A Kind SciSchmooze 11.9.20
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SciSchmooze Weekly Events Newsletter
Greetings Practitioners of Science,
Wow! Is it really over? (No, but it is, mostly.) Before we go any farther I'd like you to consider some science that we haven't discussed (note you can listen to this one). I think it is something we really need to have in our communities. In addition to kindness we need to honor the science of wisdom. I think if more people understand and practice these sciences everyone will enjoy and appreciate life and this amazing universe a lot more.
The human capacity to accept and belief misinformation is truly remarkable to me. I have spent a fair amount of time trying to understand what is under the surface and how it affects our understanding and why we disagree about some seemingly obvious facts. Living in the SF Bay Area often leaves us wondering how so many people can disagree with what we think is the "truth". Why Your Brain Falls for Misinformation – And How to Avoid It helps put some of this in perspective. Here's a great guide to help figure out how to think about and understand how to check the quality of information you are observing or sharing with others. A key thing that I know I would benefit more from, and I think many others, would be a better understanding of how to relate with others that may not agree! My way isn't always the best!
So now I invite you to consider how the Presidential Election seems to have taken over a lot of our conscious days for quite awhile. Now that it is almost over, the official certifications of the various individual counts in counties and states will take awhile. Only then will it be certified as "one for the books". Science, either belief or denial of it, seems to have played a major role in a lot of it thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic. One might say that science has not prevailed since it seems to be spreading more rapidly than it has up until now. I hope that we can all practice more kindness and work with others you may not agree with and see if there is a common ground to move forward from. Here's a pretty good guide to help further the discussion of the Future of Science in America.
Needless to say there are still lots of opportunities to learn new things about the science that interests each of us. Here are few coming up that I think look pretty interesting. (Remember, most of these will be available on line in various archives as well.) 'Woman and the Glacier' - Picture a STEMinist - Livestream Tue 6:00, The Social Media Hype Machine: Disrupting Our Elections, Our Economy, and Our Health - Livestream Wed 4:00, Everything Matters: Tin - Livestream Thu 7:00, History and Mystery of the Refuge and the Bay - Livestream Thu 5:00, Animal Intelligence - Livestream Thu 7:00.
We are coming in to the holidays with lots of food. Even with all of the social distancing and zooming I think we will all think about how Our Mind-Boggling Sense of Smell has always been part of our holiday celebrations. I hope that you all get a chance to experience some of it. We need to hold to some traditions after all! In the past you may have travelled to visit someone and share the holiday or they may have come to visit you. Did you ever think about how you found your way? We Never Know Exactly Where We’re Going in Outer Space
So I think the more of us that Keep Dancing, the more we will all feel better and enjoy what's coming.
herb masters
“An honest concern for others is the key factor in improving our day to day lives. When you are warm-hearted, there is no room for anger, jealousy or insecurity. Healthy, happy families and a healthy peaceful nation are dependent on warm-heartedness.” -Dalai Lama “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” – Maya Angelou “Simple kindness may be the most vital key to the riddle of how human beings can live with each other in peace, and care properly for this planet we all share.” – Bo Lozoff
Upcoming Events:
Click to see the next two weeks of events in your browser.
Monday, 11/09/2020
The Event Horizon Telescope: Imaging a Black Hole Through Global Collaboration - Livestream - 11/09/2020 01:00 PM
Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics,
What can medicine learn about collaboration and data sharing from one of the most successful team science projects of all time--creating a telescope the diameter of the earth to snap the first image of the black hole at the center of our galaxy?
Black holes are cosmic objects so massive and dense that their gravity forms an event horizon: a region of spacetime from which nothing, not even light, can escape. Einstein's theories pr edict that a distant observer should see a ring of light encircling the black hole, which forms when radiation emitted by infalling hot gas is lensed by the extreme gravity. The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) is a global array of radio dishes that forms an Earth-sized virtual telescope, which can resolve the nearest supermassive black holes where this ring feature may be measured. On April 10th, 2019, the EHT project reported success: we have imaged a black hole and have seen the predicted strong gravitational lensing that confirms the theory of General Relativity at the boundary of a black hole. This talk will describe the project, and the global collaborative approach that produced these first results, as well as future directions that will enable real-time black hole movies.
Speaker: Dr. Shep Doeleman, Center for Astrophysics
Register at weblink to receive Zoom information
Flat Bands in Flatlands - Livestream - 11/09/2020 02:30 PM
UC Berkeley,
In a flat band system, the charge carriers’ energy-momentum relation is very weakly dispersive. The resultant large density of states and the dominance of Coulomb potential energy relative to the kinetic energy often favor the formation of strongly correlated electron states, such as ferromagnetism, nematicity, antiferromagnetism, superconductivity, and charge density waves. The advent of two-dimensional (2D) materials and their heterostructures has ushered in a new era for exploring, tuning and engineering of flat band system. Here I will present our results on transport measurements of high quality few-layer 2D material devices, including topological phases and evidence for intrinsic magnetism in few-layer graphene, and tunable spin-orbit coupling in atomically thin semiconductors.
