Bird Walk Hike at Lake Merritt in OaklandJanuary is the perfect time to observe wintering waterfowl. Join the Lindsay Wildlife Museum for a morning of birding with experienced birdwatchers from the Mt Diablo Audubon Society. Bring your binoculars and learn how to tell the difference between a tern and a gull. Bird walk hike will be at ...
Where: Walnut CreekCost: $15.00 (Member: $10.00)
The Anthropocene Epoch in Cosmic EvolutionInformed by comparative planetology and a survey of the major episodes in Earth history, Dr. Grinspoon will offer a taxonomy of planetary catastrophes meant to illuminate the unusual nature of the "Anthropocene", the current epoch of human-driven planetary-scale changes, and reframe our current environmental and technological predicaments as part of ...
Kosovo's Fight for Sustainable Energy Access: Where is American Aid Going?With support from the World Bank and US Government, the Kosovar Government has already begun the initial process of designing a new, inefficient coal power plant, Kosovo C, with air pollution emissions up to twice as high as those allowed under both US and Chinese regulations. The Kosovar people and leading ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Tide Talks by Kame RichardsRacers, cruisers, power boats, kayaks, and swimmers will see and learn how the tide currents move on San Francisco Bay. $15 cash only. Reservations a must, call 707-759-2045 or email tjimtantillo@comcast.net
BREAKING THE SEEING BARRIERS FOR PLANETARY ASTRONOMYWhen Galileo pointed his telescope toward Jupiter in 1609, and discovered what we now call the Galilean moons, he did not realize that he had just established a new research field in astronomy. In the past four centuries, planetary astronomy, the study of our solar system bodies using telescopes, has ...
The main arguments against geo-engineering (direct climate intervention) to stop global warming are: 1) It would be a massive, irreversible, risky bet; 2) everyone has to agree to it, which they won't; 3) the unexpected side effects might be horrific; 4) once committed to, it could never be stopped.What if ...
The use of molecular population genetic data and analytical techniques allows the investigation of elements of animal life history that are difficult or impossible to understand in other ways. This is because they describe lines of descent at multiple scales, from ecological time, elucidating direct family relationships, to evolutionary time, ...
Where: Moss LandingCost: Free
Believer Author David Axelrod in Conversation with Museum CEO John Hollar The strategist who masterminded Obama's historic election campaigns, and their breakthrough use of technology, opens up about his years as a young journalist, political consultant, and ultimately senior adviser to the president. The man behind some of the greatest political changes of the last decade, David Axelrod has devoted ...
Big data is a hot topic in computing. Most research has focused on automatic methods of data processing such as machine learning and natural language processing. Another important direction of research is how to build systems that can store and process massive data sets. Unfortunately, what has been lost ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Civic Engagement and the Management of Water ResourcesHuman life depends on the availability and quality of water to sustain our health, grow our food, power our homes with electricity and stimulate our economies. However, due to overpopulation, increased demand for food, climate change and pollution, as much as two-thirds of the world's citizens may face water stressed ...
An environmental case for solar geoengineeringThe combination of inertia and uncertainty makes the coupled climate-human system dangerously hard to control. Emissions cuts are necessary to manage climate risks, but they are not necessarily sufficient. I will argue for a broad solar geoengineering research program–from laboratory to outdoor field experiments–that aims to develop new technologies that can limit ...
Algorithmic random number generators are everywhere, used for all kinds of tasks, from simulation to computational creativity.Yet most people haven't given much thought to the random number generators they use. Is the RNG you're using a good source of randomness? What does it even mean to be a good RNG?In ...
The goals of Prof. Hunley's research program in genetic anthropology are to improve our understanding of the evolutionary processes that have molded human biological and cultural diversity at different times and places in the past, and to explore the larger social and scientific meaning of these evolutionary processes. His specific ...
Join Tom Steyer, advanced energy advocate, investor and philanthropist, for the 6th Annual Michael Nacht Distinguished Lecture in Politics & Public Policy. Moderated by Governor Jennifer Granholm.
