Coloring the Universe with Rubin Observatory - OnlineVera C. Rubin Observatory has developed a series of FREE online astronomy investigations using authentic data that provide rich and interactive experiences for students, from advanced middle school through college, covering topics commonly taught in introductory astronomy classes or units.This webinar, hosted by the ASP, will unpack how to access ...
Have a whale of a time with the PG Museum as we celebrate the birthday of beloved community icon Sandy the gray whale! Get ready for some major merrymaking and learn about whales and other animals that migrate.
Where: Pacific GroveCost: Free
Salamander Search at SanbornSanborn is famous for its amphibians; you just need to do some extra searching to find them! Join us for a fun day of looking under rocks, logs, and other unique hiding spots that Sanborn’s Salamanders call home!Ages 4 - 12, with registered adultRegister at weblink
Where: SaratogaCost: $25 per person
Stewardship Saturday: Icing Out IceplantsHelp protect our beaches with The Marine Mammal Center and Sonoma County Parks! Through this event you will learn about the impact of the iceplant along our coastal ecosystems and support in removing this plant from a section of Bodega Bay. We hope that by the end of this event ...
Where: Bodega BayCost: Free
Lunar Landing Sites, Past and FutureAs we look back on the discoveries of the Apollo program, now more than fifty years ago, and stand on the verge of a new generation of lunar exploration through the Artemis Program, it is appropriate to reflect upon the sites chosen for lunar exploration. In this talk, we will ...
Where: OaklandCost: Free
Is Anybody Out There? What’s New in the Search for Extraterrestrial CivilizationsWhat is the possibility of other intelligent life in the universe? Can we detect radio, infrared, or optical signals from other civilizations? Current and future SETI projects may provide an answer. Dan Werthimer will describe the rationale for past and future searches and will show how new technologies are revolutionizing ...
Dr. Smith is currently a Conservation Research Fellow at the Monterey Bay Aquarium:Â I am a community ecologist studying how species interactions shape the structure, functioning, and stability of nearshore marine ecosystems. I focus on temperate rocky reefs and am particularly interested in combining theory with observational and experimental approaches to ...
Where: Rohnert ParkCost: Free
Drivers of plankton communities and foodweb structure in a changing oceanZooplankton are essential components of marine pelagic ecosystems: as trophic intermediaries they play a key role in energy transfer up the food web, they mediate biogeochemical cycling and organic export, and their month-to-year life cycles and close species links to the physical environment make them important sentinels of climate change. ...
A large and growing share of the American public turns to social media for news. On these platforms, reports about crime increasingly come directly from law enforcement agencies, raising questions about content curation. We gathered all posts from almost 14,000 Facebook pages maintained by US law enforcement agencies, focusing on ...
Lake Tahoe is one of the longest studied lakes in North America. Yet, the processes that control its motions, health and clarity are still not fully understood. These processes are a complex interaction of physical, biological and biogeochemical processes, all of which are subject to large-scale changes associated with climate ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
Shot noise in a strange metalStrange metal behavior has been observed in materials ranging from high-temperature superconductors to heavy fermion metals. In conventional metals, current is carried by quasiparticles; although it has been suggested that quasiparticles are absent in strange metals, direct experimental evidence is challenging to acquire. We measure shot noise to probe the ...
Muon colliders offer a unique path to multi-TeV, high-luminosity lepton collisions. Muon collisions with a center-of-mass energy of 10 TeV or above would offer significant discovery potential where the constituent collision energies exceed those of the LHC program by an order of magnitude.  Significant progress on the fundamental R&D and ...
Unprecedented development of renewable energy projects and infrastructure is expected across the U.S. to meet decarbonization goals by mid-century. How do Tribal Nations fit into this energy landscape? Tribal lands hold an estimated 6.5% of the utility-scale solar potential in the contiguous United States. Siting principles that support a just ...
Speaker: Jonas Cremer, Stanford UniversityAuditorium
Where: StanfordCost: Free
Flying robots: exploring hybrid locomotion and physical interactionAutonomous flying robots have become widespread in recent years, yet their capability to interact with the environment remains limited. Moving in multiple fluids is one of the great challenges of mobile robotics, and carries great potential for application in biological and environmental studies. In particular, hybrid locomotion provides the means ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
The Many Frontiers of High Magnetic Field ResearchMagnetic fields represent a remarkably flexible research tool that has opened up new frontiers of research in physics, engineering, chemistry, geochemistry, environmental sciences, biology, and biomedicine. The National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (the National MagLab) in the United States exists to provide uniquely powerful magnetic fields to thousands of researchers ...
The United States is strategically disadvantaged in building its critical mineral supply, in particular in the upstream and downstream portion. In this presentation, I will report findings on a year-long conversation with government officials, academics, and international industry experts on the status of the US critical mineral supply chain, in ...
The development of classical electromagnetism and quantum electrodynamics are highpoints of nineteenth and twentieth century physics, respectively. Recent, remarkable discoveries, involving neutron stars and black holes, are taking electrodynamics into unfamiliar and “extremeâ€Â territory, requiring new theoretical approaches. Examples include 100 GT (10^15 Gauss) magnetic fields surrounding neutron stars (and ...
I will discuss how vertebrate skin colours and skin appendages (scales, feathers, hairs, ...) are patterned through Turing and mechanical instabilities. First, I will show that Reaction-diffusion (RD) models are particularly effective for understanding skin colour patterning at the macroscopic scale, without the need to parametrise the profusion of variables ...
