Discovery Station: GymnospermsDiscover gymnosperms -- a type of plant that, literally translated from Greek, means "naked seed." Gymnosperms - in contrast to angiosperms or flowering plants - are plants whose seeds are not enclosed within an ovary..See examples of gymnosperms, including cycads and ginkgos -- along with conifers and Gnetales (like Ephedra ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free with admission
Quantum computing algorithmsThe Center for Quantum Coherent Science presents The Spring 2019 Berkeley Quantum Science and Technology Seminar. Join the group for talks and conversations over refreshments. Talks feature distinguished scientists in the fields of Math, Physics, Chemistry, Engineering, and Computer Science.Speaker: Umesh Vazirani, UC Berkeley
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Biophysics of cell adhesion: how cells sense and respond to forceCells in tissues exert forces as they squeeze, stretch, flex and pull on each other. These forces are incredibly small - on the scale of piconewtons, but they are essential in mediating cell survival, proliferation, and differentiation. A key protein responsible for sensing mechanical forces, are the classical cadherin family ...
Katherine Yelick is a Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at the University of California at Berkeley and the Associate Laboratory Director for Computing Sciences at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Her research is in programming languages, compilers, parallel algorithms, and automatic performance tuning. She is well known for her ...
Investment in adaptation capital reduces the damage from extreme weather, mitigating the welfare cost of climate change. Federal aid for disaster relief reduces the net costs to localities that experience extreme weather, decreasing their incentives to invest in adaptation capital. We develop a heterogenous-agent macro model to quantify the relationship ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
TECH WEEK: Inventing TomorrowPizza! Guest Speaker! Film!In celebration of Tech Week, enjoy a special presentation from Cal NERDS, then watch a film about 6 teens from around the world using STEM to help improve their communities while competing in the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) https://bit.ly/2IHX5Xr.Pizza while supplies last! Everyone welcome!Cal NERDS provides coaching and mentoring ...
Measurements of neurotransmitters in the extracellular space are limited by combinations of poor chemical, spatial, and temporal resolution. Brain chemistries, therefore, are unable to be investigated dynamically, particularly at the level of neural circuits and across numerous signaling molecules.1 To understand neurochemical signaling at scales pertinent to encoded information, micro- ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Inequality and the Social Cost of CarbonWe present a novel way to disentangle inequality aversion over time from inequality aversion between regions in the computation of the social cost of carbon. Our approach nests a standard efficiency based estimate and an equity weighted estimate as special cases. We use two integrated assessment models (FUND and RICE) ...
Recent advances in deep learning and satellite imagery make it possible to remotely monitor economic and agricultural trends across the developing world, at high resolution. These advances are now being translated from research labs into the real world. This seminar will discuss the technology and vision behind Atlas AI, ...
Placebo effects are most often considered in the context of randomized controlled trials, in which an active drug or treatment is compared against an inert placebo treatment. This allows the factors that contribute to placebo effects to be separated from the medically active properties of a drug or treatment. But in the ...
Where: Palo AltoCost:
Thursday, 03/07/19
Near-Field Cosmology and the Lowest-Mass GalaxiesGalaxies less massive than the Small Magellanic Cloud (10^8 Msun) have become increasingly relevant to a broad range of astrophysics from cosmic reionization to deciphering the nature of dark matter. Yet, they are simply too faint to be directly detected at any appreciable redshift, compromising our ability to place them ...
Where: Menlo ParkCost: Free
Cosmology with neutral hydrogen in the post reionization era Measurements of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) anisotropies and, more recently, of the distribution of galaxies at late times led us to the definition of a concordance cosmological model, the so called LCDM model. Despite its phenomenological success, several fundamental questions about the origin and fate of our Universe remain ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Studying Distant Galaxies with Innovative Astronomical InstrumentationRecent advances in diffraction-limited techniques on 8 - 10m telescopes using adaptive optics (AO) and integral field spectrographics (IFS) have led to significant scientific achievements and are stimulating the design of future instrumentation. My talk will focus on development and use of current near-infrared AO instruments to study galaxies in ...
Cafe InquiryCenter for Inquiry San Francisco's monthly get together to talk about whatever interests us.
Where: Menlo ParkCost: Free
NightLife & DeathIt’s a matter of NightLife and death when we team up with the Reimagine End of Life Festival to examine the big questions about death in the natural world through an evening of science, discussion, and art.Dealing with Death African HallAt 7 pm, Learn about the animal care provided in ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $15 General, $12 Members
Expand your perspective with an evening of innovative storytelling that illuminates the fluid relationship between art and science. Hear from scientists working directly with artists to share their research in new ways and artists using science as inspiration - then immerse yourself in a spectacular multimedia artwork highlighting ice studies.Can ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $19.95, $0.00 A.D. members. $14.95 explO members
Astronomy on Tap Santa Cruz - Death in the UniverseThe night sky might seem peaceful but there are many things simmering under the calm facade. Come to Astronomy on Tap this month to hear Dr. Jeffrey Silverman discuss some of thew ays the Universe is trying to kill off humanity. From killer asteroids to exploding stars, The Universe is ...
