The ability to control the flow of water around the body dictates the performance of marine animals and technologies in the aquatic environment. Dolphins and mantas are able to swim with high efficiency and maneuver by use of oscillating propulsive surfaces. This mechanism makes these animals ideal platforms to emulate ...
Where: Moss LandingCost: Free
Moving beyond Drosophila envy: The genetics of speciation in marine invertebrateMost progress in speciation genetics has come through work on model systems like Drosophila, with particular emphasis on the special role of sex chromosomes. A more comprehensive understanding will require studies of alternative systems with different sex determination mechanisms, such as those found in a wide variety of marine invertebrates, ...
Choanoflagellates and the origin of the animal kingdomThe presentation will be on the choanoflagellates, the closest living microbial relatives to the animal kingdom, describing the biology of these fascinating organisms, what research on choanoflagellates has to tell us about the origins of the animal kingdom and of multicellularity, and about her research on choanoflagellates, including the use ...
Where: OaklandCost: Free ($2 parking)
Finding a New Earth: Exoplanets and the Habitable ZoneOver the past two decades, more than 1,500 new planetary systems have been discovered, many of which include planets quite different from those in our own Solar System. A key step toward finding "Earth 2.0" will be to identify rocky planets that occupy the "Habitable Zone" of their stars. Dr. ...
Where: Los Altos HillsCost: Free ($3 parking)
Earth Matters: What 'Virtual Earthquakes' Can Tell About the Big OneMany seismologists believe that predicting the strength of shaking in future earthquakes is more important than predicting exactly when they will occur. That is because if we know how strong the ground will shake, buildings can be designed to withstand that shaking. But predicting the strength of shaking is challenging; ...
Mushrooms in the genus Suillus are often hard to identify because of the lack of distinct morphological characters, and when present, these characters fade away with age and environmental conditions such as rain. DNA sequencing of a large set of specimens, as well as type specimens help us understand why ...
The "Internet of Things" (IoT) has become a buzzword for new technology platforms designed to monitor infrastructure and measure performance across complicated systems. Rapid global urbanization, along with mounting concerns over use of natural resources, make the application of IoT for cities and sustainability a promising nexus for innovation.The Center for Information Technology Research ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Creating Quality of Life in a Sustainable Global EconomyFollowing the successful Paris climate talks, nations are crafting policies to mitigate global warming. Building sustainable economics that provide a high quality of life for everyone is a challenge that must be accomplished in a few decades. Join our distinguished panel from the University of California Berkeley in a discussion ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $20 General, $8 Members, $7 Students
Whether you're a NightLife regular or rookie, Wonderfest's ORIGINS NightLife is not to be missed. It features three great speakers who will offer insights into fundamental beginnings: the origin of the cosmos, the origin of life, and the origin of civilization. Here's the schedule and line-up:7:00pm – Eliot Quataert (Director, UC Berkeley Theoretical ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $15 General, $12 Members
Sea Heroes: Extreme EditionPeter Willcox was captain of the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior on the night in 1985 when it was bombed by French secret agents and sank off New Zealand. One shipmate was killed. Last year, a French agent who attached the mines to the hull of the Rainbow Warrior apologized for ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $20 General, $12 Members, $7 Students
Black Oystercatchers are among the most charismatic and easily identifiable residents of our rocky intertidal coastline. But with less than 20,000 individuals left worldwide, their future is uncertain. Audubon chapter members from Mendocino to Monterey (including Golden Gate Audubon! see our blog about this) are taking part in population surveys ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free
Free Screening of Award Winning Film 'Catching the Sun' You're invited to a free screening of the film Catching the Sun followed by a panel discussion on green jobs. Catching the Sun has won the 2016 San Francisco Green Festival award for Best Feature, and was recently named a New York Times Critics' Pick! Grist, the environmental newsline, called it "A solar documentary ...
What is soil? Well, it's certainly not dirt! Join the very knowledgeable Stephen Andrews (UC Berkeley Professor, specializing in soils) in discovering the beauty and complexity of this essential natural resource by examining the physical properties that characterize what soil is. This class will also delve into the question of ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Donations encouraged
Sufficient Statistics for Imperfect Externality-Correcting PoliciesPigouvian taxes can fully correct for market failures due to externalities, but actual policies are commonly forced to deviate from the Pigouvian ideal due to administrative or political constraints. This paper derives sufficient statistics, which require a minimum of market information, that quantify the efficiency costs of such constraints on ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Future MobilitySpeaker: Stephen Zoeff,Center for Automotive Research (CARS), Stanford University
Where: StanfordCost: Free
'Human Footprint on Planet Earth'This DVD graphically illustrates the average American consumer's ecological footprint on the resources of the planet. Afterward we will discuss our own personal footprints and ways we can begin to minimize our impacts. From birth to death we consume enormous quantities of natural resources and produce equally enormous quantities of waste. ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: $3 donation requested
Powering a Moon Base Through the Lunar NightHow can we economically supply power to a Moon Base for humans, robots and equipment when there is no available sunlight during the 2-week lunar night? Join experts Michael Abramson, Roger Arnold and Joseph Bland for the updated results of their detailed analysis. Learn about new power technologies that can ...
oin naturalists from the California Center for Natural History and the Rotary Nature Center for a Friday the 13th night hike at Joaquin Miller Park in the Oakland hills! We'll find spiders, moths, and night-dwelling creatures that glow under UV light. Bring your headlamp, drinking water, warm layers, and hiking ...
