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herb

Jan 17, 2022

Greetings to Everyone who Thinks Science is (or might be) Cool!

Let’s get a couple of basics taken care of. Aside from the tragic loss of lives, homes, and livelihoods, the latest eruptions of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai in Tonga have generated many stories and discussions. I have to say that when there is a major natural event on the planet I always find some satisfaction in how it reminds us that whoever or wherever you are, you still need to recognize that regardless of political or economic division we are all on the same blue marble and we need to help each other. There have been endless reports about the eruption. I recommend checking out these three…

Volcanic Eruption May Be Biggest Ever Seen From Space

Tonga volcano eruption caused ‘significant damage’

Why the volcanic eruption in Tonga was so violent, and what to expect next

I have written many times about the incredible opportunities, we here in the SF Bay Area, have to learn about how the universe works. We have world renowned universities, museums, academies, and businesses within pretty easy access, even using public transit. These are great places to go and learn, but if those are all we go to, we are truly missing opportunities. Most of these “institutions” started because of someone’s passion. Many people who work in these do have that passion to learn and discover to make the world a better place. What I would like you to consider are those places that aren’t in the news so much. Places that are scrappy, sassy, adventurous places that are trying to do amazing or just excellent things on a much smaller scale and budget. There are probably some in your neighborhood. For instance, have you ever heard of the Mission Science Workshop or the Lindsay Wildlife Experience?

This past week I met an amazing team that is doing just that. Midori, Jan, Eric, and Aragon are a few of the folks that make CuriOdyssey a truly wonderful place. I met Midori the other day when I walked in to see ILLUMINODYSSEY as it was closing down for the season. She was handing out LED lanterns to people coming in to see it. Her excitement about science and sharing it was fun and darned near infectious! She did carefully sanitize every lantern when it was returned to her though!-} Visiting with Jan, Eric, and Aragon was really inspiring. Most people don’t realize that it was founded 67 years and 3 names ago. They have a zoo with an incredible walk in aviary as well as a science museum reminiscent of the explOratorium and have built many of their own exhibits. They are getting ready to break ground on a major construction/expansion project and you can sense the excitement of everyone who works there.

So here’s what I’m suggesting. Find your local science museums and informal science learning places and visit them. A google search may not be enough to find them! Don’t think too hard about this, go ahead and make a donation or join! I’d like to hear about them. Please feel free to drop me an email at ham3@comcast.net and tell me about them. I’d love to travel some of the region in search of science museums I haven’t been to. Be sure to tell them that we here at the SciSchmooze want to support them. Feel free to tell them that they can post their public events on our calendar.

Here are a few things that I think are worth your consideration…

Wonderfest: Climate & Social Justice: Q&A with Prof. Dan Kammen - Livestream Wed @ 7

Burrowing Owls of the South Bay Area - Livestream

Nature Photography - Baylands and Beyond - Livestream Sat @ 4

I have to admit that this is the presentation I’m looking forward to this week… Physics and Psychology of Cats - An (Improbable) Conversation Thu @ 1

The James Webb Space Telescope continues its journey. It is mind-boggling that it is 470 ℉ hotter on the sun facing side than the space facing side and that it has decelerated from 25,000 mph to 598 mph. Watch that link!

I’m not a computer code person but I have to share this with you and any coders that may read this. Back in 1969 the poodoo almost hit the moon

I’m still baffled by the loss of respect and faith in science… Why–and When–Did the United States Turn Against Science?

Have a great week celebrating and learning science.

herb masters

"Getting the right answer to the right question matters" Marcus Munafò

Upcoming Events:
Click to see the next two weeks of events in your browser.

Monday, 01/17/2022

Tuesday, 01/18/2022

Another Bite at the Apple: First Apple-1 Computer to Be Brought Back to Life - 01/18/2022 10:00 AM
Computer History Museum

What happened to the very first computer Apple produced? Inventor Steve Wozniak presented the Apple-1 - Serial Number One - to educator Liza Loop. It’s one of the rarest and most important objects of the computing revolution.

Join us as vintage computing expert Corey Cohen attempts to bring to life that first Apple-1 computer. Others have tried and failed. Will Corey prevail? Watch him at work on the restoration and hear stories from some of the original trailblazers behind the Apple-1.

Towards robust representations of neural activity: Why do we need them and how do we build them - Livestream - 01/18/2022 10:00 AM
Stanford University

Understanding how neural circuits coordinate to drive behavior and decision making is a fundamental challenge in neuroscience. Unfortunately, finding a stable link between the brain and behavior has been difficult--even when behavior is consistent, neural activity can appear highly variable. In this talk, I will discuss ways that my lab is tackling this challenge to form more robust and interpretable readouts from neural circuits. The talk will focus on our recent efforts to use self-supervised learning (SSL) to decode and disentangle neural states. In SSL, invariances are achieved by encouraging augmentations (transformations) of the input to be mapped to similar points in the latent space. We demonstrate how this guiding principle can be used to model populations of neurons in diverse brain regions in both macaques and rodents, and disentangle different sources of information in the neural representation of movement. Our work shows that by establishing a more stable link between the brain and behavior, we can build better brain decoders and find common neural representations of behavior across individuals.

