"Jim Webb to the viewing room please"
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Hello Reasonable and Sciencey readers,
So let me start by saying that the JWST image reveal was amazing. (Side note: It is also amazing that NASA can do that, but they can’t put on a smooth web presentation!-) Here’s how to be gobsmacked by the advances from Hubble to JWST! Professor Andrew Fraknoi has a nice explanation of the images at Peering Inside a Quartet of Galaxies Here’s a pretty good story of how we got to where we are now.
One of many new hot topics is monkeypox. If not science, what would medicine be based on? Be aware of the source and trustworthiness of the source! I’ve mentioned this before, but be sure to check out How to Spot Misinformation Online as well. Another hot topic (pun? Yes) is climate change, or as many still call it, global warming. Based on the recent news it would seem that ‘Global Warming’ is the operative term! Tropical wetlands, getting wetter with climate change, emerge as hot spots for heat-trapping gas.
Though it is summer and there aren’t as many listings on our calendar there are still many worth checking out. Here are a few to consider… Travels into Astronomical History with the Antique Telescope Society: part II Wed @ 7:00, After Dark: Build Thu @ 6:00, STEM Saturday Summer Science Series Sat @ 10:00.
I hope some of you were able to join in on SkeptiCal 2022 this weekend. If you bought a ticket you can watch the presentations now. Over the next few months you will be able to see them as they are released on the Bay Area Skeptics YouTube channel for all to watch.
Also of note is 7.18 is the last day to register for Confidence & Curiosity: Engaging Girls in Informal Science. Who should attend? Science museum docents, staff nature center guides, informal STEM educators, youth leaders, amateur astronomers, and anyone else who engages the public in the joy of science. I think it is worth noting that women have been scientists pretty much as long as men have. At least since Athyrta! At first glance it would only appear that, according to the AWIS, pioneering women have existed only since photography became a thing! I wonder when the first woman scientist started her research?
Here are some other random links…
How long is 1”? How do you know?
When penguins let their feelings be known.
ClimateCraft Student Reporting Contest deadline for submissions is 9AM PST on Friday, September 16.
Cup o'Joe-But It's Natural and Cruelty-Free!
Remember… The Universe doesn't care about your intentions
Have a great week learning even more about how our universe works.
herb masters
“The ability to read, write, and analyze; the confidence to stand up and demand justice and equality; the qualifications and connections to get your foot in the door and take your seat at the table — all of that starts with education.” - Michelle Obama
Upcoming Events:
Click to see the next two weeks of events in your browser.
Monday, 07/18/2022
Tuesday, 07/19/2022
Weekday Morning Hike at Rancho Cañada del Oro - 07/19/2022 09:00 AM
Rancho Canada Del Oro Open Space Preserve Morgan hill
Join Peninsula Open Space Trust for an excursion where you’ll explore the Mayfair Ranch - Longwall Canyon trails of Rancho Cañada del Oro! You will be guided by POST Ambassadors who will share with you the history of the preserve, the region, and the importance of conservation in the area.
The hike is moderate to strenuous at about 4 miles round trip with about 700 feet of gradual elevation gain.
This wonderful preserve is a hub for wildlife, such as deer, bobcats, mountain lions, and more! In the Spring, you can expect a colorful array of wildflowers adorning the hillsides, and you may get a chance to see a beautiful little creek running through Llagas meadow.
StorageX Tech Talk - Livestream - 07/19/2022 10:00 AM
Stanford Energy
NMC-Carbon Contact Resistance in Battery Electrodes.
Speaker: Stephen Dongmin Kang, Senior Staff Scientist, Stanford University
Cold-Starting All-Solid-State Batteries by Thermally Modulated Current Collector in Sub-Minute
Speaker: Yusheng Ye, Postdoc Researcher, Stanford University
Register at weblink to receive connection information
Two Talks: Popping the Science Bubble - Livestream - 07/19/2022 05:30 PM
Berkeley Public Library
Augmented Prosthetics through Multi-Level Control
Abstract TBA
Speaker: Alisha Menon, UC Berkeley
Untangling Tau to Understand Dementia
Abstract TBA
Speaker: Gregory Mohl, UC San Francisco)
Wednesday, 07/20/2022
SETI Talks: Planets, exoplanets and more with JWST - Livestream - 07/20/2022 03:00 PM
SETI Institute
On July 12, NASA will reveal the first images of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), often called the successor of the Hubble Space Telescope. JWST will look farther back in time and space than ever before. But the giant telescope could also be turned to targets in our cosmic backyard, like planets and asteroids in our solar system, and nearby stars, to detect planetary systems in formation and exoplanets.