Where: Santa CruzCost: Free
The Path of the JaguarHumankind both admires and reveres the mighty jaguar. They have been used as symbols throughout the Americas and continue to gain global and local support for conservation. Yet, their predatory behavior and massive, connected habitat requirements bring them into conflict with humans, leading to dramatic decline over the past 20 ...
Where: OaklandCost: $10 - $30
Friday, 03/08/19
Nursery Series: Planning for Next Year in the NurseryThis class will introduce participants to planning for collection and growing of native plants. Covered subjects will include: communicating with restoration managers about their plant requests; calculating amounts of seed to collect; scheduling of collection, pre-germination treatments, propagation, facility maintenance; after care issues, monitoring, managers responsibilities for safety, resources available ...
Women in Tech: The Future of AISince Ada Lovelace wrote the first computer program nearly 200 years ago, women have contributed to the advancement of computing and helped pave the way for today’s artificial intelligence (AI). Today, women are pushing the frontiers of AI in applications from robotics to recruiting, from startups to venture capital. Equally ...
Molecular Perspective on Nanoscale TransportUnderstanding how mass, energy, or charge are transported on small scales is challenging, as standard hydrodynamic descriptions developed for macroscopic phenomena need not remain valid. On small scales, matter is discrete, thermal fluctuations render currents stochastic quantities, and nonlinear response is ubiquitous. In this talk, I will discuss ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Green Friday: Bay-Delta Water Quality Plan update: 2nd PhaseThere will be a presentation by Heinrich Albert, San Francisco Bay Chapter Water Committee co-chair, entitled Bay-Delta Water Quality Plan update:Â 2nd Phase covering the Sacramento River Watershed and the Delta itself.California Rivers, the Delta, the San Francisco Bay Estuary and the wildlife that depends on them are in severe ...
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: $20 General, $15 Fremont residents
Addressing Hot Spots of Air PollutionAir pollution has long been viewed as an environmental issue, but recognition of air pollution as a social justice issue has only recently become far more widespread. At this presentation you'll hear about:The hot spots of air pollution in the Bay Area and their implications for health. New technologies which enable ...
Where: DanvilleCost: free but $10 donation encouraged
The Chemistry of ColorThis talk, which includes a walk, is a wonderful introduction to the chemistry of color and to the special structures of colorful plant substances and those that can be used as dyes on fibers. Learn about anthocyanins, tannins, flavonoids, and more!Price includes admission to the garden
Calling All Eco-Explorers! Youth ages 5-15 will be up to their elbows in FREE, hands-on activities. Learning through fun interactive, nature science experiences and regional field trips, your kids will find out all about the Bay Area ecosystem and become the next generation of Citizen Scientists! We have extended Welcome ...
Where: OaklandCost: Free
Trekking the ModelJoin a Ranger or docent on a guided tour of the Bay Model, a 1.5-acre hydraulic model of the 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
Night Owl: Hoot & HollerThis high-flying event features live owls hootin’ about, Whiskey Hoo-Hoo cocktails, Alvarado Street Brewery craft beers, savory eats, live music, a ‘craft beer, beer craft’, plus a competition and prize to the best owl call of the night.WHOOOOO’s Down? Join the fun and come learn about this elusive creature of the ...
Where: Pacific GroveCost: $39 General, $29 Members, $49 at door
Sunday, 03/10/19
Marine Science Sunday: The Big, The Small, and The WeirdThe theme this month is Celebrating Our Oceans: The Big, The Small, and The Weird. Come learn about the amazing diversity of life that lives out in the Ocean, from the big to the small and everything in between. Guided tours will take you around the hospital showcasing some of the patients ...
Where: SausalitoCost: Free
Sunday Funday: Math All Around UsMath is everywhere we look in architecture, clothing, science, art, nature, and so much more. Join us on Sunday, March 10, as we explore math concepts, such as symmetry and proportion, through hands-on activities in which visitors make art through math, find patterns in nature, and more.
