The Next Frontier: Engineering the Golden Age of Green: Renewable, clean energy technologiesCommissioned by the Professional Engineers in California Government, this new film takes the viewer around the world in search of renewable, clean energy technologies and policies that will address the serious problem of excessive carbon dioxide emissions and our dangerous dependence on foreign oil.Speaker: Timothy Lipman, commentator, UCB Institute of ...
Spurred by revelations in mainstream media of surreptitious monitoring, much of it spurred by the ascent of behavioral advertising, there has been a resurgence of interest in online privacy among government agencies and the general public. Despite its acknowledged failure, in the United States, notice-and-consent, fortified in one way or ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
Creating Sustainable Livelihoods in Poor RegionsSamasource is a nonprofit that connects people living in poverty to work via the Internet. In parallel, they provide high-quality content moderation, data entry, and other outsourcing services to clients. Ms. Janah first developed the idea behind Samasource while working as a management consultant, where her clients included global leaders ...
Debates Worth Having: Pros and cons of SaltworksThe proposed Saltworks development in Redwood City would bring as many as 12,000 much-needed housing units to the core of the Bay Area. But it would be built on decommissioned salt ponds at the edge of the Bay, and would thus destroy what could be a large and productive wetlands. ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $5 General, Free Members
Earthquakes, tsunamis, and nuclear fallout: Is California at risk like Japan?As Japan grapples with the effects of a massive earthquake, devastating tsunami, and potentially catastrophic meltdown of multiple nuclear reactors, it is appropriate to consider whether California faces similar risks. Like Japan, California sits on the so-called "Ring of Fire", the boundary of the Pacific Plate whose potential for seismic ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Dobsonian Telescope MakingBuild a telescope the Dobson way. You will learn about John Dobson and his reflector telescopes, as well as how these telescopes work. You'll learn the step-by-step method for grinding and polishing the mirror, building the mount, and assembling a complete telescope. Seeing the rings of Saturn, the moons of ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $170 + materials & supplies
The Heartbreak Turtle TodayThe Sea Turtle Restoration Project (STRP) hosts the public premier showing of The Heartbreak Turtle Today, an educational documentary detailing Gulf of Mexico sea turtle conservation up to, and including, the horrific BP oil spill. The 30-minute documentary will be followed by an interactive discussion and a presentation on California's ...
Where: SausalitoCost: Free, donations encouraged
Moonwalking With EinsteinConversations at the Herbst: Joshua Foer In Conversation With Douglas McGrayScience journalist Joshua Foer became the United State Memory Champion in 2007, after researching how others use memory devices competitively. His forthcoming first book is based on that experience, and called Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $20 General, $18 Members
Solution-processed electronic materials have the potential to create a new manufacturing paradigm and applications domains beyond those now dominated by silicon technology. These materials can be deposited and patterned with tools commonly used in the graphics design and printing businesses. Over the past 10 years, solution-processed semiconducting materials have been ...
The search for extraterrestrial intelligence has sought radio beacons devoid of information content. It seems likely, however, that a civilization transmitting a radio signal intended for our detection will also be motivated to embed information within the signal, especially in view of the large speed-of-light latencies. Successful exchange of information ...
Japan After the Great Tohoku Quake: Energy, Economy and PoliticsThis panel of experts will look at how Japan has responded to a still unfolding tragedy of unprecedented historical proportions and examine what this challenge may mean for the future of Japan's energy policy, economy, politics and relations with the rest of the world.Panel:Michio Harada - Deputy Consul General at ...
Fabricating Organic, Active Matrix Display Backplanes for Paper-like Displays and Flexible SensorsSpeaker: Ana Arias, Assistant Professor in EECS, UC BerkeleyLive broadcast at mms://media.citris.berkeley.edu/webcast; Questions can be sent via Yahoo IM to username: citrisevents. The complete schedule for the spring semester is online at http://www.citris-uc.org/events/RE-spring2011. All talks may be viewed on our YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/citrisuc.
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Parallel Computing: Its opportunities and challengesAs the computing industry moves to multi/many-core architecture, parallel computing becomes a critical aspect of high performance computing. This talk discusses the opportunities and challenges that parallel computing brings.Speaker: Victor Lee, Intel CorporationHP Auditorium
Where: StanfordCost: Free
The Galactic Center: Uncovering the Pulse of our GalaxyMore than a quarter century ago, it was suggested that galaxies such as our own Milky Way may harbor massive, though possibly dormant, central black holes. Definitive proof, for or against, the existence of a massive central black hole lies in the assessment of the distribution of matter in the ...
With urban homesteading all the rage and backyard and vacant lot food production on the rise it appears we're taking big steps toward encouraging self-sufficiency in the Bay Area. For sure people's requirements for connection to their food has changed. But how much do the popular local underground food movements ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free
Thursday, 03/31/11
An emerging regional consensus in the Bay Area? Many of the most pressing planning questions of our day occur at the regional level: How do we address sea-level rise? How should we alter our land-use patterns to combat climate change? Join leaders of the Bay Area's four regional agencies to discuss planning for our region's collective future. With ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $5 General, Free Members
The Boething Lecture Series, in honor of John and Susan Boething, addresses forests and the human predicament. This year, Alan H. Weisman, an American author, professor and journalist will be talking about his fifth book, The World Without Us - "A fascinating nonfiction eco-thriller...Weisman's gripping fantasy will make most readers ...
Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) uses arrays of piezoelectric transducers to actuate and sense guided waves for the detection of material defects. It is a very attractive vision to embed such arrays into smart materials and structures that are "aware" of their own states. With advances in materials science and manufacturing ...
