Generative AI is entering classrooms at a breathtaking pace, often presented as a solution for efficiency by automating tasks such as writing, grading, feedback, and even classroom management. While convenient, these uses risk promoting a shallow, transmission-oriented model of education, one where teachers become content moderators, students become prompt engineers, ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
AI and DemocracyThe UC Berkeley AI and Society Initiative welcomes Larry Norden (NYU Brennan Center for Justice), David Evan Harris (Haas), and Ashish Goel (Stanford) to discuss AI and democracy. Professors Norden and Harris will talk about the way in which AI may amplify election misinformation this year, and why that is ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Apple at 50: Five Decades of Thinking DifferentOn April 1, 1976, Apple Computer was founded with a radical idea: that powerful computing should be personal. Fifty years later, Apple stands as one of the most influential technology companies in history - shaping not only products, but culture, design, and how billions of people interact with technology every ...
Are We Alone? The Hunt for Alien LifeSpeaker: Sanjoy Som, NASA AMESMeasuring the Universe with Gravitational LensingSydney Ericson, Stanford University
Space is no longer just the final frontier - it’s the next arena of global power.What was once dominated by a handful of national space agencies is now a crowded and competitive domain of commercial companies, militaries, intelligence agencies, and scientific missions - all operating in orbits that shape global ...
In the past three decades, more than 6000 planets have been discovered orbiting other stars beyond our own Solar System. However, we still don’t know if our Solar System is rare or unique - the powerful techniques that detect extrasolar planets have discovered systems very different than our own. In ...
The lives of marine animals play vital roles in influencing policy decisions ranging from conservation to food security and global health. Yet, many species behaviors’ remain elusive to science as we have little to no direct observations of them. I propose the use of vision-guided autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) as ...
Smart grids are evolving into highly distributed, data-rich cyber-physical systems where conventional cybersecurity approaches are increasingly insufficient. Most machine-learning??"based defenses remain fundamentally predictive: they detect anomalies, estimate risks, and issue alerts. While valuable, these systems stop short of supporting the rapid, context-aware decisions required during active cyber-physical events.Large Language Models (LLMs) ...
Recent advances in neuroengineering enable large-scale neural recording in animals and humans, which, when combined with AI, have produced brain - computer interfaces (BCIs) that decode motor intent or internal speech (“reading”). In contrast, precisely “writing” complex, behaviorally relevant information into the brain remains in its early days due to ...
Paranoid Publics: Psychopolitics of TruthFacts and established truths are regularly denied in contemporary life. This situation has brought paranoid politics into the mainstream, from conspiracy theories like QAnon, to sex panics and assaults on public health measures, to election denialism and the rise of vigilante militias. Paranoid Publics analyzes these phenomena as psychosocial realities ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
After Dark: Crafty and CalculatingWeaving together math, computing, and fiber arts, you’ll never look at the intersection of women and math the same way after tonight.
Today, as it nears its 50th anniversary, Apple is a global behemoth, one of the most valuable companies on the planet. But it’s been a rough and wild ride from scrappy startup to market leader. On April Fool’s Day in 1976, two twentysomethings named Steve founded a little company with the ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $25 in person/$10 online, member discounts
NightLife: Level UpAchievement unlocked: an epic night of gaming and cosplay collide for the return of this fan favorite event
Where: San FranciscoCost: Varies
Around the World in 80 BirdsIf you want to see a wide variety of birds, you’ll want to see representative species from different families of birds. That’s been a long-term goal of birder and photographer Bob Lewis who has set a goal of photographing a representative species from every bird family (Birds of the World ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Bluebirds in the 21st Century - LivestreamThroughout history, the bluebird has been iconic in many cultures, inspiring art, music, poetry, songs and mythology. Tonight, we invite you to learn about bluebirds and how they are an indicator of ecosystem health, as well as their important place in the ecosystem, where they are incredibly effective at controlling ...
Tennessee has a rich history of opposition to evolutionary concepts. Wesley H. Roberts has been on the front lines of evolution education advocacy for most of his 38 years of teaching in public schools. Beginning with his earliest exposure to evolutionary concepts via a Christian fundamentalist upbringing, Roberts will share ...