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free with admission
Monday, 03/11/19
Gaussian Processes for Leisure and ProfitI'll discuss two new applications of Gaussian Processes to cosmology, especially the analysis of quasar spectra. First I'll talk about building a fast model (an emulator) for simulations of the Lyman-alpha forest, providing interpolation of a comparable accuracy to the statistical error from the upcoming DESI survey. Then I'll discuss ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
Cognitively Inspired Artificial Intelligence for Neuroscience Advances combining artificial intelligence techniques with computational neuroscience have shown that time-averaged neural responses in the primate visual and auditory systems can be modeled with reasonable accuracy by task-optimized deep neural networks. I'll discuss our lab's recent work to broaden and deepen these results, using convolutional recurrent networks to model ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
Hybrid Forecasting Systems for Integration of Large-Scale Solar Power PlantsIncreasing penetration of weather-dependent renewable power into the electric grid requires strategies for coping with generation variability. Of the existing solutions, renewable energy forecasting is the cheapest and most readily deployable for both distributed generation and utility-scale central station power plants. Our group at UC San Diego has developed a ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
Magnetic relaxation dynamics in dysprosium complexesFollowing our discovery of the first dysprosium metallocenium cation, [Dy(Cpttt)2][B(C6F5)4], which is the vanguard of the new generation of high-temperature single-molecule magnets, we have been investigating the magnetic relaxation dynamics of various dysprosium-based single-molecule magnets (SMMs) by experimental and theoretical techniques. Here we present our recent results in unravelling the ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Advances in Precision Measurement with Electron MicroscopyThis seminar will discuss recent advancements in measurement with electron microscopy. While a single image from a high-resolution electron microscope can determine can 2D positional information with sub-angstrom resolution, only recently has been it become possible to determine individual atomic coordinates in 3D. The application of this method to nanomaterials ...
Reproducibility is a growing issue in modern science - situations with high impact results in, e.g., social sciences, medicine and even biology and chemistry is often described as a crisis. Physics stands out as arguably the most reproducible discipline due to very high and universally applied standards. Reconstruction of pioneering ...
Where: Menlo ParkCost: Free
People and Robots Seminar - RESCHEDULEDSpeaker: Scott Niekum, University of Texas, AustinThis event has been rescheduled for April 15.A new speaker will be announced for this date.
Preventing dangerous climate change is an “area under the curve†problem, as total emissions over time must not exceed a trillion tons of carbon. The imperative, then, is focusing on strategies that offer speed and scale in carbon reduction. Ten policies, applied to 20 countries, can land us at a ...
Research in the Farkas group involves the development and use of molecular tools in order to study, image, and treat cancer subtypes. Significant advances have been made in understanding and treating cancer, however, there remain many unknowns, especially in the arena of how and why particular diseases become aggressive and ...
The ancient Egyptian site of Tebtunis lies at the southern edge of the Fayum depression, a fertile region in the western desert fed by a branch of the Nile. Today, as in antiquity, this area was exploited for its rich agricultural production, which led to the establishment of new settlements ...
Large-Scale Structure with 21cm Intensity Mapping In this talk I will discuss several aspects of using the 21cm Intensity Mapping (IM) as a Large-Scale Structure (LSS) probe in order to better constrain the cosmological parameters. I will start with a Baryon Acoustic Oscillations (BAO) reconstruction method intended for 21cm IM observations at low redshifts. I will ...
In recent years, optically probed nitrogen-vacancy (NV) quantum defects in diamond have become a leading modality for magnetic, electrical, and temperature sensing at short length scales (nanometers to millimeters) under ambient conditions. This technology has wide-ranging application across the physical and life sciences from NMR spectroscopy at the scale of ...
Opening Night: How to Build a HouseJoin us for the opening reception for the exhibition, How to Build a House: Architectural Research in the Digital Age. The exhibition focuses on the DFAB House and the work of Gramazio Kohler Research at Swiss university ETH Zurich.The exhibition, created by Gramazio Kohler Research and the chair for Digital ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free
Vision+Light: A Conversation with Paul Alivisatos and Kate NicholsHow can artists and scientists work together to create innovative new work? Bay Area artist Kate Nichols synthesizes nanoparticles to mimic structurally colored animals, grows artificial skin from microorganisms, and makes her own paints, following fifteenth-century recipes. The long tradition of painters as material innovators inspired Nichols to ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
March Laser Event - Santa CruzLeonardo Art & Science Evening Rendezvous (LASER) is an international program bringing together artists, scientists, and scholars for presentations and conversations. On March 12, LASER will be coming to Rio Theater and will feature stimulating performances and presentations by:Marianne Weems, UC Santa Cruz: "'Liveness' in a digital world" Alexie Leauthaud, ...
Did you know that even today, cattle, sheep, and goats graze more than a third of the East Bay - and almost two-thirds of the 120,000 acres owned by the East Bay Regional Park District?Denise Defreese, the Park District’s wildlands vegetation program manager, outlines the fascinating history of grazing in ...
Joel Sartore is an award-winning National Geographic photographer, Fellow, and founder of the National Geographic Photo Ark. He has traveled the world, documenting wildlife for close to 40 National Geographic articles. In 2005 Sartore’s wife was diagnosed with cancer and he spent a year at home caring for her. Reflecting ...
Where: Mountain ViewCost: $40 General, $20 Students
