History of the DeltaLearn about the history of the delta - from the early 1800s up to 2012 - from framing, discovery of gold, railroad building, and levee building to the present time with Ranger Bill. 1,000 miles in scope, 60-80 man made islands, and a population that exceeds 500,000! Historical. Educational. Informative.
Where: SausalitoCost: Free
Multiscale Dataflow Computing: The Vertical PerspectiveIn this talk we show a vertical perspective on high performance computing. While on the chip level, microprocessors look like the most efficient way to compute, once we evaluate efficiency on the architecture level, the more flexible approach we employ with multiscale dataflow computing allows us to further minimize communication ...
The Science of Yoga: A Mind-Body PracticeYoga has been shown to effectively improve over 50 medical conditions including stress induced injuries and illnesses. By combining the mindfulness techniques of meditation with physical movement of yoga, people all over the world have witnessed reductions of stress and physical ailments in their bodies. Jon Kabat-Zinn is Professor of ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $22/27 General, $20/25 Members
What's that one thing you always wanted to learn to do, but just never got around to – knitting? DJing? beer brewing? The time has come! In honor of the New Year, NightLife is teaming up with experts across the Bay Area, including San Franpsycho, The Crucible, and SF Brewcraft, ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $12 General, $10 Members
Palau: The Tropical Undersea WonderlandCalistoga's Forrest Blau is scientist, biologist, photographer and diver all rolled into one great package. He recently made 35 dives in 9 days among the 254 islands of the 20,000people of the Palau nation. The photos and stories are dazzling and engaging. Clown Fish,Giant Clams, Giant Sea Anemone, Cuttlefish, Corals, ...
Speakers: Don Ganem, Novartis; Lalita Ramakrishnan, University of Washington; William R. Jacobs, Albert Einstein College of Medicine; Thumbi Ndung'u, University of Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa; Ana Rodriguez, New York University; Sara Sawyer, University of Texas Austin; Madhukar Pai, McGill UniversitySee web link for topicsBerdahl Auditorium
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free, registration required
Natural Discourse Symposium at the UC Botanical GardenThe creative minds behind Natural Discourse: Artists, Architects, Scientists and Poets in the Garden present a diverse group of speakers who will address questions about how man's invention and interpretation of nature has influenced their practice.This one-day symposium brings together creative minds from disciplines within the humanities, sciences and arts ...
Green FridayLincoln Shaw will share his slides and talk about his experiences working with Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS) to disrupt Japanese whaling in the Antarctic whaling sanctuary. Shaw served on the crew of the Bob Barker during the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's 2009-2010 campaign. During his 81 days at sea, ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: $2 Donation
Saturday, 01/12/13
Journey South: Elephant Seals and Whale WatchingJanuary is a special time at the tip of Point Reyes, as we are visited by magnificent marine mammals. First, from the bluffs above the historic lighthouse, we will keep a lookout for gray whales that are migrating southward from their arctic feeding grounds to their birthing lagoons in Baja ...
Where: Point Reyes StationCost: $50 General, $40 members
Wildflower trails of Mt. DiabloJoin us for our popular series of free public lectures on a broad array of topics related to plants and natural history. Named in honor of its founder, the Wayne Roderick Lecture Series takes place in the Visitor Center of the Regional Parks Botanic Garden. These illustrated presentations are enjoyable for ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Beach Clean UpMeet on the steps at the end of Taraval at noon. We'll pick up trash and look for shorebirds along 1.5 miles of Ocean Beach. Bags and gloves will be provided. We'll finish up with refreshments at the Park Chalet! Heavy rain cancels.
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free
Run of the SalmonYears later and many millions of dollars invested, the endangered Chinook population is not recovering in ways hoped. What have scientists recently discovered? Is it something in the water? Find out more and feel free to share information with Ranger Linda.
Where: SausalitoCost: Free
History of the U.S. Army Corps of EngineersJoin Ranger Bill to learn about the "When/Where/Why/What/ How," the diverse, complex, many faceted missions, goals and objectives of the USACE's "Birth" in 1775 under General George Washington.
Where: SausalitoCost: Free
The Basics of Salt Pond RestorationJoin Park Ranger José Garcia to find out how construction in former salt ponds A16 and A17 ties into the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project. This ambitious project seeks to convert 15,100 acres of former industrial salt ponds to endangered species and other wildlife habitat using adaptive management. Presentation will be in the auditorium and ...
Where: AlvisoCost: Free
Low Tide WalkSome years we find only a few perfect Saturdays when the moon and sun allign to let us play a good low tide. 2013 is different. We have LOTS of chances! But beware, it looks like 2014 will have very few opportunities, so make this the year to explore tide ...
Where: Redwood CityCost: $20 General, $10 Members
San Mateo County Astronomical Society Star PartyThe City of San Carlos Department of Parks and Recreation and the San Mateo County Astronomical Society have open Star Parties. These events are held in Crestview Park, San Carlos California. Dates and Sunset times are below. Note that inclement weather (clouds, excessive wind and showers) will cause the event ...
Join us for an evening of silence, inspiration, and conversation with paleontologist and science communicator Scott Sampson, PhD ("Dr. Scott" on the PBS KIDS series Dinosaur Train).Sampson will speak on what he considers one of the most pressing needs of our time – Falling in Love with Nature. He will ...
Where: San RafaelCost: $25 General, Free for members
Guided Nature WalkExperience the beauty and rich natural history of Audobon Canyon Ranch's 535-acre Bouverie Preserve. Participants are divided into small groups and paired with a trained Bouverie volunteer to explore the mixed evergreen forest, flower-carpeted oak woodland and rugged chaparral. Guided Nature Walks range from two to five miles. Visitors of all ages are ...
Discover the wonder of an old-growth redwood forest in winter on this leisurely walk on the Fern Creek and Alice Eastwood trails. Look for salmon, mushroom displays, winter wildflowers, waterfalls, and more!Dress for the weather and wear sturdy shoes as the trails are steep and may be muddy.Bring water and ...