Tide Talks by Kame RichardsRacers, cruisers, power boats, kayaks, and swimmers will see and learn how the tide currents move on San Francisco Bay. $15 cash only. Reservations a must, call 707-759-2045 or email tjimtantillo@comcast.net
Where: SausalitoCost: $15 cash only
Nerd Nite SF #57: Viking Gender, Induced Quakes, and more!Change! – changing gender norms, changing landscapes, and changing lineups (as soon as we finalize the details of our third talk) – is the accidental theme at this month's Nerd Nite SF. So change up your Weds routine to come down to the Rickshaw Stop, order a different beer than ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $8
Thursday, 02/19/15
The Cleantech Open StoryMany Bay Area entrepreneurs are taking on the challenges of global climate change. Each year some of the best local clean tech entrepreneurs look to the Cleantech Open to help them refine their business plans, sell their concept to investors and customers, and build a successful clean tech enterprise. The ...
Where: SaratogaCost: Free
The Bay Model Wants You!!! Become part of Sausalito's very own attraction known around the world! We have a variety of volunteer positions that are suited for people just like you! Greet visitors, lead tours, work with school groups, and more! Come and be a part of one of the largest working hydraulic models in ...
The Law of Artificial Intelligence"OFFICER, ARREST THAT ROBOT!"Humans have rights, animals have rights, corporations have rights ... but what about artificially intelligent systems?Sound ridiculous? Jerry Kaplan, Visiting Lecturer in Computer Science and Codex Fellow, will argue that it makes perfect sense to accord sufficiently capable AI systems rights and responsibilities, in order to control ...
Design, the process of artifact creation, has historically been a qualitative art. But that has changed. We now understand the cognitive and communicative basis of artifact creation and diffusion. We can measure artifact creation at the human interaction level, and can measure its diffusion at the economic, ecological, and sociological ...
Where: Palo AltoCost: Free
Noise Pop NightlifeBeauty is in the ear of the beholder this week as Noise Pop Festival takes over NightLife for an evening that explores the science of ear candy.In the Piazza, catch a live DJ set from Northern California's own !!! (pronounced chk chk chk, for those in the know) as they ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $12 General, $10 Members
Sugar and Health -The Sweet, the Sour, and the Sticky!We will examine the role of sugar in our food supply, how sugar in the diet affects our health, and the many controversies surrounding this nutrient.Speaker: Alison Ryan, RD, MS, CSO, CSNC
The 2.4 square miles of Midway Atoll host over a million nesting Laysan Albatrosses each year, along with tons of marine debris. Nets, buoys, and plastic trash wash onto beaches. Albatross parents often swallow plastic pieces and regurgitate them to their young. Yet, amazingly, the albatrosses thrive.Susan Scott, a volunteer ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free
It's ComplicatedWe're celebrating the return of the Museum of Broken Relationships to San Francisco with an event we're calling It's Complicated, because… well, relationships are exactly that. Confirmed presenters and performers:UCSF neuroscientist & science podcast host Sama Ahmed will talk about how animals make mating decisions, and about the brain circuits that ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free
Mastering the Pixel, 25 Years LaterAdobe Photoshop is one of the most successful pieces of software ever written. Now used by millions of graphics and photographic professionals worldwide, Photoshop has come to shape the entire visual environment of 21-century culture. Gum wrappers, subway signs, billboards, book covers, Hollywood special effects, posters, portraits, product packaging, brochures, ...
Where: Mountain ViewCost:
A new field guide to California MushroomsDennis is lead author on an all-color field guide that treats over 1,100 species of CA mushrooms, with complete descriptions of 650 species, and over 750 color photographs. It is published by Timber Press in large format (8.5" x 11"), hardcover, about 580 pages. He will present what the field ...
The periodic table outlines the fundamental building blocks of all known matter in the universe. Composed of irreducible atoms, these elements arrived from the earliest reports of the Big Bang, the fusion wombs of stars and supernova, and collisions between interstellar matter and cosmic rays-as well as through artificial production ...
