SciSchmoozing Up & Down, Side to Side
Hello again, science fans.
Hallo nochmal, Wissenschaftsfans.
(Over 40,000 Bay Area residents speak German at home.)
SPACE
He emerged and then retreated back to the interior. He was not a groundhog, and his retreat does not suggest we will have 6 more weeks of winter. Jared Isaacson and fellow Polaris Dawn crew member, Sarah Gillis, popped up (down? sideways?) from the SpaceX Dragon capsule to get an unobstructed view of Earth from 700 km away. Since the capsule’s interior was exposed to the vacuum of space, it was also an opportunity to test the four spacesuits for flexibility and ‘leakproofness’ as well as to test all of the interior equipment for their ability to safely cycle from an air pressure of 1000 millibars to zero and back. Well, sorta. In fact those tests had already been done on the ground. They were researching changes to eyesight, to bloodflow, to the effects of medications, and to methods of ameliorating “space sickness" - similar to ‘carnival-ride sickness’ but much longer lasting.
I have got to share this with you. The super massive black hole Sagittarius A* (pronounced “A” star) is about 27,000 lightyears away in the center of our Milky Way galaxy, and here is a 1-minute video depicting a voyage from Earth to Sagittarius A*. Not only has the Event Horizon Telescope imaged Sagittarius A*, it has mapped the orientation of its polarized magnetic field - seen as streaks added to the image.
The search for extraterrestrial intelligence, SETI, was jolted in 1977 by the WOW! signal, a strong radio transmission from outer space at an ideal frequency for interstellar radio communications. In the intervening 47 years, no similarly strong signal has again been detected. However, much weaker signals of the same frequency from the same region of the sky have now been found in data from the - sadly destroyed - Arecibo radio telescope. The researchers hypothesize the signals - including the WOW! signal - were created by a natural maser - microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation. (Just like a laser - light amplification by stimulated emission radiation - but with lower energy photons. The first maser was built in 1953; the first laser in 1960.) They suggest that interstellar clouds of cold hydrogen are periodically struck by strong radiation - possibly from a magnetar flare. Wow.
RAFFLE
We are offering a Polaris Dawn t-shirt with the project's patch that has the astronaut’s names (Isaacman, Poteet, Gillis, Menon) and the expedition’s motto, “Exploratio simul” (Exploring together). Pick your color and size. Just send an email before noon Friday to david.almandsmith [at] gmail.com with your guess of an integer between 0 and 1,000. Last time, Greg guessed closest to the randomly generated 498 to win a long-sleeved Polaris Dawn t-shirt.
BIOLOGY
Ocean Networks Canada and Instituto de Ciencias del Mar set up a fish-feeding contraption 645 meters deep off the British Columbia coast. They included a sonar detector that would trigger their camera when fish were present. Somehow (?) local Northern Elephant Seals learned to follow the sonar noise to find fish gathering to eat at this great depth. At least 8 different elephant seals were filmed repeatedly for nearly a year, creating plenty of data for an additional - and unexpected - science study. Never underestimate mammalians.
Electric butterflies. Really. Just flapping their wings gives butterflies a slight electrostatic charge. As a butterfly nears a blossom to extract some nectar, the electrostatic charge causes pollen to jump to the insect. While the butterfly draws nectar for food, the plant increases its chances of pollinating distant cousins.
In the reptile world: King’s College (London) researchers discovered that Komodo dragons have iron incorporated into the cutting edges of their teeth making them especially hard and durable for slicing through flesh and bone. The Komodo dragon is the clear cut winner of my nightmare monster of the week.
MY PICKS of the WEEK (Hint: save dates & times to your mobile phone)
A lot going on this week. I recommend you browse the entire calendar.
Extinct Xerces Blue Skies Project Mon Noon, Sonoma State University
Jane Goodall: Celebrating 90 Mon 6pm, San Francisco, $
Outbreaks: COVID, Mpox, Bird Flu, and more - Livestream Tue 4pm
Human Spaceflight: An Evolving Process Tue 6pm, Mountain View
Nerd Nite: Psychedelics, Geysers, & Science of Learning Wed 7pm, S.F., $
Exoplanets: Dead or Alive Thu 3:30pm, Berkeley
After Dark: Listen Thu 6pm - 10, ExplOratorium, S.F., $
NightLife: Falaṡṭīn (Palestine) Thu 6pm - 10, Cal Academy of Sci, S.F., $
Transforming Transportation: Bringing Science to Policy Fri 3pm, Berkeley
40th Annual Coastal Clean-up Day Sat 9am - Noon 😎
Morning Walk at Wavecrest Sun 10 - 11:30am, Half Moon Bay
GEOLOGY
A year ago on September 17, the Earth began to tremor at 10.88 millihertz, a continuing seismic tone 92 seconds long from peak to peak. The low frequency hum diminished over the next 9 days until it no longer registered on seismometers. Baffling. Months later, the story came together through a high-definition sonar survey of Greenland’s Dickson Fjord, computer simulations, and 70 determined scientists. A massive rockslide had crashed down on a glacier. Rock and ice plummeted into Dickson Fjord creating a 200 meter (650 ft) high tsunami that sloshed across the narrow fjord setting up a seiche (a standing wave) that resonated at 10.88 millihertz due to the width and depth of the fjord.
