What Teachers Want to Know about Climate Change - LivestreamDo teachers feel knowledgeable when it comes to teaching about climate change? How many hours a week (or year?!) are devoted to climate science in our nation’s schools? Is climate change even part of the national science curriculum? CFI Education Director Bertha Vazquez knows, and the answers will surprise you. In ...
Where: Cost: Free
Make Your Own Job: How the Entrepreneurial Work Ethic Exhausted AmericaHow Americans think about work changed profoundly over the course of the twentieth century. Thrift and persistence came to seem old-fashioned. Successful workers were increasingly expected to show initiative and enthusiasm for change??"not just to do their jobs reliably but to create new opportunities for themselves and for others. Our ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
NightLife: Black ThursdayCelebrate Black joy with a vibrant night of creativity, community, and experience.
Where: San FranciscoCost: Varies
After Dark: Wondrous FungusExplore the fungi kingdom and get to know mushrooms, yeasts, and other incredible organisms.Ages 18+
Where: San FranciscoCost: $22.95, free for members
Distant Early Warning: The Arctic Under Siege exhibit openingIn 2007, a Russian submarine planted a flag under the North Pole, beginning what has become known as a New Cold War. Part of the security narrative is driven by the idea that once the ice melts, natural resources like oil and new shipping routes will become part of a ...
First Friday Nights at CuriOdysseyCelebrate Lunar New Year with us at CuriOdyssey. Enjoy a festive evening filled with delicious bites from local favorites - Dumpling King and Kabob Trolley. Feel the rhythm at our lively dance party, marvel at an exhilarating Lion Dance performance, and embrace the spirit of the season by crafting your ...
Where: San MateoCost: $27.95 General, $23.95 Seniors, Students, Child
First Friday: AFROFUTURISMThis First Friday, celebrate Black History Month and Black Futures at the Chabot Space and Science Center. Tinker with hands-on robotics designed by youth engineers at the Hidden Genius Project, try your hand at coding with Black Girls Code, and discover the groundbreaking achievements Black scientists and engineers have been ...
Where: OaklandCost: $10 General, $5 kids/seniors, free for members
Astro 101: Sights of the Cosmos, Intro to Astronomy - LivestreamDuring this hour, you'll gain an appreciation for the size and scale of the cosmos and our place within it. You'll see many examples of the beautiful objects visible in the night sky, learn something about how we see them through our telescopes and what we can deduce about them ...
The Sun, our nearest star, is more than just a blazing ball of fire. Its atmosphere, hotter than its already scorching surface, presents a puzzle that has intrigued scientists for years. How does the Sun’s magnetic field drive the heating of its 10,000-degree chromosphere and million-degree corona? This enigma holds ...
Extracellular DNA (eDNA) in the environment degrades rapidly unless adsorbed onto minerals, which enhances its stability. Currently there are vast amounts of DNA molecules preserved in our sediments. This mineral-bound DNA, although widely used to study past ecosystems, also poses significant implications for bacterial gene acquisition. By utilizing interfacial geochemistry, ...
Where: Cost:
Foothills Family Nature WalkEnvironmental Volunteers’ Family Nature Walks program is designed to help community members get to know our local open space areas. Small groups will be guided by a knowledgeable environmental educator during an exploration of a local open space. These small groups will be introduced to fun nature-based activities, and a ...
Head to Natural Bridges State Beach for the 38th Annual Migration Festival. Many organizations from the community will be there with family-friendly, hands-on activities and booths highlighting the migration of whales, butterflies, birds and the many creatures that travel to and through this fascinating area. Celebrate migration of all kinds ...
Where: Santa CruzCost: Free
CuriOdyssey Weekend Workshop: Stop MotionFan of Coraline or other stop-motion movies? We will take a look back at some of the earliest animation techniques. At the end, participants will put it all together to make their very own stop-motion movie.Ages 5 to 10 years old
Where: San MateoCost: $45-$55
City Public Star PartyCome join the San Francisco Amateur Astronomers for free public stargazing of the Moon, planets, globular clusters and more!The event will take place in Tunnel Tops National Park, parking is located adjacent to Picnic Place (210 Lincoln Blvd for GPS) with the telescopes setup in the East Meadow.Dress warmly as conditions ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free
Jazz Under the StarsJazz Under the Stars is a FREE monthly public stargazing event! Occurring on the Saturday nearest the 1st quarter moon, join us for a night of smooth jazz, bright stars, and a lot of fun! We play our jazz from CSM's own KCSM 91.1. Founded in 1964, KCSM has grown to ...
What is the BAS SkeptiCamp? A SkeptiCamp is an informal in-person, free conference where you can learn about science/skepticism, meet fellow skeptics, and enjoy the company of friends old and new. To quote our friends at the Manchester Skeptic Society, “you don’t need to be a published author, famous podcaster or professional ...
Where: Mountain ViewCost: Free
SEA Adventures Mammalian Reproduction LectureThis month’s guest lecturers: Maddie McNelis is a current PhD Candidate at UCSC studying parental care in wildlife in the department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Biological Anthropology from UC Berkeley.Mia Reynolds is a Master’s student in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at UC Santa Cruz. ...