Speaker: Chun Ning (Jeanie) Lau, The Ohio State University
The Case for a Green Nuclear Deal - Livestream - 11/09/2020 03:30 PM
SLAC Colloquium,
New polls show 7 in 10 Americans support legislation to eliminate fossil fuel emissions from the transportation, electricity, buildings, industry, and agricultural sectors by 2050. Then why is nuclear power - our largest and best source of carbon-free electricity in - in decline? In addition to growing concerns about the environmental impacts of large-scale solar and wind, there is mounting evidence that renewables will not be able to decarbonize developed nations or grow developing economies. As more environmentalists and climate scientists turn to nuclear as the answer to our energy needs, attention has concentrated on novel reactor designs from private, advanced nuclear startup s that may never be built. What’s missing is a practical vision and program for transitioning the U.S. nuclear industry from a state of decline to a flourishing industry capable of delivering the economic, environmental, and other benefits of currently available reactors. Madison Czerwinski explores the history of nuclear power and argues that lessons from the past are the key to revitalizing the American nuclear sector and ushering in a new, prosperous future.
Speaker: Madison Czerwinski, Environmental Progress
See weblink for Zoom information.
CIRTIS People and Robots Seminar - Livestream - 11/09/2020 04:00 PM
UC Berkeley,
Speaker: Russ Taylor, Johns Hopkins University
See weblink for webcast information
Dark Matter - Livestream - 11/09/2020 04:00 PM
What Physicists Do @ Sonoma State University,
Speaker: Dr. Emilija Pantic, UC Davis
See weblink for Zoom information.
Building a Cleantech Company in a Capital-Constrained World - Livestream - 11/09/2020 04:00 PM
Stanford Energy,
Opus 12 is an emerging energy startup created by three Stanford alumni with an unconventional path to raising funds for the company. Opus 12 is developing a range of devices that recycles CO2 into cost-competitive chemicals and fuels that could impact a $300 billion market. The Opus 12 technology bolts onto any source of CO2 emissions, and with only water and electricity as inputs, transforms that CO2 into some of the world's most critical chemical products.
When starting the company, the founders quickly realized their technology would not fit within the traditional VC model. To get the technology off the ground, Opus 12 has - since its inception - attracted funding from various sources both traditional and non-traditional that includes over $22 million from philanthropic sources, government, and top-tier institutional investors. The company has built its first commercial unit in collaboration with a world-leading systems integrator and is scaling up that unit and engaging with customers for pilot and proof studies. The company was featured in Rolling Stone's 25 People Shaping the Next 50 Years and the New York Times's Climate Visionaries.
Etosha (Eee-tah-sha) Cave, co-founder, will discuss the vision of Opus 12 and how unconventional funding sources can be leveraged to develop early stage energy technologies.
Register at weblink to receive connection information.
Covid-19: Pandemics, History and Science - Livestream - 11/09/2020 04:15 PM
UC Berkeley,
The pandemic of Covid-19 has had an unprecedented impact on US society. This talk addresses the inequalities that the pandemic has revealed in our society specifically with respect to its disproportionate impact on African American communities. The impact of the pandemic on race relations within scientific communities has also received renewed attention in the wake of the pandemic.
Speaker: Evelynn Hammonds, Harvard University
Tuesday, 11/10/2020
How to Avoid Busting Up Your Furniture and Your Relationships During COVID-19 - Livestream - 11/10/2020 09:30 AM
Commonwealth Club - Online Event,
Months and months in a sweet little bubble, with stresses and chaos on the outside, but warmth and safety on the inside . . . doesn't that sound great? But if this idyllic situation isn't yours right now, don't worry! Neuroscience and emotional resilience specialists Dr. Rick Hanson, psychologist and New York Times best-selling author, and Forrest Hanson, host of the "Being Well" podcast, will teach us some techniques to head off the isolation craziness. They've agreed to stay for a longer Q&A than usual, so if your relationship is turning into "for better or for worse, but not for lunch," or even if you're simply findi ng it difficult to keep your temper or your balance, be sure to join us.
Just write your questions on the video's chat box during the talk, and we will forward them to Rick and Forrest anonymously for their answers. Our previous discussions about anxiety and depression used a similar format, and they were extremely successful. There were great questions that received excellent practical answers, so be sure to attend and ask those questions! Remember, thousands of people will download the podcast afterwards; the answer you get may lighten the day for hundreds of subsequent listeners.