Speaker: Eva Dyer, Georgia Institute of Technology

See weblink for Zoom connection

The Fungus Among Us: Fusarium mycotoxins in water and food - Livestream - 01/18/2022 12:00 PM
California Section American Chemical Society

Professor Daniel Snow investigates the measurement and surprising occurrence of Fusarium mycotoxins in our food and water. Fusarium is a large group of filamentous fungi widely distributed in soil and plants. Most are harmless, but some produce metabolites that are biologically active and even toxic. Fusarium fungi are ubiquitous in soil and plants, and toxin production is prevalent in corn and cereal grains. Fusarium mycotoxins including trichothecenes, zearalenone and fumonisins, are generally produced during crop growth and storage. These water soluble, low molecular weight organic compounds are surprisingly stable, and are often passed from contaminated crops to animals and humans. They occur annually in crops, soil and water supplies. Individual compounds such as zearalenone are metabolized into several derivatives each with different toxic and biological effects. Because they are water soluble, and occur in complex matrices, analytical methods must overcome a number of challenges for detection at environmentally relevant concentrations. The presentation will be followed by a Q&A.

Speaker: Daniel Snow, University of Nebraska at Lincoln

The role of the land surface in shaping midlatitude heat extremes - 01/18/2022 03:30 PM
Natural Science Annex Santa Cruz

Speaker: Karen Mckinnon, UC Los Angeles

Two Talks: Popping the Science Bubble - Livestream - 01/18/2022 05:30 PM
Berkeley Public Library

Sharing is Caring: how gene exchange from viruses to insects lead to protection from predators

Speaker: Kirsten Verster (Integrative Biology)

Redwood, Oak, Acyclic?: Describing Mathematical Trees

Speaker: Rebecca Whitman (Mathematics)

Mycological Society of San Francisco General Meeting - J. R. Blair - Livestream - 01/18/2022 07:30 PM
Mycological Society of San Francisco

See weblink for Zoom information

Wednesday, 01/19/2022

SETI Talks: AI - Augmenting humanity for good - Livestream - 01/19/2022 09:00 AM
SETI Institute

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is probably one of the most revolutionary developments in human history, and the world is already witnessing its transformative capabilities. Like most great inventions by humans (e.g., nuclear energy), it has two sides, a side that could be used maliciously and a positive one that powers cutting-edge solutions to our problems and will help our technological civilization.

There have been significant breakthroughs in AI, which have allowed machines to process and analyze information, and in some cases, to learn on their own in a very sophisticated manner. AI algorithms are everywhere today, and there is currently a significant debate regarding the risks posed by AI to humanity, taking, for instance, control of our lives and manipulation elections, but also used as a weapon.

However, AI could also hold potential for humanity in many domains, from automation of tedious tasks to weather forecasting, disaster mitigation and response and health care. To discuss the benefit of AI for humanity at large, we invited two specialists in this field of research with decades of expertise in using AI. Siddha Ganju and Alex Lavin, both engineers, inventors and entrepreneurs, have also contributed to the Frontier Development Lab (FDL). FDL is a public-private partnership between NASA, the SETI Institute, Trillium Technologies and leaders in commercial AI, space exploration and Earth Science dedicated to finding solutions to complex problems linked with space exploration using AI.

James Parr, Founder and CEO of Trillium Technologies, an FDL partner, will moderate this discussion. The conversation will describe how networked AI can amplify human effectiveness by performing complex tasks such as complex decision-making, reasoning and learning, sophisticated analytics and pattern recognition, visual acuity, speech recognition and language translation. Of course, these AI specialists share deep worries on the use of AI and will suggest pathways to mitigate negative impacts and threats of this innovative and already omnipresent technology.

Another Bite at the Apple: First Apple-1 Computer to Be Brought Back to Life - 01/19/2022 10:00 AM
Computer History Museum

When Earth Breathed Deeply - Livestream - 01/19/2022 05:00 PM
Caltech

Oxygen levels in the atmosphere have increased by many orders of magnitude throughout Earth’s history, profoundly affecting biologic and chemical cycles at the surface of the Earth. In this lecture, Bucholz will explore how shifts in atmospheric oxygen concentrations went even deeper, altering Earthâs inner workings.

Speaker: Claire Bucholz, Caltech

What Seals Can Teach Us About Risk and Reward in the Open Ocean - 01/19/2022 05:30 PM
UC Santa Cruz Silicon Valley Campus Santa Clara

Marine mammals undertake some of the most extraordinary migrations on the planet to eat and avoid being eaten. They make behavioral decisions based on the ecology of their prey and predators, all while keeping within the confines of their physiological limits. By attaching electronic instruments to seals, Assistant Professor Roxanne Beltran explores predator-prey interactions in the open ocean, and their implications for ocean health.

