SciSchmoozing Extinction & Life
Thank you, dear reader, for joining us again and for your kind comments.
Christmas Island Rat, Wooly Mammoth, Passenger Pigeon, Thylacine (a marsupial: carries newborns in a pouch). These animals are extinct but efforts are currently underway to “bring them back.” In each case, researchers are compiling the complete genomes of the extinct animals using frozen carcasses and museum specimens. This 26-minute video on current efforts to de-extinct the Thylacine is fascinating and well-crafted. Personally, i question efforts to de-extinct the Passenger Pigeon. It traveled in flocks numbering in the hundreds of millions that stripped crops and orchards and left towns covered in Passenger Pigeon poop. Best of course is to prevent extinction.
Two SciSchmoozes ago, Herb included a link to a live web cam at a waterhole in the Namib Desert. OMG. I’m addicted. I use a separate window while i work and watch Ostrich, Oryx, Gazelles, Wildebeest, Jackals, Barn Owls (same species we have here!), feral Horses, Hyenas, Zebras, Pied Crows (genetically closer to Ravens), Rabbits, Warthogs, Doves, and Bats! Most birds are too small to identify as anything other than LBJs (Little Brown Jobbers). Let me know what you see.
Life on Earth is carbon-based, but could life elsewhere in the cosmos be different? PBS Space Time asks this question in this entertaining 22-minute video.
Robert F’s guess of 273 was closer to the random generator’s 283 than guesses of the other 27 contestants. Robert won a 450ml coffee beaker. This time we’re offering a magnetically levitating globe of the Earth. (You know you’ve always wanted one.) The device is LED illuminated, 18cm tall x 17cm x 5cm, and the globe is 8.4cm in diameter. Just send an email to david.almandsmith [at] gmail.com (only one) before noon Friday with an integer between zero and 1,000. We will then use a random number generator to select the target number and mail the levitating globe to the person who chose the closest number.
Speaking of our globe, evidence suggests that Earth’s inner core had been rotating at a slightly faster rate than the Earth’s surface: perhaps a third of a degree per year. It now appears that the inner core may have slowed to the point it’s beginning to rotate slower than the surface. Go figure. Here’s a five-minute video about the phenomenon.
My Picks of the Week
- JWST: Atmospheres of Other Worlds Stanford Monday 7 - 8pm
- Neuroplasticity, Sensitive Periods, & the Adolescent Brain Novato Tues 7 - 8:30pm
- Back from the Dead Livestream Thursday 7pm
- Planetarium Show of the Night Sky San Mateo Friday 8pm
- Birding Drop-In Charleston Slough Observation Deck, Palo Alto 9 - 11am
- Family Nature Walk Baylands Nature Preserve, Palo Alto 10:30 - Noon
- Afternoon Hike La Honda Open Space Preserve, La Honda 1 - 4pm
“When you have nausea, heartburn, indigestion…” ¿Just what the heck is Pepto-Bismol, and why is it bubble-gum pink?
Dogs can detect several kinds of cancer in people by smell, but keeping a dog in a diagnostic laboratory isn’t very feasible. Far easier: keep a colony of ants.
Doing research on the physiology of human lung tissue can be done using a ‘microfluidic lung cell culture’, or ‘lung-on-a-chip’. This methodology is far easier for some kinds of research than using lab mice. Many different human organs can be studied this way: lung, brain, heart, kidney, liver, prostate, artery, skin, bone, and cartilage. Perhaps due to subtle sexism in physiological research, now coming a little late to the game is the first vagina-on-a-chip.
The spate of recent mass shootings in California should make us reflect on the type of gun the 2nd Amendment gave us the right to carry: single-shot muskets, not assault rifles. The manufacturer of AR-15 assault rifles just introduced a junior-sized version for younger shooters - the JR-15. Not everyone is thrilled about it.
Just this month the National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC) under the United States Secret Service which is under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security published, “Mass Attacks in Public Places: 2016 - 2020.” Their conclusion: Nearly all mass attackers were male and experienced at least one significant stressor in the past 5 years. My conclusion: This is patently obvious. Also this ‘demographic’ - males who have experienced a major stressor in the last 5 years - probably describes one-quarter of the world’s population. The Centers for Disease Control keeps data on firearm mortality by state, although the most recent year is 2020.
Staying with the issue of ‘stressors’ and mental health, Quanta webzine just published an article on research into the physiology of depression. Among other factors, inflammation in the brain is a factor and studies are underway for treatment options.
Here’s one more health issue i stumbled across: UV nail polish dryers.