Brainstem trauma or neurodegenerative diseases can often result in the inability to move or speak, despite intact cognition. The inability to communicate often results in severely decreased quality of life for individuals living with these conditions. Our recent work has shown that brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), can employ neural signals to ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
Innovative Patient-Centered Care for CancerThe current system of cancer care is not built to optimize for patients, according to our speakers. Clinical trials optimize for sponsor outcomes. Hospitals and clinics optimize for payer reimbursement. Translational research optimizes for publication impact. Electronic health records are optimized for billing efficiency.Join us in-person as Mark Laabs (cancer ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $20 General, $10 Members in person, $5/free online
Wonderfest: The Psychology of Confidence - RESCHEDULEDHow confident should we be? Overconfidence leads people to delude themselves with wishful thinking, take too many risks, pursue impossible goals, and waste their time on doomed ventures. Underconfidence dissuades people from taking risks that would pay off, and scares them away from trying things they would enjoy. Pschological studies ...
Where: NovatoCost: Free
Wednesday, 01/31/24
RoundTable: Taking Generative AI Enterprise Models to ProductionGenerative AI (GenAI) is an emergent area that has many AI users excited. One key feature of GenAI applications includes using Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) to pull up text data from internal enterprise sources. Another key feature is to reason about the retrieval results, the question, and the context of ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free
How to Make an Eye: Cephalopod Eye Development and the Evolution of ComplexityUnderstanding the mechanisms that enable the evolution of complexity remains a difficult problem in biology. In On the Origin of Species, Darwin discussed the eye as an important context to better understand his theory of natural selection and the generation of complex phenotypes. My lab is interested in the evolution ...
Can aquaculture be adapted to support conservation and ecosystem restoration? The only native oyster on our coast, the Olympia oyster, is depleted throughout its range. Many estuaries in central California are facing local extinction. Without a healthy oyster population, these estuaries lose vast amounts of biodiversity and cannot protect shorelines ...
 Around the world, people recognize that E=mc^2 oozes cosmic insight. But what does this "most famous equation" really say? What are energy and mass? And what makes the speed of light, c, so important? [Hint: mass, moving at speed c, doesn't turn into energy!] Using little more than common experience ...
Home to more than 13 million people, the urban area of Los Angeles sits on top of a large-scale deep sedimentary basin that during large earthquakes can considerably amplify the recorded seismic amplitudes. One significant example of this effect is the magnitude 6.7 Northridge in 1994. The repercussions of the ...
Latin America is one of the world’s most urbanized regions, with over 80% of its total population projected to be living in urban areas by 2050. Amazonia, often associated with images of remote, mostly rural spaces, has not escaped this trend. In recent decades, Amazonian cities have grown, prompting Indigenous ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Galactic Archaeology with the Coldest Stars and Brown DwarfsLarge-scale photometric, spectroscopic, and astrometric surveys have revolutionized our understanding of the Milky Way and its satellite systems. Nearly all of this work has made use of red giants and FGK dwarfs as tracers of Galactic structure and evolution, but greater insight can emerge from the Milky Way's lowest mass ...
The first commercial 5G deployments were in March of 2019 - now almost 5 years ago--and the path to 6G is well under way. It is without a doubt that 6G will be evolution and revolution beyond 5G, but its territory is still rife with speculation. However, some of the ...
Where: Rohnert ParkCost: Free
After Dark: Phenomenal FunThe Exploratorium is your playground after dark! Sip a cocktail and explore extraordinary science phenomena with 600+ interactive exhibits. Watch water freeze, eavesdrop on people at the parabolic dishes, and paint in colors using soapy water. No kids allowed - but you can still act like one.
Where: San FranciscoCost: $19.95 General, Free for members
NightLife: Black ThursdayCelebrate Black joy with a vibrant night of history, culture, and innovation.
Energy Innovation: What It Is and How to Accelerate It - LivestreamInnovation is central to economic prosperity (although not necessarily equity and justice), and is particularly key to efforts to address the climate crisis. Berkeley professor Daniel Kammen will examine perspectives and methods to track, understand, accelerate, and make more just and inclusive the process of energy innovation.While UC Berkeley and Stanford ...
Jennifer Doudna developed CRISPR-Cas9, a groundbreaking technology that some call “genetic scissors.†With it, scientists can snip and edit DNA - the code of life - unlocking remarkable possibilities in biology, including treatments for thousands of intractable diseases. This work has changed the course of genomics research, allowing scientists to ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
First Friday Nights at CuriOdyssey Come together as a family, visit early, and stay late!Swing into the weekend with live music, a food truck, animals and fun! On the first Friday of every month, from 5 PM until 8 PM, parents and kids celebrate together at CuriOdyssey.Dance to some of your favorite pop and rock ...
Where: San MateoCost: 0-$19.95
First Friday: Celestial CinemaJoin Chabot in a galaxy far, far away to get a behind-the-scenes look at how space films are made and put the science in science fiction with experts in the field of filmmaking. Create your own flipbook sci-fi adventure, attend hands-on workshops and guest lectures, and take a trip to ...