January LASER Event - Livestream - 01/19/2022 06:00 PM
LASER Leonardo Art Science Evening Rendezvous

This evening will feature three presentations:

- Josh Bongard (University of Vermont) on evolutionary robotics and evolutionary computation

- Jessica Angel (Media Artist) on blockchain art

- Eran Kahana (Stanford Law School) on "The Metaverse and its Potential Impact on Agency for Artificial Intelligence Entities"

Drawing Birds with John Muir Laws & SFBBO - Livestream - 01/19/2022 06:00 PM
San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory

Learn to draw birds with with the San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory and acclaimed artist, author, educator, and scientist John Muir Laws! In celebration of SFBBO's 40th anniversary, we're learning to draw 3 species SFBBO scientists have worked with extensively over the years: the Snowy Plover, Least Tern, and White-crowned Sparrow. In addition to learning about these species and how to draw them, you'll also hear about the work SFBBO has done with them and how you can help!

What you'll need: An internet connection, your favorite drawing materials (paper, pencil, etc.), and a willingness to learn. No experience required!

Please register - the Zoom link will be sent in the confirmation. If you have any questions, please contact Sirena Lao, Environmental Education and Outreach Specialist

The Science of Smell - 01/19/2022 06:30 PM
San Mateo Public Library

In 2010, Harold McGee, world-renowned authority on the chemistry of foods and cooking, began work on a book about the flavors of food and drink. A decade later, he published a book about food and drink--but also about outer space, pets, people, laptops, petrochemicals, perfumes, and more. In this virtual talk, McGee will explain how he came to dive into volatile chemistry, and how it is that smell is the bridge between our experience of foods and our experience of the larger world. McGee studied science and literature at Caltech and Yale, and has written two prize-winning books, On Food and Cooking and The Curious Cook, as well as many articles. This program is coordinated by the library's Biotechnology Learning Center.

Registration is required for this virtual event

A Zoom link will be sent to registrants a day before the event.

The Future of Conversational AI - Livestream - 01/19/2022 07:00 PM
SF Bay Association of Computing Machinery

In the last 2 years, we are seeing rapid development of conversational AI technology. Current chatbots can speak coherently and meaningfully, almost matching human performance. Are we close to cracking Turing Test? What are the other challenges we face today? In this talk, I will review the state-of-the-art dialog systems, and their underlying deep learning architecture. I will review two types of dialog systems: Open-domain chatbots that can make conversation on any subject, and task-oriented chatbots that serve the user for specific needs (such as ordering food or booking a ticket). I will discuss the success and challenges in both domains. Finally, I will share our work at LivePerson for providing conversational AI solutions to more than 18,000 enterprise customers.

Speaker: JunLing Hu, Director of Applied AI

Wonderfest: Climate & Social Justice: Q&A with Prof. Dan Kammen - Livestream - 01/19/2022 07:00 PM
Wonderfest

Climate change and social justice are two intersecting crises that will define the coming decades on Earth. According to Prof. Dan Kammen, addressing both challenges together makes each campaign more effective, both for meeting and setting new domestic climate and social justice targets, and as part of a coherent pro-justice, pro-poor, pro-job, and pro-climate export policy. This online event will begin with a 36-minute video excerpt from a recent presentation by Prof. Kammen. Immediately thereafter, the Zoom will continue with Dan answering audience questions about climate and social justice, live.

Speaker: Dan Kammen, UC Berkeley

See weblink for Zoom information.

Celebrating San Francisco Amateur Astronomer’s 70th Anniversary - Livestream - 01/19/2022 07:00 PM
San Francisco Amateur Astronomers

Join us as long-time members of SFAA share their experiences with the founding of our Â organization, focused on bringing astronomy to a wide amateur audience. Members and the public enjoyed star parties, lectures and telescope making, then at the Wallace Telescope Makers Workshop. The very first lecture was held at the Josephine D. Randall Museum in October 1952. It was an exciting time in the Bay Area for astronomical learning.

See weblink for Zoom, YouTube, and Facebook links to attend.

Spalted Wood and Pigment Ecology - Livestream - 01/19/2022 07:30 PM
Humboldt Bay Mycological Society

Speaker: Dr. Seri Robinson

See link for more information.

Thursday, 01/20/2022

Another Bite at the Apple: First Apple-1 Computer to Be Brought Back to Life - 01/20/2022 10:00 AM
Computer History Museum

What happened to the very first computer Apple produced? Inventor Steve Wozniak presented the Apple-1 - Serial Number One - to educator Liza Loop. Itâs one of the rarest and most important objects of the computing revolution.

Nitrous Oxide Production and Consumption in Surface Waters - Livestream - 01/20/2022 11:30 AM
Stanford University

Nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas and ozone destroying agent, is produced and consumed by microbial processes in seawater. While production in surface waters is attributed mostly to nitrification, which is considered an obligately aerobic process, there are no known consumption processes that occur under oxygenated conditions. Nevertheless, we are able to measure nitrous oxide consumption and to detect the presence and expression of genes that encode the nitrous oxide reduction reaction in surface waters. Experimental results from several open ocean and coastal environments will be presented, to document and characterize this consumption term and the microbes responsible for it. The widespread occurrence of surface ocean N2O consumption challenges our understanding of conventional microbial physiologies and the regulation of net N2O exchange between ocean and atmosphere.