Bigger and more potent in the infrared than any space observatory ever launched, JWST will see the very first stars and galaxies, answering critical questions about the formation and structure of our universe. However, more importantly for astrobiology, its powerful eyes will also scan exoplanets in the search for building blocks of life beyond our doorstep, revealing the way planetary systems form and uncover secrets hidden within our solar system.
To discuss the potential of JWST and its complex instruments, we invited two researchers from the Space Science Institute in Baltimore, MD. Christine Chen, an associate astronomer who studies the formation and evolution of planetary systems, and John Stansberry, instrument scientist for the NIRCAM instrument who also studies distant Kuiper Belt Object in our solar system.
This discussion will be moderated by SETI Institute senior astronomer Franck Marchis who will discuss the potential of JWST for planetary science and astrobiology at large. As usual, registered attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions to the speakers.
The Role of Catalytic Oxo Metal Clusters in Natural and Artificial Photosynthesis - 07/20/2022 05:00 PM
Crow Canyon Country Club Danville
The conversion of solar energy into a useful chemical fuel represents a major scientific goal in the drive towards a society powered by renewable energy. Useful rates of solar fuel production must rely on an efficient oxidation that generates electrons and protons. In nature's photosynthesis, this is accomplished by a tetra-manganese oxo cluster (the oxygen-evolving complex, OEC), which yields 4 protons and 4 electrons by the photo-oxidation of water. This water-splitting half-reaction must be catalyzed for solar fuel applications to make it energetically feasible. Transition-metal oxo cubane clusters related to the OEC represent intriguing model systems and design motifs for new water-splitting catalysts based on abundant metals. Molecularly derived catalysts of this type offer potential advantages, including the synthetic tunability of catalytic and chemical properties. In addition, studying high-valent molecular species can provide key insights into the mechanism of water oxidation and help bridge the gap between solid-state and molecular systems to allow for a more rational design of catalysts. This presentation will describe high-valent metal complexes and clusters and a detailed mechanism for the evolution of oxygen via water oxidation at a tetranuclear cobalt oxo cubane. An important aspect of this catalysis relates to how metals cooperate to mediate multi-electron, multi-proton oxidations. In further pursuit of these concepts, the synthesis and study of related heterometallic oxo clusters have been targeted.
Speaker: T. Don Tilley, UC Berkeley
10 Years of Bringing the High Energy Sky into Focus with NuSTAR - Livestream - 07/20/2022 06:00 PM
Astronomical Society of the Pacific
NuSTAR is a NASA Small Explorer (SMEX) mission that, when launched in 2012, was the first space telescope capable of focusing high energy X-rays. This has brought about a golden era of X-ray astronomy, including fundamental advancements in the study of black hole physics, stellar explosions, and some of the highest energy phenomena in the cosmos. In this webinar we will discuss the fundamentals of X-ray astronomy, how a small mission like NuSTAR works, and highlight some of the key science results from NuSTAR’s first decade of operation.
Speaker: Dr. Brian Grefenstette, CalTech
Upsetting the Setup: Creating a California for All - 07/20/2022 07:00 PM
Long Now Foundation San Francisco
How do we address society's most pressing issues and create opportunity for those who need it most? Can we create a blueprint for a just and inclusive economy that includes a safety net that centers dignity, quality jobs that empower workers, housing as a human right, wealth creating opportunities for all, and much more? Michael Tubbs is developing that blueprint by creating and implementing policies that address these inequalities, and projects like the Universal Basic Income pilot in the city of Stockton.
Speaker: Michael Tubbs, former Mayor, Stockton, CA
Part 2: Travels into Astronomical History with the Antique Telescope Society - Livestream - 07/20/2022 07:00 PM
San Francisco Amateur Astronomers
In this talk, I will continue my brief history of the telescope as illustrated by pioneering instruments I have visited with the Antique Telescope Society (ATS).