Fun nerdy videos:
Boston Dynamics Atlas impresses 2 mins
Boston Dynamics Atlas has bad days 1 min
Veritaseum Navy’s Indoor Ocean Test Facility 20 mins
Up and Atom The Pigeon Hole Principle 16 mins
The Right Chemistry From the Cotton Gin to Crisco 6 mins
Sabine Hossenfelder Genetic Selection of Embryos 24 mins
If you are not already a subscriber to the weekly SciSchmooze, just enter your email address at bayareascience.org.
Wishing you a week with opportunities to socialize with friends and strangers alike,
Dave Almandsmith, Bay Area Skeptics
"Maybe I'm a dreamer, but I wish mental health care was as easy to get as, say, a gun."
-Andy Borowitz (1958 - ) American writer, comedian, satirist, and actor
Upcoming Events:
Click to see the next two weeks of events in your browser.
Monday, 01/30/2023
Storytelling Science: The Conversational Path from Hypothesis to Discussion - Livestream - 01/30/2023 12:00 PM
Sonoma State Biology Colloquium
Speaker: Dr. Dennis Mangan, Sonoma State University
See weblink for connection information
Near-surface Turbulence in Arctic, Temperate, and Tropical Inland Waters: Implications for Gas Fluxes - 01/30/2023 12:30 PM
Environment and Energy Building (Y2E2) Stanford
Near-surface turbulence is a key determinant of gas exchange velocities (k) used to compute fluxes of climate forcing trace gases under light to moderate winds in lakes and oceans. Scaling approaches to accurately predict turbulence would enable modeling of fluxes from diverse water bodies over large spatial scales. While wind-based models have been used, heating (buoyancy flux, β +) or cooling (β-) in the upper water column are likely to moderate turbulence relative to predictions from wind. Monin-Obukhov similarity theory (MOST) estimates turbulence, as rate of dissipation of turbulent kinetic energy (ϵ), taking into account the relative contributions of wind and β. We evaluated the accuracy of MOST in tropical floodplains, lakes, and reservoirs, in temperate, boreal and Arctic lakes, and in Arctic ponds and rivers using measurements of ϵ from temperature-gradient microstructure profilers and acoustic Doppler velocimeters. Dissipation rates near the water surface were enhanced relative to law of the wall scaling under heating. The enhancement was larger than prior predictions from MOST due to low mixing efficiency near the surface when the turbulence was isotropic. Under cooling and minimal wind, ϵ was predicted from β-, however, as winds increased, ε was progressively lower than predictions from MOST. Merging variable mixing efficiency with MOST will lead to improved time series estimates of ϵ and k as needed for modeling fluxes of dissolved gases.
Speaker: Sally MacIntyre, UC Santa Barbara
Toward a Census of Directly Characterized Exoplanets - 01/30/2023 12:30 PM
Campbell Hall, Rm 131 A Berkeley
Speaker: Steph Sallum, UC Berkeley
Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms of Copper-Dependent Nutrient Signaling and Metabolism in Cancer - 01/30/2023 04:00 PM
James H. Clark Center (Bldg 340) Stanford
While kinase inhibitors have dramatically changed the landscape of cancer treatment, the near-universal emergence of resistance limits their clinical durability. Our research program is founded in a new paradigm in nutrient sensing and protein regulation, termed metalloallostery, whereby redox-active metals control kinase activity. Our laboratory's focus lies at the intersection of kinase signaling and copper (Cu) homeostasis with the goal of defining the mechanisms regulating Cu-dependent kinases in order to target them in cancer through drug development or repurposing. The emergence of this new and clinically relevant signaling paradigm has highlighted the need to understand how redox-active metals interact with signaling pathways and underscores the promise of discovering new modes of kinase regulation as orthogonal therapeutic vulnerabilities.
Speaker: Donita Brady, University of Pennsylvania
The Dawn of the Quantum Computing Era - 01/30/2023 04:15 PM
Physics North Berkeley
Quantum mechanics describes the physical world around us with exquisite precision, with no known violations of the theory. Ironically, this precision comes with some additional baggage: the theory permits the existence of a host of complex, delicate entangled states of the physical world, many of which have yet to be produced or observed. The debate of whether such quantum entanglement really captures the fundamental nature of the physical world and is a potential engineering resource is reaching a critical moment. Quantum processors with of order 100 qubits based on superconducting circuitry have recently demonstrated computing power on par with the most advanced classical supercomputers for select problems. Current hardware is, however, prone to errors from materials defects, imperfect control systems, and the leakage of quantum information into unwanted modes present in the solid-state. I will describe the major decoherence pathways present in state-of-the-art superconducting quantum processors, illustrate techniques to maximize the computing power of imperfect qubits, and highlight recent quantum computations for determining chemical energies, solutions to the transverse-field Ising model, scrambling dynamics in black holes, and nuclear scattering.