Explorers just discovered a mountain that rises over 3,100 meters (10,200 ft) from its base. (Don’t ever say there is nothing more to explore on our home planet.) A big reason it was unknown is that its summit is 994 meters (3,260 ft) deep in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of South America.
Turns out there is something else just discovered deep in the Pacific Ocean: oxygen. Normally the deeper that one goes in the ocean, the lower the concentration of oxygen. When scientists found the opposite, they saw that the deep, dark ocean floor was covered with mineral nodules. They discovered that the nodules had an electrostatic charge. They hypothesize the nodules are splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen by electrolysis. More research is needed.
FUN (?) NERDY VIDEOS
Namib Desert Live Cam This Internet camera allows you to ‘go back in time’ 12 hours to watch a variety of animals: Springboks, Hyenas, Pied Crows, Hartebeests, Porcupines, et al. Click various places on the red timeline.
1.8 Billion Years of Plate Tectonics in Reverse - 1 min
Hermit Crabs Moving to Larger Homes - John Downer Productions - 2.5 mins
Jade Eggs in the Vagina - Cup o’ Joe - Joe Schwaarcz - 4 mins
The Overpopulation Myth - Big Think - Hannah Ritchie - 7 mins
Salps: Free-Floating Tunicates - Bizarre Beasts - Hank Green - 10 mins
ITER Won’t Do Anything - SciShow - Caylypso = 11.5 mins
Virtual Power Plants - Just Have a Think - David Borlace - 12 mins
A.I. - Humanity’s Final Invention? - Kurzgesagt - 15 mins
Understanding Passenger Flight - Veritasium - Derek Muller - 17 mins
Latest on the Hubble Tension - Dr. Becky - Becky Smethurst - 27 mins
Engineering the Future: Hyperloop - 52 mins
Have a great week in science, in health, and in adventure,
Dave Almandsmith, Bay Area Skeptics
“Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun. Orbiting this at a distance of roughly ninety-two million miles is an utterly insignificant little blue green planet whose ape-descended life forms are so amazingly primitive that they still think digital watches are a pretty neat idea.” The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (1979)
― Douglas Adams (1952 - 2001) English author and screenwriter
Upcoming Events:
Click to see the next two weeks of events in your browser.
Monday, 09/16/2024
Regenerating Nature: Reweaving the Web of Life One Species at a Time - The Extinct Xerces Blue Skies Project - 09/16/2024 12:00 PM
Sonoma State University - Biology Colloquium Rohnert Park
Speaker: Durell Kapan, California Academy of Sciences
Butterfly Walk in the Garden - SOLD OUT - 09/16/2024 01:30 PM
UC Botanical Garden Berkeley
Theory of Coulomb driven nematicity in a multi-valley two-dimensional electron gas - 09/16/2024 02:30 PM
Physics North Berkeley
The properties of a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) in a semiconductor host with two valleys related by an underlying C4 rotational symmetry are studied using Hartree-Fock (HF) and various other many-body approaches. A familiar artifact of the HF approach is a degeneracy between the valley polarized - “Ising nematic” - and spin polarized - ferromagnetic - phases, which is inconsistent with recent variational Monte Carlo (VMC) results. Correlation effects, computed either within the random phase approximation (RPA) or the T-matrix approximation, enhance the valley susceptibility relative to the spin susceptibility. Extrapolating the results to finite interaction strength, we find a direct first-order transition from a symmetry-unbroken state to a spin unpolarized Ising nematic fluid with full valley polarization, in qualitative agreement with VMC. The RPA results are also reminiscent of experiments on the corresponding 2DEG in AlAs heterostructures.
Speaker: Erez Berg, Weizmann Institute of Science
Regulatory Mechanisms of Cargo Transport Kinesin Motors - 09/16/2024 04:00 PM
Stanley Hall Berkeley
Kinesins are mechanochemical molecular motors that convert the chemical energy of ATP hydrolysis into mechanical work. Kinesins are capable of stepping processively along intracellular microtubules, a mechanism harnessed by cells to transport a myriad of intracellular cargos in a directional fashion. A subset of kinesin motors is specialized for long-distance intracellular cargo transport, and much research in the past four decades has dissected the structural, biochemical, and biophysical mechanisms of kinesin movement. However, we lack a similarly detailed description of higher-level kinesin regulation for these transport motors. How kinesin motor activity is controlled through autoinhibition and activation of the motor is just beginning to be understood. We have focused our research on understanding how transport kinesin activity is regulated by both intra- and inter-molecular mechanisms. I will present our recent findings on these topics and highlight future questions for the field to consider.
Speaker: Richard McKenney, UC Davis
Understanding Excitons in Heterogeneous Metal-Halide Semiconductors with First Principles Computational Modeling - 09/16/2024 04:30 PM
Physics North Berkeley
Semiconductors power almost every aspect of modern life, from our mobile phones and computers, to how we light our homes, how we store and transform energy, or how we can access renewable energy. Understanding the complex quantum mechanical processes that make some semiconductors more useful than others in the context of our societal demand, is a challenging fundamental science task. My research focuses on developing this understanding from a theoretical and computational perspective, using first principles methods. In this talk, I will focus primarily on the excited state properties of semiconductors, and specifically on excitons, quasiparticles generated through photoexcitation. I will also speak primarily about a particular novel family of semiconductors, the organic-inorganic metal-halide perovskites. I will start by introducing some basic concepts of Semiconductor Physics, including some simple textbook models for excitons, which are widely used in current literature. I will then show how state-of-the-art first principles methods can be used to go beyond empirical modeling of excitons. Finally, I will give some examples from recent studies of different metal-halide perovskites performed in my group, together with our collaborators. I will show how exploring the vast chemical landscape of the halide perovskite materials family unlocks new insights into how chemical composition can impact the photophysics of excitons, and possibly lead to new material functionalities.
