Hello Science and Rain fans!
What an amazing change in the weather in just a few weeks. The real climate change problems are not what was predicted 50 years ago for global warming. It’s a lot more complicated! Another thing to note is that there have been a lot of very cold swings in temperature that have been happening around the world. Right now I’m thankful that I got to see a bit of rain last night and today. Here’s a wealth of good reading Climate Truths: The big picture
As I mentioned last week, Einstein was in the news a lot 100 years ago. Back in the day… “talkies” weren’t in use yet, so what would a movie about relativity look like? How about this… Einstein’s Theory of Relativity Explained. In 1941, when talkies were common, Einstein recorded “The Common Language of Science”. I hope some of you were able to see Einstein! Celebrating 100 Years of General Relativity at Lick Observatory or one of the UC campuses, I really enjoyed it. The celebration of Einstein will continue for another couple of months at the explOratorium. This Thu evening (and running through Nov 27) Einstein Was Right will be on exhibit. It will include some amazing items including one of the glass plate negatives made in 1922 that was used to verify that Einstein was right. The After Dark talk at 8:00 will be a fascinating view of what science was like 100 years ago and how hard it was to “prove” the general theory of relativity. ( Note: That’s not all that will be interesting on the Pier!) Did you know that Einstein and Charlie Chaplin were friends?
Just a quick mention of NASA here. They do really hard and dangerous stuff. Rarely does it start out smoothly. Artemis 1 is an example of doing something really hard. But some of the successes are astounding. Consider that the little helicopter named Ingenuity sort of had a warranty for 5 flights has now flown 30 times!
As long as I’m mentioning things above the ground… Have you ever wondered how ants get in to your house? They are amazing little beasts who really inspired one of the great biologists of our time.
For me science is what inspires. I hope that you will be inspired by one or more of these (or the many more on our calendar)…
What a Mushroom Lives For: Matsutake and the Worlds They Make Tue @ 7:00 (online)
September LASER Event Wed @ 6:30 @ Stanford
Making Science Count: Lessons from an Accidental Marine Scientist Thu @ 5:00 (online)
You Can be Powered by ShakeAlert - Earthquake Early Warning for All Thu @ 6:00 (online)
Family Science Day at College of San Mateo Sat @ noon @ CSM
Our listings are really oriented at short single presentations. Some things come up though that you really need to know about even if they don’t fit our calendar format very well. Everyday Astronomy: Orienting Yourself in Space, Time, and the Sky is one of those items. If you’ve never taken a class from Professor Fraknoi you have been missing a lot of what’s over your head! Go ahead, sign up for it, you won’t regret it. It will be some of the most informative lunches you’ve ever had!
Sometimes we forget or never learned some of the odd things about how we got to where we are today with science. Have you ever thought of how chemistry became what it is today? Alchemy used to be believed to be how the world worked. It has little similarity to chemistry as we know it today Pb to Au! Sort of like homeopathy and medicine! You have to love the symbols though!
Have an amazing week learning about how the universe works!
herb masters
Einstein: "What I most admire about your art, is your universality. You don’t say a word, yet the world understands you!"
Chaplin: "True. But your glory is even greater! The whole world admires you, even though they don’t understand a word of what you say."
Upcoming Events:
Click to see the next two weeks of events in your browser.
Monday, 09/19/2022
Cosmology and astrophysics with the extragalactic light: background and fluctuations - 09/19/2022 11:00 AM
Varian Physics Building Stanford
The aggregate light emitted by all extragalactic sources can be measured either as an absolute intensity or through its spatial fluctuations; these are known as line-intensity mapping (LIM) when a particular line transition is targeted. I will discuss how these measurements can be used both to learn about galaxy evolution and to investigate the presence of more speculative sources of radiation, such as decaying dark matter. I will also discuss the prospects of LIM as a probe of large-scale structure in a multi-tracer context, focusing on the joint information across different line transitions and across different tracers, such as galaxies and extragalactic CMB foregrounds.
Speaker: Gabriela Sato-Polito, Johns Hopkins University
Sonoma State University Biology Colloquium - Rescheduled - 09/19/2022 12:00 PM
Sonoma State Biology Colloquium
Speaker: Dr. Alyssa R. Frederick , UC Davis Bodega Marine Lab.
This speaker has been rescheduled to September 26.
Foothill Yellow Legged Frog Conservation Biology - 09/19/2022 12:00 PM
Sonoma State University - Biology Colloquium Rohnert Park
This speaker was originally scheduled for September 26, 2022.