Where: OaklandCost: $15 General, $10 Kids/Seniors, $5 Members
N = 1: Alone in the Milky WayPlanetary scientist Dr. Pascal Lee will review our present knowledge about each term of the Drake Equation used to estimate the number (N) of advanced civilizations present in our Milky Way galaxy, which is at the heart of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). He will examine star and planet ...
Where: San MateoCost: Free
Saturday, 02/03/24
Roots of Jazz in the Music of Steely DanGet ready to swing and sway as you learn about jazz and its roots through the music of the Rock & Roll Hall of Famers. Local band The Dans of Steel will delight guests with a performance that will break down the music of Steely Dan into its Jazz and Afro-American components. ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free with admission
Nike Missile Site Veteran Open HouseVeterans of the Nike program come to the site to share their stories with visitors and give guided tours of SF88 between the hours of 12pm - 3pm The SF-88 Nike Missile Site is the most fully restored Nike missile site in the country. During the tense years of the Cold War, from ...
In "Neurobiology of Morality," Dr. Strand begins by briefly introducing the historical assumption that morality and religion are closely linked. Next, Sarah describes that contemporary moral psychologists show that humans - whether male or female, atheist or religious, American or Aboriginal - make remarkably similar moral judgments. So if religion ...
Where: Cost: Donation requested
Starry Nights Star PartyThe San Jose Astronomical Association (SJAA), working with the Santa Clara County Open Space Authority (OSA), is glad to co-host a public star party at Rancho Canada del Oro (RCDO) Open Space Preserve. This site, just 30 minutes south of downtown San Jose, features dark skies. It's dark enough to ...
It’s there for us year round, lighting our days and providing energy for our lives, so maybe it’s time to give it a closer look. Join SJAA for amazing and detailed views of the Sun, and be assured that we’ll be using special telescopes that will keep your eyeballs perfectly ...
Electron solids in two-dimensional semiconductor heterostructuresAtomically thin two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors and heterostructures offer an exciting platform for the study of tunable correlated electronic phenomena. The interaction between electrons in 2D semiconductors can be adjusted by manipulating the electron density and confinement potential, leading to the formation of various electron solid phases. When electrons are confined ...
On Dec 13, 2022, the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Accelerator Laboratory achieved Ignition. 2.05MJoule produced by 192 lasers were converted into 3.15Mjoule of fusion power. The first time on earth, controlled nuclear fusion produced a net positive power reaction. This is a major scientific milestone that ...
The Search for Wavy Dark Matter: Axions ABRACADABRA to DMRadio The particle nature of dark matter remains one of the great open questions in physics. There is a broad category of candidates whose mass is so light that they behave more as waves than as particles. The most well-known is the axion, which has had a renaissance as a dark ...
Climate change is escalating the frequency and severity of natural disasters worldwide, necessitating urgent societal adaptation. In this talk, I present a multimodal machine learning (ML) framework designed to predict natural disasters. Traditionally, weather forecasting has depended on dynamical equations for over a century. However, recent advancements in artificial intelligence ...
Seeking the first galaxies to form after the Big Bang is the primary rationale for building the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). These first galaxies have eluded the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) because the expansion of the Universe has stretched their light to wavelengths undetectable by HST. With its increased ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $15 General, $12 Members & Seniors
The development of classical electromagnetism and quantum electrodynamics are highpoints of nineteenth and twentieth century physics, respectively. Recent, remarkable discoveries, involving neutron stars and black holes, are taking electrodynamics into unfamiliar and “extremeâ€Â territory, requiring new theoretical approaches. Examples include 100 GT (10^15 Gauss) magnetic fields surrounding neutron stars (and ...
I will discuss how vertebrate skin colours and skin appendages (scales, feathers, hairs, ...) are patterned through Turing and mechanical instabilities. First, I will show that Reaction-diffusion (RD) models are particularly effective for understanding skin colour patterning at the macroscopic scale, without the need to parametrise the profusion of variables ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
From UC Berkeley to NASA: My Path to AstronautWarren “Woody†Hoburg was selected by NASA to join the 2017 Astronaut Candidate Class. He reported for duty in August 2017 and having completed the initial astronaut candidate training became eligible for a mission assignment. The Pennsylvania native earned a bachelor’s degree in aeronautics and astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Indigenous Sovereign FuturesAlternative visions for social change rooted in the frameworks of capitalism and colonialism only reproduce contemporary structures of power. How can indigenous perspectives and knowledge inform the structural transformation necessary to improve the health of the natural world and of human communities?Dr. Cordero will discuss how indigenous epistemologies challenge the ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: TBA
Odd Salon: ColossalStories of immense accomplishments and stupendous feat, the outsized and the enormous, massive monoliths and the superbly superlativeSpeakers:Juliana Brodsky ~ Boats, Trains and Automobiles: 1908 New York-Paris RaceSteen Comer ~ John Locke Likes This: How the Republic of Letters Revolutionized KnowledgeMichael Escobar â€" The Jazz Cathedral: Sam Rodia and the ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $20 General, Members discounted
Microplastics (MPs) are small plastic particles of less than 5 millimeters in length that are generated from primary sources (manufactured at this size) or secondary sources (when large synthetic polymer products degrade into smaller pieces or are intentionally fragmented through mechanical or chemical recycling processes). Release of MPs into the ...
Over 90% of global water use occurs in agricultural production, which is subject to two pervasive distortions: (i) incomplete property rights for farmers accessing water and (ii) subsidies, taxes, and tariffs affecting agricultural output. This paper combines a rich collection of global geospatial data with a dynamic spatial equilibrium model ...