The Marine Mammal Center is pleased to present a monthly series Marine Science Sundays, held on the 2nd Sunday of the Month! These fun-filled days of family-friendly tours, classroom activities and more will be centered around a new theme each month.This month as we bundle up with the cold weather, ...
Experience the wildlife and natural beauty that make Younger Lagoon an exceptional local treasure on this docent-led tour to the lagoon and its beach habitat. Younger Lagoon is excellent for bird watching and seeing animals that call the reserve's intact coastal dunes home, such as: bobcats, foxes, seabirds, raptors, and ...
Grid Flexibility and Research Challenges to Enhance the Integration of Variable Renewable Energy SourcesGrid flexibility is a characteristic that is proposed to help the integration of variable renewable energy resources. However it has proven very difficult to quantify and this has spurred intense research efforts over the past few years. There are many sources, sinks and enablers for flexibility in the grid and ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
Leonardo Art/Science Evening Rendezvous The LASERs are a national program of evening gatherings that bring artists and scientists together for informal presentations and conversation with an audience. See the program for the whole series.Leonardo ISAST and USF invite you to a meeting of the Leonardo Art/Science community. See below for location and agenda.The event ...
Where: San FranciscoCost:
Beginning Mushroom Identification I - FULLIntroduction to the terminology used for mushroom identification. A PowerPoint presentation will systematically go over the salient features needed for successful ID of fruiting bodies. Reservations required.Mycological Society of San FranciscoRoom 401
Where: San FranciscoCost: $5 General, Members free
Tuesday, 01/15/13
Skeptics in the StudioNorth Bay Skeptics are: humanists, atheists, freethinkers, agnostics and undeclared, who embrace modern skepticism. We celebrate the scientific method, and the application of logic and evidence to all claims. As in the tradition of many Skeptical groups world wide, we like to gather for lively discussion on current topics and ...
Book Discussion: 'Too Smart for Our Own Good: The Ecological Predicament of Humankind'We will continue to discuss Craig Dilworth's unique history of our species written from the perspective of the failure of technology to ultimately solve our deepest problems: Too Smart for Our Own Good: The Ecological Predicament of Humankind. In this book the author presents the thesis, the "Vicious Circle Principle", ...
The Sentinel B612 Telescope - Finding Asteroids Before They Find UsWe know how to deflect asteroids, but our technology is useless if we do not scan the skies to look for asteroids to know well in advance if one is on a collision course with Earth. The Sentinel Space Telescope, the first privately supported deep space mission, is designed to ...
What emotional state are you in about global warming? Shock, denial, anger, depression… or acceptance and readiness for action?Bring a brown bag lunch and help move yourself toward action.Meet Ranger Will Elder at the temporary visitor center, 105 Montgomery St. at Lincoln Blvd.Fully accessible.
As changing weather patterns create uncertainty about the future, farmers and ranchers, like many other business owners, are facing the question of how to both reduce their contribution to climate change and adapt to its effects. Meanwhile, the implementation of California's cap-and-trade legislation is presenting both financial opportunities and challenges ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $10 General, Free for Members
This talk will discuss ongoing research at the JHU Engineering Research Center for Computer-Integrated Surgical Systems and Technology (CISST ERC) to develop CIIS systems that combine innovative algorithms, robotic devices, imaging systems, sensors, and human-machine interfaces to work cooperatively with surgeons in the planning and execution of surgery and other ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
Chopin and the Nature of Genius - Firinn TaisdealChopin was a musical genius. Yet what do we mean by "genius," exactly? Is genius only a matter of specialized brain function, or is it the result of specific character qualities operating over time? After all, in every era there are prodigies, but most prodigies only go on to become ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free
River Management Challenges: a European perspective to 2020The need to advance an interdisciplinary approach to river management that incorporates hydrology, geomorphology, ecology, engineering and the social sciences is now widely accepted by both academics and policy makers. This talk explores what this means in practice for river management in an environment dominated by human-modified landscapes with uncertain ...
Paleontologist and evolutionary biologist Neil Shubin is famed for discovering the fossilized Tiktaalik roseae, the missing link between ancient sea creatures and land dwellers. His bestselling book, Your Inner Fish, shows parallels between human anatomy and the structures of the fish that first wriggled landward 375 million years ago. In ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $25 General, $20 Members, $15 Students
Overconfidence and the Frailty of KnowledgeWhile self-confidence is a prized human attribute, too much confidence can be obnoxious, pernicious, and even deadly. This audience-participation skeptalk will present a simple 10-question quiz to measure an important aspect of individual self-confidence. With analysis and discussion of these measurements, audience members will be better able to calibrate properly their ...
Not long after the transit tunnels of Muni and Bart went in below Market Street in the '70s, a San Franciscan butterfly - the Western Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio rutulus) moved into an ecosystem freshly lined with one of her host trees: the London Plane sycamore (Plantanus acerifolia). She lays eggs ...
Strategic Energy and ControlFind out why strategic energy control (SEC) can be a smart approach for reducing energy consumption in this informative free event. SEC expert Yilmaz Sahinkaya describes the benefits of controlling the amplitude and duration of electrical power and outlines the technical specifications of these breakthrough technologies. He then goes on ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
What's Trending? Sustainable, Prosperous and Greener CorporationsToday, leading companies are using dramatically fewer materials, less energy and safer chemicals when they manufacture products. These innovations impressively address climate change and natural resources depletion while generating corporate profits, community benefits and professional pride. Engineers, managers and interested citizens hear a hopeful, future story based on real-world examples ...
Mandrills are the largest of old world monkeys and according to Darwin are the most brightly colored of all primates. Over the last 5 years the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) in the Republic of Congo has rehabilitated nearly 20 of these highly threatened and heavily hunted primates as they were ...