Speaker: Dr. Sarah Kupferberg, UC Berkeley
Van Hove charge density waves on hexagonal lattices and kagome superconductors - 09/19/2022 02:30 PM
Physics South, Room 325 Berkeley
I show that the charge density waves (CDWs) can realize a host of unconventional phenomena at the Van Hove singularity on the hexagonal lattices, especially in the recently uncovered kagome metals AV3Sb5 with A = K, Rb, and Cs. According to a renormalization group analysis, the imaginary CDW can develop as a leading instability and realize a chiral-flux Chern insulator. The interplay of real and imaginary CDWs further establishes a Haldane-model phase diagram, where the Chern insulator phase explains the time-reversal symmetry breaking CDW in the kagome metals AV3Sb5. Meanwhile, the real CDW can host the in-gap corner states with fractional corner charges. Finally, I discuss the onset of multidome child superconductivity in the parent CDW.
Speaker: Yu-Ping Lin
See weblink for Zoom information.
How hard is it to predict quantum behavior? And, how physicists work on nuclear threat reduction. - 09/19/2022 04:00 PM
Sonoma State University - What Physicists Do Rohnert Park
Quantum systems are notoriously unpredictable. Whether Schrödinger’s cat will end up dead or alive is as unpredictable as a coin flip. On the other hand, if you don’t go in and measure things, quantum systems evolve in an apparently very simple way, according to the Schrödinger equation. This apparent simplicity hides the potential for enormous complexity in the relationships between subsystems and how those relationships evolve in time. The complexity of a subsystem and its relation to the whole can be quantified in a variety of ways. I’ll describe some of them currently in use, including the entanglement entropy and the quantum circuit complexity. Then, I’ll present a new quantity that I’m working on, called the local quantum complexity, and how it may be applied to some example systems. I’ll also explain how this work is motivated by the strange fact that black holes are the simplest objects in nature, at large scales, while possibly also the most complex, at microscopic scales. In the last part of my talk, I’ll talk about something completely different: my work with the Physicists’ Coalition for Nuclear Threat Reduction.
Speaker: Curtis Asplund, San Jose State University
Cosmology: What we know, what we don’t know and what we don’t know we don’t know - 09/19/2022 04:15 PM
Physics North Berkeley
For most of the last century cosmology was the province of astronomers (mostly in California) and concerned itself with galaxies in an expanding universe. Beginning around 1980, ideas from particle physics began to enter cosmology, focussed on events that took place during the first microsecond. Circa 2000, with the discovery of cosmic acceleration/dark energy and precision measurements of CMB anisotropy the current paradigm - LambdaCDM emerged, revealing deep connections between particle physics and cosmology. According to LCDM, the gravity of particle dark matter holds all structures together, the repulsive gravity of dark energy is speeding up the expansion and the quantum seeds for galaxies arose during a very early burst of accelerated expansion (inflation). Cosmology solved? Not exactly, we have no direct evidence for the dark matter particle; we don’t understand dark energy; and have no standard model for inflation (or evidence to support it). And our aspirations are even higher. Great time to be a cosmologist.
Speaker: Michael Turner, University of Chicago
The Bird Genoscape Project: Harnessing the Power of Genomics for Migratory Bird Conservation - Livestream - 09/19/2022 06:00 PM
San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory
Most populations of migratory birds are now threatened. It is estimated that the populations of 1 out of every 2 songbirds are declining in the Western Hemisphere with impacts predicted to worsen with climate change. However, because migratory birds have breeding, migratory, and wintering areas and may move vast distances between them, understanding where the steepest population declines are occurring has been difficult or impossible. Join us for a presentation by Dr. Kristen Ruegg to learn about her work to address this critical issue as part of The Bird Genoscape Project - an effort to bring together scientists from across the Western Hemisphere to map the migratory routes of migratory songbirds using genomics.
This event was originally scheduled for August 25.
Register at weblink to receive connection information
Science from Across the Solar System and Beyond: NASA’s Deep Space Network - Livestream - 09/19/2022 06:00 PM
Astronomical Society of the Pacific
Nearly every image of another planet that was taken by a NASA spacecraft has been transmitted to us through one or more antennas of NASA’s Deep Space Network (DSN). For almost the past 60 years, the DSN has been guiding spacecraft to their destinations across the Solar System, sending them commands for actions to take upon reaching their destinations, and receiving the data back from them. Moreover, the DSN is a science instrument in its own right. In this Webinar, I will review what the DSN is, how it enables NASA missions throughout the Solar System and beyond, and illustrate some of the scientific measurements that it makes on its own.