Energy transition is a much discussed topic. We talk about it at the global scale when we see national representatives meeting in some faraway place to discuss reducing total carbon emissions at some indeterminate time in the future (we all are more or less familiar with that story). But energy ...
Anthropogenic stressors, particularly pollutants, typically target animals at the molecular, tissue, and organ-system levels, with consequences assessed at population, community, and ecosystem scales. This seminar discusses three research projects spanning multiple levels of biological organization to inform environmental projections and conservation efforts. The first project investigates the ecological impact of ...
Please join the Stanford Cyber Policy Center (CPC) for a conversation on "Teens, Screens, and Social Media" with renowned psychologist and author Dr. Lisa Damour. Dr. Damour is the author of three New York Times best sellers: Untangled, Under Pressure, and The Emotional Lives of Teenagers, which have been translated into twenty-three languages. She co-hosts the Ask Lisa podcast, ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
Astronomy on Tap San Antonio: Two Talks - Livestreamwe are excited to hear from the University of Texas at San Antonio’s Dr. Lindsay Fuller: “Total Eclipse of the Heart of Texas†and from Johns Hopkins University, Dr. Dana Koeppe:â€Cosmic Giantsâ€!Streaming on YouTube and Facebook. See weblink
Where: Cost: Free
Microplastic? Macro Problems - LivestreamExplore how plastic waste contributes to our changing climate. Dr. Imari Walker-Franklin will teach you how plastic impacts our health and the environment. Learn solutions to our growing microplastics pollution.   Speaker: Imari Walker-Franklin, Research Triangle InternationalRegister at weblink to receive Zoom information
Where: Cost: Free
Digital Conflict Through the Lens of National SecurityThis talk surveys the landscape of digital security as a national security issue. Herbert Lin will address both offensive operations in cyberspace (essentially, computer hacking as an instrument of national policy) and information/influence operations (i.e., "mind hacking" as instruments of national policy). On the former, what happens when our computers ...
Measuring gravitational waves is a revolutionary new way to do astronomy. They were predicted by Einstein but we did not have the technology to find them in his lifetime. In 2015, LIGO (the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory) first detected one of these waves - a tiny ripple in space itself, ...
The imperative for strong and rapid emissions reductions to mitigate global warming and enhance air quality necessitates a transition to net-zero emissions. This shift requires significant changes throughout the entire energy supply-demand ecosystems, tailored to various sectors. Transportation stands as the least-diversified energy sector and the largest source of U.S. ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
A Sharper Look at the M87 Black Hole with PRIMOThe Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) is a very long baseline interferometer incorporating several radio telescopes spread all over the world. The sparse interferometric coverage of the Event Horizon Telescope makes reconstruction of black-hole images challenging. Principal component interferometric modeling (PRIMO) is a new algorithm for image reconstruction that builds a ...
The US particle physics community has gone through a long-range planning exercise for the next ten years. The Particle Physics Project Prioritization Panel (P5) issued a report with recommendations to Department of Energy and National Science Foundation. I discuss how the report defines its scientific scope, what the major initiatives ...
The development of Assistive Technology benefits from the contributions of many areas of study. Engineering of physical devices plays a crucial role in meeting the needs of the user and improving the human experience. There are many user needs however, that would greatly benefit from systems capable of not only ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
After Dark: See for YourselfThe Exploratorium is your playground after dark! Grab a cocktail and try to out-quiet yourself on a noisy gravel path. Mess around and find out at the Music Bench. And then join a dance party hosted by DJ Inkfat. Don’t miss this adult-only (18+) night to experience our galleries.
Where: San FranciscoCost: $19.95 General, Free for members
NightLife 15!NightLife’s growin’ up, so let’s turn up. Come out and celebrate 15 years of creatures, cocktails, and culture.
Why have preventable mishaps in aircraft occurred (which are not the fault of pilots), resulting in loss of life and property? How are aircraft put into service with potentially fatal control and stability issues? Many of these incidents are directly attributed to human error and negligence in aircraft design as ...
Where: Mountain ViewCost: Free (see weblink for food/drink options)
Climate change denial propaganda campaigns aimed at American teachers and students are not new, but in 2023, no fewer than four - from the Heartland Institute, the CO2 Coalition, EverBright Media, and PragerU Kids - were in the headlines. Glenn Branch of the National Center for Science Education read all ...
Where: Cost: Free
Friday, 02/09/24
Self-Guided Volunteer Opportunity: February 2024 King Tides in AlvisoObserve & record this February's King Tide event by taking and submitting your photos!Interested in a volunteer opportunity you can do for school, work, or just for fun!? Looking for an opportunity you can do on your own or with your own household? This is also an excellent opportunity for ...
Where: AlvisoCost: Free
Publishing Applied Technology Research at Cell PressDr. Marshall Brennan, Editor in Chief of the newly launched journal Device, will discuss the vision of the journal, publishing opportunities and best practices at Cell Press, and advice for writing papers and navigating peer review at large. He will discuss trends in new research and how this impacts continuing ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
In Town Star PartyCome join San Jose Astronomical Association (SJAA) for an evening of stargazing.Event details:Events are held at the parking lot of our headquarters, Houge Park San Jose. The event duration is 2 hours. SJAA volunteers will share night sky views from their telescopes.Please refrain from bringing your own telescopes (Binoculars are ...