Speaker: Irfan Siddiqi, University of California, Berkeley
Leon Clarke, Bezos Earth Fund - Livestream - 01/30/2023 04:30 PM
Stanford University Energy Seminar Stanford
The economic conditions have never been more promising for decarbonization. The costs of solar cells, wind, and batteries dropped 85%, 55%, and 85% from 2010 to 2019 (IPCC, 2022); people are buying green; companies are investing in clean production; the E.U. is putting tariffs on carbon-intensive products, and the topic is active in the U.S.; air pollution from fossil fuels is increasingly a priority; the Ukraine crisis has made obvious that reliance on petrostates endangers national security; and the impacts of climate change - heat waves, droughts, floods - are increasingly real. But, despite all this, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions continue to rise. For even a 50% chance of limiting warming to 1.5C, emissions need to fall almost 50% by 2030 (IPCC, 2022).
If the economic conditions are so promising, why are emissions not decreasing? The fundamental issue is simply that reducing emissions is hard - it presents enormous economic and political challenges. But within that context, there are important issues in the way that economic advice and analysis are making their way into policy making processes. This talk will discuss the current conditions surrounding decarbonization and highlight needs to improve the way that economic tools, analysis, and advice are supporting policy making around climate action.
Watch the lecture here or attend in person
Generative Art and Deep Learning AI - Livestream - 01/30/2023 05:00 PM
UC Berkeley
Emerging AI technology has the potential to replicate some of the processes used by artists when creating their work. Dr. Nettrice Gaskins uses AI-driven software such as deep learning to train machines to identify and process images. Her approach puts the learning bias of race to the forefront by using AI to render her artwork using different source images and image styles.
Register at weblink to receive Zoom information
The James Webb Space Telescope: Atmospheres of Other Worlds - 01/30/2023 07:00 PM
Hewlett Teaching Center Stanford
JWST is an extraordinary technological achievement. Its ultra-precise optical system makes it a powerful tool for studying extrasolar planets (exoplanets) - worlds that orbit around other stars. Specifically, JWST is capable of measuring the chemical composition of exoplanet atmospheres with unprecedented sensitivity. In this lecture, Prof. Macintosh will discuss the most exciting exoplanet science planned for JWST: it will study giant planets like our own Jupiter by blocking the glare of bright stars, allowing us to understand how these worlds form. The telescope will also study smaller planets as they eclipse their host stars; we can identify chemical traces in their atmosphere when these planets are backlit by starlight. Prof. Macintosh will highlight recent results using both techniques. The same techniques will be adopted by JWST and future successor telescopes to study Earth-sized planets and look for signs of life.
Speaker: Bruce Macintosh, UC Observatories
Register at weblink to attend in person or online
Editor's Note: This event was originally scheduled to occur on January 31 and has been rescheduled due to room availablity. Note the new location.
Tuesday, 01/31/2023
Encore Movie: A Life's Work - 01/31/2023 10:00 AM
SETI Institute
Join your TeamSETI friends for a special encore presentation of movie night featuring the documentary A Life's Work. The original movie night presentation aired in December, and we're rebroadcasting it at a different time so timezones outside the U.S. can enjoy the show. Seth Shostak hosted with special guests Jill Tarter, who is featured in the film, and David Licata, who directed the film.
Movie summary: What's it like to dedicate your life to work that won't be completed in your lifetime? Fifteen years ago, filmmaker David Licata focused on four projects and the people behind them in an effort to answer this universal question.
RSVP at weblink
A game of drones: Advancing discover and innovation in coastal research - 01/31/2023 03:30 PM
Earth and Marine Sciences Building Santa Cruz
Speaker: Corey Garza, Cal State Monterey Bay
Understanding our Dynamic, Magnetically Active Star - 01/31/2023 03:30 PM
Hewlett Teaching Center Stanford
Understanding solar activity --- and in particular, how magnetic flux and energy emerges from the Sun's turbulent interior (where it is generated) into the solar corona --- is of fundamental importance to our efforts to better predict and mitigate potentially damaging solar storms here at earth. The Sun's dynamic magnetic field plays an integral role in almost all aspects of observed activity and is the source of energy for spectacular eruptive events such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections. With a wealth of current and historical data from ground and space-based observatories, it is evident that there are distinct, long-term patterns to the Sun's activity. Yet observed variations of these global patterns are incredibly complex and interconnected, and occur over a vast range of spatial and temporal scales. Here, I will present a brief overview of our current understanding of magnetic activity on the Sun, describe efforts to incorporate data from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory into multi-scale models of solar activity, and introduce recent projects designed to address long-standing, unsolved problems in the field of solar and heliospheric physics.