Speaker: Joseph Lazio, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
See weblink for connection options
Tuesday, 09/20/2022
Impacts of Fire on Reptiles and Amphibians in Sonoma County - Livestream - 09/20/2022 10:00 AM
Audubon Canyon Ranch
How are amphibians and reptiles, known collectively as herpetofauna, impacted by fire? Some species may be particularly vulnerable to negative impacts from fire due to their relatively low dispersal abilities compared with other groups of animals. In order to effectively plan prescribed burns and prioritize mitigation for potential wildfires, ecologists and land managers must understand the responses of local flora and fauna to fire. In this presentation, we will learn from biologist Julianne Bradbury, about her pre- and post-fire research surveying herpetofauna at Pepperwood Preserve in northeastern Sonoma County. Plywood coverboards arranged in grassland and mixed oak-conifer forest habitats adjacent to seasonal ponds were surveyed for two years prior to and two years following the 2017 Tubb’s wildfire event at Pepperwood. Join us to learn about Julianne’s findings, and how this research can help better inform land stewardship practices to support a healthy population of reptiles and amphibians living with wildfire.
Speaker: Julianne Bradbury, Audubon Canyon Ranch
Weekday Morning Hike at Rancho Cañada del Oro - 09/20/2022 10:00 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.
The Biggest Ideas: Space, Time, & Motion - Livestream - 09/20/2022 03:00 PM
Commonwealth Club - Online Event
Physicists do their best to discover the deepest rules of reality. Renowned physicist and author Sean Carroll - formerly at Caltech, now at Johns Hopkins - has just published the first of three books on The Biggest Ideas in the Universe for the physicist in each of us. In this Commonwealth Club interview, Prof. Carroll will focus on how the most basic concepts in nature (space, time, and motion) allow us to build a coherent sense of physical reality - and how they can lead us to newfound wonder.
Use discount code Wonderfest22 at registration to get free admission
Understanding and controlling new phases of matter using ultrafast probes - 09/20/2022 04:00 PM
Physics North Berkeley
When a material absorbs the energy of a photon, individual electrons within itsstructure can change in a myriad of ways, resulting in macroscopic changes to the material’s properties and generating new out-of-equilibrium phases. Many emerging phenomena in quantum materials stem from competing ground states in different, often coupled, degrees of freedom in a material. In such cases, optical excitation can enable well-controlled design of material properties transiently by tipping the balance between competing ground states in a well-defined fashion. Likewise, charge transfer processes at interfaces are most essential for chemical processes such as in photocatalysis or batteries. Understanding the material chemistry and dynamics at a molecular level is of striking importance for a wide array of current challenges, such as clean water production, carbon dioxide capture, understanding the behavior of plastics in water, clean energy production by photocatalysis, designing ultra-low power electronic devices, and energy storage in next generation batteries. In our group we develop and apply novel ultrafast spectroscopic methods that allow us to study materials chemistry in complex chemical environments, and to study and control quantum phenomena and materials chemistry on femtosecond timescales. In this seminar, I will discuss a recent stream of research focused on the role of lithium in various systems from its contribution to symmetry breaking (LiNbO 3 ), to an exotic quantum material (polar metal LiOsO 3 ), to unraveling why lithium ions exhibit a lower hopping rate at the surface of a solid-state electrolyte (Li x La (2-x)/3 TiO3) as compared to bulk. In another stream of research, we solved a 40-year-old puzzle regarding the relation between the intrinsic exciton condensate and a charge-density wave (CDW) that coexist in a single material, the layered excitonic insulator (1T- TiSe 2 ). In this material, we demonstrate that by melting the exciton condensate abruptly using femtosecond laser pulses, we can collapse the CDW from a 3D coordination into 2D planes in a controlled and fully reversible fashion. This is an exquisite example of how adapted probes can guide discovery to control the state of matter with the coordinate time as new degree of freedom.
Speaker: Michael Zuerch, UC Berkeley
What a Mushroom Lives For: Matsutake and the Worlds They Make - Livestream - 09/20/2022 07:00 PM
Mycological Society of San Francisco
In this talk, Michael will provide an introduction to his latest book, What a Mushroom Lives For: Matsutake and the Worlds They Make, which was just published by Princeton University Press. For this fungi-versed and fungi-loving audience of the San Francisco Mycological Society, he will explore how we might think of mushrooms as lively beings.