Where: OaklandCost: $12-20 General, $10-20 Members
BLUEMIND: Putting The Science of Emotion Into Ocean ConservationDr. Wallace J. Nichols believes that the environmental "Green Movement" misses the boat with ocean conservation. "J," as he is known, proposes a makeover, what he calls a "Blue Movement," and has founded BLUEMiND: The Mind + Ocean Initiative, merging the fields of cognitive science and ocean exploration. His approach to conservation ...
Where: SausalitoCost: $5 Suggested Donation goes toward Student Research
Why Girls Love ScienceDr. Close is an Assistant Professor at Stanford University's Aero/Astro Department. She heads up the Space Environment and Satellite Systems Lab. She co-hosted the 2011 series, "Known Universe," for the National Geographic Channel. Also, Dr. Close was featured on the PBS Nova program, "Space Dangers." This branch meeting will focus ...
Southernmost South America evokes images of incredible mountain scenery, Cape Horn, and expansive Patagonia. It also has some of the oldest forests on Earth, the Pampas grasslands made famous in stories of the gauchos, and the little-known Chaco dry forest. The Humboldt Current is perhaps the richest part of the ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: $5 donation General, members free
Was it ecocide? The collapse of the mini-civilization on Easter Island (Rapa Nui) has long been considered one of the great Green morality tales. Once the people there cut down the last tree, story goes, they were doomed. Their famous statues were an arms race that completed the exhaustion of ...
Celebrate the 23 years of sea lions in San Francisco this month with special sea lion encounters at Pier 39's famous K-Dock.Pier 39, Aquarium of the Bay and The Marine Mammal Center invite you to enjoy this anniversary January 18-21 with free, 20-minute educational walking tours hosted by interpretive naturalists ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free
Houge Park Start PartyMeet with members of San Jose Astronomical Society for a Star Party, weather permitting.
Where: San JoseCost: Free
Night School: MasqueradeBe anyone you want at this month's Masquerade themed event. Fanciful, space themed, sophisticated masks or just come as yourself. Regardless, you're sure to have a great time at the East Bay's premiere place for mingling under the stars. Music, drinks, live shows and beautiful views every third Friday.21 and ...
Where: OaklandCost: $12 General, $5 Members
Saturday, 01/19/13
Bay Area Environmental Education Resource Fair (BAEER)Discover the latest in classroom materials, environmental education programs, and field trip sites. Join in the fun and attend workshops introducing conservation and wildlife education, school gardens, and strategies for fostering environmental awareness! The event is specially designed for teachers, community educators, students, families, and all concerned about the environment ...
Where: San RafaelCost: $12 General, $10 HS Students & Seniors, $8 Youth
Living Machines, Greywater, Constructed WetlandsGreenbuilding consultant Roy Nordblom will present a talk on living machines, greywater, and constructed wetlands. He will lead a tour of the sustainable features at the ELSEE campus, including greywater and rainwater systems with edible native wetland species providing rootmass and biofilter in the greywater bog the garden sink, which ...
Discover the tools, techniques, and ingenuity of local Makers and make your own artistic and innovative creations. People in cities around the world rely on new inventions. Come make something new out of recycled materials that will positively impact your city. Featured Makers and activity leaders include: -Craig Hansen ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free with admission
Central coasting, with emphasis on our diverse marine algae Join us for our popular series of free public lectures on a broad array of topics related to plants and natural history. Named in honor of its founder, the Wayne Roderick Lecture Series takes place in the Visitor Center of the Regional Parks Botanic Garden. These illustrated presentations are enjoyable for ...
Celebrate the 23 years of sea lions in San Francisco this month with special sea lion encounters at Pier 39's famous K-Dock.Pier 39, Aquarium of the Bay and The Marine Mammal Center invite you to enjoy this anniversary January 18-21 with free, 20-minute educational walking tours hosted by interpretive naturalists ...
Most people think that "seeing" is something that happens in the eyes, but many aspects of our perception of the world are determined by neural computations that occur in the brain. The visual cortex - the part of the brain that processes vision - takes up nearly a third of ...
In celebration of Underwater Parks Day, Aquarium of the Bay, together with Ocean Conservancy, will host a presentation by photographer and author Marc Shargel on Saturday, January 19, 2013. Shargel's images transport viewers to the state's newly protected underwater parks and give insights into the marine life that call them ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free with admission
Jazz Under the StarsVisit our roof top observatory and see the moon and Saturn thru our telescopes, while listening to KCSM Jazz 91 FM. Dress warmly.No food or drinks in the observatory. Children are welcome and need to be attended at all times. Parking is free in lot 5, Marie Curie
Celebrate the 23 years of sea lions in San Francisco this month with special sea lion encounters at Pier 39's famous K-Dock.Pier 39, Aquarium of the Bay and The Marine Mammal Center invite you to enjoy this anniversary January 18-21 with free, 20-minute educational walking tours hosted by interpretive naturalists ...
Whales spend over 90 percent of their lives underwater and out of view. In order to understand how these ocean giants navigate, feed, socialize, and maneuver, scientists have engineered tags that allow a glimpse into their watery world. Dr. Friedlaender will share his experiences tagging humpback whales and recreating the ...
Where: Santa CruzCost: Free with admission
Salt Marsh WalkTake a walk with docent Gregg Aronson around the wetlands of the wildlife refuge and learn about their history. See examples of salt collection ponds and learn what is being done to convert them back to their original, natural salt marsh state. Hear how wildlife is affected by the two types of habitat and why ...
Celebrate the 23 years of sea lions in San Francisco this month with special sea lion encounters at Pier 39's famous K-Dock.Pier 39, Aquarium of the Bay and The Marine Mammal Center invite you to enjoy this anniversary January 18-21 with free, 20-minute educational walking tours hosted by interpretive naturalists ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free
Beginning Mushroom Identification IIUse Mushrooms Demystified by David Arora to identify actual mushrooms. You will be given a brief tutorial on how to use the keys in the book and receive help with guiding you through the identification process in a hands-on manner. Reservations required.Mycological Society of San FranciscoRoom 401
Where: San FranciscoCost: $5 General, Members free
What can black hole dynamics tell us about Quantum Gravity?Forty years ago, Jacob Bekenstein and Stephen Hawking showed that black holes are "hot," with characteristic temperatures and entropies that depend on properties of their event horizons. The Hawking temperature and the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy are quantum and gravitational -- they depend on both Planck's constant and Newton's gravitational constant -- ...