SF Carbon Cycles, Humans & the ClimateJohn Wick is making great strides in organizing around carbon with everyone from the mayors' conference to the White House. Come hear what you can do, what the city is planning, and how the Randall Museum will be part of a demonstration project on carbon dioxide. We'll discuss the whole ...
What happens when a UC Santa Cruz astronomer meets a playwright on the garden path of faculty housing? A wildly successful collaboration of the arts and sciences.Join us for a behind the curtain look at an original theatrical production that explored the life of the stars and those that gaze up ...
Where: Santa CruzCost: Free
Friday, 02/20/15
LSST@SLAC: Matthew BeckerOn the topic of cosmological simulations and requirements for dark energy science
Where: Menlo ParkCost: Free
Computing: The Human Experience- Anarchy and ChaosThe care of human life and happiness, said Thomas Jefferson, is the first and only object of good government. As such, governments – and the political institutions, legal structures, and economic infrastructures that support them – seek to apply all of the resources around them to further their reach and ...
Where: Mountain ViewCost:
Zoovie Night at Oakland Zoo: Over the HedgePut on your jammies and enjoy an evening of Zoovie magic with the whole family. Bring your pillows, blankets, and chairs and snuggle up in our auditorium for a specially selected animal-or nature-themed movie. Meet some of our movie themed education animals and Roosevelt, Oakland Zoo's costumed alligator mascot. Hot ...
Would You Baptize an Extraterrestrial?This is a series of conversations, set in specific settings, on a half dozen topics coming from the sorts of questions we get asked all the time at the Vatican Observatory- ranging from the Big Bang to the Star of Bethlehem, from Galileo to Extraterrestrials. Neither science nor religion are ...
Where: OaklandCost: $25
Saturday, 02/21/15
The Great Backyard Bird CountJoin a nationwide bird census effort! The Great Backyard Bird Count is an annual winter event in the US and Canada. Learn about our local migratory, wintering and resident birds as you help look for and count species along the oak studded trails and tranquil lake shores. Meet at the ...
Every year the largest haulout of Elephant Seals on the West Coast takes place on the southern San Mateo shorelines. A memorable experience awaits as we walk along a two mile guided exploration to get up close to these magnificent animals!!
Where: PescaderoCost: See website
Searching for Extraterrestrial Intelligence: The Quest to Find Ourselves Among the StarsFor millennia, humans have pondered their place in the cosmos and asked the question "Are we alone?". Now, for the first time in our history, the answer may be within our grasp. In the last several decades, astronomers have determined that the key environmental factors that gave rise to life ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Private Tour of the Marine Mammal Center - SOLD OUTEnjoy a private guided tour of the Marine Mammal Centers state-of-the-art facility.Our educator will escort the group through this unique outdoor animal rehabilitation hospital, answering questions and sharing current patients' stories.You will view seal and sea lion patients and learn how the hospital functions. We will look into key areas such ...
Where: SausalitoCost: $25 General, $15 Members
the 100th anniversary of the opening of the Panama-Pacific International ExpositionCommunity Day at the Palace of Fine ArtsOn February 20, 1915, the gates were thrown open to the Panama Pacific International Exposition, the official opening celebration of the newly completed Panama Canal. Hailed by some as the most wondrous world fair of all time, the PPIE boasted 635 acres of ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free
Ship Operations in the BayJoin Captain Craig Thomas of Agile Marine as he provides a better understandingof commercial shipping operations and movements in the Bay. The program includes the types of ships, ship construction and layout, commercial considerations, types and locations of terminals in the Bay Area, manning requirements including careers and International, U.S. ...
Where: SausalitoCost: Free
Family Bird WalkLet family walks become a shared time of nature learning. We'll begin by helping kids create their personal bird watching field guides, and then head out onto the trails to find those birds. A limited number of binoculars are available to borrow. Recommended for children ages 5-10. RESERVATIONS REQUIRED. Register ...
The Great Backyard Bird CountJoin a nationwide bird census effort! The Great Backyard Bird Count is an annual winter event in the US and Canada. Learn about our local migratory, wintering and resident birds as you help look for and count species along the oak studded trails and tranquil lake shores. Meet at the ...