As semiconductor design and manufacturing evolve into a data-intensive domain, the complexity of devices and variability in processes are driving significant computational demands. This talk introduces a new class of Agentic AI architectures tailored to tackle the challenges of scale, latency, and decision-making in contemporary EDA and fabrication workflows. We ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Belonging to the Earth: An Evening with Robin Wall KimmererExplore how scientific inquiry can be enriched by Indigenous ecological knowledge.The Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies is honored to present a special lecture featuring Robin Wall Kimmerer - mother, scientist, distinguished professor of environmental biology, member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, and best-selling author of Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific ...
Where: Cost: Free
Saturday, 03/14/26
Baylands ExplorationsJoin expert EV docents for an exploration of the science and nature of the Palo Alto Baylands. What makes this habitat so special? How do the plants and animals survive the salty conditions? Why is it so different at different times of day or times of the year? How can ...
Where: Palo AltoCost: Free
Stewardship Saturday: Craft for ConservationJoin Ciclo and The Marine Mammal Center for hands-on, creativity driven event exploring how sustainability and conservation are deeply connected. Together, we'll learn about how reducing waste and reusing materials can support a healthier planet and protect marine life. During the event, participants will transform upcycled materials into jewelry, patches, ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free
Family Nature Adventures: InsectsUncover the fascinating lives of nature’s insects and get the buzz about bees during this month’s adventure!Interactive Workshop: Engage in exciting activities, experiments, and crafts to learn about the incredible characteristics of native insects and pollinators. Discover how these creatures play a vital role in populating your favorite flowers.Nature Exploration ...
Where: OaklandCost: $25 Adult, $35 Youth 3 - 8, Members 15% off
Pi DayCelebrate Pi Day at its birthplace! This irrational and transcendent holiday was founded in 1988 at the Exploratorium, and has since grown into an international phenomenon. Join in our annual procession around the Pi Shrine, enjoy slices of delicious pie, and think beyond circles and spheres with surprising exhibits about ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free with admission
There’s Nothing Common about the Common Crow!Learn about the fascinating world of crows!Join us in the Visitor Center at the Don Edwards SF Bay National Wildlife Refuge for a 50-minute presentation about crows, some of the most intelligent birds you can encounter! This program is led by USFWS volunteer Judi Nechols.
Where: FremontCost: Free
Starry Nights Star PartyJoin the San Jose Astronomical Association (SJAA) and Santa Clara County Open Space Authority (OSA) for an unforgettable night of exploring the night sky. Our knowledgeable docents, members of SJAA, will be your guides to providing valuable insights into the wonders of our universe. The viewing site, Rancho Canada del ...
Ornithologists often study breeding birds and as a result the winter ecology and social behavior of migratory birds is relatively under studied. My students and I conducted a 22-year study of a population of golden-crowned sparrows that winter in the Arboretum of the University of California, Santa Cruz. Each sparrow ...
Where: Santa CruzCost: Free
Junior Rangers at the Refuge: Track DetectivesLove learning about new habitats? Curious about wildlife? Our Junior Rangers at the Refuge program is perfect for your family! Join us each month as we explore the Don Edwards SF Bay National Wildlife Refuge through fun, educational activities.This March, we'll discover who's roaming the Refuge by becoming track detectives! We'll become ...
Where: AlvisoCost: 0
Salt Marsh WalkJoin us for a short walk through the La Riviere Marsh!Join us for a leisurely hike along the La Riviere Trail. You'll learn about the ways that salt marshes benefit wetland ecosystems and us!Meet at the Visitor Center. Bring warm layers, sun protection, sturdy walking shoes, and binoculars if you ...
Speaker: Joseph Jackson, Environmental Compliance Inspector, Contra Costa CountyEditor's Note: Lauren Ashlock, UC Davis, was originally scheduled to speak today
AI coding agents now complete multi-hour coding benchmarks with roughly 50% reliability, yet a randomized trial found experienced open-source developers took about 19% longer when allowed frontier AI tools than when tools were disallowed.This talk presents the evidence on the productivity paradox in AI coding, shows the bottlenecks in deployment, ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
Rethinking Materials for a Resource-Constrained World: Pathways to Sustainable and Equitable InfrastructureMaterials - particularly infrastructure materials - account for a substantial share of global energy use, mineral extraction, and anthropogenic CO2 emissions. Yet they remain essential for the built environment that underpins meeting quality of life needs, and demand for them is expected to grow. Addressing their climate impacts therefore requires ...