Dr. Schuh’s research focuses on reproductive and developmental biology and toxicology. Her talk delves into the prevalent challenges of the current plastics and environmental toxin crisis, and their effects on human health, fertility, and congenital defects. Ubiquitous chemicals like bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates, present in a wide variety of ...
What is the exciting new research about psychedelics as treatment for depression, addiction, pain, and obsessive-compulsive disorder? What are the barriers (cost, legality, access) and harms?Speaker: Peter Grinspoon, Massachusetts Genral HospitalWatch the talk here.
Where: Cost: Free
The Secrets behind a Skeptical PodcastRichard Saunders, host of The Skeptic Zone podcast for 17 years, takes you behind-the-scenes on how a typical podcast is created each week. From conducting interviews and gathering information to the actual recording and editing. This is a chance for you to be part of a live recording of this ...
Arthur Dawson, founder of Baseline Consulting, is a recognized expert on regional history and historical ecology. He has published several books on these subjects, including a local bestseller; been a guest lecturer at UC Davis and several California state universities, and is certified by the state of California as a ...
Where: Rohnert ParkCost: Free
Coastal dynamics in the Anthropocene: Integrated watershed-coastal processes on temperate Eastern Pacific coastsThe integrated effects of watershed hydrology and coastal hydrodynamics are felt in wetlands, estuaries, deltas, and exposed coasts. Small watersheds with steep topography, common in California and Chile experience temporally variable watershed and oceanic forcing (e.g. seasonal precipitation, seasonally variable wave climate), which manifest as episodic events. Climate change, drought, ...
Speaker: Hyowon Gweon, Stanford UniversitySee weblink for instructions to gain entry to the building.Room 126
Where: StanfordCost: Free
Measurement-induced entanglement and control transitions using feedbackIn recent years, substantial progress has been achieved in understanding entanglement transitions in monitored quantum systems. In this talk, I will summarize some key facts we’ve learned and how they can be used in quantum control protocols. Drawing parallels with classically chaotic systems, we identify features that link and delink ...
The Greenlining Institute works towards a future where communities of color can build wealth, live in healthy places filled with economic opportunity, and are ready to meet the challenges posed by climate change. Building lasting climate resilience in communities of color can only be achieved by focusing on the intersection ...
Health care is facing a massive staffing crisis. There are not enough health-care professionals to meet current and expected increases in demand. The rapid advancement of generative AI provides the opportunity to not only close the health-care staffing gap, but go beyond to enable access to infinitely scalable, high-quality care ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $20 General, $10 Members in person, $5/free online
In 2007, astronomers discovered a new mysterious cosmic phenomenon: Fast Radio Bursts. These events consist of short, intense blasts of radio waves arriving from far outside our Milky Way galaxy. Their origin is unknown, however Fast Radio Bursts appear ubiquitous in our Universe, with roughly 1000 arriving every day over ...
Humans have pondered the question of our place in the cosmos and whether we are alone in the Universe since our ancestors first gazed upon the stars with wonder and curiosity.  For most of human history the question of life beyond Earth has been relegated to the religious and philosophical. But ...
Interdisciplinary tribute to Kafka Stanley Corngold (Princeton Univ, Emeritus) on "Franz Kafka in 2024" Ken Krimstein (New Yorker) on "Einstein in Kafkaland" Claire Pentecost (Media Artist & Art Inst of Chicago, Emeritus) on "Kafka, the Comfortless Muse"Â Â
Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) are a mysterious new class of extragalactic fast radio transients whose nature is presently unknown. Here I provide a detailed review of FRB phenomenology and identify particularly remarkable sources that may act as Rosetta Stones for understanding the origin of the population, with an emphasis on ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
National Security in an Uncertain WorldDr. Kimberly S. Budil will join the Berkeley Risk and Security Lab (BRSL) for a discussion on the role of the national laboratories, specifically Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, in today’s strategic ecosystem. She’ll discuss the Lab’s scientific vision, goals, and objectives, and touch on its critical programs related to national ...
Steve Palumbi has always tried to turn advances in marine science into practical tools to solve problems…from climate change impact on corals to how to test the species of seafood. He’s also the author of books such as The Death and Life of Monterey Bay and The Extreme Life of ...
 Currently, nuclear power provides ten percent of world electricity generation. As physicists and engineers strive to make new reactors that are small, clean, and safe, what does the future hold for nuclear power in a warming world? Join this discussion of the current status and future directions for nuclear energy.Our ...
The origin of the pentaradial body plan of echinoderms from a bilateral ancestor is one of the most enduring zoological puzzles. Since echinoderms are defined by morphological novelty, even the most basic axial comparisons with their bilaterian relatives are problematic. To revisit this classical question, we used conserved antero-posterior (AP) ...
Where: Cost: Free
Funnel of Love: The Secret Sex Lives of Harbor Porpoises - LivestreamDid you know that the waters underneath the Golden Gate Bridge are a breeding hotspot for harbor porpoises? In this fun and fascinating virtual event, you’ll learn all about the mating behaviors of harbor porpoises with two of The Marine Mammal Center’s Cetacean Conservation Biologists, Bill Keener and Marc Webber ...