While much of the scientific literature describes their lives in mechanistic ways, Michael suggests that fungi are actively encountering and engaging with the world. Influenced by important thinkers such as the Potawatomi scientist, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Michael shows how we better understand fungi as perceiving and interpreting beings that are shaping the world through their everyday actions. Such a vision, he contends, might help us more beyond our tendencies towards seeing our fellow kin as resources, as utilitarian objects for the plate or for profit and to dethrone the idea of humans as fundamentally and qualitatively different from all other living beings.
Speaker: Michael Hathaway
See weblink for connection information
Wednesday, 09/21/2022
When Do Local Governments Use Tech To Improve Transparency? The Case of California Transit - Livestream - 09/21/2022 12:00 PM
CITRIS Research Exchange
Transparency reforms instituting sunshine laws and open public meetings have been actively promoted in recent decades as means of keeping elected officials and bureaucrats more accountable to the public. Advances in communication technologies have enabled a new generation of such transparency-enhancing reforms and practices - including open data portals, posting program information online and security alert systems. Under what circumstances do local governments adopt such technologies? This talk investigates this question by examining patterns of adoption and utilization of one technology - online scheduling information for public transit - for a comprehensive set of local transit providers in California, drawing on original, webscraped data.
Speaker: Alison Post, UC Berkeley
Register at weblink to attend.
September LASER Event - 09/21/2022 06:30 PM
LASER Leonardo Art Science Evening Rendezvous StanfordTBA(affiliation) on "TBA"Abstract forthcoming...Read moreSuyash Joshi(Engineer and Magician) on "S.T.E.A.M. Magic for Education & Entertainment"Magic tricks and illusions using science and emerging technologies...Read moreBREAK. Before or after the break, anyone in the audience currently working within the intersections of art and science will have 30 seconds to share their work. Please present your work as a teaser so that those who are interested can seek you out during social time following the event.Marjorie Perloff(Stanford) on "Infrathin: An Experiment in Micropoetics"The “infrathin” was Marcel Duchamp’s playful name for the most minute shade of difference...Read moreJulia Scott(Healthcare Innovation and Design Program at Santa Clara Univ) on "Biofeedback Integration into immersive Virtual Reality Experiences: Balancing creativity and rigor"Abstract forthcoming...Read more
Attend in person or possibly online.
LiKaShing Building, Room LK101
Searching for Black Holes in the Milky Way - Livestream - 09/21/2022 07:00 PM
San Francisco Amateur Astronomers
The population of black holes left over from dead stars in the Milky Way is almost entirely unexplored. Only two dozen black holes are confidently known in our galaxy - all in binaries. As a result, many basic properties of black holes remain uncertain at the order of magnitude level, including the total number of black holes in the Milky Way, their masses, the fraction in binary systems, and whether black holes receive kicks at birth.
To understand these properties, we need to find and study a larger population of black holes, both in isolation and in binary systems. Gravitational lensing is opening a new window onto black holes, and the first free-floating black holes are now being discovered. Dr. Lu will present results from the search for black holes today and describe how the known number of black holes will increase 100x over the next decade.
See weblink for Zoom information
Cutting Edge Research on Elephant Seals at Año Nuevo Reserve - 09/21/2022 07:30 PM
Marin Science Seminar San Rafael
Speaker: Allison Payne, UC Santa Cruz
Thursday, 09/22/2022
Social Media and the Havoc on Our Minds - Livestream - 09/22/2022 03:00 PM
Commonwealth Club - Online Event
Do we really understand the reach and impact that social media has on our lives? We all have a vague sense that social media can be bad for our minds, for our children, and for our democracies. Yet that doesn't stop us from constantly using it.
New York Times investigative reporter Max Fisher looks at how Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and other social networks drive everyday users to extreme opinions and, increasingly, extreme actions.
Fisher tracks the evolution of free speech to hate speech and its spillover into violence - that first festered in far-off locales to their dark culmination in America during the pandemic, the 2020 election, and the Capitol insurrection. He also addresses the cultural shift in which people are polarized not by beliefs based on facts, but by misinformation, outrage and fear.
Hear more about the influence that social media has and how it isn’t just changing our lives, but the world.