Speaker: Bess Ward, Stanford University

See weblink for Zoom information

Climate Conversations: Ocean Carbon Dioxide Removal - Livestream - 01/20/2022 12:00 PM
The Climate Communications Initiative

To combat climate change, in addition to reducing emissions, we will also need to remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. Ocean CDR (ocean carbon dioxide removal) is a set of strategies to sequester carbon dioxide in ocean waters. Speakers will discuss social acceptance, environmental governance, and other issues around ocean CDR strategies. The webinar will include discussion of the new National Academies report, A Research Strategy for Ocean-based Carbon Dioxide Removal and Sequestration.

Birth of a large volcanic edifice offshore Mayotte via lithosphere-scale dyke intrusion - Livestream - 01/20/2022 12:00 PM
Stanford University

Volcanic eruptions shape Earth,s surface and provide a window into deep Earth processes. How the primary asthenospheric melts form, pond and ascend through the lithosphere is, however, still poorly understood. Since 10 May 2018, magmatic activity has occurred offshore eastern Mayotte (North Mozambique channel), associated with large surface displacements, very-low-frequency earthquakes and exceptionally deep earthquake swarms. Here we present geophysical and marine data from the MAYOBS1 cruise, which reveal that by May 2019, this activity formed an 820-m-tall, ~6km, volcanic edifice on the seafloor. This is the largest active submarine eruption ever documented. Seismic and deformation data indicate that deep (>55km depth) magma reservoirs were rapidly drained through dykes that intruded the entire lithosphere and that pre-existing subvertical faults in the mantle were reactivated beneath an ancient caldera structure. We locate the new volcanic edifice at the tip of a 50-km-long ridge composed of many other recent edifices and lava flows. This volcanic ridge is an extensional feature inside a wide transtensional boundary that transfers strain between the East African and Madagascar rifts. We propose that the massive eruption originated from hot asthenosphere at the base of a thick, old, damaged lithosphere.

Speaker: Nathalie Feuillet, Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris

See weblink for Zoom information

COVID Outbreaks and Outrages - Livestream - 01/20/2022 12:30 PM
Commonwealth Club - Online Event

In her new documentary In the Same Breath, director Nanfu Wang recounts the origin and spread of the novel coronavirus from the earliest days of the outbreak in Wuhan to its rampage across the United States. In a deeply personal approach, Wang, who was born in China and now lives in the United States, explores the parallel campaigns of misinformation waged by leadership and the devastating impact on citizens of both countries. Emotional first-hand accounts and startling, on-the-ground footage weave a revelatory picture of cover-ups and misinformation while also highlighting the strength and resilience of the health-care workers, activists and family members who risked everything to communicate the truth.

Panel: Nanfu Wang, Film maker; Michelle Meow, KBCW TV and John Zipperer, The Commonwealth Club, co-hosts

Leaf Architecture: Botany, Conservation and Beauty - Livestream - 01/20/2022 01:00 PM
UC Botanical Garden

As we kick-off our "Year of The Leaf", the UC Botanical Garden is pleased to host Dr. Douglas Daly, Curator of Amazonian Botany and Director of the Institute for Systematic Botany at The New York Botanical Garden, to take us into the world of leaf architecture, the place of leaves in botanical study, and the role they have in systematics, conservation, and art.

Physics and Psychology of Cats - An (Improbable) Conversation - 01/20/2022 01:00 PM
livestream

Please join us as the Ig Nobel forces of improbable research and The Conversation combine for a dangerously smart and rational discussion. Have you wondered why cats are so nimble, malleable, flexible and agile? How do cats fit in cups and vases? Why do felines grab our attention and love (well, the love of some of us)? Why are their videos more popular on the Internet than dog videos? Marc Abrahams, Jean Berko Gleason and Marc-Antoine Fardin will discuss these and other cat science questions, probable and improbable, in an intriguing and hopefully humorous online discussion on January 20, 2022 from 4-5 pm ET/1-2 pm PT.

Nightlife - 01/20/2022 06:00 PM
California Academy of Sciences San Francisco

Calling all creatures of the night: explore the nocturnal side of the Academy at NightLife and see what's revealed. With live DJs, outdoor bars, ambiance lighting, and nearly 40,000 live animals (including familiar faces like Claude the albino alligator), the night is sure to be wild.

Step inside the iconic Shake House and our four-story Rainforest, where you can explore the Amazon’s treetops surrounded by free-flying birds and butterflies. Reservations for these exhibits are no longer required. However, please note that the last entry into the rainforest is 7:30 pm our animals need their sleep.

Venture into our latest aquarium exhibit Venom to encounter live venomous animals and learn the power of venom to both harm and heal.

Visit the BigPicture exhibit in the Piazza to marvel at the most recent winners of the BigPicture Natural Photography competition.

Bask in the glow of one of the largest living coral reef displays in the world: our 212,000-gallon Philippine Coral Reef tank.

Take in the interstellar views from the Living Roof, then grab a bite from the Academy Cafe and head to the West Garden outdoor bar to drink and dine under the stars. For adults 21+.

After Dark: Discover Wonder - CANCELED - 01/20/2022 06:00 PM
ExplOratorium San Francisco

Spark your curiosity at After Dark! As the sun sets, we’ll hit the rainbow lights, turn the music up, and open our doors, inviting you to take your imagination out to play. Be ready to bring fresh eyes to old favorites and uncover phenomenal new experiences.