Speaker: Bill Abbett
"AI For Good" Isn't Good Enough: A Call for Human-Centered AI - 01/31/2023 04:30 PM
Margaret Jacks Hall (Bldg 460) Stanford
AI for Good initiatives recognize the potential impacts of AI systems on humans and societies. However, simply recognizing these impacts is not enough. To be truly Human-Centered, AI development must be user-centered, community-centered, and societally-centered. User-centered design integrates techniques that consider the needs and abilities of end users, while also improving designs through iterative user testing. Community-centered design engages communities in the early stages of design through participatory techniques. Societally-centered design forecasts and mediates potential impacts on a societal level throughout a project. Successful Human-Centered AI requires the early engagement of multidisciplinary teams beyond technologists, including experts in design, the social sciences and humanities, and domains of interest such as medicine or law, as well as community members. In this talk I will elaborate on my argument for an authentic Human-Centered AI.
Speaker: James Landay, Stanford University
Room 126
Happy 40th Birthday Lisa: Apple's Most Important Flop - 01/31/2023 05:30 PM
Computer History Museum Mountain View
Without the Lisa, there would be no Mac, and no iPhone.
Apple's innovative Lisa computer transformed how people interact with computers - from arcane text-based interfaces to the modern graphical user interface ubiquitous today.
How did the Lisa change the world and yet ultimately become a commercial failure? How was this computer important for the story of Steve Jobs and Apple? What lessons can we learn from the Lisa about leadership and luck, risk, and rewards?
On the 40th anniversary of the Apple Lisa, join CHM as we explore these issues and more.
What You'll Experience
Hear insider stories of the Lisa and Apple's early days with Steve Jobs, from key members of the original hardware, software, design, and management team, including Bill Atkinson (via video recording), John Couch, Bruce Daniels, Wayne Rosing, and Annette Wagner. Learn from expert commentary by journalist Steven Levy on business and technology lessons gleaned from Lisa, and its ongoing impact. See an original Lisa and a demonstration of a working Lisa. Have fun with an Apple-themed scavenger hunt in the Museum's exhibition and wear your favorite Apple swag!
See weblink for schedule and list of speaker
Attend in person or online.
SOFIA: High-flying Infrared Astronomy - 01/31/2023 06:30 PM
Hacker Dojo Mountain View
SOFIA was a 2.7 meter infrared telescope in a Boeing 747 SP. It was a US-German project; NASA provided the aircraft, and the German aerospace center, DLR, provided the telescope. The airborne observatory allowed us to study the cold universe using infrared light, which is inaccessible from the ground. This presentation will cover why SOFIA was needed, how it operated, and the scientific high-lights so far. The legacy of SOFIA continues in its data archive, while the aircraft itself will become accessible at the Pima Air and Space Museum.
Refreshments (pizza or sandwiches, plus drinks) will be served at the presentation.
Registration required. More info: https://aiaa-sf.org/event/tech-talk-sofia/
Speaker bios:
Dr. Randolf Klein received his PhD in astrophysics from the Friedrich Schiller University in Jena, Germany. As postdoctoral researcher, he joined a team in Germany developing a far infrared spectrometer for SOFIA. The decade-long development effort brought him via UC Berkeley to the SOFIA Science Center at NASA Ames, where Dr. Klein worked in various roles in science operations and outreach for SOFIA. That included frequently flying with SOFIA executing its observing program.
Ken Bower is a Silicon Valley research engineer with a curious educational path which has led him to support physics and astrophysics projects at NASA and Stanford University. He built and integrated systems of Gravity Prove-B: The Relativity Mission before joining SOFIA to coat its primary mirror and then plan many of its missions, occasionally serving as the last-ditch back-up Mission Director. He enjoys presenting scientific topics to non-technical audiences of all ages and backgrounds.
Wonderfest: Neuroplasticity, Sensitive Periods, & the Adolescent Brain - 01/31/2023 07:00 PM
Hopmonk Tavern Novato
Experiences at different times in life may alter aspects of personality: appetite for risk, tolerance for delayed gratification, interest in music, etc. Our brains seem to develop particularly rapidly during a staggered sequence of "sensitive periods" that stretch late into the second or third decade of life. Such periods of high neuroplasticity are ripe for specific types of learning; they are also susceptible to negative experiences that can lead to mental illness. Understanding sensitive-period brain plasticity will help us to improve education and personality development.