Speaker: Max Fisher, New York Times; DJ Patil, Commonwealth Club, Moderator
Making Science Count: Lessons from an Accidental Marine Scientist - Livestream - 09/22/2022 05:00 PM
Cafe Scientifique Silicon Valley
The Coral Triangle is the most diverse marine ecosystem on the planet, and among the most threatened. Through application of genetics, genomics, geology and oceanographic modeling, we explore the origins of this biodiversity hotspot, providing important data to support conservation efforts in this region. Importantly, we collect this data through educational programs focused on building science capacity, and increasing diversity in marine science, making marine science more inclusive and developing the next generation of leaders focused on advancing marine sustainability.
Speaker: Paul Barber, UC Los Angeles
Register at weblink to receive connection information
NightLife - 09/22/2022 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.
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+.
You Can be Powered by ShakeAlert - Earthquake Early Warning for All - Livestream - 09/22/2022 06:00 PM
US Geological Survey Public Lecture Series
Did you know 50 million+ people in Washington, Oregon, and California now have access to ShakeAlert - powered earthquake early warning alerts? The ShakeAlert System is a people-focused earthquake early warning system - optimizing how humans interact with it helps people live more safely and thrive in earthquake country.Learn about this new tool that anyone can add to their earthquake preparedness toolbox.
Speaker: Robert-Michael de Groot, USGS
After Dark: Evidence - 09/22/2022 06:00 PM
ExplOratorium San Francisco
Is seeing believing? Data and observation begin to tell scientific stories, but it takes a keen interpreter to make sense of the evidence at hand. Tonight, get curious about how we know what we know. Join us for the opening of the temporary exhibition Einstein Was Right, which explores how Lick Observatory proved Einstein’s theory of relativity using a total solar eclipse. And commemorate the day the world was saved from nuclear annihilation thanks to a good understanding of bad data.
Gravity Fails?! With Zeke Kossover7:00, 8:00, and 9:00 p.m. Gallery 2
The Dirty Development of Hunters Point With Dr. Ahimsa Porter Sumchai7:30 p.m. Osher Gallery 1, Kanbar Forum
Einstein Was Right! With Tony Misch and Jeffery Crelinsten8:00 p.m. Fisher Bay Observatory Gallery 6
Petrov Day, or the Day the World Almost Ended With Jord Liu8:30 p.m. Osher Gallery 1, Kanbar Forum
Birds and Ohlone’s Past, Present, and Future - Livestream - 09/22/2022 07:00 PM
Golden Gate Audubon Society
Gregg Castro and Beverly R. Ortiz will share with you the significance of birds in the cultural, material, and spiritual lives of Ohlones past, present, and future. They’ll also describe how Ohlone land management practices increased the numbers and health of the birds on which Ohlones relied.
See weblink for Zoom information
Friday, 09/23/2022
From potential contamination of individuals with radioactive fission products after a nuclear accident to the therapeutic use of radio-isotopes for cancer diagnostics and treatment, the coordination and biological chemistry of actinides have become increasingly relevant to a number of applied problems. Understanding the fundamental bonding interactions of selective metal assemblies presents a rich set of scientific challenges and is critical to the characterization of f-element coordination chemistry in environmentally and biologically relevant species, and to the development of highly efficient separation reagents or new therapeutic agents. Our approach to these challenges uses a combination of biochemical and spectroscopic studies on both in vitro and in vivo systems to characterize the selective binding of f-block metal ions by natural and biomimetic hard oxygen-donor architectures and the subsequent macromolecular recognition of the resulting assemblies. Luminescence sensitization, UV-Visible, X-ray absorption, and X-ray diffraction spectroscopic techniques as well as transmission electron microscopy and electron energy loss spectroscopy allow us to tune specific actinide coordination features by ligands that drive the differentiation of different metals through stabilization in specific oxidation states and provide information on their respective electronic structures. These studies will be discussed with a focus on emerging applications in separation, isotope production, and medicine.