The principles of both refractor and reflector telescopes were invented in the 17th century as shown in my last presentation. Then, the techniques of how to make actual telescopes of both types improved dramatically during the 18th and 19th centuries. However, due to the difficulties of making high quality lens blanks, refractor telescopes remained small, but took advantage of very stable mechanical mounts developed during the Industrial Revolution to evolve into instruments capable of high precision optical measurements that led to very accurate celestial charts, double star measurements, and the measurements of the first parallaxes. But the inability to produce and mount very large refractor lenses plateaued the development of refractors by the 1890s. Today, lens making is largely confined to the production of camera lenses and small refractors.
Reflector telescopes initially used mirrors made from speculum metal, an alloy of tin and copper which could be polished to a highly reflective surface. As far fewer and simpler optical surfaces were required, large reflecting telescopes could be produced which served as big light buckets that were used to search for previously unknown faint deep-sky objects and catalogue their positions. The 19th century saw the development of the first comprehensive catalogues of deep sky objects and stars which we still use today.
The introduction of silver-on-glass mirrors at mid-century coupled with improved precision steel mountings capable of carrying heavy loads finally led to the construction of the first modern reflector telescopes in the early 20th century, a process that continues today.
Finally, the most recent advances involve the introduction of light-weight optics, computerized detectors capable of observing throughout the electromagnetic spectrum, and space-based telescopes freeing us from the limitations imposed by the Earth’s atmosphere.
Speaker: Ken Lum, MD
See weblink for Zoom information, or watch on Facebook or YouTube
Provable Privacy Guarantee and Smart Navigation Attachment to Aid - 07/20/2022 07:00 PM
SF Bay Association of Computing Machinery
Enabling Advanced Queries on Untrusted Databases with Provable Privacy Guarantee and Superior Efficiency
Privacy is a fundamental human right. Service providers can track our queries and interests when we search for (or consume) any information on social media, video-streaming sites, public databases, etc. They can infer personally identifiable and sensitive information like political preference, sexual orientation, etc., which users may not like to share. Private information retrieval (PIR) is a powerful cryptographic primitive that solves this ubiquitous problem of safeguarding the privacy of users' access patterns to remote, untrusted databases. Most PIR techniques only support position-based queries - which require the knowledge of the data record or block index - to access the databases. However, in the real world, users are more interested in retrieving records by various search criteria, e.g., searching by keywords, sorting and TopK search, aggregate queries, and ultimately, SQL-like utility. To protect users' sensitive access patterns on untrusted databases and support regular and advanced queries, e.g., aggregate and SQL queries, we need new PIR techniques that provide provable security guarantee and efficiency in terms of computation and communication complexity associated with PIR tasks.
Speaker: Syed Hafiz, UC Davis
Novel Machine Learning-Based Smart Navigation Attachment to Aid Glaucoma Patients
Glaucoma, a serious eye condition, is the second leading cause of blindness in the world, and currently affects 80 million people. Its irreversibility necessitates the use of navigation aids, which are becoming more tech-oriented. However, current smart mobility aids are very costly and are only utilized by 2-6% of the visually impaired population.
We analyzed various existing mobility aids and created a list of successful and necessary components. Our engineering goal is to create a product that mounts onto any size-diameter white cane, detects and recognizes any object, quickly and alerts the user through speakers. With a list of many features, while maintaining a relatively low cost of under $250. Our average accuracy overall was 80.4%. After iterating our design, we calculated our final overall accuracy as 90.0%. We successfully met our criteria of minimum 85% overall accuracy. Our product can help a wider range of visually impaired people navigate the outdoors more safely, efficiently, and cost-effectively.peakers: Reeva Patel, Gauri Todur, Nidhi Thankasala, Cabrillo Middle School Stem Leadership Institute
Stream on YouTube. See weblink for connection information
Thursday, 07/21/2022
Science at Cal - Combating Climate Change with CRISPR - Livestream - 07/21/2022 12:00 PM
UC Berkeley
This month’s Midday Science Cafe features two scientists putting the gene-editing tool, CRISPR, to work for the good of the Earth, both by tackling the causes of climate change (for example, reducing our dependence on fossil fuels) and by counteracting its effects on major industries, like agriculture. Berkeley Lab’s Dr. Thomas Eng uses CRISPR to discover greener methods for creating fuel and everyday petroleum-based materials with the help of “rewired” microbes. UC Berkeley’s Nicholas Karavolias uses CRISPR to generate a type of rice that may be more drought-tolerant, which is relevant in our increasingly hot, dry climate. Join us in learning how CRISPR technology is being leveraged to slow the flow of carbon emissions and combat the daunting implications of climate change on our food systems.