Speaker: Dr. Linda Wilbrecht, UC Berkeley
This event has orginally scheduled for October 25, 2022
The James Webb Space Telescope: Atmospheres of Other Worlds - RESCHEDULED - 01/31/2023 07:00 PM
Lathrop Library Stanford
Editor's Note: This event has been rescheduled for January 30 at a different location.
Wednesday, 02/01/2023
Building Intelligent Agents to Reach Net-Zero 2050 - 02/01/2023 09:15 AM
Gates Computer Science Building Stanford
Reaching net-zero by cutting green house gas emission by 2050 is arguably one of humanities greatest challenge. The sheer speed and scale at which this needs to be achieved brings into question whether such lofty goal can be achieved when only broad plans have been outlined. A significant part of the net-zero 2050 plan outlined by the IEA require "subsurface solutions", more specifically: more mining for minerals (e.g. for batteries), more geothermal energy (electricity + heating/cooling of megacities) and geological storage of CO2, to decarbonize industrial heat. With real world examples, I will argue in this presentation that pulling off this challenge requires building intelligent agents to address the speed and scale issue. The specs of these agents are that they should be able to reason in high-dimensional physical, chemical, and geological spaces about uncertainty, interwoven with geoscientific data acquisition and resource engineering operations. While partially observable Markov decision processes allow formulating such problems, I will outline how mixed-fidelity model approaches are needed to solve them for real world applications. Two cases are used to illustrate the need for these agents and how they can be employed in a real setting. The first case concerns closing the estimated $12 trillion gap in battery metals discoveries needed as outlined in the EIA goals. The second concerns the complexity of storing CO2 in saline aquifers and depleted reservoirs under conditions that prevent leakages or earthquakes.
Speaker: Jef Caers, Stanford University
Attend in person or online. Register at weblink.
SLAC Special Seminar - 02/01/2023 11:00 AM
Stanford Linear Accelerator (SLAC) Menlo Park
Speaker: Kevin Burdge, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Attend in person or online here.
Climate Change Effects on Hurricane Risk for Single-Family Houses in the United States - Livestream - 02/01/2023 12:00 PM
CITRIS Research Exchange
Hurricanes are among the most costly natural hazards affecting communities worldwide, and they involve different hazard sources (i.e., wind, windborne debris, flood and rain). Climate change is expected to increase the intensity of future hurricanes. This presentation will illustrate a novel probabilistic Performance-Based Hurricane Engineering (PBHE) framework that disaggregates the risk assessment analysis into independent elementary components and innovatively accounts for concurrent, interacting and cascading hazards. The PBHE framework is extended to account for hazard (climate change) and vulnerability (structural aging) non-stationarity. Using a recently developed wind speed projection model and the climate projections in the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change, the loss analysis for a benchmark low-rise single-family house over a 50-year service life is performed. For this application example, the combined effects of climate change and structural aging can almost double the expected total losses during a 50-year service life when compared to the stationary conditions.
Speaker: Michele Barbato, UC Davis
Register at weblink to attend
Can we really address the wildfire problem? - Livestream - 02/01/2023 12:30 PM
Stanford University
Wildland fires occur all over the nation, yet focused mainly on the west, predominately in California. In the wildfire world, most people use California as the barometer for land management, urban planning, forest health, building codes, response, and recovery efforts. If it happens in California, it may soon happen elsewhere, so let's use California as a learning lab. Our speaker has 45 years in the fire service and will briefly review how the wildfire problem has escalated over the years, the conundrums currently facing us and ideas on where we go from here.
Speaker: Bob Roper
See weblink for connection information
Lessons Learned from DESI Commissioning - 02/01/2023 02:30 PM
SLAC Colloquium Series Menlo Park
Speaker: Kevin Fanning, OSU
Attend in person or online here.
The path of a flush - 02/01/2023 03:30 PM
Estuary & Ocean Science Center Tiburon
Over 50% of the world's population live along the coast. Consequently, the impact of anthropogenic inputs on the life and health of coastal ecosystems is stark. Decades of impact, fueled by climate change have impacted the coastal environment of the south China sea. Today, I will take you through my journey from engineer to biologist as I characterized nutrient impacts on the water and sediment microbiome of coral communities in Hong Kong. I will also share my journey in infectious disease epidemiology and my vision for what I want to accomplish in my lab at SF State.
Speaker: Archana Anand is an environmental microbiologist and health engineer with a broad interest in pathogens and coastal water quality to protect human and ecosystem health. I'm interested in infectious disease epidemiology and anthropogenic impacts on coastal ecosystems in SF Bay.