Speaker: Rebecca Abergel, UC Berkeley
Design Principles for Metalloprotein Chemistry - 09/23/2022 04:00 PM
LeConte Hall, Rm 1 Berkeley
Metalloproteins catalyze some of Nature’s most amazing and difficult chemical transformations. One such transformation, of interest to our laboratory, is the use of a high valent Fe-based oxidant to facilitate the functionalization of a traditionally inert C-H bond. Since this chemistry is vital to a variety of biochemical pathways, metalloproteins are recognized for their potential to build natural products with medical, environmental, and industrial relevance, and to degrade environmental contaminants. However, the practical applicability of metalloproteins, in many cases, is limited by a gap in knowledge regarding structure-function relationships. Within our broad interests of elucidating the structure and mechanism of understudied metalloproteins, I will highlight our work on the Rieske Oxygenases. I will showcase our progress toward identifying the architectural motifs that Rieske oxygenases employ to dictate site-selectivity, substrate specificity, and reaction outcome in different enzyme systems. Furthermore, I will detail our mechanistic work on a divergent Rieske oxygenase that catalyzes two iterative monooxygenation reactions. Collectively, this work adds to our fundamental understanding of Rieske oxygenase chemistry, provides predictive power for thinking about how other members of the 70,000-membered enzyme class can be custom-tuned to catalyze alternative reactions, and will facilitate rational engineering of these catalysts.
Speaker: Jennifer Bridwell-Rabb, University of Michigan
Sunset Science: Mysteries of Deep Space - 09/23/2022 06:00 PM
Chabot Space and Science Center Oakland
Enjoy an autumn night with a festive gathering for the whole family that will explore the deepest regions of our universe in our family friendly program followed by telescope viewing on our observation deck. Engage in hands on activities that explore nebulas, galaxies, star formations and black holes and learn how scientist peer into deep space and make meaning of what they find. Beer, Wine, and concessions will be available.
Astro 101: Sights of the Cosmos, Intro to Astronomy - 09/23/2022 06:30 PM
San Jose Astronomical Association San Jose
This event provides a different introduction to astronomy than our Intro to the Night Sky talks. During this hour, you'll gain an appreciation for the size and scale of the cosmos and our place within it. You'll see many examples of the beautiful objects visible in the night sky, learn something about how we see them through our telescopes and what we can deduce about them through the light they send us. And then you can make your own prediction of whether we're alone in the universe.
This talk is free of charge. Just come and enjoy the show. After the talk, you can check out telescopes that will be set up as part of our In-Town Star Party. (See In Town Star Party event on Meetup
The talk will be presented by Wolf Witt.
Saturday, 09/24/2022
Family Nature Walks - Foothills Nature Preserve - 09/24/2022 10:00 AM
Foothills Nature Preserve Los Altos
Environmental Volunteers’ Family Nature Walks program is designed to help students and their families get to know our local open space areas. Small family groups will be guided by a knowledgeable environmental educator during an exploration of a local open space. These small groups will be introduced to fun nature-based activities, and a chance to learn more about the plants and animals all around us. Join us for some fun, outdoor learning!
Each group will have a maximum limit of 12 participants.
Families/groups are welcome to sign up for as many as they like. The nature walks are intended for children aged 6 to 11, and we ask that each group is accompanied by an adult.
Family Science Day at College of San Mateo - 09/24/2022 12:00 PM
College of San Mateo San Mateo
Event Schedule:
12:00 - 6:00 PM: Science Workshops and planetarium shows in Science Building 36. Science demonstrations by CSM faculty; astronomy workshops by SMCAS, SLAC, and KIPAC; planetarium shows, telescopic observation of celestial bodies, and much more!
1:00 - 4:00 PM: Makerspace. The CSM Makerspace welcomes you to our free, drop-in crafting and tinkering workshops. Join us for hands-on projects and skill-sharing in electronics, crafts, media, and more! Science Building 36.
7:00 PM: Keynote Lecture. NASA’s Greatest Observatory and its Great Science!The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is the most complex and powerful astronomical space observatory ever built. It launched on Christmas Day in 2021 and has recently been commissioned in its final orbit in the Sun - Earth system. The large 6.5-meter diameter JWST primary mirror and its infrared instruments will allow it to see some of the very first luminous objects that formed in the Universe shortly after the Big Bang. Other major science themes of JWST encompass studying the assembly of galaxies, the birth of stars and planetary systems, and planetary systems and the origins of life. Speaker: Thomas Green, NASA Ames Research. Theater Building 3
8:45 PM: Reception, Theater Building 3 Lobby
9:15 - 11: 00 PM. Telescopic Observations (Jazz under the Stars). Building 36
Sharktoberfest Movie Night! - 09/24/2022 05:30 PM
Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary San Francisco
Learn about the latest shark research and visit outdoor booths of shark experts, artists, and conservationists. Enjoy beverages, popcorn, a food truck and live music. Bring a low-back chair for the outdoor screening of shark films that will start promptly at 7:30 pm. Don't forget layered clothing, weather can be variable in the evening.