Speakers: Forrest Hanson, Podcaster and Author; Dr. Rick Hanson, UC Berkeley; Brad Berman, UCSF Benioff Childrens' Hospitals, Moderator
Register at weblink to receive connection information
Fingerprints of Life and Rosetta Stones: Exploring Extreme Environm ents on Earth to Search for Life on Mars - Livestream - 11/10/2020 02:00 PM
SETI Institute,
The Mars Exploration Rover and Mars Science Lab missions have demonstrated that early Mars was habitable for (primitive) life as we know it. However, missions now on their way to Mars are shifting their objectives from the characterization of habitable environments to the search for prebiotic chemistry and biosignatures on Mars, an exploration that requires a different approach to understand what to search for, where to search, and how to search. The study of terrestrial extreme environments plays a critical role in the preparation for these missions, and the support of their operations. Study sites in the Atacama Desert, the altiplano, and the Andes represent the closest analogs on Earth to early Martian environments. Through the study of the distribution, abundance, and nature of microorganisms that survive there, a nd the types and composition of environments they have adapted to, we learn what exploration strategies, technology, instruments, spatial scales, and spectral resolution are needed to detect them on Mars. Ultimately -because of the similarities between early Earth and Mars and due to the exchange of planetary material between the two planets in the early times of the Solar System, while terrestrial extreme environments are helping us prepare the search for life on Mars - finding life on Mars could one day help us understand the origins of life on Earth.
Speaker: Nathalie Cabrol, SETI
State dependent climate sensitivity and polar amplification - 11/10/2020 03:30 PM
UC Santa Cruz,
Two of the main questions in climate dynamics are: (1) what is the change in global mean surfa ce temperature caused by a doubling of atmospheric carbon dioxide levels, and (2) what is the change equator-to-pole temperature gradient for a given global mean temperature change. One hope is that paleoclimate records can provide key constraints on these two parameters which can constrain predictions of future climate change derived from climate models. In this talks I summarize work on this topic incorporating paleoclimate data and models spanning about 40 millions years from the Eocene, Oligocene, and Miocene. While we find that constraints on the lower bounds on climate sensitivity can be derived from this kind of study, the fact that climate sensitivity can be dependent on climate state and the forcing factors in the past are poorly known may be insurmountable obstacles to further tightening the likely bounds of modern or future climate sensitivity. On the other hand, polar amplification of global warming, and more generally the overall pattern of associated temperature change , appears to be more robust and stationary across a range of climate states and hence a more meaningful target for modeling. The change in temperature gradient for given mean surface temperature change may be a more productive avenue for continued investigation in models and data as it relies less on knowledge of climate change forcing factors and it is of direct relevance for tightening the range of possible future regional climate predictions.
Speaker: Matthew Huber, Purdue University
See weblink for connection/location information
Harnessing Data Revolution in Quantum Matter - Livestream - 11/10/2020 04:30 PM
Stanford Applied Physics/Physics Colloquium,
Our desire to better understand quantum emergence drove the community's efforts in improving computing power and experimental instrumentation dramatically. However, the resulting increase in volume and complexity of data present new challenges. I will discuss how these challenges can be embraced and turned into opportunities by employing principled machine learning approaches. The rigorous framework for scientific understanding physicists enjoy through our celebrated tradition requires any machine learning essential to interpret any machine learning. I will discuss our recent results using machine learning approaches designed to be interpretable from the outset. Specifically, I will present discovering order parameters and its fluctuations in voluminous X-ray diffraction data and discovering signature correlations in quantum gas microscopy data as concrete examples.
Speaker: Eun-Ah Kim, Cornell
See weblink for info to obtain Zoom password
Basic Science: Rising Stars of Berkeley Biology - Livestream - 11/10/2020 05:00 PM
UC Berkeley,
Berkeley’s renowned biological research carries forward in these early-career scholars, who are decoding cues of brain activity behind behavior; studying mitochondrial DNA’s links to metabolic diseases; and examining molecular bases of chemical coevolution in plants and insects.
Matthew Welch, Francis Williams Chair in Biological Sciences, moderator
Andrea Gomez, Assistant Professor of Neurobiology
Samantha Lewis, Assistant Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology
Noah Whiteman, Associate Professor of Integrative Biology
Please register in advance. To access the presentation, join the Zoom meeting.
How Science Unlocks Copper's Hidden Powers - Livestream - 11/10/2020 05:00 PM
SLAC Public Lecture,
In particle accelerators, electrons are pushed to extreme energies by electromagnetic fields that oscillate inside evacuated metal cavities. Those cavities are usually made of copper. Even in SLAC’s most advanced accelerators, it is the strength of the copper material that determines how much field we can apply and how much acceleration we can achieve. The same holds true for tabletop accelerators used in materials processing and cancer treatment. Today’s cavities are made of “dead soft” copper, which is weaker than most plastics. But switching to other forms of copper that are 10 to 100 times stronger - stronger than some steels - could help us overcome the current limitations on acceleration. This talk will describe how SLAC scientists are using X-rays to explore the microstructure of various forms of copper under realistic accelerator operating conditions. Learning how to employ copper’s super-powered states, maintain its strength and guard against damage will enable more compact and powerful particle accelerators.