Responding to climate change involves both mitigation and adaptation, and these impacts prove to be particularly profound on the built environment. Come hear from two leading climate practitioners, Cole Roberts and Alisdair McGregor, both of Arup, as they present their recently released book. Two Degrees: The Built Environment and Our ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $10 General, Free for Members
Synthetic biology was once-upon-a-time reserved for big pharma and the multimillon dollar chemical manufacturing industry. But today, startups and hackers in their garages and basements are using cloud based services and low cost labs, tools and equipment to manipulate organisms to produce materials and products of economic value.Startups like Lygos ...
Where: StanfordCost: $40.00 - $50.00
Annual CES DownloadThis is one of our more popular meeting topics - a look at some of the latest and greatest, and sometimes weirdest new products shown at the Consumer Electronics Show. Both Gary and Tom have attended CES for over a decade each, and both are in Las Vegas for ten ...
Where: Santa ClaraCost: $10 General, Members Free in advance, $5 at door
An Evening with Elon MuskElon Musk is living two ultimate boyhood fantasies: creating a sports car company and a rocket launch corporation. As co-founder of PayPal, Elon helped transform payment online systems and then, like a true revolutionary, set his sights on electric cars and space transport.Today Elon Musk is CEO of both Tesla ...
Where: Mountain ViewCost: TBA
Dark Energy and the Runaway UniverseJoin us to hear Alex Filippenko, Professor of Astronomy, UC Berkeley, as he discusses the expansion of our Universe and how it is speeding up with time, driven by mysterious "dark energy." Dating back to 1998, observations revealed that the expansion rate of the Universe is speeding up with time, ...
Denis R. Benjamin, MD, grew up in South Africa, emigrating to the Pacific Northwest in 1970. He practiced pediatric pathology at the children's hospitals in Seattle, Washington and Fort Worth, Texas. He became an amateur mycologist soon after his arrival in the USA. He recently returned to the east slopes ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Wednesday, 01/23/13
Considerate Audio MEdiating Oracle (CAMEO): Improving teleconference callsThis talk will show that variance in conversational dominance can significantly be reduced with proactive aural feedback. Our experiments further reveal that such feedback can also reduce the impact of extraneous noise on conversations. The talk will start by framing the considerate system stance of social feedback to a user. ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
Why Earthquakes are so GentleImplications of Strong-Rate-Weakening Friction for the Length-Scale Dependence of the Strength of the Crust.Speaker: Thomas Heaton, CaltechRoom 350/372
Science and Reason with Skeptics in the Pub, West BaySkeptics in the Pub, West BayFiddlers Green, MillbraeIf ye value critical thinking, and if ye scorn the film-flam man, and if ye drink, drink with us, your friends. If ye shun the brewer's art, at least help us lay waste to bangers & mash!Skeptics in the Pub is a monthly ...
Where: MillbraeCost:
Thursday, 01/24/13
Streams, Gardens, and Clouds: Visualizing Dynamic Data for Engagement, Education and the EnvironmentScientists, policymakers, business leaders, journalists-all seek to harness the deluge of data generated by the minute through sensing networks and social media. Aided by the increasing availability of high-speed Internet, wireless networks, and mobile devices, people with access to multimedia tools contribute to these data flows both intentionally and inadvertently. ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Decoding Human Health Infectious Cures: Hijacking Viruses To Overcome Disease We've made substantial progress in the fight against HIV/AIDS over the past three decades, but the epidemic continues to ravage humankind-especially in the developing world. Everywhere, viruses such as HIV compete with their hosts in an evolutionary 'arms race'-building resistance to the latest therapies in order to maintain their deadly ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $20 General, $8 Members
Jared Diamond, author of 'Gun, Germs & Steel' & 'The World Until Yesterday'Pulitzer Prize winning author Diamond draws extensively from his field work and examines how Amazonian Indians, Inuit, and other traditional societies have adapted and evolved for nearly 6 million years.He explains what we can still learn from these traditional societies regarding universal human problems like elder care, child rearing, physical ...
OMG, you've been colonized! But don't fret, this is nothing new. This week get to know the plethora of microbes that colonize our bodies at a series of hands-on demonstration stations manned by scientists from the Academy and Gladstone Institutes. Compare the hearts and brains of animals to those of ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $12 General, $10 members
Genomic MedicineDr. Thomas White, former Chief Scientific Officer of Celera will be giving a talk titled Genomic Medicine: The Development, Economic and Ethical Challenges of Translating Basic Research Into Clinical Practice. Reception immediately following.Room 105
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Origins & Evolution of Meaning: A Biological ViewDr. Herr will provide a naturalistic consideration of how sense-making may have originated and evolved on Earth. What does a close and considered observation of vertebrate mammals, insects, sessile polyps, or single-celled bacteria tell us about how each and all of these living creatures find and create functional meaning and ...
During the past century, scientists have dissected the outer layer of our planet with bold scientific investigations revealing the deep properties of the Earth's crustScientific creativity has fostered innovation in field measurements from the Tibetan Plateau to the deep Pacific Ocean, and beyondNew insights are providing clues to processes that ...