Register to get a free shark poster at the event
Event Schedule:
5:30 pm: All art and science shark stations are open, food truck and refreshments available
5:30 - 7:15 pm: Live Music - Ukulele Friends
7:30 pm: Featured Shark Films:
Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary Shark Research (1:26 mins.)Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary Remoras & Manta Rays (1:27 mins.)Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary Basking Shark (1:41 mins.)New International Ocean Film Festival Trailer (2:00 mins.)Great White Lego Movie (3:00 mins.)Blue Serengeti (42 mins.)
Jazz Under the Stars - 09/24/2022 09:00 PM
College of San Mateo Bldg 36 San Mateo
Jazz Under the Stars is amonthly public stargazing event! Join us on the 4th floor planetarium for a night of smooth jazz, bright stars, and a lot of fun! We play our jazz from CSM's own KCSM 91.1. Founded in 1964, KCSM has grown to become one of the top 35 most listened to non-commercial stations in the US. With their help, the Astronomy department at CSM opens its observatory doors and balcony, for a night of science and fun! We operate for public viewing four 8” dobsonian telescopes, prefect for viewing the planets Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. We also have a 140mm refractor, with which we view the craters on the moon. Finally, our 8’ schmidt-cassegrain is for our deep sky needs. It can peer deep into globular clusters, and nebulae! Our astronomers will also be available for questions and conversation, which you wouldn’t get anywhere else! Feel free to ask us your questions about the cosmos. Occasionally we even have the chance to image galaxies! Don't miss out, join us at our next Jazz Under the Stars!!
See weblink for additional details
Monday, 09/26/2022
Foothill Yellow Legged Frog Conservation Biology - Rescheduled - 09/26/2022 12:00 PM
Sonoma State University - Biology Colloquium Rohnert Park
This speaker has been rescheduled for September 19, 2022.
Speaker: Dr. Sarah Kupferberg, UC Berkeley
Sonoma State University Biology Colloquium - Livestream - 09/26/2022 12:00 PM
Sonoma State Biology Colloquium
Speaker: Dr. Alyssa R. Frederick , UC Davis Bodega Marine Lab.
This speaker was originally scheduled for September 19.
UC Berkeley Condensed Matter Physics Seminar - 09/26/2022 02:30 PM
Physics South, Room 325 Berkeley
Speaker: TBA
See weblink for Zoom information.
DART: Can We Change an Asteroid’s Course and Save Planet Earth? - 09/26/2022 02:30 PM
SETI Institute
NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or DART, is the world’s first full-scale planetary defense test, demonstrating one method of asteroid deflection technology. True to its name, DART is a focused mission to prove whether a spacecraft can autonomously navigate to a target asteroid, intentionally collide with it and protect Earth from a potential asteroid impact.
The mission target, which poses no threat to Earth, is the asteroid moonlet Dimorphos (Greek for “two forms”), which orbits a larger asteroid named Didymos (Greek for “twin”).
Join SETI Institute Senior Astronomer Franck Marchis and Beth Johnson for a special SETI Talks with scientists involved in the mission or planetary defense at large. We will follow the spacecraft as it approaches its target, learn about the navigation system from JPL and APL engineers and scientists, see how astronomers around the world will watch the impact using other facilities and discuss why it matters. Finally, we will collaborate with Unistellar citizen astronomers live from Reunion Island to watch the impact and see if any aftermath is detected.
Our guests will include:
Dr. Larry Denneau, ATLAS Co-PI and Senior Software Engineer at the Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawai'iDr. Julie Bellerose, DART Navigation Team Chief at NASA Jet Propulsion LaboratoryDr. Amanda Sickafoose, Planetary Science InstituteDr. Nicolas Erasmus, Planetary Science InstituteDr. Michael Busch, SETI Institute research scientistDr. Andrew Chen, chief scientist at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics LaboratoryDr. Jian-Yang Li, Planetary Science InstituteDr. Ryan Lambert, SETI InstitutePatrice Huet, Unistellar NetworkDr. Joe Masiero, Caltech/IPAC
Schedule:
2:30-2:40pm PDT
Welcome and introduction
2:40-3:00pm PDT
Larry Denneau
Introduction to near-Earth asteroids and ATLAS Julie Bellerose - DART navigation, sequence of events
3:00pm-3:20pm PDT
Alex Meyer (Colorado University) - post-impact dynamics what can we expect. Amanda Sickafoose & Nic Erasmus (from SA)
3:20-3:40pm PDT
Michael Busch - What do we know from RADAR ops? Andy Cheng - “Why Dart?” and reveal of first image of Dimorphos
3:40-4:00pm PDT
Jian-Yang Li - HST observations of the DART impact, as well as other planned observations of the ejecta Ryan Lambert
4:00-4:20pm PDT
Impact live (NASA feed + Reunion Island feed) - Impact! Patrice Huet and more observers in Reunion Island Joe Masiero - NEOWISE and NEO Surveyor
4:20-4:40pm PDT
Wrap up with all scientists
Observing Dark Matter in the Wild - 09/26/2022 04:00 PM
Sonoma State University - What Physicists Do Rohnert Park
Speaker: David Wittman, UC Davis
UC Berkeley Physics Colloquia - 09/26/2022 04:15 PM
UC Berkeley
Speaker: TBA
See weblink for Zoom information. In person attendance TBD.