Speaker: Marina Filip, Oxford University, UK
Jane Goodall: Celebrating 90 - 09/16/2024 06:00 PM
Sydney Goldstein Theater San Francisco
Environmental icon Jane Goodall returns to Climate One in person to reflect back on her life’s work and offer a look forward to how we can heal our relationship with nature by better understanding ourselves. The indefatigable Goodall is now focused on three intertwined crises: biodiversity loss, climate change and environmental inequity.
Dr. Goodall will be in conversation with Climate One Founder Greg Dalton and Rhett Butler, founder of Mongabay, a nonprofit media organization that delivers news and inspiration from nature's frontline via a network of more than 900 journalists in about 80 countries. Mongabay covers forests, wildlife, oceans, and other conservation topics in six languages and is celebrating its 25th birthday this year.
Attend in person or online
Tuesday, 09/17/2024
Exploring and Manipulating Materials with Ultrafast Linear and Nonlinear Scattering and Spectroscopy Techniques - 09/17/2024 04:00 AM
Latimer Hall Berkeley
Our group specializes in ultrafast spectroscopic methods, enabling in-depth studies of material chemistry in intricate environments and the control of quantum phenomena on femtosecond timescales. In the first part of this seminar, I will discuss the role of lithium in various systems from its contribution to symmetry breaking (LiNbO3), to an exotic quantum material (polar metal LiOsO3), to unravel the reasons behind the low hopping rate of lithium ions at the surface of a solid-state electrolyte (LixLa(2-x)/3TiO3). All these systems share the common feature that Li occupies a symmetry-broken state which we can selectively probe using extreme-ultraviolet second-harmonic generation spectroscopy (XUV-SHG), a novel spectroscopy pioneered in my group. In the second part I will discuss recent results on 1T-TiSe2, a prototypical charge-density-wave (CDW) compound that also exhibits strong excitonic correlations in its low-temperature phase. I will discuss how we unravel the interplay of these different aspects via cryogenic attosecond transient extreme-ultraviolet absorption spectroscopy (cryo-ATAS), for which we built a unique laboratory instrument, and mega-electron-volt ultrafast electron diffraction (MeV-UED). I will show how photoexcitation leads to a 3D-to-2D dimension crossover in the CDW order parameter, a process dictated by the excitonic correlations in the system. The excitonic effect is further evidenced in the initial response of selected core-level absorption edges, and these observations help pinpoint the specific role of excitonic correlations in the CDW transition. I will also illustrate the hidden 1D nature of the CDW and its implications for the formation mechanism of domain-wall-like topological defects, which are found to emerge well under one picosecond following photoexcitation.
Speaker: Michael Zuerch, UC Berkeley
World Transitioning to Hydrogen Economy: How prepared are we in the USA? - Livestream - 09/17/2024 12:00 PM
Stanford Alumni Groups
Is hydrogen the Super Fuel of the Future?
Hydrogen is the most abundant substance in the universe. Its potential is promising. Hydrogen could become the main power source for cars, trucks and other vehicles. It could be a solution for heating buildings.
But extracting hydrogen is energy-intensive. Both the source of the hydrogen and method of extraction are important. What is BLUE hydrogen vs GREEN? What are hydrogen hubs? Can the oil and gas infrastructure be repurposed? Is hydrogen the answer for sectors finding it difficult to decarbonize?
This is the cutting edge where environmental science and industry meet. Please join us for a discussion featuring Stanford Scientist and expert in hydrogen, Dr. Naomi Boness, (’05) Co-Managing Director of Stanford Hydrogen Initiative in conversation with Dr. Narendra Pal. Stanford LEAD (GSB, ’22), CEO of Pacific Hydrogen LLC in San Ramon, CA.
Register at weblink to receive connection information
Lead in Oakland Unified School District Community Webinar - 09/17/2024 04:00 PM
Lead Out OUSD
You may have heard about the lead situation going on in Oakland Unified School District. The overview is that extremely high levels of lead was found in the drinking water of dozens of schools last spring, but no remediation or community information was done until the start of this school year.
If you want to learn more about the lead situation in OUSD schools, or get involved in advocacy on the issue, you're invited to this informational community webinar.
At this webinar, which is co-hosted by Lead Out OUSD, Oakland Teachers Advocating for Climate Action (OTACA), and Frontline Catalysts you will hear about:
The impacts of lead on health and ways that you and your students can protect yourselves from the Lead in OUSD water.
An overview of the history of Lead in OUSD, and past organizing campaigns by community members within the district.
Information on the present lead level crisis.
Ways to connect with current organizing efforts to keep our schools safe.
This is an informational webinar, open to all teachers, parents, students and community members.