The nature of dark matter remains an outstanding question in physics, driving searches across a vast range of scales, from microscopic interactions to the cosmos. In this talk, I will explore two exciting avenues for probing dark matter: direct interactions with materials and its influence on stellar streams. At sub-GeV ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
First Results from the JUNO Experiment Neutrinos are elusive particles with unique properties that offer key insights into the fundamental structure of matter and the cosmic sources that produce them. The Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO) is a next-generation, 20-kiloton liquid scintillator detector, the largest of its kind in the world, located in China and recently ...
Why do you immediately click with some people while others just as inexplicably turn you off? Do people emit vibes? Is it possible to read a room? Are bad habits contagious? Kate Murphy, author of the international bestseller You’re Not Listening, answers these and other fascinating questions in Why We Click, ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $25 General, $10 Online, discount for members
Dopamine is everywhere - on podcasts, in productivity hacks, in conversations about addiction, motivation, and “dopamine detox.” But what does neuroscience actually say?In this lecture, Lucas Encarnacion-Rivera, PhD candidate in Neuroscience at Stanford University School of Medicine, cuts through the hype to separate fact from fiction about the brain’s most ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $25
Think Different: Apple, the Counterculture, and Digital Culture, 1976-2026Join us for this talk on the counterculture's significant influence on Apple's origin story as the company turns 50 on April 1st.As we approach the 50th anniversary of Apple Inc. on April 1, 2026, the counterculture's influence on the company's origins and brand continues to draw significant attention. This program ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $18 in person, $9 online
Understanding the structure of the Earth’s subsurface is fundamentally an inverse problem with sparse direct observations and abundant indirect measurements. Drillholes provide precise but extremely limited information, while geophysical signals such as gravity, magnetics, and seismic data provide broader but indirect constraints on the underlying geology.In this talk, I introduce ...
Pyridines and diazines are ubiquitous in pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals, yet there are limits in the synthetic methods that can directly transform these structures. We will present three distinct strategies for manipulating these heterocycles into more valuable derivatives. First, we will show that they can be converted into phosphonium salts with ...
Atmospheric CO2 concentrations continue to rise, yet uncertainty in equilibrium climate sensitivity (ECS) remains large, with implications for future warming projections. In this talk, I use simulations of past climate states to assess Earth system model performance and to diagnose sources of model bias. By comparing multiple generations of the Community Earth ...
Spatial light modulators (SLMs) enable dynamic optical patterning through pixel-level control of coherent light, facilitating emerging applications such as optical neural interfaces, deep tissue optical imaging, and near-eye displays for augmented and virtual reality. However, the advancement of many of these applications is constrained by the limitations of commercial SLMs, ...
The solvated electron (es-) is one of nature’s most powerful transient reactants, with thousands of reactions identified in water. What happens when these electrons are born near the surface of water instead of deep in the bulk? We create near-surface electrons by exposing a water microjet in vacuum to sodium ...
Productivity Gains And Labor Pains: What Will AI Do To Jobs?AI will transform the nature of work - but how quickly, which sectors first, and with what consequences? This event brings together leading technologists, economists and policymakers to assess what’s happening and what needs to be done. Join us for a timely and thought-provoking discussion about how AI is reshaping the workplace and what leaders need ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
Popping the Science Bubble - Two TalksSneaking into cells: How plants are helping rewrite their own DNASpeaker: Kylee Hillman, UC BerkeleyThe 3-billion year war: How bacteria-virus conflict shapes our worldSpeaker: Emily Kibby, UC BerkeleyAttend in person or via zoom
Olga Tzogas of Smugtown Mushrooms, based in Rochester, NY returns to her ancestral home to interact, learn and connect deeper to the mycelial communities, and the people still practicing traditional ways of life or those creating a new. Greece is typically pictured by blue bird skies and matching crystalline seascapes, ...