Speaker: Diana Gamzina, SLAC
See weblink for Zoom link and passcode
'Woman and the Glacier' - Picture a STEMinist - Livestream - 11/10/2020 06:00 PM
Berkeley Institute for Data Science,
BIDS Data Science Fellow Váleri Vásquez will be a featured panelist in a livestream conversation following BAMPFA's presentation of Woman and the Glacier (Audrius Stonys, Lithuania, Estonia, 2016), a portrait of portrait of Lithuanian scientist Aušra Revutaite, who has spent more than thirty-five years on the Tuyuksu glacier in Kazahkstan studying the effects of climate change: "Initially reluctant to be recorded, Revutaite finally agreed to participate in the film after seeing footage of the mountains shot by Stonys and his crew, and the imposing landscape steals the show. Alone in a vast wilderness, Revutaite barely speaks in the film; instead, this portrait of patience, persistence, and solitude allows us to share her view."
Following the film presentation, there will be live conversation and Q&A with Isabella Velicogna, professor of earth system sciences at UC Irvine and faculty at NASA/Caltech’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory; Váleri Vásquez, BIDS Data Science Fellow and UC Berkeley PhD candidate studying the use of genetic-based interventions for the control of mosquito-borne diseases; and Erin Pettit, glaciologist at Oregon State University and director of Inspiring Girls Expeditions. The presentation will be moderated by Alex H. Bush, who holds a PhD in film and media from UC Berkeley.
Access is included with rental of the streaming film program, and an access link will be sent via email prior to the event.
Wednesday, 11/11/2020
All About Bees - Livestream - 11/11/2020 11:00 AM
UC Botanical Garden,
Honeybees are regarded as one of the most important insects on our planet. Di d you ever wonder about what really goes on inside a hive? Did you know that the colony is a finely tuned machine where every bee has a job and that these jobs are strictly divided by caste? And that honeybees collaborate for the good of the colony in ways that are hard for us to understand?
You are invited to go on a virtual hive tour led by Jan Spieth from the Mt. Diablo Beekeepers Association. This is your opportunity to observe, up close, the lives of Apis mellifera, the western honeybee.
Jan will give you a up-close look at honeybees, using slides to illustrate the history of beekeeping and explain basic honeybee biology to better understand life inside the hive. Then she’ll take you into her bee yard to lift the lid of a hive, examine frames, look for larvae, even find the queen bee
You will come away with a new appreciation for honeybees and understand why they are so crucial to our planet’s ecosystems. You will learn ways that you might be able to help protect these hard-working creatures by adding bee-friendly plants and features to your garden.
Speaker: Jan Spieth, Mt. Diablo Beekeepers Assoc.
Register at weblink for connection access.
The Social Media Hype Machine: Disrupting Our Elections, Our Economy, and Our Health - Livestream - 11/11/2020 04:00 PM
Computer History Museum,
In a perfect storm of social unrest, fake news, and a global pandemic, the 2020 election may be the most vulnerable yet to interference by foreign actors. And that’s only one of many warnings about the dangerous influence of social media from Sinan Aral, the MIT researcher who helped uncover Russian interference in the 2016 election.
On CHM Live, Aral, director of MIT’s Initiative on the Digital Economy (IDE), will discuss the evolution of so cial media from the early days of techno-optimism to the backlash against big tech and the urgent need to master it before it masters us. In conversation with a moderator, Aral will explore how powerful social networks, fake news, and brain chemistry influence our choices... for better or worse. He’ll answer critical questions, such as: What do we know about election interference in 2016 and the new strategies Russia, China, and Iran are employing in 2020? How is misinformation about the coronavirus spreading worldwide? What can social media companies do to stop fake news on their platforms and whether breaking them up will help or make the problem worse? What steps can we take to thwart election interference and stop the spread of fake news?
Drawing on two decades of his own research and business experience working with Facebook, Yahoo, Twitter, LinkedIn, Snapchat, WeChat, and The New York Times among other companies, Aral will decode fake news and argue that its negative e ffects are not inevitable - if we learn how to disrupt it
Speaker: Sinan Aral, MIT
Register at weblink to obtain connection information.
Special Energy Seminar: Amory Lovins & Holmes Hummel - Livestream - 11/11/2020 04:00 PM
Stanford Energy Seminar,
Amory Lovins and Holmes Hummel, two thought-leaders with a track record of high-impact work on energy and sustainability, have returned to Stanford to invest in a new generation of scholars and innovators at the frontiers of the clean energy revolution.
Speakers: Amory Lovins, author; Holmes Hummel, Clean Energy Works
Register at weblink to get Zoom information
Planet 9 from Outer Space: Searching for a Distant Planet in our Solar System - Livestream - 11/11/2020 07:00 PM
Silicon Valley Astronomy Series,
Just when the world was finally getting used to only having eight planets orbiting the Sun, the presence of a new ninth one is slowly coming into view at the edge of the solar system. This planet -- Planet Nine -- is inferred from of its gravitational effects shaping the disk of small icy bodies beyond Neptune known as the Kuiper belt. Dr. Brown will talk about the history of planetary discovery (and demotion), why we think a new one is on the verge of being found, and the techniques that we are using to try to find this very faint body lurking in the far reaches of our planetary system.