Attend in person, or online by registering at weblink.
Catalyzing America's Clean Energy Economy Through Federal Sustainability - 02/01/2023 04:30 PM
Hewlett Teaching Center Stanford
President Biden's Executive Order 14057 on catalyzing American clean energy industries and jobs through Federal sustainability and accompanying Federal Sustainability Plan (collectively referred to as "The Federal Sustainability Plan") sets out a range of ambitious goals to deliver an emissions reduction pathway consistent with President Biden's goal of reducing U.S. greenhouse gas emission by 50 - 52 percent from 2005 levels by 2030 and limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, as the science demands. President Biden's plan demonstrates how the United States will leverage its scale and procurement power to lead by example in tackling the climate crisis. The plan reduces emissions across federal operations, invest in American clean energy industries and manufacturing, and create clean, healthy, and resilient communities. The President is building on his whole-of-government effort to tackle the climate crisis in a way that creates well-paying jobs, grows industries, and makes the country more economically competitive.
Speaker: Andrew Mayock, Federal Chief Sustainability Officer
Attend in person or online
Birds of Patagonia - Livestream - 02/01/2023 07:30 PM
San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory
Located at the southern tip of South America, Patagonia is a destination which may be on your bucket list for hiking at the magnificent Torres del Paine National Park, visiting its fjords on a cruise, or just as a gateway to places like Antarctica or the Falkland Islands. It has some beautiful landscapes with mountains, rivers and glaciers.
However, a good portion of this land is covered by vast apparently barren pampas, with shrubs deformed by the fierce Patagonian wind. This is the home for many bird species which come to this latitude either to nest during the austral spring or to take a break from the boreal winter until they undertake their return trip north in a few months.
In late October I had a chance to visit the area and photograph many of the local bird species, which I will share with you during this presentation
Speaker: Luis Villablanca
Click here to attend the talk.
Thursday, 02/02/2023
Introduction to Microgrids - Livestream - 02/02/2023 04:00 PM
Sonoma State Engineering Colloquium
Most consumers receive their electricity via complex electrical grids containing multiple elements of generation and large transmission and distribution networks. In more highly developed and populated parts of the world, consumers expect their electricity to be delivered continuously and reliably. Disruptions do occur for various reasons, and with significantly negative social, economic, and public safety impacts. In addition, electricity as a scarce resource can become very costly depending on factors such as tipeak demand and time of use. In lesser populated and/or more remote locations, electrical grids do not exist, and localized solutions are required.
This lecture will discuss Microgrids as a solution to some of the challenges highlighted above. We will explore definition of microgrid; types of microgrids; main elements of microgrids including DERs and DERMS; and review use case and value proposition examples. We will also explore how some of the steps required to design a microgrid and discuss some of the tools used.
Speaker: Bob Salter, Energy Systems Consultant
NightLife with Cafe Ohlone - 02/02/2023 06:00 PM
California Academy of Sciences San Francisco
We're teaming up with the iconic Cafe Ohlone for an immersive night sharing the beauty and vibrancy of Ohlone culture and traditions.
Featured programming:
Sip a sampling of teas while Cafe Ohlone co-founders Vincent Medina and Louis Trevino share stories about Ohlone's rich history, traditions and living culture. Learn about Ohlone culture and the impact colonization had on Ohlone people, and hear how the vibrant Ohlone people continue to thrive today.Grab a special cocktail created by the Cafe Ohlone team, made from traditional Ohlone cuisine ingredients.Watch our aquarium transform before your eyes into a mesmerizing art installation, featuring images from the Ohlone archives and a custom soundscape developed specifically for Cafe Ohlone.
After Dark: Wondrous Fungus - 02/02/2023 06:00 PM
ExplOratorium San Francisco
The fascinating qualities of fungi are manifold and sometimes mind-blowing. Tonight at After Dark, discover some fun facts about the beautiful, diverse, and curious fungus kingdom, which includes mushrooms, yeasts, molds, and more. Hear about fungi that are local to the Bay Area, and find out how you can identify different species. Get up-close views of majestic microscopic fungi, see the surprising ways fungi can be used as art materials, and learn about some of this kingdom's most exceptional organisms.
NightSchool: Back from the Dead - Livestream - 02/02/2023 07:00 PM
California Academy of Sciences
Sometimes in conservation, we get second chances to save an evolutionary lineage we thought was lost. Meet three so-called "Lazarus species," aka species that were once presumed extinct (until they're rediscovered living), and the individuals working to protect them.
See weblink for connection information.