Cell Phone Miniscope 6:00 - 10:00 p.m. Crossroads

We invite you to open your eyes to the amazing world of the ultra-tiny! Be sure to grab a miniscope kit and directions - then convert your cell phone into a portable, picture-taking miniscope using a simple plastic lens from a laser pointer. Use it to see the Exploratorium at its smallest scale, then take it home to continue exploring new environments!

Implicit Neural Representation Networks Fitting Signals, Derivatives & Integrals - Livestream - 01/20/2022 07:00 PM
SF Bay Association of Computing Machinery

Implicitly defined, continuous, differentiable signal representations parameterized by neural networks have emerged as a powerful paradigm, offering many possible benefits over conventional representations and new capabilities in neural rendering and view synthesis. However, conventional network architectures for such implicit neural representations are incapable of modeling signals at scale with fine detail and fail to represent derivatives and integrals of signals. In this talk, we describe three recent approaches to solve these challenging problems. First, we introduce sinusoidal representation networks or SIREN, which are ideally suited for representing complex natural signals and their derivatives. Using SIREN, we can represent images, wavefields, video, sound, and their derivatives, allowing us to solve differential equations using this type of neural network. Second, we introduce a new framework for solving integral equations using implicit neural representation networks. Our automatic integration framework, AutoInt, enables the calculation of any definite integral with two evaluations of a neural network. This allows fast inference and rendering when applied to neural rendering techniques based on volume rendering. Finally, we introduce a new architecture and method for scaling up implicit representations, called Adaptive Coordinate Networks (ACORN). The approach relies on a hybrid implicit - explicit representation and a learned, online multiscale decomposition of the target signal. We use ACORN to demonstrate the first experiments that fit gigapixel images to nearly 40 dB peak signal-to-noise ratio (an 1000x increase in scale over previous experiments), and we reduce training times for 3D shape fitting from days to hours or minutes while improving memory requirements by over an order of magnitude.

Speakers: Julien Martel, and David Lindell, Stanford University

Gardening for Birds - Livestream - 01/20/2022 07:00 PM
Golden Gate Audubon Society

You can have a beautiful native plant garden that attracts amazing birds, butterflies and other wildlife. Learn about the benefits of local, native plants and some of the wonderful birds that are drawn to this place and to these plants. Noreen Weeden and Eddie Bartley will discuss what migrating and resident birds need and how to provide what the birds are seeking. Learn which native plants attract which bird species and why they are attracted to them. This presentation will cover what to think about in designing your backyard and when to plant.

Speakers: Eddie Bartley and Noreen Weeden, Golden Gate Audubon Society

See weblink for Zoom information

Burrowing Owls of the South Bay Area - Livestream - 01/20/2022 07:00 PM
Peninsula Open Space Trust

On the open grasslands and hillsides of the South Bay Area lives an elusive little bird that likes to live part of its life underground - the Burrowing Owl!

Join Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST), Wildlife Education and Rehabilitation Center (WERC), and Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority (OSA) as we host Burrowing Owl researchers Phillip Higgins and Sandra Menzel of Talon Ecological Research Group for a free online webinar where you will learn all about this amazing local species, and efforts to support them!

Much like other raptors, this small, long-legged owl eats a variety of foods including insects and small rodents. But instead of a nest, the burrowing owl has the interesting habit of digging a burrow or taking up residence in the burrows of ground squirrels or other burrowing animals. Life has sometimes been hard for burrowing owls, as much of their preferred habitats have been swallowed up by development. But thankfully, due to habitat and population recovery projects, Burrowing Owls still have a solid foothold in our local lands.

Virtual Telescope Viewing - 01/20/2022 09:00 PM
Chabot Space and Science Center

Join our resident astronomers on Facebook Live and YouTube 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.

See weblink for Facebook Live and YouTube links

We originally listed this for January 13.

Friday, 01/21/2022

Another Bite at the Apple: First Apple-1 Computer to Be Brought Back to Life - 01/21/2022 10:00 AM
Computer History Museum

Understanding lithosphere deformation by bridging timescales from earthquakes to geology - CANCELED - 01/21/2022 12:00 PM
Earth and Marine Sciences Building Santa Cruz

The simplest analogy for the earthquake cycle is a spring-slider driven at a constant velocity - stress builds up in the spring as it is stretched and then released once the slider moves and the system has caught up with the loading condition. However, the Earth does not entirely subscribe to this simplicity because we see that geological structure, accumulated over multiple cycles, does not only involve loading and slip on the fault (as in the spring-slider) but also involves permanent deformation of the bulk medium as well. Deforming the bulk medium, as a consequence of boundary conditions and a choice of constitutive relations/rheology, is an important pursuit for geodynamicists interested in long-term deformation of the lithosphere, but such models typically do not overlap or feed into earthquake sequence simulations. To exploit the simplicity of the spring slider approach to the earthquake cycle as well as explain the generation of geological structure such as topography (mountains and basins) and broad/non-localized shear zones, I will present two studies where my colleagues and I attempt to bridge deformation timescales and mechanisms relevant to the earthquake cycle (friction-elasticity from seconds to years) to those relevant for geological deformation (visco-plasticity over kyrs to Myrs) using a one-way mechanical coupling from numerical simulations of long-term deformation to earthquake cycles. In the first part, I will discuss the numerical framework and results from modelling fault-bend folding, a process typical of convergent margins; while in the second part I will discuss the case of a strike-slip fault over a viscoelastic substrate. The goal of such efforts is to simplify what we know from our work on fault zone and shear zone processes and their rheology, and compare it to what is actually inferable using geophysical data from the surface. The hope is that the observations have some discernible sensitivity to non-elastic processes, which will then allow us to develop inverse problems to constrain these constitutive parameters. Our knowledge about these parameters generally come from laboratory-scale experiments, and it is an important step for us to verify if what we see in the laboratory is actually applicable when averaged over the kilometre-scale, as these choices can impact patterns of earthquakes and related hazards and risks in substantial ways.