The Felidae Conservation Fund aims to advance the conservation of wild cats and their habitats planetwide through a combination of groundbreaking research, compelling education and cutting-edge technology.Felidae collaborates on strategic research studies that clearly define a process to understand human impact on wild cats and wild places. There are important ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $12 General, $10 Members
A Sustainable (Re)Building Solution for HaitiBerkeley architect Martin Hammer will show slides and discuss the recent construction of a sustainable prototype house in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The "Ti Kay Pay" (Small Straw House) is the first strawbale building in Haiti, and offers a safe, affordable, sustainable, and culturally appropriate (re)building solution for Haiti, as it recovers ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Unraveling the Mystery of Avian Navigation For nearly 40 years, biologists have been unable to agree on how birds find their way over great distances during homing or migrational flightsDo birds use their olfactory senses, the Earth's magnetic field, or low-frequency acoustic (infrasonic) signals to navigate by?New findings indicate that birds use infrasonic signals radiated from ...
Where: Menlo ParkCost: Free
Friday, 04/01/11
Sex::Tech / The 4th Annual New Media, Youth, and Sexual Health ConferenceSex::Tech is the only national event that brings health and technology professionals together with youth, parents and community leaders to advance the sexual health of youth. This year will include more than 50 presentations and breakout sessions, with 500 in-person attendees, and more than 2,000 viewers via live video stream.Sex::Tech ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $300
Prefrontal Cortex, Dopamine, and Autism: Computational ConnectionsAutism is a complex developmental disorder characterized by deficits across physical, social, and cognitive domains. Cognitive difficulties are found in executive function, "mind reading" abilities, the integration of information, attention, and the generalization of learned abilities to novel contexts. In addition, physical motor abnormalities, an increased prevalence of seizure disorders, ...
Very few improvements have been done to the electric grid in the past 50 years. Power Engineering became a mature discipline with little new to offer society until recent years with the onset of Smart Grid, which has the potential to bring great innovation to a very important component of ...
Power Engineering and Telecommunications Engineering in the Context of Smart GridVery few improvements have been done to the electric grid in the past 50 years. Power Engineering became a mature discipline with little new to offer society until recent years with the onset of Smart Grid, which has the potential to bring great innovation to a very important component of ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
John Muir Laws Art Opening & Book SigningDr. Laws will give a brief presentation on his books "The Laws Field Guide to the Sierra Nevada" & "Sierra Birds: A Hiker's Guide", at 7 P.M. followed by a book signing. The salon will be open for artist reception until 9 P.M. exhibit is up through May 4th.
NASA's Kepler spacecraft, launched in March 2009, is a mission designed to survey a slice of the Milky Way Galaxy to identify planets orbiting other stars. Kepler has the advantage that it can find planets as small as Earth in or near the habitable zone of each star. Dr. Batalha ...
Where: San MateoCost: Free
Saturday, 04/02/11
Sex::Tech / The 4th Annual New Media, Youth, and Sexual Health ConferenceSex::Tech is the only national event that brings health and technology professionals together with youth, parents and community leaders to advance the sexual health of youth. This year will include more than 50 presentations and breakout sessions, with 500 in-person attendees, and more than 2,000 viewers via live video stream.Sex::Tech ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $300
4-H2O World of Water SeminarYouth 13 and older and adults are invited to participate in the free 4-H2O Wow -- World of Water Seminar. Participants at this seminar will experience hands-on activities and experiments about water quality and water conservation. Details and registration online.
Where: San MateoCost: Free (parking fee applies)
Why Tides MatterDocent Laurel Stell will talk and walk you through all things tides. What are they? How do they affect wildlife? How have humans reshaped the Bay's tidal lands? Program starts indoors but will move outside for an easy 0.5-mile walk. All are welcome.
Where: AlvisoCost: Free
The Earth Shook and the Sky BurnedSan Francisco was a bustling city with fine mansions and grand hotels. Then, at 5:12 AM on the morning of April 18, 1906, everything changed forever.What happened? How did it happen? Will it happen again? Find out more from Ranger Linda. Meet at the vistor center information desk.
Bedtime with the Beasts is a special overnight program for youth groups (ages 6-18) and their chaperones. An Oakland Zoo education specialist will lead your group on an evening hike around the zoo where you'll get a look at what the zoo is like after all of the guests leave. ...
Where: OaklandCost: $60
SMCAS Star Party Come out and bring the kids for a mind expanding look at the universe.Setup of telescopes begins around sunset, with observations beginning about 1 hour later.
Concentrating Solar Power (CSP, aka Solar Thermal Electric Power) comprises three system architectures: line focus (parabolic trough and linear Fresnel), point focus central receiver (power towers), and point focus, distributed receiver (dish Stirling). In all of these technologies, solar energy is collected, converted to thermal energy, and used to drive ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
Transportation in a Climate-Constrained WorldTransportation consumes two-thirds of the world's petroleum and has become the largest contributor to global environmental change. Most of this increase in scale can be attributed to the strong desire for personal mobility that comes with economic growth. This talk will cover the past and future travel demand; the influence ...
Benjamin Dean Lecture - The New Universe and The Human FutureIn the centuries since Newton, scientifically minded people have thought of Earth as a lonely rock orbiting an average star in a universe where no place is special. But modern cosmology has now given us a completely new picture of the universe based on dark matter, dark energy, and the ...
In his book The Wild Trees, investigative journalist and gifted storyteller Richard Preston lifts us into the high canopy of the world's tallest trees, the coast redwood, Sequoia sempervirens. His slide presentation introduces Steve Sillett and Marie Antoine, scientists who found an unexplored, hauntingly beautiful new world hundreds of feet ...