Friday, 02/03/2023
The effect of stress on the physical properties of fractured rocks - 02/03/2023 12:00 PM
Earth and Marine Sciences Building Santa Cruz
Speaker: Harry Lisabeth, Lawrence Berkeley Lab
The Night Sky for 2023, plus "Voyager - The Never-Ending Journey" - 02/03/2023 08:00 PM
College of San Mateo Bldg 36 San Mateo
For this special evening in the CSM Planetarium, Professor Stanford will use the Planetarium's state of the art GOTO Chronos II opto-mechanical space simulator to show us how the night sky changes over the coming year, and highlight the best observational candidates for us for each month. In addition, he will show us a full dome video titled: "Voyager - The Never Ending Journey" using the Planetarium's dual JVC 4K projectors. The video focuses on information and insights the Voyager spacecraft have provided us and how these probes came to be. Please join us this evening for an evening amazing journey through the night sky and the solar system!
Speaker: Darryl Stanford, College of San Mateo
Saturday, 02/04/2023
Family Nature Walks - Baylands Nature Preserve - 02/04/2023 10:30 AM
Palo Alto Baylands Nature Preserve Palo Alto
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!
The nature walks are intended for children aged 6 to 11.
Register at weblink
Afternoon Hike at La Honda Open Space Preserve - 02/04/2023 01:00 PM
La Honda Creek Open Space Preserve La Honda
Join Peninsula Open Space Trust for a beautiful hike at Lower La Honda Creek Open Space Preserve where you'll experience the area's sweeping views and gorgeous rolling grasslands! The preserve is over 6,100 acres, of which POST has contributed 5,200 acres. You will be guided by a POST Ambassador on the meandering trails of Lower La Honda Creek, featuring a still-active cattle operation and views of the surrounding ridgelines! You will hear all about the human and natural history of this beautiful preserve!
The hike is moderate to strenuous at about 6 miles round trip with about 1100 feet of gradual elevation gain. There are some steep portions of this hike so hiking poles, closed-toed shoes with tread, and plenty of water/snacks for yourself is recommended.
See weblink to register
Fire Ecology - EcoCenter Family Event - 02/04/2023 02:30 PM
Environmental Volunteers EcoCenter Palo Alto
Bring your family to the Environmental Volunteers EcoCenter, located on the Baylands Nature Preserve, for an afternoon of environmental education. Activities are intended for ages 6-11.
Have you ever wondered about how fire affects California's plants and animals? Join us for some fun and learn something new about Fire Ecology! Learn about fire ecology through different activities and games. Pinecones, tree cookies, and many different types of animals can all help us understand wildfires and how they affect forests.
Note: activities do not involve handling fire.
Sunday, 02/05/2023
Birding Drop-in at the Charleston Slough Observation Deck - 02/05/2023 09:00 AM
Charleston Slough Observation Deck Palo Alto
Drop-in anytime between 9 am and 11 am to bird with us! SCVAS volunteers will be stationed at the Charleston Slough observation deck with binoculars to help you identify the huge variety of shorebirds and ducks that call the Bay Area home. No RSVP required.
Monday, 02/06/2023
Insect Decline and the Importance of Insect Conservation - 02/06/2023 12:00 PM
Sonoma State University - Biology Colloquium Rohnert Park
Speaker: Dr Nathan Rank, Sonoma State University
The Pleiades Experience: How the Fuzzy Star Cluster Continues to Chart My Astronomy Career - 02/06/2023 04:00 PM
Sonoma State University - What Physicists Do Rohnert Park
I was born and grew up in Córdoba, Argentina, as part of a big family that would gather often to share food and laughter. We'd spend several months on a ranch where we had neither running water nor electricity. The remote setting offered dark skies full of stars, and I loved seeing the Milky Way, the Magellanic Clouds, and the distinct Pleiades star cluster. On my tenth birthday, my father took me to "El Planetario" in Buenos Aires. The beauty of the night sky and that planetarium visit charted the course of my career. At age sixteen, I came to California as an American Field Service exchange student and the goal of studying astronomy. I have a B.S. in Physics from UC Riverside, and an M.S. and Ph.D. in astrophysics from the University of California, Los Angeles. I have had a hybrid career - twenty years at UC Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory working on NASA satellites and twelve years as Senior Scientist at the Exploratorium in San Francisco, my current position. My doctoral dissertation measured the Carbon abundance in the molecular clouds in the interstellar medium, particularly in the Pleiades star cluster. Since then, my work at the Exploratorium has focused on Cultural Astronomy, and my passion is to offer learning opportunities that help people rekindle their relationship with the stars. Last year, I completed a six-month Fulbright US-Global Scholar fellowship on cross-cultural research about the Pleiades star cluster with Indigenous communities in New Zealand, Guatemala, and Peru. The Pleiades continue to guide my path through life, and I hope to inspire you to follow their path across the sky and shift your gaze upward! Because it's your Universe too.