Outbreaks: What You Need to Know About COVID, Mpox, Bird Flu, Valley Fever, and Other Public Health Threats - Livestream - 09/17/2024 04:00 PM
UC Berkeley Public Health
New COVID-19 vaccines are now available at a hospital or pharmacy near you. Which new vaccine should I get? When should I get the flu shot this year? How worried should I be about bird flu? Will Mpox become a pandemic? Can I get West Nile virus in California? What about dengue? Can I get Valley fever in the Bay Area? Why is syphilis on the rise? Will lenacapavir be a game-changer for HIV prevention? Who should get the meningococcal vaccine? This panel, featuring three of the Bay Area’s top experts in infectious disease, will tell you what you need to know about a wide range of infectious diseases, and advise you on how to keep you and your family safe. Bring your questions.
Panelists:
Eva Harris, PhD, Professor and Chair, Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, UC Berkeley
John Swartzberg, MD, Clinical Professor Emeritus, Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, UC Berkeley School of Public Health
Peter Chin-Hong, MD, Professor of Medicine and Associate Dean for Regional Campuses, UC San Francisco
Moderated by UC Berkeley School of Public Health Dean Michael C. Lu, MD, MS, MPH
See weblink to connect
Human Spaceflight: An Evolving Process - Livestream - 09/17/2024 06:00 PM
American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics
From very early times, individuals and cultures dreamt first of human flight, and then space flight, which ultimately contributed to the Apollo 11 Moon landing. The Apollo landings, in turn, were inspirational for many, including some who ended up becoming astronauts. Human spaceflight further evolved during the Space Shuttle, Mir, and ISS programs. More recently, the development of commercial spacecraft led to the rise of Commercial Astronauts, Research Astronauts, and Scientist Astronauts. Human spaceflight has evolved, and is currently evolving, in ways that will expand human presence in space and afford scientific, research, engineering, and commercial opportunities.
Join our special guest, Commercial Astronaut Richard Blakeman, as he takes us through a journey from human’s early flight aspirations, through the more "raditional" routes to space, (such as the typical NASA astronaut selection process,) and finally to the latest developments in the area of human spaceflight.
Register at weblink
Pitching the Future in AI - 09/17/2024 06:00 PM
swissnex San Francisco San Francisco
Don’t miss your chance to connect, expand your understanding, and play a role in shaping the future of AI technology. Meet seven Swiss startups from different industries during this pitch event.
The startups presenting their solutions are taking part in our Startup Bootcamp:
AIDONIC revolutionizes aid management for governments and non-profits with real-time data tracking, blockchain transparency, secure Visa-powered payments, and AI tools to combat fraud and waste.
ALPHACRUNCHER developed Nuvolos, a PaaS for data scientists, integrating cutting-edge software and AI/ML tools to streamline workflows, enhance collaboration, and allow data scientists to focus on delivering results.
Dotphoton markets software for efficient image data management and synthesis to enable scalable and reliable ML/AI in critical applications that rely on large volumes of high-quality image data (e.g., biomedical, aerospace, automotive, inspection, etc.).
Peerdom is a SaaS HR platform transforming org chart design with real-time, interactive work maps, extensible through an app ecosystem. Peerdom’s AI-driven tools offer insights and benchmarking, empowering flexible, networked collaboration.
Rapidata introduces a platform that transforms traditional, time-consuming data labeling tasks into engaging activities called Rapids. These Rapids are integrated into mobile applications as an alternative to ads, offering the dual benefit of speeding up the data labeling process and significantly cutting costs.
Taskbase is a global leader in AI-powered edtech, leveraging expertise in machine learning, data, and learning sciences. They provide top-tier solutions for digital learning providers to integrate AI features into their platforms.
ScoutSync is a sports recruitment platform that revolutionizes the way athletes, coaches, and teams connect globally. Using advanced technology and data analytics, ScoutSync streamlines the recruitment process, providing a seamless experience for discovering talent.
Fei-Fei Li's AI Journey - 09/17/2024 07:00 PM
Computer History Museum Mountain View
Artificial intelligence has been dominating the headlines recently, but Stanford Professor Fei-Fei Li has spent more than two decades at the forefront of the field.
Li shares her inspiring journey - chronicled in her new book, The Worlds I See - from her early struggles as a Chinese immigrant in the US to one of the leading figures shaping the future of technology.
What You'll Experience:
Learn how Li, the creator of ImageNet, sees a path for technology to improve the human condition.Hear how her curiosity and determination led her to become an AI expert.Meet Dr. Li at a book-signing following the program.
Habitats, Life Cycles and Ecology of Mushrooms - 09/17/2024 07:30 PM
Mycological Society of San Francisco San Francisco
The talk will answer the question "What is a Mushroom Anyway," including life cycles and dispersal syndromes. Additionally, we will explore some of the vitally important roles fungi play in the natural environment.
Individuals may attend in-person, beginning at 6:30pm, for mushroom ID, refreshments and social interaction in the Buckley Room of the Randall Museum Virtually: At 7:30pm, you will be able to join the group for the evening's presentation virtually. Join the Zoom Meeting
Speaker: J.R. Blair, San Francisco State University, emeritus
Attend in person or online
Astronomy on Tap Tucson #99: All About the Early Universe - Livestream - 09/17/2024 07:30 PM
Astronomy on Tap
JADES-GS-z14-0: Updates from the Beginning of Time - Kevin Hainline, and
Cosmic Inflation: What is it, and does it fix the Big Bang? - Joe Adamo
This month, we’ll be joined by Steward research professor Kevin Hainline giving us the inside scoop on the earliest galaxy known to exist, and Steward grad student Joe Adamo will go back to the time before galaxies even existed to tell us about cosmic inflation. And Steward postdoc Danny Krolikowski will be telling us all about the latest and greatest astronomical news!