Speaker: Rishav Mallick, Caltech

Free Telescope Viewings - 01/21/2022 07:30 PM
Chabot Space and Science Center Oakland

Join Chabot astronomers on the Observatory Deck for a free telescope viewing! Weather permitting, this is a chance to explore stars, planets and more through Chabot’s historic telescopes. Chabot’s three large historic telescopes offer a unique way to experience the awe and wonder of the Universe. Our observatory deck offers breathtaking views 1,500 feet above the Bay. Three observatory domes house the Centerâs 8-inch (Leah, 1883) and 20-inch (Rachel, 1916) refracting telescopes, along with a 36-inch reflecting telescope (Nellie, 2003).

Are the skies clear for viewing tonight? Viewing can be impacted by rain, clouds, humidity and other weather conditions. Conditions can be unique to Chabot because of its unique location in Joaquin Miller Park. Before your visit, check out the Weather Station to see the current conditions at Chabot.

VIPER: The Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover - Resource mapping on the lunar south pole - Livestream - 01/21/2022 07:30 PM
Tri-Valley Stargazers

As recently as two decades ago, our understanding of the Moon was very different. We believed the Moon was fairly uniform and very, very dry. Recent missions have upended that vision, showing that water exists on the lunar poles, both on and below the surface. But many questions remain about the nature, abundance, origin, and distribution of water and other volatile materials. As well, NASA wants to know whether those materials can be practically harvested for use by future manned missions. The VIPER mission is one of the next steps to answering those questions. VIPER will land a mobile rover on the lunar south pole in order to prospect for and map the distribution of water and other volatiles. This talk will give an overview of the mission objectives, characteristics of the rover and instruments to meet those objectives, unique challenges for VIPER, and the overall mission planning.

Speaker: Mark Rose, NASA

See weblink for directions to obtain Zoom link.

Saturday, 01/22/2022

Nature Photography - Baylands and Beyond - Livestream - 01/22/2022 04:00 PM
Environmental Volunteers

In this informative, engaging virtual art exhibit, experience the photography of Chris Stevens-Yu with commentary from the photographer himself. Learn about what makes the Baylands Nature Preserve and other Northern California open spaces special for photography.

Free Telescope Viewings - 01/22/2022 07:30 PM
Chabot Space and Science Center Oakland

Join Chabot astronomers on the Observatory Deck for a free telescope viewing! Weather permitting, this is a chance to explore stars, planets and more through Chabot’s historic telescopes. Chabot’s three large historic telescopes offer a unique way to experience the awe and wonder of the Universe. Our observatory deck offers breathtaking views 1,500 feet above the Bay. Three observatory domes house the Center’s 8-inch (Leah, 1883) and 20-inch (Rachel, 1916) refracting telescopes, along with a 36-inch reflecting telescope (Nellie, 2003).

Sunday, 01/23/2022

50th Anniversary Golden Jubilee Revival Fungus Fair - CANCELED - 01/23/2022 10:00 AM
Orinda Community Center Orinda

The public is invited to this family friendly event to celebrate the diversity and ecology of fungi found in every part of our environment, from urban garden to mountain forest.

Tickets go on sale December 1, 2021. Advance Tickets sold on Eventbrite and will be available at the door. Early bird pricing until December 21. Volunteers receive free admission.

In the San Francisco Bay Area, when the first rains tease up the chanterelles and porcini, fungus lovers, foodies, and mycophiles in general head to the Fair to relish the hundreds of wild mushrooms gathered for display. For one day each year, Bay Area mushroom hunters fan out and find fungi of all shapes and colors across Northern California and bring them all to one location. The fair, organized by the Mycological Society of San Francisco, includes family friendly events and activities, films and talks, both virtual and in person, and, of course, displays of mushrooms. Guest speakers include mushroom experts Dr. Else Vellinga, Britt Bunyard, Alan Rockefeller, and James McConchie.

The displays of mushrooms include as many as 300 species; some toxic, some deadly, and some which are edible and delicious. Experience identification tutorials, cooking demonstrations, sales of field guides and recipe books, remember: Never eat any mushroom for which identification is not certain.

Learn about the many uses of fungi, see displays on ecology, toxicology, and cultivation. Visit the realistic woodland display, a life size display of the forest floor. Stop by table displays of medicinal mushrooms, myco-remediation, lichens, psychedelic fungi, mushroom dyes, and more. Fifteen local vendors have their mushroom themed products for sale. Bring your own mushrooms to have them identified by our experts.