Speaker: Isabel Hawkins, ExplOratorium
UC Berkeley Physics Colloquia - 02/06/2023 04:15 PM
Physics North Berkeley
Speaker: Na Ji, UC Berkeley
Unveiling a Dark Universe: from Tiny Galaxies to Cosmic Maps - 02/06/2023 07:30 PM
California Academy of Sciences San Francisco
The Universe is dominated by a mysterious, unseen substance known as dark matter, which makes up more than eighty percent of the cosmos. In recent decades, much has been learned about dark matter, including its density and spatial distribution, but its fundamental nature - for example, what kind of particle it is, how massive it is, and how it interacts - remains largely unknown. This lecture will explain how tiny galaxies, measurements of distorted spacetime, and the largest maps of the cosmos are giving us insights into the nature of dark matter, and will describe the enormous discovery potential provided by the next decade of cosmic surveys.
Speaker: Risa Wechsler, Stanford University
Tuesday, 02/07/2023
Searching for Life on Mars - Livestream - 02/07/2023 03:30 PM
Earth and Marine Sciences Building Santa Cruz
IXPE: Our First Look Around the X-ray Polarized Sky - 02/07/2023 03:30 PM
Hewlett Teaching Center Stanford
First Results from the Webb Space Telescope - Livestream - 02/07/2023 04:00 PM
San Francisco Public Library
Wednesday, 02/08/2023
Does Technology Development Need a Soul? - Livestream - 02/08/2023 08:00 AM
Commonwealth Club - Online Event
Bioconvergence: Transforming How Humans Live and Age - Livestream - 02/08/2023 12:00 PM
CITRIS Research Exchange
Where's the love? The secrets of chimpanzee relationships - Livestream - 02/08/2023 06:00 PM
Leaky Foundation
Our Boldest Effort to Answer our Oldest Question: The Breakthrough Listen Search for Intelligent Life Beyond Earth - 02/08/2023 07:00 PM
Silicon Valley Astronomy Lecture Series Los Altos Hills
Arachnophilia! Using Museums to Understand and Conserve Arachnids - 02/08/2023 07:30 PM
Marin Science Seminar San Rafael
Thursday, 02/09/2023
Inter-Chiplet Synchronization of Multi-Die VLSI Systems - Livestream - 02/09/2023 10:00 AM
UC Santa Cruz
The Chemistry and Physics of Bipolar Membranes with Applications in Water, Energy, and Decarbonization - 02/09/2023 12:00 PM
Tan Hall Berkeley
Serving Health: How California Can Usher in the Future of Food-based Interventions in Medi-Cal - Livestream - 02/09/2023 05:00 PM
SF Planning + Urban Research Assoc. (SPUR)
NightLife - 02/09/2023 06:00 PM
California Academy of Sciences San Francisco
Feathers to Form - How Birds Can Shape an Art Practice - Livestream - 02/09/2023 06:00 PM
San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory
After Dark: Sexplorations - 02/09/2023 06:00 PM
ExplOratorium San Francisco
Science of Cocktails @ After Dark - 02/09/2023 06:00 PM
ExplOratorium San Francisco
Golden Eagles of the Northern Diablo Range, California - Livestream - 02/09/2023 07:00 PM
Peninsula Open Space Trust
The Cultural Logic of Vaccine Refusal - Livestream - 02/09/2023 07:30 PM
Bay Area Skeptics
Friday, 02/10/2023
Ganymede's internal structure with Bayesian inference using Juno and Galileo data - 02/10/2023 12:00 PM
Earth and Marine Sciences Building Santa Cruz
Water Equity, Affordability and Climate Change - Livestream - 02/10/2023 12:30 PM
SF Planning + Urban Research Assoc. (SPUR)
Saturday, 02/11/2023
Chip Design Tool Workshop on RTL - 02/11/2023 08:00 AM
UC Santa Cruz Silicon Valley Campus Santa Clara
Monday, 02/13/2023
Sonoma State University Biology Colloquium - 02/13/2023 12:00 PM
Sonoma State University - Biology Colloquium Rohnert Park
What Physicists Do - 02/13/2023 04:00 PM
Sonoma State University - What Physicists Do Rohnert Park
UC Berkeley Physics Colloquia - 02/13/2023 04:15 PM
Physics North Berkeley