Wednesday, 09/18/2024
Muscle Stem Cells Get a New Look: Dynamic Cellular Projections As Sensors of the Stem Cell Niche - 09/18/2024 12:00 PM
Stanley Hall Berkeley
Mechanisms whereby quiescent stem cells sense tissue injury and transition to an activated state are largely unknown. Quiescent skeletal muscle stem cells (MuSCs) have elaborate, heterogeneous projections that rapidly retract in response to muscle injury; the cytoskeletal changes associated with retraction in turn promote downstream MuSC activation events. MuSC projections may therefore provide a surveillance function for muscle damage as direct sensors of their niche environment. These concepts may extend to other types of quiescent stem cells.
Speaker: Robert Krauss, ICahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Archaeology in Space: The Sampling Quadrangle Assemblages Research Experiment (SQuARE) on the International Space Station - 09/18/2024 12:00 PM
Archaeology Research Facility Berkeley
Between January and March 2022, astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) performed the first archaeological work in space, the Sampling Quadrangle Assemblages Research Experiment (SQuARE). The crew of the ISS defined six sample locations (“squares”) around the ISS and documented them through daily photography over a 60-day period. Walsh will present an overview of the SQuARE payload and results from two of the six squares.
Speaker: Justin Walsh, Chapman University
Attend in person or register at weblink to attend online
Mechanistic Studies of Antibiotics Targeting Chaperone-Dependent Proteases in Bacteria - 09/18/2024 12:10 PM
Barker Hall, Rm 101 Berkeley
Much high-impact research in the chemical and biological sciences, particularly that which underlies innovations in medicine, began with curiosity about the structures and mechanisms of bioactive small molecules. In search of potentially transformative discoveries, my research group is focused on molecules that are anomalous by virtue of their structures and the mechanisms by which they perturb biological systems. The seminar will describe how our recent studies of such molecules have yielded new insights into the structures and functions of chaperone-dependent proteases that enable protein homoeostasis in bacteria. In particular, I will discuss antibiotics that either inhibit or activate the ClpP peptidase and that inhibit the 20S proteasome from Mycobacterium tuberculosis. I will also highlight how these studies are the bases of compelling leads for first-in-class anti-bacterial drugs.
Speaker: Jason Sello, UC San Francisco
Geography and Inequity: Key Structural Determinants of Health in the US - 09/18/2024 01:15 PM
James H. Clark Center (Bldg 340) Stanford
Have you ever wondered why certain states in the US have better health outcomes than others? What happened historically that this is the case today, and how does it influence our present-day reality?
Speaker: Sarah Hooper, UC Law San Francisco
Attend in person or online (see weblink)
Room E126
Research in support of conservation - managing invasions in South African MPAs - 09/18/2024 03:00 PM
Bodega Marine Laboratory
Speaker: Tammy Robinson, Stellenbosch University
Register at weblink to receive connection information
One in a Billion: How to Make Sure Autonomous Systems Are Safe (Enough) - 09/18/2024 04:00 PM
Soda Hall Berkeley
Autonomous systems, such as self-driving cars, are starting to pop up in the world around us. These systems use complex combinations of model-based and data-driven algorithms to make real-time, safety-critical decisions. In this talk, I will provide some thoughts (and hopefully insights) into what engineers need to do to convince ourselves that these systems are safe enough to release in to the real-world, where society expects that critical failures (those resulting in potential loss of life) will happen at rates of less than 1 in a billion. In particular, how do we make use of combinations of model-based simulations (even when we know the models are missing details that sometimes matter), log-based regression (even when the updated software won’t do exactly what was done in the logs), real-world operations (where you drive lots of boring miles and a few interesting ones), and structured testing (going beyond the 30 minute driving test, by which we decide 16 year-olds are allowed to drive any non-commercial vehicle, any place in the world, for the rest of their lives)? More specifically, I’ll talk about the role that formal specifications, assume/guarantee contracts, and test synthesis can play in helping address this challenge.
Speaker: Richard Murray. California Institute of Technology
Attend in person or online (see weblink)
The Language of Climate Politics - 09/18/2024 05:30 PM
Commonwealth Club San Francisco
It is possible that the only news we hear about more than politics is the climate crisis, and sometimes it is politics about the climate crisis? But what are we hearing and saying about climate change, and is it what we think we’re hearing and saying?
Genevieve Guenther, founder of the nonprofit organization End Climate Silence, has engaged journalists in efforts to improve coverage of environmental crises in their reporting. Publishers Weekly called her new book, The Language of Climate Politics: Fossil Fuel Propaganda and How to Fight It, a “revelatory study.” In it, she puts forth powerful new ways to talk about the climate crisis that she says will help create transformative change.