Where: OaklandCost: Free ($20 donation requested)
Saturday, 05/14/16
SF BAY ACS 2016 Symposium: 'Our Changing Oceans'Climate change is a global issue affecting our oceans. The effects of global warming on marine mammals and other species are of growing concern. Discussing the effects of climate change on the world's oceans is critical to understanding what is changing, how is it changing, and how these changes will influence ...
Where: TiburonCost: $35-$50
Hayward Fault Walking TourOver the last million years, the natural beauty of Fremont has been shaped by the Hayward Fault. Instructors will be leading these 'ground breaking' tours and exposing the science and beauty of the Hayward Fault. This fault is one of several active faults in the world actually creeping at 5 ...
Where: FremontCost: $15
Hike the Mallard Slough TrailLook for birds, mammals, and animal tracks as we explore along the water's edge on this 3.7-mile nature walk. Bring binoculars and your favorite field guide to help enjoy the views. Have at least one liter of water, snacks, and appropriate clothing. This hike runs rain or shine. Led by ...
Where: AlvisoCost: Free
Is a Zero Waste Lifestyle Possible?Hear from industry experts, city government, and zero-waste lifestyle advocates in a deep dive into this important environmental issue. We will discuss why diverting material from landfill is such a critical issue and will explore some of the challenges that service providers, policy makers, and consumers face today. Speakers:Beth Terry, Founder ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $35 General, $12.50 Students
It's springtime and the wildflowers in the Golden Gate National Parks have put on their best outfits to welcome us! Come join us to see an array of flowers as they parade through our national park sites and enthuse us by their colors, scent and beauty.The Park Stewardship team will ...
Our docents will share the exciting adventures that birds take on their migration through fun table activities and interesting visuals.While the Allen's Hummingbird is a familiar backyard bird here in the east bay, it has an interesting migration story - though most of these birds traditionally winter in Southern California ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free with admission
Moonwatch '16: Family Night Hike & Campfire - SOLD OUTJoin NatureBridge for an evening of moon gazing! Learn about the ancient "oceans" and craters that dot the surface. Bring along your favorite pair of binoculars or borrow a pair to get a closer look at Earth's nearest celestial body. This program features a hike and campfire led by our environmental ...
Where: SausalitoCost: $12/person
The Moon : Earth's Lost RockHow would Earth be different without the Moon? How is our Earth like our Moon? Explore the Moon in telescopes.Excitement for the whole family! Participate in hands-on astronomy activities followed by supervised observing through the many different telescopes of MDAS members. See stars, nebulae, galaxies, clusters, the moon and planets ...
Where: Walnut CreekCost:
Jazz Under the StarsSee the stars and more through our telescopes, while listening to KCSM Jazz 91 FM. Dress warmly. Free parking in Marie Curie Lot 5.This event is weather dependent, so check the website before going.
Where: San MateoCost: Free
Searching for life in Ocean Worlds of the Outer Solar SystemNASA's new program, "Ocean Worlds," focuses on the many oceans in the moons of the outer Solar System. Enceladus, Europa, and Titan are of particular interest. Where do we look, and how do we search for evidence of life?Speaker: Chris McKay, NASA Ames
Where: Mill ValleyCost: Free
Sunday, 05/15/16
Bird Language at Lake Merritt!Have you ever wondered what bird is singing in your backyard and what it is saying? Through quiet observation, mapping, and group discussions led by trained naturalists, you will learn to decipher the different calls of bird language and behavior. Once you begin to recognize territorial calls, alarm calls, and ...
SkeptiCal is the Northern California conference of science and skepticism, a day-long event with speakers, panels, and discussions on a wide array of subjects.Speakers include:Carolyn Porco: A decade Exploring SaturnHenry Gilbert: Homo erectus: An Inconvenient Transitional TruthSteve Silberman: Everything you know about autism history is wrongIndre Viskontas: Brain Myths: Lessons ...
Where: OaklandCost: See weblink
Wildflower HikeJoin Peter Warner and ACR Resource Ecologist Dave Self for a day of discovering the splendid diversity and ecology of land plants: mosses, ferns, trees, shrubs, and those photogenic wildflowers. Your guide will be Peter Warner, botanical and ecological consultant, teacher, and plant nerd emeritus. Peter leads botanical field trips throughout California, ...