Where: GilroyCost: Free
Briones Newt AdventureJoin the Nature Journal Club for a hike to the newt ponds of upper Briones Park. Instead of coming in at the main entrance and hiking up, we will come in one of the back entrances of the park and hike out to a series of ponds that should be ...
Where: MartinezCost: $20 Donation
Geology HikeTake a moderate 2-mile hike to discover the history and geology of the reservoir and surrounding area. See and touch a mix of ancient geologic evidence along the Calaveras-Hayward Fault and Diablo Range, including preserved volcanic lava. Dress in comfortable clothes that can get dirty and wear sturdy hiking shoes ...
Where: Morgan HillCost: Free
Marine Science Sunday: Marine Mammal Parents and PupsIn preparation for Valentine's Day, this month we celebrate love under the sea with Marine Mammal Parents and Pups in a fun, educational way for both kids and adults. We recommend teaming our free classroom program with a Docent-led tour at 11am, 1pm or 3pm for a truly immersive marine mammal experience. Read ...
Street art is graffiti. Street art is mural art. Street art is a staple. Have you ever noticed the inadvertent collection of poster staples on a wooden pole from a hundred years of community outreach? We'll explore the Mission. We'll find random aesthetic drama, along with specific murals and other ...
What's going on inside the nucleus of an atom? Why does it spit out radiation? Did you know that you are exposed to radioactivity every day? Learn the facts about this somewhat controversial topic.
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free with admission
Monday, 02/23/15
Cosmology with Strong Gravitational Lenses Strong gravitational lenses have become an important astronomical tool: they allow us to make accurate measurements of galaxy masses, they provide a magnified view of the distant universe, and they allow us to constrain cosmological parameters. In particular, the time delays in multiply-imaged quasar systems enable measurements of distance in ...
Where: Menlo ParkCost: Free
The Science of Reading and Its Educational ImplicationsResearch in cognitive science, developmental science, and neuroscience has made enormous progress toward understanding skilled reading, the acquisition of reading skill, the brain bases of reading, the causes of developmental reading impairments and how such impairments can be treated. My question is: if the science is so good, why do ...
Today's food system generates hunger alongside of food waste, burgeoning health problems, massive greenhouse gas emissions. Applying food system analysis to review how the international community has addressed food issues since World War II, this book proceeds to explain how actors link up in corporate global food chains and in ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
BRINGING STAR POWER TO EARTH Dr. Jim Gaffney of LLNL discusses the world's largest and most energetic laser system, the National Ignition Facility (NIF). NIFs goal of driving thermonuclear fusion between isotopes of hydrogen could pave the way for nearly limitless, clean nuclear energy
At the Energy and Resources Group, Rebecca works with core ERG faculty, Professors Dan Kammen and Margaret Torn. She spends part of her time in the Climate and Carbon Sciences Program at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.Speaker: Rebecca Hernandez
The Engineering Student Council and Berkeley Engineering are pleased to announce the 2015 Engineers Week keynote speaker: Gwynne Shotwell, president and chief operating officer of SpaceX. Ms. Shotwell's talk, The Road to Mars, will center on SpaceX, the engineering technologies used and exciting developments in the company. She will also ...
Cosmological observations show that the universe is very uniform on the maximally large scale accessible to our telescopes. The best theoretical explanation of this uniformity is provided by the inflationary theory. I will briefly describe the status of this theory in view of recent observational data obtained by the Planck ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Nerd Nite East Bay #27: Pi Day, Science on Screen, and PeeSCIENCE!And beer. A worthy combination. This month's installment of Nerd Nite East Bay features a delicious talk on π Day by Exploratorium superstar Matthew "Herbie" Harman, an exploration of how science is portrayed in the cinema by Kevin Peter Hickerson (a scientist who consulted for the movie Thor), and you'll be relieved ...
Allan Savory created holistic management, a revolutionary resource management system for farms and ranches. Born in what is now Zimbabwe, Savory was a research biologist and ranger before becoming a farmer, rancher and politician. He is now president of the Savory Institute, which researches the environmental impact of livestock worldwide. ...