The Human Rights Dimensions of Generative AI: Guiding the Way ForwardThe significant deployment of Generative AI over the last year has underscored the urgent need to examine the human rights dimensions of artificial intelligence. This panel explores the relevance of human rights frameworks to the tech sector and regulators as they consider how to govern its use in ways that maximize the ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
Thursday, 02/15/24
Discoveries at Laetoli: Footprints, Fossils, and Hominin Diversity - LivestreamJoin paleoanthropologist Dr. Charles Musiba to learn about Laetoli’s famous 3.6 million-year-old footprints, the hominins who made them, and new discoveries at the site.There are several ways to join the Lunch Break Science fun!Subscribe to our YouTube channel and click the bell for a notification when the show starts.Watch on ...
Where: Cost: Free
From Earth to Mars: The Incredible Story of the Ingenuity Helicopter - LivestreamWith a first flight on April 19, 2021, NASA's Ingenuity helicopter broke ground on new capabilities for remote planetary missions. For nearly three years, the little drone far exceeded the originally planned technology demonstration of up to five flights, taking off and landing 72 times! Sadly, damage to the rotor ...
A survey of the new artificial-intelligence (AI)-based approaches for analysis, design, optimization, and knowledge discovery in electromagnetic nanostructures will be presented. Recent advances in using both deep-learning (DL) techniques and machine-learning (ML) techniques and their application to practical problems will be covered. These techniques will not only enable more efficient ...
Quantum computing has the potential to play a key role in future solutions to simulation, optimization, and machine learning problems. To realize this potential though, a number of technological hurdles must be overcome. In this lecture we will discuss what a quantum computer is, as well as many of the ...
The presentation will cover how solar photovoltaic cells convert solar energy into usable power. The effects on energy production due to insolation (sunlight) and temperature. Simple solar systems covers traditional string inverters versus modern microinverters and discusses the safety benefits. Energy storage is discussed starting with the why storage is ...
Where: Rohnert ParkCost: Free
Matrix on Point: Surveillance and Privacy in a Biometric WorldAs governments and businesses begin to use more forms of biometric identification - including fingerprints, facial recognition, and voice recognition, among others - it’s easier than ever to recognize a person. What implications do these technologies have on the future of privacy and surveillance? In this Matrix on Point panel, ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Connectivity Standards Alliance & Matter Introduction - LivestreamOn October 4, 2022, the Alliance released Matter 1.0, a global, open-source standard that removes barriers to IoT device interoperability & sustainability by enabling smart home products to work together seamlessly, to help to improve efficiency and reduce energy use and cost. This industry-unifying standard is the foundation for connected ...
Where: Cost: Free
The Sugar 'Fix': The Addiction and the TreatmentDr. Robert Lustig and Dr. Nicole Avena will have a conversation about sugar, based on many years of scientific and clinical experience.They will begin with a brief history of the evolution of sugar in our food environment and move on to where we are today regarding types of sugar and ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $20 General, $10 Members, Free students
Mahjong mayhem. Night market thrills. Lion Dance remix. Ring in the year of the dragon the NightLife way.
Where: San FranciscoCost: Varies
After Dark: SexplorationsLooking for a hot night out on the town? Slip into something comfortable and take an intimate look at sex - you know, the transfer of genetic information through sperm and eggs, which has resulted in evolution and specialization among species over time. From the lengths we’ll go to for ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $19.95 General, Free for members
Astronomy on Tap Santa Cruz: From Star Stories to Space Mysteries: A Journey through the UniverseJoin us on an adventure from the ancient tales of the cosmos to today’s quest to uncover the universe’s deepest secrets. We’ll explore how curiosity about the night sky and beyond led to groundbreaking discoveries about the Universe and our place in it. Along the way, we’ll share amusing anecdotes ...
Where: Santa CruzCost: Free
Sonoma County Mycological monthly meeting: SOMA Scholarship Recipients - LivestreamFor the February meeting the recipients of the SOMA scholarship will be presenting on their research. The meeting will start with a series of short 5 minute “flash talks†and then several 15 minute research summaries by the students. This is an extremely exciting opportunity to learn about the cutting ...
When we contemplate how bird diversity has changed, we often focus on the handful of species we have lost entirely. But while we have yet to lose a single bird species to our rapidly changing climate, birds and other creatures are currently adapting and responding in myriad ways. Across the world, species are shifting their geographic ...
Where: Cost: Free
Friday, 02/16/24
Bird Walk at Pond SF2Join us for a leisurely, morning stroll to view shorebirds that frequent the Pond SF2! This will be an interpretive guided tour to learn about resident bird species, migratory birds and the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project. This is a 1.4 mile round trip on an all-weather, accessible trail (one ...
Speaker: Phyllis Zee, Northwestern UniversityAttend in person, or click here to attend online.
Where: StanfordCost: Free
Saturday, 02/17/24
Plant Identification at SanbornJoin YSI as we walk through the Sanborn trails, look for various plants, and learn how to identify them! Are they native? Medicinal? Edible? Poisonous? Join us to find out!Ages 7 - 12, with registered adultRegister at weblink
During the Cold War, the US evolved reconnaissance technology, resulting in today’s real-time video capabilities. Initially, film was used in satellites to monitor treaty compliance and intelligence gathering of the Soviet Union and other “denied areas.†The vehicle, HEXAGON, was 60-feet long and took pictures from 100 miles up. The ...