Bring your camera to photograph your favorite fungi; Selfies with the mushrooms are permitted.

Afternoon Walk at Pillar Point Bluff - 01/23/2022 02:30 PM
Pillar Point Bluff Moss Beach

Join 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.

Monday, 01/24/2022

Florilegia: From Historic Voyages to the Present-day Revival - Livestream - 01/24/2022 10:00 AM
UC Botanical Garden

A florilegium is a collection of botanical illustrations depicting the plants of a notable location. This online lecture by botanical artist Catherine Watters will take you on a journey from 16th century voyages of exploration to gather and document plants from far corners of the world, to contemporary collections illustrating the plants of notable botanical gardens or areas of particular interest. (Learn out about the UC Botanical Garden's own florilegium project to begin in 2022!)

Athermal Phonon Sensor R&D for Low-Mass Dark Matter Detectors - Livestream - 01/24/2022 10:00 AM
SLAC Special Seminar

In the direct detection of dark matter with masses down to O(keV), the energies im- parted in the detector become vanishingly small. Many novel ideas have been proposed for instrumenting athermal phonon sensors on Fermi-degenerate materials [1], polar crys-tals [2-4], and CVD diamond [5], requiring detector energy thresholds of O(1-100) meV.

Transition-Edge Sensors (TESs) are commonly used in similar applications for their energy variance scaling relation ÏE2 â V Tc3. However, a baseline energy variance that scales as ÏE2 â V Tc6 can be achieved by using QETs (Quasiparticle-trap-assisted Elec-trothermal feedback Transition-edge sensors) and decreasing the amount of phonon ab-sorbing surfaces (low-coverage) to match the athermal phonon collection bandwidth to the QET sensor bandwidth. This dependence on Tc suggests that huge gains in energy sensitivity can be made with low-Tc devices.

In this talk, I will discuss the R&D progress that I have made towards the development of these sensors as part of the SPICE/HeRALD and SuperCDMS collaborations. Specifically, I will present the design and testing of a low-Tc, low-surface coverage prototype set of detectors that takes advantage of the above QET scaling laws and are expected to have sub-100 meV energy resolutions. Additionally, I will propose an R&D plan to improve the energy collection efficiency of athermal phonon sensors, which would not only benefit the direct dark matter detection community, but the larger quantum sensing community.

Speaker: Caleb Fink, UC Berkeley

See weblink for Zoom information

How do we know anything at all about space? - Livestream - 01/24/2022 11:00 AM
Royal Observatory, Edinburgh

No one has ever travelled beyond our cosmic back yard, so all we really have to go off is the tiny drizzles of light that hit our telescope.

The Andromeda Galaxy weighs 800 billion times the mass of the sun. The Galaxy M51 is 26 million light years from earth. The Pleiades are between 75 and 150 million years old. These are all "facts" about space, but how do we know any of them? No one has ever travelled beyond our cosmic back yard, so all we really have to go off is the tiny drizzles of light that hit our telescopes. In this talk Dr. Ciaran Fairhurst will devote some time looking at how the sausage is made, and just how hard it is to assemble anything that looks like knowledge about space.

Language and Behavior Change - Livestream - 01/24/2022 01:15 PM
Stanford Symbolic Systems Forum

One surprising barrier to improving our habits is the English language. Our vocabulary for behavior change is impoverished. And frankly, I don’t know why. On one hand, we have common words (like reward and habit) that are ambiguous. On the other hand, we lack English words for important behavior-related concepts and processes. I’ve grappled with these limitations over the last 12 years, as I’ve coached over 40,000 people in habit formation. In this talk I will share some common examples, explain why they are problematic, and share ways I’ve tried to address these challenges by coining new words. To promote a better technical vocabulary, I’ve compiled a glossary of key terms in Behavior Design, which I will share during this talk.

Speaker: B. J. Fogg, Stanford Medical School

See weblink for connection link to Zoom

Continuous Single-Shot Detection of Quasiparticle Trapping - 01/24/2022 02:30 PM
Physics North Berkeley

Superconducting quantum circuits are plagued by nonequilibrium populations of quasiparticle excitations. These quasiparticles can cause relaxation and spurious excitation of qubit states, producing errors in a quantum algorithm, and can cause correlated errors that are particularly difficult to address with error correction. To mitigate the effects of these quasiparticles, we need to understand their behavior better. Measurements of quasiparticle trapping in the internal Andreev states of a Josephson junction provide an excellent tool for continuous, non-saturating detection of quasiparticles. I will present our recent results using a superconducting resonator incorporating two aluminum nanobridge Josephson junctions to detect up to 3 quasiparticles trapping at once with high fidelity. I will present measurements of the quasiparticle trapping and untraping behavior, and discuss how we can use our detector device to develop quasiparticle mitigation techniques.

Speaker: Eli Levenson-Falk, University of Southern California

Attend in person or online

Stanford Energy Seminar: Vivas Kumar - Livestream - 01/24/2022 04:00 PM
Stanford Energy Seminar

Vivas Kumar is CEO and founder of Mitra Chem, which is the first lithium-ion battery materials manufacturer focused on shortening the lab-to-production timeline by over 90%, addressing the largest barrier to innovation: R&D and scale-up speed. Vivas received his MBA for Stanford University.