Speaker: Dr. Michael Brown is a Professor of Planetary Astronomy at the California Institute of Technology.
YouTube link to view. Lecture will be available at this link afterwards also.
Everything Matters: Tin - Livestream - 11/11/2020 07:00 PM
ExplOratorium,
Come be in your elements with Exploratorium host and scientific raconteur Ron Hipschman - follow tales of intrigue and invention, join in dynamic demonstrations, and uncover fascinating connections between individual elements and our collective human experience.
Have you ever heard of an element that can cry, or get a disease? Tin does both. In addition to its use in cans, toy soldiers, and the manufacture of plate glass, you can find tin in bronze, pewter, type-metal, and even in your toothpaste. Don't have a tin ear - get to know this useful metal. Everything Matters: Tin will be available on Facebook and YouTube.
Thursday, 11/12/2020
ML Basics 1: Linear Regression Models Workshop - 11/12/2020 12:00 PM
Magnimind Academy,
In this workshop, you will explore linear regression models. You will learn about data preprocessing, predicting model parameters, bias, and variance trade-off, regularization, Ridge and Lasso Regression models, evaluating model performance, and how to tune up your models.
Agenda:
11:50 am - 12:00 pm Arrival and socializing
12:00 pm - 12:10 pm Opening
12:10 pm - 1:20 pm Yasin Ceran, "ML Basics 1: Linear Regression Models Workshop"
1:20 pm - 01:30 pm Q&A
Speaker: Yasin Ceran, Santa Clara University
Zoom link
What Makes Us Human: An Art + Genomics Convergence Opening Reception - Livestream - 11/12/2020 12:00 PM
UC Santa Cruz,
Join the Sesnon Gallery for the reception and launch of What Makes Us Human: An Art + Genomics Convergence. The noon-hour Zoom event will feature a tour of the virtual exhibition hub and a panel discussion with artists Angélica Dass and Gina Czarnecki, signing in from Spain and the UK, and David Haussler, scientific director of the Genomics Institute at UC Santa Cruz. Moderated by curator Jennifer Parker, UCSC art professor, with introductions by Shelby Graham, Sesnon Art Gallery director.
Register at weblink to receive Zoom information.
November LASER Event - Music from Other Worlds - Livestream - 11/12/2020 12:00 PM
LASER Leonardo Art Science Evening Rendezvous,
Heather Spence (Marine Biologists and Composer) on "Underwater Sound Research: Music of Marine Biology"
Cheryl Leonard (Composer and Instrument Builder) on "Phantom Limbs: Composing Music Amidst the Sixth Extinction"
Register at weblink to receive connection information.
Houseplant Care and Maintenance - Livestream - 11/12/2020 03:00 PM
UC Botanical Garden,
Eric Hupperts is a houseplant enthusiast. He is also a horticulturist at UCBG caring for the Asian Collection, which includes favorites such as begonias, gingers, and rhododendrons. As a child, Eric was enthralled with the family houseplant, a dragon tree (Dracaena marginata) that provided a gateway into the world of nature. Decades later, that same dragon tree continues to greet Eric whenever he visits home.
In this program you’ll get the special opportunity to chat with Eric all about houseplants! Learn and explore the various facets of caring for successful houseplants, touching on topics such as plant selection, long term care including repotting, and how to create your very own Integrated Pest Management plan to deal with those pesky plant pests. Join us for this hour of houseplant glory.
Register at weblink for connection instructions
History and Mystery of the Refuge and the Bay - Livestream - 11/12/2020 05 :00 PM
Don Edwards National Wildlife Refuge,
The Refuge was created in 1972, but this story starts 200 years earlier when Europeans discovered San Francisco Bay. Learn about the Bay’s history and the answers to mysteries such as: Why are mercury and gold a lethal duo? How did silver mining in Nevada affect the bay? Why was Oscar the Grouch happier 60 years ago than today? Join docent Larry Rosenblum to discover the answer to these mysteries and others, then take a virtual tour through one of the marshes of the refuge
Register at weblink
SFBBO Birdy Hour Talk: Nineteen Seasons of Nest Box Monitoring (Part 2) - 11/12/2020 06:00 PM
San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory,
Did you know that some birds of prey and ducks can use nest boxes ? As a volunteer, Lee Pauser has been building, installing, and monitoring nest boxes for 19 nesting seasons. In this presentation, he will focus on the 6 species that he has had nest in large (Barn Owl, kestrel, screech-owl and Wood Duck) nest boxes.
This presentation is Part 2 of a 2-part series; the two presentations combined will include photos and videos of the 18 species of cavity nesting birds that have graced his nest boxes. His efforts have resulted in 15,545 birds fledging, of which 6,151 are Western Bluebirds.