Where: San CarlosCost: Free with admission
City Public Star PartyCome join the San Francisco Amateur Astronomers for free public stargazing of the Moon, planets, globular clusters and more!The event will take place in Tunnel Tops National Park, parking is located adjacent to Picnic Place (210 Lincoln Blvd for GPS) with the telescopes setup in the East Meadow.Dress warmly as conditions ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free
Space, the Final FrontierTrek on over to Chabot Space & Science Center to celebrate your favorite space-themed television series during this 21+ event. Sip on Romulan Ale while you enjoy a night filled with special guests, trivia, cocktails, exciting talks, planetarium shows and more! Be sure to boldly go in your best Starfleet-themed attire to compete in our costume contest. ...
Around the world, people recognize that E=mc^2 oozes cosmic insight. But what does this "most famous equation" really say? What are energy and mass? And what makes the speed of light, c, so important? [Hint: mass, moving at speed c, doesn't turn into energy!] Using little more than common experience ...
Finding Center: A Balancing Act between Circus and ScienceOriginally a physicist, Julia Ruth travels the globe entertaining audiences with her acrobatics. Her multiple careers enrich one another as she continues to meld the arts and sciences.Speaker: Julia Ruth
Where: Rohnert ParkCost: Free
Tuesday, 02/20/24
Stanford Atmosphere/Energy SeminarThe Atmosphere/Energy Seminar is an interdisciplinary seminar with talks by researchers and practitioners in the fields of atmospheric science and renewable energy engineering. Addresses the causes of climate, air pollution, and weather problems and methods of addressing these problems through renewable and efficient energy systems.Speaker: Robert Huppertz, Orbio EarthRoom 200-030
Research in string theory has uncovered deep connections between strongly coupled quantum systems with chaotic dynamics and the quantum physics of black hole spacetimes. The realization of these ideas for cosmological spacetimes such as de Sitter space is much less well understood. After highlighting some of the challenges for finding ...
CRISPR gene drive is a new technology, but it mimics a natural process that has been known since the 1950s. The genes in an organism sometimes subvert the ability of other genes in the same organism to produce gametes. Such genes are said to induce “segregation distortion†or “meiotic drive.†...
Astronomy on Tap Tucson #95: India’s Solar Space Telescope + Astronomical Explosions - LivestreamA Trial by Sun’s Fire: Designing a Telescope to Study the Solar Atmosphere with India’s First Solar Space ObservatorySpeaker: Aafaque KhanFireworks in the Sky: a tale of one of the most energetic explosions in our universeSpeaker: Manisha ShresthaOn tap this month, we have Steward Observatory graduate student talking about India’s ...
Speaker: Roberto Flores Arzu, Biologist by San Carlos de Guatemala University-USACAttend in person or online via Zoom (see weblink)Editor's Note: Michael Wood was originally scheduled to speak at this event.
Do non-human animals possess a sense of fairness? In particular, do non-human individuals react negatively when they get fewer resources than others? New evidence suggests that the sense of fairness is a human-unique adaptation to our cooperative lifestyles, typically developing in children by age 8. Further, a new theory suggests ...
Where: NovatoCost: Free
Wednesday, 02/21/24
Europe’s Digital Future: an holistic approach to digital inclusion - LivestreamAs the world transitions to a new digital economy, access to digital technologies becomes a fundamental necessity for all. However, our adaptation to this new digital economy is significantly lagging behind, with many countries disconnected from the digital world and others failing to take necessary actions to prepare for the ...
It is widely believed that “the environment†is in crisis; that humankind is degrading, contaminating, and transforming the natural world in unprecedented and urgently dangerous ways. The evidence for these claims come from diverse sources and disciplines, and it ranges in scale from the cellular to the planetary and from ...
The global energy transition toward a carbon-neutral future relies on the large-scale integration of renewables and electrification in transportation, civil infrastructure, and industrial manufacturing sectors. This talk addresses two challenges of this transition: (i) the aggregation of small but vast distributed energy resources (e.g., rooftop solar and electric vehicles) to ...
Join us in person for a fascinating conversation with Garry Nolan, a cancer researcher at Stanford School of Medicine, whose scientific research interests extend to Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP).The study of the unknown starts with an observation of nature that begs explanation. Science as a template for exploring nature, or ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $20 General, $10 Members in person, $5/free online
Nerd Nite SF#139: Hiking Trails, Gender Equity in Medical Research, and the History of the PresidioHidden History of the Presidio/MarinaSpeaker: Lucas HoWhat are the earthquake shacks? How did Laguna St get its name? Where was Irish coffee introduced to the US? Learn all this, and more hidden history of the Presidio/Marina.Lucas is a software engineer living in San Francisco who was born and raised in ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $10 Advance, $15 at door
No one anticipated the startling explosivity of the Hunga Tonga eruption in 2022, despite intermittent and increasingly intense precursor eruptions. Why is it so difficult to forecast the magnitude and intensity of eruptions? Some clues are provided by the complex and protracted eruptive sequence that preceded the c. 7700ybp eruption ...
Satellite observations over the past two decades indicate an increase in the Earth’s Energy Imbalance (EEI), which comprises signatures of radiative forcing and feedback factors. What is driving the trend? We utilize climate models used for the IPCC AR6 assessment to investigate the roles of the plausible causal factors, including the internal variability of the ...