Speaker: Nicholas Karavolias and Dr. Thomas T. Eng, UC Berkeley
Register at weblink
NightLife: Inked - 07/21/2022 06:00 PM
California Academy of Sciences San Francisco
Join us for NightLife: Inked as we explore the multicultural - and multispecies - uses of ink. From cephalopods to live tattooing, this evening is sure to make its mark. See weblink for additional details.
After Dark: Build - 07/21/2022 06:00 PM
ExplOratorium San Francisco
onight, meet us at the intersection of possibility and structure. Discover everyday materials transformed into artful oddities, awe-inspiring art, and unorthodox architectural experiments - then see how the tinkerer’s mentality inspires engineering feats in our local Bay Area landscape. Tinker, construct, and invent to your heart’s content!
Build is part of a series of adults-only summer programming inspired by The Art of Tinkeringexhibition, open June 18 through September 5.
Birding while Disabled - Livestream - 07/21/2022 07:00 PM
Golden Gate Audubon Society
Bonnie Lewkowicz and Judith Smith will share their experiences as wheelchair-using birders and will be joined by Tiffany Taylor, a birder who is blind. Hear what they need from the birding community and birding locations to feel welcome and included.
See weblink for Zoom information
Friday, 07/22/2022
Coastal Walk at Pillar Point Bluff - 07/22/2022 10:00 AM
Pillar Point Bluff Moss Beach
oin Peninsula Open Space Trust for an afternoon walk at Pillar Point Bluff just north of Half Moon Bay! You will be guided by a POST representative who will share details about the area’s interesting natural history, from the coastal scrub habitat to the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve that hosts tide pools and breeding grounds for harbor seals.
The walk is moderate at about 2.5 miles round trip with around 350 feet of gradual elevation gain.
In 2004, POST stepped in to fund protection of the bluff, restore it to ecological health, and construct a 1.6-mile section of the California Coastal Trail that now runs across it. Today, all 161 acres of the bluff are fully protected in perpetuity - a process that took four transactions, 11 years of work, and an array of visionaries, landowners and donors, both public and private.
Register at weblink to receive directions.
Dinner with Apollo 11 Navy Frogman Clancy Hatleberg - 07/22/2022 06:00 PM
USS Hornet Alameda
Join us on the USS Hornet for a private dinner with Clarence "Clancy" Hetleberg, the Navy Frogman who was the first to greet the astronauts when they returned to Earth from the Moon. Listen to Clancy tell some personal stories and answer your questions from his experiences as part of the Apollo 11 recovery team. Afterwards enjoy a guided tour of the Hangar Bay and our famous Apollo 11 recovery exhibit.
Your ticket includes dinner, an open bar and a chance to personally meet Clarence "Clancy" Hatleberg. Bob Fish, Hornet historian and author of "Hornet Plus Three" will also be on hand to present with Clancy.
Navy frogman Clancy Hatleberg was the first to welcome Apollo 11′s moonmen back to Earth. His mission on July 24, 1969, was to decontaminate Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins and their command module, Columbia, immediately after splashdown in the Pacific. The astronauts needed to be quarantined. Otherwise, who knows what moon germs might escape.
It makes more sense now after the past few years of COVID - but the possibility of lunar bugs was "a really serious concern" back then, according to Hatleberg, who was 25 at the time and fresh from an underwater demolition team rotation in Vietnam. Hatleberg was one of four frogmen on the recovery team who jumped into the ocean from a helicopter. The others secured the capsule, then moved upwind in a raft. That's when Hatleberg moved in, carrying disinfectant. Covered in a protective garment, Hatleberg momentarily opened Columbia's hatch to toss in a bag with three of the outfits. Once the astronauts had the gray garments on, they emerged from the capsule one by one onto a waiting raft.
Innovative Computer Art: Past and Present - 07/22/2022 07:00 PM
Computer History Museum Mountain View
From the earliest days of electronic computers, people used them to make art: from drawings to poems, from screenplays to paintings, and from music to films. Today, the computer has become an indispensable tool and medium for many diverse artists. This event will create a dialog around early computer films and how they paved the way for cutting-edge art-installations using today’s technology. The evening will feature digital artist, Camille Utterback, a winner of a Macarthur Foundation “genius grant” and a professor of art at Stanford University.