It’s there for us year round, lighting our days and providing energy for our lives, so maybe it’s time to give it a closer look. Join SJAA for amazing and detailed views of the Sun, and be assured that we’ll be using special telescopes that will keep your eyeballs perfectly ...
Speaker: Brad Balukjian, California Academy of Sciences
Where: Rohnert ParkCost: Free
What in the Galaxy is Scattering Cosmic Rays?Cosmic rays with energies << TeV affect galaxy evolution on all scales, from ionizing protoplanetary disks and molecular clouds to driving galactic outflows that alter the gas phase hundreds of kiloparsecs from the galactic disk. All models of cosmic-ray physics on "marco" scales (> pc) are sensitive to the assumed ...
The question of fluctuation and population growth at the local level and how that influences global properties has been studied extensively in physical, biological and social sciences. In liquids and colloidal solutions, fluctuations are ubiquitous. In quantum material interplay of fluctuation and phase transitions is an important topic of research.In ...
Most queueing models assume that each job runs on a single server. But this one-server-per-job model is not a good representation of today’s compute jobs, particularly Machine Learning jobs. A typical data center job today occupies multiple cores concurrently, often thousands of cores. We refer to a job that ...
Speaker: Selmann Chettih, Columbia UniversityRoom: Auditorium
Where: StanfordCost: Free
Nucleic acid-driven self-assemblies: from viral RNA sensors to transcription factorsMy laboratory focuses on the molecular mechanisms of self vs. non-self discrimination by the immune system. Our research has uncovered several protein polymerization processes - distinct from phase separation - that are triggered by nucleic acids in various immune functions. Our earlier work centered on the molecular mechanisms of a ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
What are quantum computers good for?Quantum computers - computers which exploit quantum mechanics - are poised to reshape the landscape of computation. But understanding when ‘quantum’ can help speed up algorithmic tasks is tricky, particularly for those tasks which have the greatest potential for real-world impact. In this talk, I will survey my work in ...
Most magnetic materials, phenomena and devices are well described in terms of the magnetic dipoles arising from the spin of their constituent electrons. There is mounting evidence, however, of intriguing magnetic behaviors that can’t be explained in terms of electron spin dipole moments; these behaviors are often attributed to “hidden ...
Award-winning investigative journalist Charles Piller joins us in San Francisco for an in-depth look at what he says is a world of fraud, corruption, deceit, and greed that have set back important work on treating Alzheimer’s disease.Nearly seven million Americans live with Alzheimer’s, a tragedy that is projected to grow ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $25 General in person, $10 online, member discount
Tuesday, 02/11/25
Radical pairing: an enabling platform for practical metal-free grid scale energy storage To achieve Net Zero by 2050, the power sector will need to be decarbonised fully over the next decade. This is critical not just as a direct means of reducing emissions, but of ensuring a smooth transition in other related sectors including heavy industry, heating, and chemical production. To ...
In this talk, Fletcher will discuss how energy flexibility can help reduce Scope 2 emissions of wastewater treatment facilities. Using a facility from the Bay Area as a case study, he investigates three load shifting mechanisms: a raw wastewater storage tank, a low-pressure biogas holder, and a Li-ion battery. Simulating ...
The development of tandem mass spectrometers equipped with collision cells has enabled online interference removal for ICP-MS, with special attention paid to beta decay systems used for geochronology (e.g., Rb-Sr, Lu-Hf). Looking toward the future, novel applications of LA-MC-ICP-MS/MS will expand many fields that utilize high precision isotope geochemistry, including ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
Bill Gates and Partick Collison, In Conversation - LivestreamJoin us for an extraordinary CHM Live event as we welcome Bill Gates to discuss his deeply personal new memoir, Source Code, in conversation with Patrick Collison, cofounder and CEO of Stripe.The business triumphs of Bill Gates are widely known: the twenty-year-old who dropped out of Harvard to start a ...
The detection of high energy astrophysical neutrinos is an important step toward understanding the most energetic cosmic accelerators. IceCube, an observatory at the South Pole, has observed the first astrophysical neutrinos and identified potential sources. However, the best sensitivity at the highest energies comes from detectors that look for coherent radio Cherenkov emission from neutrino ...
The Internet of Things (IoT) is envisioned to open up exciting new opportunities to gather and use data - from insights about our environment and food supply, to monitoring our health, and beyond. However, most current IoT deployments are rather uninspiring: nobody cares about a new smart toaster, for example. ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Ultrafast Quantum Photonics: Beating Decoherence with LightUltrafast optical pulses - femtoseconds to picoseconds in duration - are gaining interest for quantum processing due to their potential to encode information in brief time-bins, especially in scenarios with rapid decoherence.The development of two essential components for optical quantum technologies are discussed: an optical Kerr effect switch in single-mode ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
'Legion 44'You are invited to a screening of Legion 44, a documentary film about the rise of Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR).Join film director Leila Conners and Stanford Energy Club, Stanford Founders Club, and the Bay Area sustainability community in an opportunity to learn and engage with the innovators and thought leaders ...