A new neural network for optimal time series processing - Livestream - 09/26/2022 07:00 PM
SF Bay Association of Computing Machinery
We have recently discovered a new kind of neural network, called a Legendre Memory Unit (LMU) that is provably optimal for compressing streaming time series data. In this talk, I describe this network, and a variety of state-of-the-art results that have been set using the LMU. I will include recent results on speech and language applications that demonstrate significant improvements over transformers. I will also describe the new ASIC design we have developed to implement this architecture directly in hardware, enabling new large-scale functionality at extremely low power and latency.
Register at weblink to attend
Speaker: Chris Eliasmith, Applied Brain Research
Tuesday, 09/27/2022
Opportunities and Incentives to Enhance California's Groundwater Supplies and Improve Water Quality - 09/27/2022 03:30 PM
Natural Science Annex Santa Cruz
Ecology is Written in the Symphony of Baleen Whales - Livestream - 09/27/2022 07:00 PM
American Cetacean Society
How the Universe Ends - 09/27/2022 07:00 PM
Dinkelspiel Auditorium Stanford
Wonderfest: The Mathematics of Language - Rescheduled - 09/27/2022 07:00 PM
Hopmonk Tavern Novato
Wonderfest: Seeking Climate Clarity - 09/27/2022 07:00 PM
Hopmonk Tavern Novato
Wednesday, 09/28/2022
Greater Than the Sum of Their Parts: Deceiving Assumptions in Analyzing Complex Human-environment Systems - Livestream - 09/28/2022 12:00 PM
CITRIS Research Exchange
Cocktails and Conservation: Oakland's Official Bird - 09/28/2022 06:00 PM
Rocky's Market Brooklyn Basin Oakland
Video Games, The Metaverse and the Future of Science Education - 09/28/2022 07:30 PM
Marin Science Seminar San Rafael
A big passion for 'little animals' - 09/28/2022 07:30 PM
Museum of Art and History Santa Cruz
Thursday, 09/29/2022
The ToNightLife Show Starring BigPicture - 09/29/2022 06:00 PM
California Academy of Sciences San Francisco
After Dark: See for Yourself - 09/29/2022 06:00 PM
ExplOratorium San Francisco
Friday, 09/30/2022
Engineering Polymeric Materials to Study Cancer Dynamics - 09/30/2022 02:00 PM
Tan Hall Berkeley
Saturday, 10/01/2022
Tinkerfest - 10/01/2022 10:00 AM
Chabot Space and Science Center Oakland
An Astronomical Perspective on Globular Clusters, Planet Earth, and the Climate Crisis - Livestream - 10/01/2022 07:30 PM
Mt. Tam Astronomy
Jazz Under the Stars - 10/01/2022 07:30 PM
College of San Mateo Bldg 36 San Mateo
Monday, 10/03/2022
Chromosome Segregation in Oocytes is Optimized During Sexual Maturation - 10/03/2022 12:00 PM
Sonoma State University - Biology Colloquium Rohnert Park
UC Berkeley Condensed Matter Physics Seminar - 10/03/2022 02:30 PM
Physics South, Room 325 Berkeley
Layer by Layer: Adventures in Thin Films - 10/03/2022 04:00 PM
Sonoma State University - What Physicists Do Rohnert Park
UC Berkeley Physics Colloquia - 10/03/2022 04:15 PM
UC Berkeley
Science, Exploration and the Human Experience - 10/03/2022 07:30 PM
California Academy of Sciences San Francisco