Livestream here.

Fertile grounds for agricultural resilience: Harnessing multiple interactions in agroecosystems - 01/24/2022 04:00 PM
James H. Clark Center (Bldg 340) Stanford

Dr. Aidee Guzman is interested in agroecological approaches that could harness biodiversity and ecosystem functioning for improved agricultural resilience. She is currently an NSF and UC Chancellor's Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at UC Irvine. Previously, she completed her PhD in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management at UC Berkeley. She studies how agricultural management impacts biotic interactions (e.g. between plants, insects, and microbes) across scales (e.g. shifts in community structure, cascading changes in ecosystem functioning). Her interdisciplinary research program also includes extensive collaborations with social scientists to examine the socio-political drivers and barriers inherent within agricultural systems. The overall goal of her research is to support farmers - especially those who are historically underserved - through research, education, and outreach that builds on their innovations and demonstrates ecological pathways to agricultural resilience.

Editor's Note: As we list this, Stanford is listing this event for 4 AM, which is most likely a mistake. We're listing it for 4 PM, the same time as other Biology Series lectures.

UC Berkeley Physics Colloquia - Livestream - 01/24/2022 04:15 PM
UC Berkeley

Speaker: Hernan Garcia, University of California Berkeley

See weblink for Zoom information

Climate Futures: Beyond 02022 - 01/24/2022 07:00 PM
Cowell Theater San Francisco

Long Now continues our dialog with the acclaimed writer Kim Stanley Robinson around COP26 and his most recent book The Ministry for the Future. Tickets for the in-person talk in San Francisco & RSVP for the livestream will be released to Long Now Members first, about one month before the talk. You can find our other talks with Kim Stanley Robinson on our YouTube channel.

Attend in person or online.

Tuesday, 01/25/2022

Geomechanical Issues Affecting Long-Term Storage of CO2 - Livestream - 01/25/2022 12:00 PM
Stanford University

Death to DAMA? Designing and assessing model independent tests of DAMA's modulation signal - Livestream - 01/25/2022 03:00 PM
SLAC Special Seminar

Investigating the redox conditions contributing to organic matter burial in the geologic record - 01/25/2022 03:30 PM
Natural Science Annex Santa Cruz

Partial Perspectives and Situated Knowledges: Radical Objectivity using Computational Methods - Livestream - 01/25/2022 04:00 PM
UC Berkeley

Phytoplankton: Why these tiny 'plants' are a big deal - Livestream - 01/25/2022 06:00 PM
Seymour Science Center

Whale Conservation on the US West Coast: Decreasing the Risk of Deadly Ship Strikes - Livestream - 01/25/2022 07:00 PM
American Cetacean Society

Wednesday, 01/26/2022

January LASER Event - Livestream - 01/26/2022 12:00 PM
LASER Leonardo Art Science Evening Rendezvous

Science on Tap - Improving Groundwater Supply and Quality in California: Challenges and Opportunities - 01/26/2022 07:00 PM
Museum of Art and History Santa Cruz

Thursday, 01/27/2022

Can ag-tech support organic farming? A political economy perspective - Livestream - 01/27/2022 03:00 PM
UC Santa Cruz

Species Here, Species There, and Species, Species Everywhere - Livestream - 01/27/2022 06:00 PM
US Geological Survey Public Lecture Series

Fungus Among Us NightLife - 01/27/2022 06:00 PM
California Academy of Sciences San Francisco

How Technology Shapes Our Thinking and Decisions - 01/27/2022 06:00 PM
Commonwealth Club San Francisco

Friday, 01/28/2022

Simulations of Dust Thermal Processing in Space inside of an Electron Microscope - 01/28/2022 12:00 PM
Earth and Marine Sciences Building Santa Cruz

Chemical Recycling of Mechanically Robust Polyacetals Synthesized by Living Cationic Ring-Opening Polymerization - 01/28/2022 02:00 PM
LeConte Hall, Rm 4 Berkeley

The Future of Mental Health Apps - 01/28/2022 06:00 PM
SF Health Tech San Francisco

Free Telescope Viewings - 01/28/2022 07:30 PM
Chabot Space and Science Center Oakland

Saturday, 01/29/2022

Science Saturdays - Amazing Migrations - 01/29/2022 10:00 AM
Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History

Urban Hikes: Visitacion Valley and Little Hollywood - 01/29/2022 12:00 PM
Shaping San Francisco

Free Telescope Viewings - 01/29/2022 07:30 PM
Chabot Space and Science Center Oakland

Monday, 01/31/2022

Butterflies - Livestream - 01/31/2022 12:00 PM
Sonoma State Biology Colloquium

Symbolic Systems Forum - Livestream - 01/31/2022 12:15 PM
Stanford Symbolic Systems Forum

UC Berkeley Condensed Matter Physics Seminar - Livestream - 01/31/2022 02:30 PM
UC Berkeley Condensed Matter Physics Seminar

Stanford Energy Seminar: Alex Grant - Livestream - 01/31/2022 04:00 PM
Stanford Energy Seminar

The future of our forests in a rapidly changing world - 01/31/2022 04:00 PM
James H. Clark Center (Bldg 340) Stanford