Peru has the second highest bird diversity of all countries on the globe, with 1877 species of bird reported there. The topography of Peru is very complex, resulting in a delightful variety of habitats and bird species. Jenn will cover birding in the Peruvian jungle and mountain highlands, an area ...
Join us for a conversation with Yoav Shoham, a leading AI expert who has received multiple awards for his significant contributions to the field. Shoham is the founder of several successful AI companies, the most recent being AI21 Labs. He is also a professor emeritus of computer science at Stanford ...
As a newly appointed engineer in Todd Martz’s lab at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, I have been working with Dr. Martz as well as Andrew Dickson and Ralph Keeling on modernizing how we make the highest quality marine inorganic CO2 system measurements with the intention of renovating the presently used ...
Love and poison are in the water! The peaceful waters of the Japanese Pool - a haven for amphibian mating season - also house a deadly surprise: the cute newts that live there have a powerful neurotoxin in their skin. Thankfully, the only way to be poisoned by a newt ...
The legislative history of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the most significant climate and clean energy legislation in U.S. history, has been widely covered by the political press. Since President Biden signed the bill into law - and particularly since Donald Trump won re-election in November - reporters have continued ...
The polar ice sheets are losing mass and contributing to sea level rise. In Greenland the reason for this is relatively straightforward: the air is getting warmer, melting the ice from above. In Antarctica, the ice is melting from below, from ocean heat delivery to the underside of floating ice ...
The Nature of AdolescenceHumans have a multi-year life stage that begins with pubertal onset and ends with a shift into full adulthood. This period is rife with behavioral and emotional vulnerabilities that include rejection, injury, and the onset of lasting mental health problems. To illuminate the evolution of this life stage, my research ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Architecting Fault-Tolerant Quantum Computers for Today and TomorrowQuantum computers represent a new computing paradigm and have the potential to serve as a disruptive tool for scientific discovery and practical applications. However, they face the fundamental challenges of errors and decoherence. Quantum error correction (QEC) and fault-tolerant quantum computation (FTQC) are therefore crucial for realizing the promise of ...
If an extraterrestrial civilization existed with technology similar to ours, would they be able to detect Earth and evidence of humanity? If so, what signals would they detect, and from how far away? Researchers used a theoretical, modeling-based method, and this study is the first to analyze multiple types of ...
Where: Cost: Free
Human-AI Systems for Accessible Visual CommunicationCommunication dictates our ability to learn, connect, and act in the world. Visual media such as images, videos, and presentations are now central to communication across education, work, and personal life. While such media is engaging and informative, current interfaces make it difficult for millions of people with disabilities or ...
How does the brain generate internal representations of emotions? Driven by this fundamental question, Amit has developed innovative approaches to uncover how neural circuits encode and regulate affective states. By combining cutting-edge experimental tools with advanced computational modeling, Amit provided the first causal demonstration of line attractor dynamics encoding an affective ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
After Dark: SexplorationsSlip into something comfortable and learn about all the ways the natural world gets it on.Ages 18+
Where: San FranciscoCost: $22.95
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 60,000 live animals (including familiar faces like Claude, our alligator with albinism), the night is sure to be wild.Step inside the iconic ...
While some people choose to learn about evolution through coursework, a large number of people could be interested in the subject if brought to them wrapped in another subject in which they are already engaged. In this talk, Prof. Noor introduces evolutionary concepts, thinking, and approaches framed using depictions from ...
Where: Cost: Free
Bay Area Wildlife Guide - LivestreamJeff Miller will discuss his book Bay Area Wildlife: An Irreverent Guide, a quirky and entertaining wildlife guide to the greater San Francisco Bay Area, which invites readers to connect with and conserve local species. Featuring over 100 native creatures, from mammals to invertebrates, this informative primer is a treasure ...
Where: Cost: Free
Friday, 02/14/25
Morning Hike at Rancho Cañada del OroJoin Peninsula Open Space Trust for an excursion where you’ll explore the Mayfair Ranch - Longwall Canyon trails of Rancho Canada 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 ...
This month, we’ll be joined by two Steward Observatory postdocs: Aldana Grichener will be teaching us how to make gold out of neutrons and Haowen Zhang will tell us about black holes near and far!.Celestial Alchemy: Turning Neutrons into Gold Speaker: Aldana GrichenerToo Many Black Holes Near and Far!!!Speaker: Haowen ...
Incorporating species’ ability to adaptively respond to climate change is critical for robustly predicting population persistence and identifying mitigation strategies. In this seminar, I will present two case studies on the physiological impacts of climate change on marine species in highly dynamic environments, where organisms may already be adapted to ...
Halide perovskites are exciting new semiconductors that show a great promise in low cost and high-performance optoelectronics devices. However, the poor stability is limiting their practical use. In this talk, I will present a molecular approach to the synthesis of a new family of hybrid material - Organic Semiconductor-incorporated Perovskite ...
This Valentine’s Day, immerse yourself in an evening of thought-provoking conversation and imagination with Ahmed Best - award-winning actor, writer, producer, educator, and a true visionary of our shared future. From his groundbreaking role as the world’s first major CGI character actor in Star Wars to his work as a ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $30.95 General, Free for members