Guenther argues that the climate debate is not neatly polarized, with Republicans obstructing climate action and Democrats advancing climate solutions. Partisans on the right and the left often repeat the same fossil-fuel talking points, and she says this repetition produces a consensus upholding the status quo, even as global heating accelerates.
Guenther says big energy interests weaponize the discourses of science, economics, and activism, co-opting and twisting climate language to help “greenwash” their plans for ongoing extraction. But all too often climate scientists, economists, and even advocates will unwittingly echo the assumptions of their supposed political opponents. This apparent agreement between foes, filtered through the news media, not only influences views about the climate crisis but also enables powerful decisionmakers to justify the policy actions that threaten us all. Guenther says she knows how to transform it and equip people with powerful new terms that will enable them to fight more effectively for a livable future.
No Justice Without Climate Justice - 09/18/2024 06:00 PM
Commonwealth Club San Francisco
On March 27, 2023, six people were gunned down in a mass shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville. The horrific event led Tennessee House Representative Justin J. Pearson and two colleagues to protest for common sense gun legislation on the Tennessee House floor. House Republicans retaliated by expelling Representative Pearson and his colleague Justin Jones. Pearson ran and won back his seat with 94 percent of the vote.
Pearson became a national voice for common sense gun regulation. He is also a strong advocate for climate and environmental justice, having worked to defeat a multi-billion dollar crude oil pipeline that could have poisoned Memphis drinking water and taken land from South Memphis residents. The Sierra Club recognized him as the 2023 National Changemaker of the Year.
Join us for a conversation with a rising voice for environmental justice.
Speaker: Justin Pearson, Tennessee General Assembly; Greg Dalton, Climate One, Host
Attend in person or online
Design of Holographic Display Systems based on Artificial Intelligence - Livestream - 09/18/2024 07:00 PM
SF Bay Association of Computing Machinery
Emerging spatial computing systems are widely believed to be next-generation computing platforms, offering transformative experiences across various domains such as teleconferencing, education, entertainment, industry, and basic vision research, among others. To deliver perceptually realistic and visually comfortable experiences, optical interfaces, such as imagers or displays, must be compact, adaptable, seamlessly integrated, and capable of efficiently encoding and robustly reconstructing visual information. However, most of these parameters are not achieved by existing optical devices, mainly limited by the high-dimensional, low-latency nature of the visual signals and the sensitive, complex nature of human sensory systems that must be fully satisfied. In this talk, I will describe how computational optical systems can provide solutions to these interfaces for augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) applications. First, I will introduce an artificial intelligence (AI)-based algorithmic framework that comprises several parts, including a novel camera-in-the-loop optimization strategy that allows us to either optimize a hologram directly or train a parameterized model of the optical wave propagation and a neural network architecture that represents the first computer-generated holography (CGH) algorithm capable of generating full-color high-quality holographic images at 1080p resolution in real-time. Efficiently and accurately modeling arbitrary optical systems, these frameworks overcome long-standing challenges in holography, such as low image quality and prohibitive computational cost. Next, I will present computational design methodologies powered by my framework, which enable full-color, high-quality 3D images within glasses form factors for AR/VR displays. I will also discuss how this advancement paves the way for studying 3D human perception, leveraging a holographic perceptual testbed. Finally, I will discuss future directions that I’m excited to explore.
Speaker: Suyeon Choi, Stanford University
Register at weblink to attend
Work Life at the Golden Gate Raptor Observatory - Livestream - 09/18/2024 07:00 PM
Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society
Allen Fish will speak about his decades of work at the Golden Gate Raptor Observatory, just in time for the annual migration of Raptors through the Bay Area!
Register at weblink to receive connection information
Nerd Nite #146: Psychedelic Science, Geysers, and the New Science of Learning - 09/18/2024 07:00 PM
Rickshaw Stop San Francisco
The heat is rising in San Francisco, and you know what that means: late summer has finally arrived, and back-to-school season is finally upon us. Well, most of our beloved Nerd Nite audience probably isn’t going to school anymore, but that hasn’t stopped us from learning together each month! This time around we’re focusing on the fun parts of academia, so whether you want to learn about the science of psychedelics, how to study geysers (and not get blown up), or just how to learn better, we’ve got something for you!
Psychedelics & Science - A Very Brief History
Psychedelics are firmly back in the mainstream. Scientists are researching them, veterans are lobbying for them, Elon Musk is microdosing them ??" but how did we get here? How did western society encounter psychedelics in the first place, why did they become banned and stigmatized, and what brought them back? And what even counts as a psychedelic anyway? Find out answers to all of this, and more, in a talk from Imran Khan of the UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics.
Speaker: Imran Kahn, UC Berkeley
The New Science of Learning
Learning for the test is hard, learning for the end of the semester exam is harder, and learning well enough to remember the material for the 10-year reunion is harder still. Researchers, though, are starting to tease out what it takes to create experiences that create new understandings that last a lifetime. Experience some of the innovations that are revolutionizing science instruction.
Speaker: Zeke Kossover, ExplOratorium
How to Blow Yourself: Geysers and Hydrothermal Explosions in Yellowstone
Move over megafauna - geysers are the real stars of Yellowstone National Park. These wet and wild geologic features provide insight into water circulation through the Earth’s crust. After exploring why geysers exist in Yellowstone and how their plumbing systems make eruptions possible, we’ll discuss what prompts some geysers to blow themselves to bits during hydrothermal explosions.