The evening will begin with a screening of selections from CHM’'s new exhibition, “Early Computer Films, 1963-1972,” and a discussion of them by curator David C. Brock and Utterback. You will then be treated to a presentation by Utterback about her work today at the intersection of technology and art, and how it resonates with earlier intersections.
Evening with the Stars at Lick Observatory - Sold Out - 07/22/2022 08:30 PM
Lick Observatory Mt. Hamilton
Astronomy Speaker: Garth Illingworth
Tickets go on sale April 13 at noon. See weblink.
Saturday, 07/23/2022
STEM Saturday Summer Science Series - 07/23/2022 10:00 AM
NexGeneGirls San Francisco
The mission of the STEM Summer Science Series is to provide a safe atmosphere for scholars (Girls & Boys) to learn and explore the scientific process through fun hands on experiments.
All participants will develop foundational skills in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math using scientific processes through fun, hands-on science activities, lab experiments, and workshops that convey scientific principles while building self-confidence and developing the skills needed to problem-solve using Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.
Music of the Spheres at Lick Observatory - 07/23/2022 07:30 PM
Lick Observatory Mt. Hamilton
Artist: Golden Bough
Astronomy Speaker: Jessica Lu, UC Berkeley
Tickets go on sale April 13 at noon. See weblink.
Monday, 07/25/2022
Scaling ML/AI workloads with Ray Ecosystem - Livestream - 07/25/2022 07:00 PM
SF Bay Association of Computing Machinery
Modern machine learning (ML) workloads, such as deep learning and large-scale model training, are compute-intensive and require distributed execution. Ray is an open-source, distributed framework from U.C. Berkeley’s RISELab that easily scales Python applications and ML workloads from a laptop to a cluster, with an emphasis on the unique performance challenges of ML/AI systems. It is now used in many production deployments.
This talk will cover Ray’s overview, architecture, core concepts, and primitives, such as remote Tasks and Actors; briefly discuss Ray native libraries (Ray Tune, Ray Train, Ray Serve, Ray Datasets, RLlib); and Ray’s growing ecosystem.
Through a demo using XGBoost for classification, we will demonstrate how you can scale training, hyperparameter tuning, and inference from a single node to a cluster, with tangible performance difference when using Ray.
The takeaways from this talk are :
Learn Ray architecture, core concepts, and Ray primitives and patternsWhy Distributed computing will be the norm not an exceptionHow to scale your ML workloads with Ray libraries:Training on a single node vs. Ray cluster, using XGBoost with/without RayHyperparameter search and tuning, using XGBoost with Ray TuneInferencing at scale, using XGBoost with/without Ray
Speaker: Jules Damji, Anyscale Inc
Register to receive connection information
Tuesday, 07/26/2022
July Butterfly Walk - First Session - 07/26/2022 01:30 PM
UC Botanical Garden Berkeley
July Butterfly Walk - Second Session - 07/26/2022 03:00 PM
UC Botanical Garden Berkeley
Restoring the Bay Area's Endangered Coho Salmon - 07/26/2022 07:00 PM
American Cetacean Society
Wonderfest: The Hidden World of Vibrations - 07/26/2022 07:00 PM
Hopmonk Tavern Novato
Wednesday, 07/27/2022
Lessons From Newborns: Neurohormonal Signals Limiting Mammalian Heart Regeneration - 07/27/2022 05:00 PM
Cafe Scientifique Silicon Valley
Thursday, 07/28/2022
Coastal Walk at Pillar Point Bluff - 07/28/2022 10:00 AM
Pillar Point Bluff Moss Beach
NightLife: Summertime Bazaar - 07/28/2022 06:00 PM
California Academy of Sciences San Francisco
Mapping the World from Satellites - Helping us understand Global Food & Water Security in the 21st Century - Livestream - 07/28/2022 06:00 PM
US Geological Survey Public Lecture Series
After Dark: Shine - 07/28/2022 06:00 PM
ExplOratorium San Francisco
Saturday, 07/30/2022
Climate Resiliency Walks: Point Pinole - 07/30/2022 10:00 AM
Point Pinole Regional Park Richmond Ave
Sunday, 07/31/2022
Sunset Science: Searching For Planets - 07/31/2022 06:30 PM
Chabot Space and Science Center Oakland