Entanglement and Quantum Algorithms with Superconducting CircuitsProf. Robert Schoelkopf of the Applied Physics Dept. of Yale University will give the Applied Physics/Physics colloquium entitled, "Entanglement and Quantum Algorithms with Superconducting Circuits."
Science fiction taught us that our Milky Way Galaxy abounds with habitable planets populated by advanced civilizations engaged in interstellar commerce and conflict. Back in our real universe, Earth-like planets and alien life have proved elusive. Has science fiction led us astray? NASA recently launched a new space-borne telescope, Kepler, ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Breaking Trail: Mountains to Molecules to MotherhoodClimbing the world's highest mountains is an excellent model for achieving other extremely demanding objectives. Dr. Arlene Blum will share photos and stories from her scientific and policy work protecting our health and environment from toxins in consumer products, as well as from her expeditions among the world's highest and ...
Where: LafayetteCost: $5.00 (boxed meals available for $10 additional)
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
Jan Hartley and Michael Yeargan, projection designer and set designer respectively for "The Ring of the Nibelung" talk with Carol Tang, earth scientist and director of Public Programs at the California Academy of Sciences, to provide perspectives on the intersection of science and the environment in Wagner's work and the ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $18 General, $15 Members and Seniors
Explore the evening magic of Muir Woods, learning about the secret nightlife of an old-growth redwood forest.This special walk begins one hour before sunset and will conclude with the dark of night! We'll listen for owls, look for bats, and use our senses to guide us through the trails.This is an ...
Where: Mill ValleyCost: Free
Wednesday, 05/18/11
Free Wednesday at Cal AcademyFree admission is available to visitors on the third Wednesday of every month, through the generosity of The Bernard Osher Foundation. Admission is on a first come, first served basis, and early arrival is recommended due to the likelihood of high demand. Also, please note that final entry to the ...
20 years ago computer scientist Danny Hillis thought up a monument scale slow moving mechanical clock to serve as an icon to long-term thinking. 10 years ago a first prototype was completed and put into the Science Museum of London. 5 years ago the full size clock project began design. ...
Where: Mountain ViewCost: Free
Mapping Spins and Light in SemiconductorsUnderstanding the interactions of electron spins and photons in semiconductors may enable the development of new devices with enhanced functionality and performance, such as spin-based devices that combine logic and storage and fast optical switches for information processing. In the first half of this talk, I'll describe recent time- and ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
Science with Children's Discovery Museum: Dry IceJoin us, as the library is turned into a laboratory for young scientists. Children will investigate chemical reactions with dry ice as they solve a dilemma presented within a folktale. This event stimulates kids to explore the wonders of science. (For ages 5-12)
Health, both the health of individuals and of communities, has more to do with circumstances than with the availability of health care. Students interested in the health professions are generally unaware of this relationship, and schools of medicine spend most of their curriculum on health care, not health.Gabriel Garcia will ...
Where: SaratogaCost: $12 Members; $20 Non-Members; $7 Students
Multiple Universes & Cosmic Inflation-The Quest to Understand Our Universe (and Find Others)About a decade ago, scientists completed a great transformation in the understanding of our cosmos, establishing a broad and deep understanding of how the observable universe has evolved from a hot, dense state 13.7 billion years ago. Yet a second, even bigger transformation may now be taking place, because this ...
Come join the founder of Skepchick and co-host of The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe for a night of trivia! You can play alone or, to improve your chance of winning awesome prizes, you can form a team of 5 or fewer.All questions will relate to science and skepticism, so ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: $2/person
A Case for Public Health: Influenza PandemicsSpeaker: Dr. George Rutherford, director, UCSF Institute for Global Health, head of Division of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, UCSFRoom 041
Where: StanfordCost: Free
Early Universe and Galaxy DevelopmentJoin Brenda L. Frye, Assistant Professor of Astronomy and Physics at the University of San Francisco, a presentation on Early Universe and Galaxy Development.Professor Frye's research interests include galaxy formation and evolution, protoclusters, galactic structures, and high redshift galaxies. Using large ground- and space-based telescopes including the Hubble Space Telescope ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free
Nerd Nite SF #12: Audio Guide Revolution, Science of Magic, and Truth vs. MemoryWait-we've been nerding it up in San Francisco for a year now? My, how time flies when you're having fun! Come help us celebrate the first birthday of the best booze-addled, 3rd-Wednesday lecture series around, and get ready to have your mind blown, bent, and otherwise overhauled by a trio ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $8
Thursday, 05/19/11
TEDxHaywardTEDxHayward: The theme for this year's TEDxHayward is Peace Innovation where we cast a spotlight on how technology and emerging social behaviors and insights are promoting new paths to global peace. Please join the CSUEB Peace Innovation Lab, the Stanford Peace Innovation Lab and CSUEB Associated Students from 12-6 for ...
Where: HaywardCost: FREE (food and drinks as well!)
Traveling Reptile Program by the East Bay VivariumThis one hour program features between 20 and 30 reptiles and other CREEPIES, CRAWLIES and CRITTERS (ex. Tarantula, frogs, lizards, snakes). They teach natural history, animal husbandry and safety.
Where: San JoseCost: Free
THE MICROWAVE THERMAL ROCKETIn 1924, K.E. Tsiolkovsky wrote "there is a third and most attractive method of acquiring velocity. This consists in the transmission of energy from the outside, from Earth." He envisaged a "parallel beam of shortwave electromagnetic rays" directed from the ground to power spaceships into orbit at a future time ...