Speaker: Mara Reed, UC Berkeley
September LASER Event - 09/18/2024 07:00 PM
LASER Leonardo Art Science Evening Rendezvous Stanford
Speakers:
James Doty (Stanford, Director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism) on "Mind Magic" Kristina Dutton (Composer) on "Soundscapes and Nanoscapes: the natural world through visual and sonic storytelling" Miguel Angel Novelo Cruz (Stanford) on "Technoshamanic Playgrounds: Thermodynamics and Memory"
Room: LiKaShing Building, Room LK120
Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT): Protecting and Stewarding Marin's Working Lands - 09/18/2024 07:30 PM
Marin Science Seminar San Rafael
Conserving Marin County’s farms and ranches not only means protecting the land through conservation easements, but also ensuring its agricultural viability and helping to steward the health of the land. MALT supports local farmers and ranchers through grants and technical assistance and leveraging partner agencies funding opportunities. MALT stewardship staff Eric Rubenstahl will share the history of MALT, land conservation strategies, and how ongoing stewardship protects and enhances the ecological and agricultural values of Marin’s working lands.
Speaker: Eric Rubenstahl, Marin Agricultural Land Trust (M.A.L.T)
Thursday, 09/19/2024
Coastal Walk at Pillar Point Bluff - 09/19/2024 10:00 AM
Pillar Point Bluff Parking Lot Moss Beach
Join Peninsula Open Space Trust for a beautiful walk at Pillar Point Bluff just north of Half Moon Bay! You will be guided by POST ambassadors who will share details about the area’s interesting natural history, from the coastal scrub habitat to the Fitzgerald Marine Preserve which hosts tide pools and breeding grounds for harbor seals.
The walk is moderate at about 2.5 miles round trip with about 300 feet of gradual elevation gain.
In 2004, POST stepped in to fund protection of the Bluff, restore it to ecological health, and construct a 1.6-mile section of the California Coastal Trail that now runs across it. Today all 161 acres of the Bluff are fully protected in perpetuity ??" a process that took four transactions, 11 years of work, and an array of visionaries, landowners, and donors, both public and private.
Register at weblink
Lunch Break Science - Livestream - 09/19/2024 11:00 AM
The Leakey Foundation
Lunch Break Science is a dynamic live web series featuring fascinating short talks, engaging interviews, and lively Q&A with Leakey Foundation scientists. Each episode digs deeper into the latest human origins discoveries, with topics like Neanderthals, chimpanzee behavior, and more! Even better, you can interact with researchers during the show and have your questions answered on air.
See weblink to join
The ecological effects of lightning in a tropical forest - 09/19/2024 12:30 PM
Valley Life Sciences Building Berkeley
Lightning is common in many tropical forests, but its ecological effects are not well documented. Data from a decade of lightning monitoring on Barro Colorado Island, Panama (BCI), show that lightning is an important agent of tree mortality; the average strike kills 5 trees and damages 21 others. Collectively, lightning is responsible for 20% of annual gap area formation and 16% of annual woody biomass turnover at this site. The likelihood of tree death and damage from lightning on BCI varies with tree size and species, and the presence of lianas. Collectively, the results of this work suggest that predicted changes in regional lightning strike frequency will contribute to shaping future forest structure and dynamics.
Speaker: Steve Yanoviak, University of Louisville
Exoplanets Dead or Alive - 09/19/2024 03:30 PM
Physics North Berkeley
Speaker: Andrew Vanderburg, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Coming 6th Generation of Mobile Wireless - 09/19/2024 04:00 PM
Sonoma State Dept. of Engineering Science Rohnert Park
The first commercial 5G deployments were in March of 2019 - barely three years ago and the path to 6G is already a few years under way. It is without a doubt that 6G will be evolution and revolution beyond 5G, but some of the differences are already quite clear. Not only is the technology going to be different, the change in commercial and government approach to commercial wireless systems has already begun. This talk will cover what remains to be realized from the original 5G vision and what to expect from the work on 6G during the next decade.
Speaker: Roger Nikols, Keysight Technologies
Attend in person or online (see weblink for Zoom information)
This talk was originally scheduled for September 5, 2024.
Microgrid-Based Smart Grids: Artificial Intelligence and Internet of Things for Improved Resilience/Self-Healing - RESCHEDULED - 09/19/2024 04:00 PM
Sonoma State Dept. of Engineering Science Rohnert Park
Speaker: Hashem Nehrir, Montana State University, Emeritus
This talk will was held on September 5, 2024
Birdy Hour: Drawing Wilson's Phalaropes - Understanding Feather Groups - Livestream - 09/19/2024 05:00 PM
San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory
Artist Jane Kim is best known for creating monumental works of public art that celebrate the natural world. From the Wall of Birds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology to From Sea to Sky at Occidental College's Moore Lab of Zoology, birds play a central role in her dramatic storytelling. What's her secret to painting birds? Understanding feather groups. Taking participants on a journey through more than a decade of her work, Jane will explain how understanding feather groups helps her compose her imagery. Sharing lessons from her digital Bird Academy course, "How to Paint Birds with Jane Kim," the artist will present an exclusive demonstration of a species near and dear to SFBBO, the Wilson's Phalarope.