Experience the birds of summer in the Marin Headlands by joining volunteer Jane Haley for an easy walk along Rodeo Lagoon. Bring field guides and binoculars. Meet at the Marin Headlands Visitor Center. For ages 8 and up; no pets allowed.
Native to California, the burrowing owl is not a typical owl-it doesn't build its nest in trees, and it isn't nocturnal. These owls make their nests in old rodent burrows. Once common throughout California, the population has made a steep decline due to habitat loss. (They are fond of open ...
In a project area encompassing nearly 100 m2on the right (north) bank of the Nile River west of Abu Hamed, Sudan, the Bioarchaeology of Nubia Expedition has documented sites ranging back to the Early Stone Age (>250,000 years ago) with more intensive use in the Middle Stone Age. The focus ...
Esther Perel (Mating In Captivity: Unlocking Erotic Intelligence) is recognized as one of the most insightful and provocative voices on personal and professional relationships and the complex science behind human interaction. The daughter of concentration camp survivors, she is a practicing psychotherapist and organizational consultant to Fortune 500 companies who ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $27 - $37
Monday, 05/16/16
Knowing What and Knowing That We Are SeeingDr. Colin Blakemore's lecture will focus on the transformation and compression of information by eye movements and retinal processing, as well as the many examples of contradiction between what is on the retina and what we see.Wells Fargo Room (C420)
Learning from the Hawaiian bobtail squid: How cilia pump, filter, and mix fluid on a microscaleCilia are microscopic, hair-like structures on the cell surface that can propel the extracellular fluid environment. I am interested in understanding how cilia populations coordinate their beat pattern and how this collective activity generates particular flow patterns and transport functions. Here, I present a case study in the Hawaiian bobtail ...
Where: Moss LandingCost: Free
Uncovering End-User Adoption and Use Characteristics for Solar Home Systems in Sub-Saharan AfricaSolar photovoltaic (PV) products have emerged as a leading potential solution to Sub-Saharan Africa's long-term electrification and development problems. But despite apparent successes in the adoption of solar PV technology in the region – sales have soared to well over 10 million household-sized or smaller units in just the last ...
Superconductivity is perhaps the most spectacular macroscopic quantum phenomenon. A "persistent current" in a ring of superconducting wire will continue to flow forever – a laboratory realization of perpetual motion. A voltage across a junction between two superconductors produces an oscillating current with a frequency that is determined exactly by the voltage and the ...
Sean Carroll, the award-wining author of The Particle at the End of the Universe, explains the difference between how the world works at the quantum, the cosmic and the human levels-and how each connects to the other.Carroll examines the principles that have guided the scientific revolution from Darwin and Einstein ...
Where: Palo AltoCost: $20 General, $12 Member, $8 Student
Tuesday, 05/17/16
Charon: Pluto's Fascinating moon from New HorizonsCharon is Pluto's large companion, and last summer it went from a distant point of light to a full-fledged world in human understanding. Join us as we discuss the interesting fractured geology of Charon. Dr. Ross Beyer, member of the New Horizons team and a Research Scientist at the SETI ...
Where: Mountain ViewCost: Free
Nursery Series: Vegetative Plant PropagationCome learn the secrets of cloning plants by cutting off branches and encouraging them to root! Meghan Steinharter (Fort Funston and Oceana Nurseries Manager) and Robin Binaoro (Marin Headlands Nursery Assistant) will discuss the science behind clonal propagation: what's going on inside the plant and how rooting hormones work. There ...
Where: SausalitoCost: Donations encouraged
Cognitive Computing: to the Singularity and BeyondWhat do we need to understand in order to develop the human/machine interface of the future? What's happening in computing when Artificial Intelligence doesn't seem artificial anymore? Will the smartphone be smarter than we are?In order to understand the profound changes taking place in the world of Cognitive Computing, NFIC ...
Where: StanfordCost: $60 General, $50 Member, $30 Student
Being Human: Our Symbolic NatureJoin scientist Terrence Deacon for an evening exploring our unique capacity for symbolic thought and the role it played in the co-evolution of the human brain and language.Being Human mixes short talks from great minds with fun hands-on experiments, drinks, conversation, and storytelling. Each month we'll explore different aspects of ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $10
Space - Looking up to the StarsOur Universe are full of stars in differnt patterns. Learn what these patterns mean and are they really the same patterns on different parts of our solar system.Editor's Note: We originally listed this for an incorrect date.
Emmy award-winning cameraman Bob Poole is on a mission to help elephants in Mozambique's Gorongosa National Park. One of the world's leading wildlife cinematographers, Poole grew up in East Africa with his sister, Joyce, now a renowned elephant researcher. His unique upbringing gave him an appreciation and curiosity for the ...
NASA's New Horizons spacecraft passed through the Pluto system on July 14, 2015 sending back our first closeup views of that distant, mysterious world and its retinue of moons. The spacecraft executed its observing sequence flawlessly, and the images are still being slowly downlinked back to Earth. The images have ...