This talk is great for all ages! Register
The Zoom meeting link will be sent in the confirmation.
Hardcore Natural History: Small But Mighty: Monarch Butterfly Migration and Overwintering - 11/12/2 020 06:30 PM
Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History, Pacific Grove
Every fall, thousands of monarch butterflies migrate to Monterey County from all across the western United States to spend the winter clustering together at special overwintering sites. But how do they get here? And why do they spend the winter in certain groves of trees, but not others? How do researchers know where the monarchs come from, or how many there are? Join Jessica Griffiths as she shares what we know and don't know about monarch migration and overwintering, and how we can help protect this magnificent butterfly and its habitat in Monterey County.
After Dark Online: Animal Intelligence - Livestream - 11/12/2020 07:00 PM
ExplOratorium,
What do animals know, and how do they know it? Author Peter Godfrey-Smith discusses his latest book, an inquiry into the origins of animal intelligence considering ocean creatures from sponges and shrimp to octopuses and whale sharks. These animals hold surprising lessons for some of philosophy's most vexing puzzles: how animals first folded the raw materials of nature into minds, why it worked, and what sort of thing a mind might be, whether it belongs to a sea slug, a crow, or ourselves.
See weblink for Youtube and Facebook links
NightSchool: Heartless, Brainless, Lungless - Livestream - 11/12/2020 07:00 PM
California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco
Jellies have no hearts, brains, or lungs, and are made up of 95% water how interesting can they be? Find out during an evening with venomologist Anna Klompen, science writer Juli Berwald, and Academy biologist Riah Evin.
See weblink for YouTube and Facebook Live buttons.
The Debate about Dark Matter: Is the Matter Settled? - Livestream - 11/12/2020 07:30 PM
Bay Area Skeptics,
The observable universe is made of stars and galaxies and gas. However, it is commonly held in the astronomy community that our universe is also made of an invisible substance called d ark matter that is five times more common than ordinary matter. However, dark matter has never been observed, and the evidence for its existence is still circumstantial. In this talk, physicist Don Lincoln will give insights into the debate within the scientific community. You will learn about the historical debate, the reasons dark matter is a currently favored theory, and an appreciation for why researchers continue to look into the question.
Speaker: Don Lincoln, Fermilab
See weblink for connection information
Friday, 11/13/2020
Past, Present and Future on the Bay Area Ridge Trail - Livestream - 11/13/2020 12:00 PM
Peninsula Open Space Trust,
Join Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) and the Bay Area Ridge Trail Council for a discussion of the history and future of our region’s most ambitious trail network. We will hear from Elizabeth Byers, a founder of the Bay Area Ridge Trail Council and author of Bay Area Ridge Trail: The Official Guide for Hikers, Mountain Bikers and Equestrians. Elizabeth will share some stories from the early days, a broad overview of the trail system as a whole and some of her favorite spots along the way.
We’ll also be joined by Liz Westbrook, Trail Program Director for the Bay Area Ridge Trail Council and former POST staffer. Liz will share about recent and current projects to expand the trail, in collaboration with POST and other regional partners.
POST Stewardship Project Manager Taylor Jang will also be joining the discussion. Taylor works as part of the team managing POST’s involvement in Ridge Trail projects.
Register at weblink for connection information.
Saturn’s Enigmatic Dynamo - Livestream - 11/13/2020 12:00 PM
institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics,
Speaker: Sabine Stanley, Johns Hopkins University
Green Friday: Extinction Rebellion on 'What To Do About the Coming Extinction' - Livestream - 11/13/2020 07:30 PM
Sierra Club,
Founded by youth in Britain in 2018, Extinction Rebellion is a global movement that uses non-violent civil disobedience in an attempt to halt mass extinction and minimize the risk of social collapse. It has spread like wildfire across the globe - our local chapter XR SF Bay is aimed at nothing less than radical system change. Our rebellion is fueled by our love for humanity and for all life on earth. Come for some truth-telling about our climate emergency and to learn how XR SF Bay is in solidarity with local organizations to affect the necessary change in our world- and how you might support or join us!
Members, Chris Conrad and Diana Strong from XR SF Bay will talk about why they joined Extinction Rebellion, and XR member Molly Arthur will give a presentation of her story of being called to be an XRebel as a journey of awakening and “going public.” The presentation will include more details on the history of XR and the work we are doing in the Bay Area.
Register at weblink to receive viewing information.
Saturday, 11/14/2020
Virtual Humpback Whale Soirée - HUMPBACK WHALE SONGS AND T HE SEARCH FOR ALIEN INTELLIGENCE - Livestream - 11/14/2020 07:00 PM
Greater Farallones Marine Sanctuary,
The study of animal communication challenges our ideas of intelligence and informs the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). Among the most fascinating and sophisticated of vocalizations are the songs and sounds of humpback whales. Laurance Doyle, Ph.D, Research Scientist with SETI Institute will share his studies of humpbacks to understand the communications that exist throughout Planet Earth and beyond.