Brilliant!Science: Decoding Human Health; Body Art: An Evening Science Mingle Mix and mingle with Academy and Gladstone scientists while exploring the human body as an art form-from brain to bone. The evening's mingle will feature cutting-edge science displays from the Gladstone Institutes, U.S. home to research built on a breakthrough that won a Gladstone scientist the 2012 Nobel Prize in ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $25 General, $20 Members
How to Get to Mars... and What to Do Once You ArriveAn Evening with Dr. Pascal Lee of the Mars Instituteand "Packing for Mars" bestselling author Mary Roach Astronomical Society of the Pacific's Annual Dinner to support Science LiteracyOther participants include Alex Filipenko, Geoff Marcy, and Sandra Faber."Stardust" $100 ASP member / $125 non-member"Comet" $150 (preferred seating)"Mercury" $200 (premium seating)"Jupiter" $300 (dine ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: See description
Saturday, 01/26/13
Brilliant!Science: Decoding Human Health; A Family CelebrationDiscover more about the fascinating world of human health that lives within us all through informative, interactive programs for the whole family, including live chats with scientists like Kyle Kurpinski and Terry D. Johnson, authors of How to Defeat Your Own Clone: And Other Tips for Surviving the Biotech Revolution ...
Amazing MigrationsCould you travel hundreds, even thousands of miles by only using your memory, or your sense of smell? Come see how well you can migrate! Try matching scents as salmon do when they try to find their home river, create crafts, and try other fun activities as you learn just ...
Where: Pacific GroveCost: Free with admission
Wild WatershedsNorthern California is made up of whole areas that resemble large funnels. The rainy season can turn a babbling brook into a river, and a river into a natural force that is both exciting and dangerous. Join Ranger Linda at the Bay Model and learn more about the incredible geologic ...
Where: SausalitoCost: Free
Fish Feeding FrenzyHelp Ranger Bill feed the hungry inhabitants of our fresh and saltwater tanks. Watch the different feeding styles of rock cod, sea stars, and steelhead trout.
Join Frans and Chris on a remarkable journey to uncover the secret life of the cheetah--the fastest animal in the world, and the most vulnerable of all the big cats. In this year's show, Frans and Chris travel from the fabled Serengeti Plains of East Africa to the remote deserts ...
Where: Santa CruzCost: $23 General, 18 Members
Family Moonlight Hike, Coyote Lake-Harvey Bear RanchEnjoy a beautiful outing under the moon and stars on the paved Martin Murphy Trail (2-mile loop) with Docent Jennifer Snedeker. Watch for wildlife, identify overhead constellations, and discover some secrets of this historic and ecological area. Meet at the Bear Ranch entrance at the end of San Martin Ave. ...
Join Frans and Chris on a remarkable journey to uncover the secret life of the cheetah--the fastest animal in the world, and the most vulnerable of all the big cats. In this year's show, Frans and Chris travel from the fabled Serengeti Plains of East Africa to the remote deserts ...
Brilliant!Science: Decoding Human Health; A Family CelebrationDiscover more about the fascinating world of human health that lives within us all through informative, interactive programs for the whole family, including live chats with scientists like Kyle Kurpinski and Terry D. Johnson, authors of How to Defeat Your Own Clone: And Other Tips for Surviving the Biotech Revolution ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free with admission
Point Reyes Fungus FairLectures, displays and mushroom tables, starting at 10:00 am at the Visitor Center.
Where: Point Reyes StationCost: Free
Cultivating Creative ConfidenceSpeaker: Glen Tripp, Founder and CEO, Galileo Learning.Presentation followed by conversation with Angie Coiro
Go 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. Space limited. Reservations required: (831) 459-3800.
Where: Santa CruzCost: Free with admission
The Night's Sky: Family Night Hike & CampfireJoin us for a night hike and investigation of the night's sky under a full moon. Gather 'round the campfire for quality time with friends and family, sing songs, and get silly as you roast s'mores by moonlight. Preregistration is required; to register use the link provided below.
Where: SausalitoCost: $12/person
Monday, 01/28/13
Performance-based Seismic Design of the new San Francisco International Airport Control TowerThe performance-based design of the new control tower at San Francisco International Airport posed challenges due to the building site, seismicity, and architectural constraints. The tower, located only 4 km from the San Andreas Fault, is subject to very strong ground shaking, liquefaction, and permanent soil deformation. The FAA targeted ...
Distributed Energy ResourcesBroadly defined, distributed energy resources (DERs) include: a) modular electricity generation (conventional and renewables) and storage technology b) scalable "actions" such as end-use efficiency and "demand management"DERs can be deployed at or near electrical loads to address utility-wide needs (e.g. increased electric supply) and/or localized needs (e.g. distribution load carrying ...
Jack Gallant: Reverse-Engineering the Human BrainThe human brain is the most sophisticated computer system known to man, capable of impressive feats under challenging natural conditions. Reverse-engineering the brain might enable us to design artificial systems with the same capabilities. Gallant's laboratory uses a data-driven approach to tackle this reverse-engineering problem. He will discuss how this ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $20 standard, MEMBERS FREE, $7 students
Nerd Nite East Bay #4: Swarms, Roshambo and Tech for Good!The East Bay's favorite lecture-in-a-bar-series kicks off the new year with a talk on collective behavior from Daniel Cohen of UC Berkeley/UCSF. Geologist Andrew Pike shares how he is just as interested in scissors and paper as he is in rocks, and Cal's Lina Nilsson tells us about about "cool ...
Where: OaklandCost: $8
Brilliant!Science: Decoding Human Health; Stroke of Insight: Strengthening the BrainAs a Harvard brain researcher, Jill Bolte Taylor, Ph.D. studied the question of how the brains of people with mental disorders differ from those without. At the age of 37, her study of the brain was changed by a very personal experience. She had a stroke. As she watched her ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $22/27 General, $20/25 Members
Tuesday, 01/29/13
'The Company We Keep' with David Alan GrierFollowing up on 2009's Too Soon to Tell, The Company We Keep is a second compilation of essays based on and growing out of "The Known World" column in Computer magazine. Like the original column, this collection explores the human side of how technology is developed, deployed, and used. The ...