Achieving global water security necessitates the treatment of unconventional and underutilized sources, for which pressure-driven desalination technologies are particularly well-suited. In these technologies, the membrane is the critical component and requires material breakthroughs to realize paradigm-shifting performance. Attempts to improve performance have been inconsequential over the last several decades - ...
This talk will cover cybersecurity vulnerabilities discovered in private and public electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) systems and technologies that can reduce the risk of cyberattacks on these systems. Cybersecurity researchers have recently identified several vulnerabilities that exist in EVSE devices, communications to electric vehicles (EVs), and upstream services, such ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
SETI Live: 'Under Alien Skies: A sightseers guide to the Universe' - LivestreamPhil Plait, aka the Bad Astronomer, has been communicating and correcting space science since the turn of the century (sorry, Phil!). His first book, "Bad Astronomy", tackled numerous misconceptions and myths about astronomy and space missions. His second book, "Death from the Skies!", took a look at a variety of ...
Where: Cost: Free
Patience is a Virtue: The 15-Year NANOGrav Gravitational Wave ResultsThis past summer, the pulsar timing array community announced strong evidence for the presence of a stochastic background of nanoHertz frequency gravitational waves. This has been the primary goal of the community for the past two decades, and it took thousands of hours of telescope time, over 500,000 pulse arrival ...
This talk’s content might transform your 2024 Thanksgiving conversations! Our experiments show that a dozen different brief (usually under-five-minute) “hunks†of scientific information increase acceptance (among conservatives and liberals alike; i.e., without polarization) that anthropogenic Global Warming (GW) is occurring/concerning (e.g., Ranney & Velautham, 2021). These interventions include videos, temperature ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
After Dark: Fruiting FungiDid you know that mushrooms are the fruiting body of fungi? Hidden among forest floor and decaying logs, these ephemeral organisms are way more than a forager’s delight or a (sometimes) tasty dish. Join us for a fungi-tastic evening of mushroom identification and cultivation. Discover local specimens, use mushrooms for ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $19.95 General, Free for members
NightLife: Noise PopWe’ve got live music down to a science. Noise Pop Music and Arts Festival returns with a special guest. Stay tuned for details!
Where: San FranciscoCost: Varies
The Hunt for Planet B - LivestreamThe Hunt for Planet B captures the human drama behind NASA's high-stakes Webb Telescope which launched on December 25, 2021. The film interweaves the creation of this massive machine - the most ambitious space observatory ever built - with the story of a pioneering group of female scientists on a ...
Where: Cost: Free
Electric Vehicle Financial Incentives Think you can’t afford an Electric Vehicle (EV)? Think again! Learn about the many financial assistance programs available for purchasing an EV. This webinar is available in Spanish and English. For more guidance, opt-in for a free consultation in the post-event survey.Register here.Â
Where: Cost: Free
Friday, 02/23/24
Current Developments and the Future of Photovoltaic TechnologiesThe global PV market experienced consistent growth in the last decades that can well be called unparalleled. Since 1992 it is achieving an average annual growth rate above 30%!PV technology will continue to grow in energy conversion efficiency at ever-falling cost. We started with the old industry standard PV technology, ...
Climate change is already causing large damages from sea level rise, drought, and extreme weather. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions (often called ‘decarbonization’ reflecting the role of carbon dioxide in greenhouse warming) is imperative if these costs are to be mitigated or reduced. This seminar will draw on work from the ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Saturday, 02/24/24
Celebrate Black History Month: AfrofuturismThis Black History Month, join Chabot Space and Science Center in a celebration of Black scientists, scholars, and artists of the past, present, and future. Afrofuturism is an activist aesthetic movement that imagines the future through a Black cultural lens. Through music, art, and storytelling, Afrofuturism imagines a just future ...
Where: OaklandCost: Free with admission
Science Saturday: SustainabilityLearn about energy and water conservation, minimizing food waste, and other actions you can take to help the Earth. Community partners will share what their organizations are working on and we will have lots of hands-on conservation activities for the whole family.
Where: Pacific GroveCost: Free
Salamander Search at SanbornSanborn is famous for its amphibians; you just need to do some extra searching to find them! Join us for a fun day of looking under rocks, logs, and other unique hiding spots that Sanborn’s Salamanders call home!Ages 4 - 12, with registered adultRegister at weblink
Where: SaratogaCost: $25 per person
Stewardship Saturday: Navigating the Bay Shore with Cafe OhloneJoin Cafe Ohlone, Coyote Hills Regional Park, and The Marine Mammal Center as we embark on a winter hike through the marshes, along the bay shore, and up the hill, led by Cafe Ohlone co-founders and chefs Vincent Medina and Louis Trevino. Learn about Ohlone language, culture, and history; how ...
Where: FremontCost: Free
Makerspace Science Talk with Dan PalanceJoin us for an informative presentation by Dan Palance on marine hotspots and their significance to coastal communities. Dan’s research uses hotspot concepts and advanced modeling to forecast shifts in top predator habitats and their prey. He collaborates with a large team from NOAA, UCSC, and beyond to bring cohesion ...
Where: Santa CruzCost: Free with admission
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. Extreme weather conditions ...
Take a relaxing walk in an area that often has striking sunsets while learning about the Don Edwards SF Bay Refuge. Image DetailsExperience the salt marsh at twilight on an easy stroll along refuge trails (about .6 miles). At the setting of the sun we will observe the beginning of ...