Where: Palo AltoCost: Free
America and The Pill - A History of Promise, Peril, and LiberationFifty years ago, the FDA announced approval for the birth control pill. The pill quickly became the most popular form of contraception in the country and on of the best-selling drugs in the U.S. It was hailed as a magic bullet that would halt the global population explosion, eradicate war ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
Community Solar is Taking RootA national movement is brewing to develop an alternative to the big corporate central-station renewable power model. It's called Community Solar and it's embodied in many local cooperative/collective solar initiatives from coast to coast. Come learn about this movement from representatives of three Community Solar projects: Dan Rosen: Solar Mosaics; ...
Where: OaklandCost: Small donation requested
'Call of Life: Facing the Mass Extinction'Earth Island Institute along with Species Alliance and the Video Project will be presenting the East-Bay premiere of the award-winning documentary Call of Life: Facing the Mass Extinction, the first feature documentary to investigate the growing threat to Earth's life support systems from this unprecedented loss of biodiversity. Through interviews ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: $10-20 General, half price for youth
A Tale of Three Cities: The Quest for Energy Efficient Street Lighting As energy and maintenance costs begin to sky rocket, outdoor lighting has recently been targeted as a huge potential in cost reductions. In addition, the impacts of outdoor lighting on circadian cycle disruptions, nocturnal animal habitat, light trespass and sky glow have also been hot topics. Can current lighting designs ...
Amanitas: From Deadly to DeliciousBAMS co-founder Debbie Viess will bring her fascination for amanitas alive in this richly illustrated, informative and entertaining presentation. Amanitas are some of the most feared, as well as some of the most coveted of all edible mushrooms. Come learn about the realities of this often maligned but never boring ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Who Killed off the Oysters of SF Bay? Marine Biologist, Andrew Cohen, will talk about the once-abundant SF Bay's native oysters, with excursions into history, biology,, geology, and archaeology. The answers are not what people expected.
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
Come to Foothill Observatory and join us in the exploration of our Universe!Foothill Observatory Friday Evening ProgramCome to Foothill Observatory and join us in the exploration of our Universe!Foothill Observatory is open for public viewing every clear Friday evening from 9:00 p.m. until 11:00 p.m. Visitors can view the wonders of the universe through the observatory's new computer-controlled 16-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope. Views ...
Where: Los Altos HillsCost:
Saturday, 05/21/11
Maker Faire Bay Area 2011The ultimate 21st century county fair, Maker Faire Bay Area 2011 mashes items possessing an On/Off switch with old-fashioned human curiosity, resulting in a round-up of robots, musical Tesla coils, fresh-squeezed sunflower oil, futuristic chariot races, antique pinball machines, super-sized Lego projects, and more neon, flame, and brightly gaseous glows than ...
Social insects dominate many terrestrial ecosystems by forming sophisticated and cooperative colonies. One species, the invasive Argentine ant, has taken this sociality to an extreme – forming massive "supercolonies" across hundreds, or sometimes thousands, of kilometers. Recent studies using synthetic ant pheromones, genomics, behavioral experiments, and old-fashioned field-work have reveal ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Saturday Night StargazingSee the Moon, Planets, Stars, Galaxies and More* Stargaze through astronomical telescopes* Ask questions and talk with amateur astronomers* Learn how to use a star map to find constellations* Share in the wonder of the universe with your friendsStargazing is always weather permitting-be sure to dress warmly. Foggy and overcast ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Sunday, 05/22/11
'Vanishing of the Bees'The documentary feature film "Vanishing of the Bees" will be shown in the Great Hall of the Education Center at the San Francisco Zoo in three screenings, at 10 am, noon and 2 pm. Vanishing of the Bees takes a piercing investigative look at the economic, political and spiritual implications of the worldwide disappearance of the ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free Admission to Film
Maker Faire Bay Area 2011The ultimate 21st century county fair, Maker Faire Bay Area 2011 mashes items possessing an On/Off switch with old-fashioned human curiosity, resulting in a round-up of robots, musical Tesla coils, fresh-squeezed sunflower oil, futuristic chariot races, antique pinball machines, super-sized Lego projects, and more neon, flame, and brightly gaseous glows than ...
Where: San MateoCost: $5-30
Marine Mammal Research TourGo behind the scenes at Long Marine Lab. Learn about the work of scientists and their studies of dolphins, seals, sea lions, and whales. Tour is best suited for adults and children over 10 years of age. Advanced reservations required.
Where: Santa CruzCost: Free with admission
Monday, 05/23/11
CITRIS Workshop: Berkeley -- INRIA -- Stanford Partnership ProgramThe objectives of this workshop are two-fold: first, to present the current state of scientific collaborations and second to work on proposal for future ambitious joint projects.See the website for registration and workshop agenda.
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Clean Cars and Advanced Biofuels:How to Cut Our Oil Dependence in Half in 20 YearsOnce again, the nation is gripped by spiking gas prices. A billion dollars are being sent out of the country each day to buy oil, the vast majority being burned in our cars and trucks. For decades, the US has tried and failed to reduce our dependence on petroleum. Why ...
More than 300 energy experts collaborated over the last four years on the Global Energy Assessment (GEA). The Report, forthcoming in Summer 2011, aims at providing the technical and scientific basis for the evaluation of social, economic, technological, and environmental challenges linked to energy. This talk focuses on findings of ...
Multimode fiber (MMF) is widely used in short-reach systems, such as data-center networks. Random perturbations cause coupling between modes having different group delays (modal dispersion), strongly limiting bit rate ´ distance products (to about 10 Gbit/s ´ 300 m in current systems). For decades, modal coupling and dispersion have been modeled using incoherent power coupling models. By using a coherent ...