Where: Mountain ViewCost: TBA
A Cook's Tour of the CheMin XRD/XRF instrument and an insider's view of the MSL Curiosity mission on MarsDr. David Blake of the NASA research Center is the chief designer and Principle Investigator of the CHEMIN instrument on the Mars Science Laboratory Rover 'Curiosity', which is now investigating evidence of liquid-borne sediments at Gale Crater on Mars. He will give an insider's view into the mission and update ...
The First Three Years at the LHCProf. Bete Heinemann (Univ. of Calif. at Berkeley) will give the Applied Physics/Physics colloquium entitled, "The First Three Years at the LHC (Large Hadron Collider)"
This presentation is to educate residents, students, faculty and community members on Concentrating solar power (CSP). An overview of Sandia National Laboratories and career opportunities will also be presented. CSP uses a large array of mirrors to focus sunlight onto a receiver containing a heat-transfer fluid, which absorbs the high ...
As electronics become faster and more powerful and the components of integrated circuits shrink, scientists are bumping up against the limitations imposed by fundamental physics, forcing them to invent new technologies. Today computer hard drives store information in tiny magnets, essentially, in the direction in which electrons spin. But there ...
Where: Menlo ParkCost: Free
Wednesday, 01/30/13
Relating neurons to perception in stereo visionStereo "3D" vision refers to the depth perception we have by virtue of viewing the world through two slightly offset eyes. This ability is receiving attention at the moment because advances in digital technology have made it much easier to display high-quality stereo media. While the basic geometry underlying stereo ...
Some of the biggest changes sweeping the technology world today are new forms of network and computer-enabled cooperation. It was easy enough to see this pattern in open source software development or Wikipedia, a bit more challenging to see how it powered Web 2.0 giants like Google and Amazon, but ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Two graduate student Biology presentations1.Growth and toxicity of (microscopic alga) Heterosigma akashiwo as a function of nutrients, temperature and salinity--RTC graduate student Chris Ikeda2. Predicting impacts of global climate change to native and invasive submerged aquatic vegetation in the San Francisco Estuary--RTC Graduate student Evyan BorgnisThe RTC Seminar Series brings leading local, national, and ...
The Why and How of an All-Flash Enterprise Storage ArrayEnterprise storage is an $30 billion a year industry dominated by spinning disks. Flash storage is poised to take a large chunk of the market, having grown significantly in capacity and production, driven by consumer electronics. Flash's technical advantages over disk promise storage arrays that are faster and easier to ...
Last month twenty-one Stanford GSB students traveled to the end of the earth to explore the past, present, & future of climate change. Come hear their tales of adventure from the high seas and lessons learned during their journey to the last continent.
Where: StanfordCost: Free
The Affordable Care Act: What Health Professionals and Consumers Need to KnowGain an understanding of the structure, politics and likely economic impact of the Affordable Care Act within the context of rising costs for the health care system as a whole. Specific topics include the mandate to purchase insurance; the expansion of Medicaid coverage; and the effects of the ACA on ...
Energy is the foundation of modern life. Our transportation, commerce, food, water, housing, medicine, communications and computing all depend on it. Yet energy is in a sweeping period of transition. Renewables are entering the landscape, and unconventional sources of gas and oil are changing our ideas about supply. Opinions on ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $20 General, Free for Members
Bay Area-based journalist Nathanael Johnson discusses All Natural: A Skeptic's Quest for Health and Happiness in an Age of Ecological Anxiety ($25.99). Johnson explores the way we react to what he calls "our overall ecological anxiety" - how many of us are drawn to natural solutions and organic lifestyles while ...
Dr Shizuru will review definitions of both tissue stem cells and "pluripotent" stem cells. She will review the work leading to the recent award of a Nobel Prize to a stem cell biologist. She'll conclude giving an overview on near term, promising therapies from the field of stem cell biology.Speaker: ...
Houge Park Start PartyMeet with members of San Jose Astronomical Society for a Star Party, weather permitting.
Where: San JoseCost: Free
Oaks For the Future: Sonoma County's Oak Conservation StrategySonoma County's majestic oaks are evocative of our region's rich ecological history and continue to provide amazing beauty today. But how will we ensure our grandchildren will still have these graceful landscapes to enjoy? Local scientists and oak lovers have developed a "Voluntary Oak Woodland Management Plan for Sonoma County" ...
The last decade has seen a revolution in scientific thinking about astrobiology – the study of possible life beyond earth. Multi-disciplinary research, from extreme environments such as the high Andes Mountains on earth, as well as exploration results such as from MER (Mars Exploration Rover), MRO (Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter), Cassini ...
Our ocean coastline is filled with maritime treasures, and we love leading classrooms on our explorations of the magical habitats that ring our shores. In 2013 we begin offering these programs to the public. Come join us as we explore the secrets of sandy beach habitat, then move inland through ...
Where: Redwood CityCost: $20 General, $10 Members
Hiking with a chemist?admiring plants through a chemist's eyesJoin us for our popular series of free public lectures on a broad array of topics related to plants and natural history. Named in honor of its founder, the Wayne Roderick Lecture Series takes place in the Visitor Center of the Regional Parks Botanic Garden. These illustrated presentations are enjoyable for ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Groundhog's Day CelebrationYou're invited to journey into the hills of the Marin Headlands as we take a closer look into the science of weather folklore. Visit a nation of newts, discover the secret lives of groundhog relatives in the Headlands, and learn how weather plays a part in the nature around us.
Calling all Citizen Scientists! – California Phenology Project Become a scientist and contribute to a project studying the timing of plant life cycles throughout the seasons. Are plants responding to climate variability? Come learn about projects being set up in the South Bay and how you can participate. We will begin with an indoor presentation followed by practicing plant monitoring outside, weather permitting. For ...
Where: AlvisoCost: Free
Trekking the ModelJoin a ranger guided tour of the Bay Model, a 1.5 acre hydraulic model of San Francisco Bay and Delta. Discover the stories of the two major operations that took place at this location between 1942 – 2000.
Where: SausalitoCost: Free
Fish Feeding FrenzyHelp Ranger Bill feed the hungry inhabitants of our fresh and saltwater tanks. Watch the different feeding styles of rock cod, sea stars, and steelhead trout.