Tune in live
Here Come the Suns: The statistics and habitability of planets in binary star systems - Livestream - 11/14/2020 07:00 PM
San Mateo County Astronomical Society,
Most planet searches focus on single stars, like the sun. But half of all sun-like stars actually live in binary or multiple stellar systems, whose planet-hosting capability may be quite different. Although planets in binary systems are common in pop culture (think Tattoine in Stark Wars, or Gallifrey from Doctor Who), we know far less about them empirically than their counterparts in single star systems. In binary systems, planets can occupy either circum-stellar or circum-binary orbits, but many orbital configurations are thought to be unstable due to the effects of the binary companion. Binaries are also thought to affect the proto-planetary disks of their companions, affecting their ability to form planets at all.
In this talk, I will describe the current state of our theoretical and observational knowledge of the occurrence rates and statistics of planets in binary star systems. I’ll also discuss efforts to simulate the habitability of planets in binaries, which may pass in and out of the so-called habitable zone in their trajectories around one or both of the stars in their system.
Speaker: Dr. Lea Hirsch, KIPAC, Stanford University
See weblink for connection information.
Virtual Telescope Viewing - Livestream - 11/14/2020 09:00 PM
Chabot Space and Science Center,
Join our resident astronomers on Facebook Live every Saturday evening live from Chabot’s Observation deck!
Each week, our astronomers will guide us through spectacular night sky viewing through Nellie, Chabot‘s most powerful telescope. Weather permitting we will be able to view objects live through the telescopes and our astronomers will be available for an open forum for all of your most pressing astronomy questions.
We will go live the Chabot Space & Science Center Facebook page 10-15 minutes before the event. You can find the live video stream on our Facebook page and in the Facebook event discussion. To receive a notification when we go live, “like” Chabot Space & Science Center on Facebook and RSVP that you’re going to this event.
RSVP on Facebook.
Sunday, 11/15/2020
Butterflies of the World - Livestream - 11/15/2 020 11:00 AM
UC Botanical Garden,
Our Caterpillar lady Sally Levinson and Butterfly guy Sarab Seth are going global with this month’s virtual butterfly walk. Sarab’s travels and stunning photography will reveal butterflies from Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, India and Panama.
Register at weblink for connection information
The Math Magi: Seminal figures in Western mathematics - Livestream - 11/15/2020 01:00 PM
Bay Area Humanists,
This presentation outlines the development of mathematics in the West with a focus on "God Created the Integers" by Stephen Hawking. It spans more than two thousand years from Pythagoras to Turing with spotlights on Archimedes, Descartes, Newton, Boole, and Cantor. Bob Burchfield will present material from the text along with other sources . An open discussion will be encouraged.
Register at weblink to receive Zoom information
Deep-Sea Corals: Denizens of the Twilight Zone, and Silent Recorders of the Ocean’s Changing Ecology - Livestream - 11/15/2020 01:30 PM
Seymour Science Center,
Most of the world’s oceans have yet to be explored - in fact, only about 20 percent have been mapped in detail. One area in particular offers scientists some of Earth’s greatest mysteries and potential for discovery. The mesopelagic, often called the ocean’s twilight zone, extends from 200 to 1,000 meters below the sea’s surface. Linking all of the world’s oceans, the mesopelagic is the largest continuous biome on Earth, yet is still poorly understood. The zone is home to deep-sea corals, unique animals with skeletons of carbonate or protein, which for m staggeringly beautiful and almost totally unknown forests around the world on the mesopelagic seafloor. Beyond their beauty, deep-sea corals provide a unique window into understanding our rapidly changing oceans. Their organic (hard, protein-based) skeletons contain a detailed record of past changes of carbon and nutrient cycling.
Join Matthew McCarthy and Thomas Guilderson, UC Santa Cruz, to learn more about deep-sea corals, experience two virtual dives collecting coral specimens with footage and images from real expeditions, and see how recent research of deep-sea corals allows for the reconstruction of past and current climate changes.