Where: SausalitoCost: F
San Mateo County Astronomical Society Star PartyThe City of San Carlos Department of Parks and Recreation and the San Mateo County Astronomical Society have open Star Parties. These events are held in Crestview Park, San Carlos California. Dates and Sunset times are below. Note that inclement weather (clouds, excessive wind and showers) will cause the event ...
Where: San CarlosCost: Free
Sunday, 02/03/13
Free Day of ScienceFirst Sundays are FREE! OMCA is free all day the first Sunday of every month. Tour the building with members of the Museum's Council on Architecture at 1 pm and enjoy a Docent-led tour of the Gallery of California Art at 2 pm. Grab lunch or a snack at Blue ...
Taking sunlight and converting it to chemical bonds and then to electricity is one of the most promising carbon-neutral energy cycles. At the Chueh group, we are developing new materials to electrochemically convert energy between sunlight, fuel, and electricity. We take a rational approach towards materials discovery and optimization. Using ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
SFMC Teachers' Circle, Alissa CransSFMC is sponsoring monthly dinners just for teachers with a special Math Circle speaker. This program supports a professional learning community built from the strong foundations of the SFMC. Join us for a presentation by MSRI's Alissa Crans. SF Math Circle Teachers' Circle – meets on the 1st Tuesday of the month; to see more details ...
Join Megan Isador, co-founder of the River Otter Ecology Project, for a beautifully illustrated talk about the exciting return of river otters to the Bay Area, what these elusive hunters mean to habitat and healthy watersheds, and how you can help.An avid naturalist and wildlife rescuer, Megan has led volunteers ...
Learn about how an iota of space-time 13.7 billion years ago grew into 100 billion galaxies, including everything we know and love. The big bang is the scientific story of creation and it's supported by a web of evidence pointing to an extremely hot and dense early state for the ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $12 General, $8 Members
Social Prosthetics: Technology and the Human FormWhat gizmo can we use to read our minds, expose our hearts, or settle disputes? What gadget can improve our communication with house plants or buildings or glaciers? We are rapidly reinventing the ways in which we relate to each other and the world around us. Working with communication and ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Stories told by RocksEvery rock is a record keeper and has a story that's millionsof years old.Speaker: Dr. Joyce Blueford, Math/Science Nucleus.
Where: OaklandCost: $7 Donation
Tuesday, 02/05/13
Brown Dwarfs, Planetary Mass Objects, and their Disks in the Nearest Star-Forming RegionsObjects with masses (<0.08 solar masses) too small to sustain hydrogen fusion were theorized to exist five decades ago, and discovered 30 years later, due to their extreme faintness. Even less massive (<13 Jupiter or <0.01 solar masses) are the planetary mass objects (PMOs, so-called because they are not orbiting ...
Where: Mountain ViewCost: Free
Africa's Food Systems in 2030Paul Collier will talk about how to manage the difference between helpful and damaging commercialisation, and puts forth three arguments. First, we need to face the tough reality that African food production has failed to keep pace with demand over the course of several decades, suggesting that there is a ...
Leonard Susskind: The Theoretical Minimum – What You Need to Know to Start Doing PhysicsEver wish you knew more about physics? Want to know how to think like a physicist? Here is your chance. Come listen to world-class physicist Susskind, a father of string theory, to discuss the Theoretical Minimum – an alternative to the conventional go-to-college method. Susskind will discuss what you need ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $20 standard, $8 members, $7 students
Through all the growing pains and political attacks, the U.S. solar industry is still moving ahead. Costs are down, new financing models are removing capital barriers for residential and commercial buyers, and sun energy is no longer just for hippies. What is the solar forecast for 2013? How will the ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $20 General, $12 Members, $7 Student
Autonomous navigation in complex environments with a micro-aerial vehicleIn this talk, I will discuss approaches that enable a quadrotor to autonomously navigate and explore complex indoor and outdoor environments. Micro-aerial vehicles (MAVs), and in our case quadrotors, offer exceptional 3D mobility over ground platforms, making them particularly suitable for search-and-rescue missions in which the vehicle must be able ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
By-product Becomes ProductIntersection for the Arts presents By-product Becomes Product, an innovative cross-disciplinary project using excess wood waste to explore safer alternatives to working with toxic material. Featuring lead artist Christine Lee (sculpture, furniture), U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Products Laboratory (FPL, the country's leading wood research institute) Research Engineer John F. ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free
Climate Change: Our New RealityWe'll put aside politics and take a hard look at what's really going on with our world's climate this talk and discussion will cover:What is the science telling us?What is our new reality?How do we talk about it?What can people do?Speaker: Wen Lee, Alliance for Climate EducationRoom 60
Dr. Werthimer will discuss the possibility of life in the universe and the search for radio and optical signals from other civilizations. Berkeley's SETI@home project analyzes data from the world's largest radio telescope using desktop computers from volunteers in 226 countries. SETI@home participants have contributed millions of years of computer ...
What's up in Power Conversion for the Smart GridThe ugly truth is that over 10% of the electricity in the generated in the US is wasted in converting power from the form in which it is delivered to the form necessary to be consumed. Power conversion is ubiquitous from laptop adapters to dataserver power supplies, Photovoltaic and hybrid ...
Cyberspace technology often grants us (or others) control over our self-representations. At the click of a button, one can alter our avatars' appearance and behavior. Indeed, in virtual reality we can often appear to others as ideal in stature and weight, what ever we want in terms of age and ...
Population genetics, quantitative genetics, life history theory and population dynamics are disparate, specialist fields. However, they all focus on a particular aspect of population biology. In recent work Tim Coulson has shown how these fields can be formally linked by modelling the dynamics of character distributions. In this talk he ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
February LASER EventThe LASER series began in 2008 in San Francisco under the aegis of Leonardo ISAST as a local forum for presenting art and science projects underway in the Bay Area. The LASERs now alternate between USF and Stanford, with a parallel series in DC at the National Academy of Sciences. ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
How Galaxies were Cooked from the Primordial SoupOne of the great mysteries of the night sky is why it's mostly dark, only punctuated by pinpoints of light in the form of stars and galaxies. The lumpiness of today's universe is a fundamental characteristic that took billions of years to grow. Dr. Faber will review the prevailing "Cold ...
A new class of pesticides, known as reduced risk pesticides, has been increasingly used in agroecological systems. While reduced risk pesticides have demonstrated reduced health risks to humans, their effects on natural enemy/predator populations is unclear. In fact, with the increased use of reduced risk pesticide, there have been increased ...
Where: AlbanyCost: Free
A RATIONAL FUTURE: Why A better world tomorow requires better cognition todayFour decades of cognitive science have confirmed that homo sapiens are far from "rational animals." Scientists have amassed a daunting number of ways that our brains' fast-and-frugal judgment heuristics fail in modern contexts for which they weren't adapted, or stymie our attempts to be happy and effective. Hence the project ...
Before smartphones and iPads, before the Internet or the personal computer, a misfit group of technophiles, blind teenagers, hippies, and outlaws figured out how to hack the world's largest machine: the telephone system. Phil Lapsley will trace the birth of the telephone, the rise of AT&T's monopoly, the discovery of ...
Experience the wildlife and natural beauty that make Younger Lagoon an exceptional local treasure on this docent-led tour to the lagoon and its beach habitat. Younger Lagoon is excellent for bird watching and seeing animals that call the reserve's intact coastal dunes home, such as: bobcats, foxes, seabirds, raptors, and ...
Microwave Sensor Technology for Advancement of Nanoscale MeasurementFor the past two decades, Nanotechnology has become one of the frequently used buzzwords that superficially connected science to the popular culture, promising advancements that can change our lives. However, the sluggish progress in delivering such promises is partly due to the challenges presented in Nanoscale measurements. This presentation proposes ...
Where: Rohnert ParkCost: Free
Cafe InquiryMeet up with rationalists, skeptics, and freethinkers south of San FranciscoCafe Inquiry is a social event hosted by the Center for Inquiry|San Francisco. We'll meet at Café Borrone http://www.cafeborrone.com/ between Kepler's Books and the British Banker's Club! Look for the black balloon.For more information or if you have questions please ...
Where: Menlo ParkCost: Free
Living Carbon Neutral: A Family Shows the WayWe talk about achieving energy independence as a country. We talk about being more energy efficient, being less dependent on fossil fuels, increasing renewable energy, and being carbon-neutral. But what can we do as individual families-it just seems too hard and too expensive. Dr. Indradeep Ghosh and his family live ...
Where: San JoseCost: $6.50
The Aesthetics of Necessity: Climate Change, Infrastructure and the SublimeProfessor Kristina Hill lectures internationally on urban design and ecology, and her current book project is focused on adapting urban waterfronts to climate change. She received her Ph.D. from Harvard University, and was a member of the faculty at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Washington in Seattle, ...
Virtual Colonoscopy: What is Its Role in Diagnosing Cancer?Virtual Colonoscopy is a medical imaging procedure which uses computed tomography (CT), sometimes called a CAT scan, and advanced computer software to produce two- and three-dimensional images of the colon that can be viewed on a video screen.The major reason for performing virtual colonoscopy is to screen for polyps or ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
Lecture with Gary TaubesLeading science writer, NY Times contributor and co-founder of Nutrition Science Initiative, Gary Taubes will challenge us to consider: What constitutes a healthy diet? What are the politics behind nutritional guidelines? How do we make sense of conflicting recommendations? What should we eat if we want to remain lean and ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: $10-$15.
Friday, 02/08/13
From Bench to Society: Law and Ethics at the Frontier of Genomic TechnologyThis is an all day event put on by the Hastings Law Journal and the UCSF / UC Hastings Consortium on Law, Science & Health Policy.Schedule:8:00 – 9:00 Registration and Breakfast9:00 – 9:15 Welcome 9:15 – 10:00 The State of the Science: Kelly Ormond, Stanford University 10:00 – 10:15 Break10:15 – 12:00 Panel I: Predictions of Future Health ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free
SF Bay Area 3rd Annual STEAM ColloquiumFull STEAM Ahead: Pathways to the FutureThe STEAM Colloquium will:Address critical issues in implementing STEAM educationShowcase best practices in STEAM educationBuild leadership capacity for educatorsProvide opportunities to develop learning communities throughout the regionThe STEAM Colloquium is open to all who want to impact students with STEAM, including:Pre-K to 12 educators, ...
Where: San RamonCost: $40
Variability, reference frames, and generalization in motor learningThe ability to control movement is perhaps *the* central function of the nervous system, and the ability to optimize this control through learning can be absolutely essential for successful movement. The human motor system, in particular, has a remarkable capacity for adaptive control. I will present some recent insights into ...
Robots, Embodiment, and Mediated VirtualityRobots and other embodied systems can be seen as mediators between the real and the virtual, influencing our expectations of the possibilities and limitations of virtual worlds. In some cases, technologies designed specifically for virtual interactivity have spilled over into our exchanges with other places not normally considered "virtual": distant ...
Where: Mountain ViewCost: Free
Submetering Solutions for the Smart Home and the Smart GridThe global electric power infrastructure is undergoing a dramatic change from a load-following architecture to one that requires improved control and monitoring of the energy usage. Integration of inherently intermittent renewable resources requires improved ability to offset demand in order to leverage this intermittency. Demand Response (DR) initiative as well ...
Green Friday Pot Luck: California is getting frackedThe Sierra Club's Northern Alameda County Group will be hosting its monthly zero-waste Green Friday Potluck with speaker and discussion.Fracking, a process that uses toxic chemicals and water to extract oil and gas, is well underway in California and is slated for massive expansion. Fracking has been shown to cause ...