Register at weblink to receive connection information
Monday, 11/16/2020
Rivers, Time, and Collaborative Research - Livestream - 11/16/2020 09:00 AM
swissnex,
The fall and rise of the mass on a spring - Livestream - 11/16/2020 02:30 PM
UC Berkeley,
CIRTIS People and Robots Seminar - Livestream - 11/16/2020 04:00 PM
UC Berkeley,
Astronomy Geneology Project - Livestream - 11/16/2020 04:00 PM
What Physicists Do @ Sonoma State University,
UC Berkeley Physics Colloquium - Livestream - 11/16/2020 04:15 PM
UC Berkeley,
Tuesday, 11/17/2020
Mary Nichols: A Climate Champion’s Legacy - Livestream - 11/17/2020 02:00 PM
Commonwealth Club - Online Event,
Walk with Obi: Coast Redwoods on Fire - Livestream - 11/17/2020 03:00 PM
Peninsula Open Space Trust,
A history from the bottom of the sea: fish, microfossils, and 85 million years of global change - 11/17/2020 03:30 PM
UC Santa Cruz,
Basic Science: Quantum Information's Imminent Revolution - Livestream - 11/17/2020 05:00 PM
UC Berkeley,
Firesmart Landscaping - Livestream - 11/17/2020 05:00 PM
UC Botanical Garden,
The Making and Maintenance of our Open Source Infrastructure - Livestream - 11/17/2020 05:00 PM
Long Now Foundation,
Sea Otter Conservation and Ecology in the 21st Century - Livestream - 11/17/2020 07:00 PM
American Cetacean Society,
Thanksgiving on Mars: Exploration & Human Missions Beyond Earth Orbit - Livestream - 11/17/2020 07:00 PM
Chabot Space and Science Center,
Wednesday, 11/18/2020
Going Negative to Create Positive Futures - Livestream - 11/18/2020 08:00 AM
swissnex,
CITRIS COVID-19 Response Seed Award Outcomes - Livestream - 11/18/2020 12:00 PM
Citris Research Exchange,
Data Science Coast to Coast - Alex Szalay - Livestream - 11/18/2020 12:00 PM
Berkeley Institute for Data Science,
Behind the Scenes: The National Trachoma Service - 11/18/2020 12:00 PM
on line,
AI and ML to Support and Improve Health Among African American Caregivers - Livestream - 11/18/2020 12:00 PM
Magnimind Academy,
Estuary & Ocean Science Center Seminar - Livestream - 11/18/2020 03:30 PM
Estuary & Ocean Science Center,
Improving stormwater and wastewater removal of contaminants using low-cost composites - Livestream - 11/18/2020 05:00 PM
California Section American Chemical Society,
Peninsula Gem and Geology Society General Meeting - 11/18/2020 07:00 PM
Peninsula Gem & Geology Society,
DIGITAL DEPUTY ACT: A commitment to digital ethics by Software Professionals - Livestream - 11/18/2020 07:00 PM
SF Bay Association of Computing Machinery,
Life on Venus? Or much ado about nothing? - Livestream - 11/18/2020 07:00 PM
SETI Institute,
Science on Tap: A New Tool to Map Entire Galaxies - Livestream - 11/18/2020 07:00 PM
Science on Tap,
12 Years of Cosmic Fireworks with the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope - Livestream - 11/18/2020 07:30 PM
San Francisco Amateur Astronomers,
Thursday, 11/19/2020
Probabilistic and Approximate Computation in Software and Hardware Models - Liv estream - 11/19/2020 04:00 PM
Sonoma State University Engineering Science,
Social Justice Series: The Death Gap - In the Wake of COVID-19 - Livestream - 11/19/2020 04:00 PM
Touro University,
Refuge Rails and Tales - Livestream - 11/19/2020 05:00 PM
Don Edwards National Wildlife Refuge,
'Symphone of the Soil' Film Screening and Discussion - Livestream - 11/19/2020 06:00 PM
StopWaste & Eden Garden,
November LASER Event - Livestream - 11/19/2020 06:00 PM
LASER Leonardo Art Science Evening Rendezvous,
After Dark Online: Sustenance - Contemplating Creativity - 11/19/2020 07:00 PM
ExplOratorium,
NightSchool: The Slow Life of Sloths - Livestream - 11/19/2020 07:00 PM
California Academy of Sciences,
Friday, 11/20/2020
The radiation belts of Jupiter and their interplay with Io and Europa - Livestream - 11/2 0/2020 12:00 PM
institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics,
Uncovering Ships and Secrets at Pigeon Point - Livestream - 11/20/2020 12:00 PM
Peninsula Open Space Trust,
Friends of Butte Creek Wild and Scenic Film Festival - Livestream - 11/20/2020 06:30 PM
Friends of Butte Creek,
You Can Almost Touch the Stars - Livestream - 11/20/2020 07:00 PM
Tri-Valley Stargazers,
How the Visions of Sci-Fi Led the Way to Space - Livestream - 11/20/2020 07:00 PM
Chabot Space and Science Center,
Saturday, 11/21/2020
Botany on Your Plate: Exploring the Plants We Eat - Livestream - 11/21/2020 10:00 AM
UC Botanical Garden,
San Francisco City Star Party - Canceled - 11/21/2020 07:00 PM
City Star Parties - Parade Grounds at the Presidio, San Francisco
Virtual Telescope Viewing - Livestream - 11/21/2020 09:00 PM
Chabot Space and Science Center,
Monday, 11/23/2020
CIRTIS People and Robots Seminar - Livestream - 11/23/2020 04:00 PM
UC Berkeley,
The Alignment Problem - 11/23/2020 07:00 PM
SF Bay Association of Computing Machinery,