Register at weblink
After Dark: Listen - 09/19/2024 06:00 PM
ExplOratorium San Francisco
Discover the science behind sound and the role it plays in the environment. Join us for a screening of The Last of the Nightingales, a short documentary about pioneering sound ecologist Bernie Krause, and hear from Bernie, his wife Katherine, and the filmmaker afterward. Then dive deeper with the exhibits in our galleries: challenge yourself to tread lightly on a gravel path, share your favorite sound memories, and make some noise while having fun!
Ages 18+
NightLife: Falastin - 09/19/2024 06:00 PM
California Academy of Sciences San Francisco
Share in the rich culture, art, and stories of Falastin (Palestine). By the community for the community.
Early Season Fungi & Summer Fungi - 09/19/2024 06:00 PM
Sebastopol Grange Sebastopol
Join SOMA to kick off the mushroom season. Many of our board members will be present andwe will have a casual potluck followed by a presentation by Gordon Walker & Harte Singer about the "early" season fungi and unusual findings of cool Summer fungi.
The Backyard Bird Chronicles - Livestream - 09/19/2024 07:00 PM
Golden Gate Bird Alliance
Where do we turn to when the sky is falling? When even as we mask to stay safe, we expose ourselves to a long history of othering? Retreating inward by looking and listening outward, Amy Tan found solace in her backyard, the birds that are her neighbors, and the joy and freedom that comes with remaining curious and creative. Returning to her childhood dream of becoming an artist, questioning everything, and taking in the wild world that surrounds us, Tan has shared her personal journey and insights through her latest book, The Backyard Bird Chronicles.
Speaker: Amy Tan, author
Friday, 09/20/2024
Space Mission Sustainability Leveraging Picard-Chebyshev Methods and Optimal Control - 09/20/2024 02:00 PM
Etcheverry Hall Berkeley
Spacecraft sustainability is crucial for the long-term exploration and utilization of space. As humanity ventures further from the Earth, responsible and sustainable management of space assets becomes imperative to ensure the preservation of the space environment. In-space servicing missions enable the extension of the operational life of satellites and other spacecraft, which reduce the frequency of new launches and minimize space debris. In this talk, three enabling technologies are presented to address challenges associated with accurate and efficient optimal trajectory design for in-space assembly. The first involves using Picard-Chebyshev methods for accurate and efficient trajectory propagation of low-thrust, fuel-optimal trajectories that contain bang-bang thruster switches and require a high-fidelity spherical harmonic gravity model, which is expensive to compute. The second involves introducing thruster pointing constraints directly into the indirect optimal control formulation such that fuel-optimal trajectories can be flown in close proximity to the client spacecraft without the thruster plume contaminating delicate sensors onboard the client. The third involves incorporating inter-agent anti-collision constraints directly into the indirect optimal control problem considering 6-DOF motion, thus ensures that high-fidelity fuel-optimal solutions are obtainable while ensuring constraint satisfaction. The abovementioned fundamental contributions are an important step towards successful, large-scale and routine in-space servicing and assembly missions.
Speaker: Robyn Woollands, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Transforming Transportation: Bringing Science to Policy - 09/20/2024 03:00 PM
Sutardja Dai Hall Berkeley
Transportation is on the path to decarbonization, led by the electrification of cars, trucks and buses. However, numerous questions remain. How much reduction in vehicle use is desired and possible? How might aviation and shipping be decarbonized? How might strategies differ between advanced industrial nations and the Global South? What more do we need to know and which strategies, technologies and policies are most effective and most acceptable?
Speaker: Daniel Sperling, UC Davis
Attend in person or via YouTube
InSight Mars Lander - Instrument Deployment System - 09/20/2024 03:00 PM
Etcheverry Hall Berkeley
NASA’s Interior Exploration Using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy, and Heat Transport (InSight) Mars Lander’s mission overarching goal is to understand the processes of planetary differentiation that formed the terrestrial planets and the global processes that subsequently modify them.
Dr. Trebi-Ollennu will talk about his work as InSight’s Product Delivery Manager and Operations Team Chief for the Instrument Deployment System, which enabled the successful deployment of a seismometer on Mars, NASA’s first placement of a seismometer on another astronomical body since Apollo. In addition, it is NASA’s first successful precision robotics instrument placement and release on another astronomical body.
Room 3110
Size-Dependent Behavior in Porous Nanocrystals - 09/20/2024 04:00 PM
Latimer Hall Berkeley
Synthesizing metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) as nanoparticles is critical for their large-scale processability in real-world technologies and is poised to alter wide-ranging MOF behaviors, especially those related to transport phenomena. Little is known about controlled synthetic techniques, however, and studies into the impact of nanosizing physical properties have only just begun. Here, we present synthetic methods and mechanistic models that enable the precise preparation of MOF particles with conductive, magnetic, optical, and dynamic-bonding behavior distinct from their bulk counterparts. These results include the first analysis of MOFs by solution-state spectroscopy and electrochemistry, revealing size-dependent phenomena and interfacial chemistry impossible to observe with conventional framework materials. Taken together these results offer tools for fabricating MOFs at-scale, while opening fundamental questions into the structure-size-property relationships of materials, in general.
Speaker: Carl Brozek, University of Oregon
Saturday, 09/21/2024
40th Annual Coastal Clean-up Day 2024 - 09/21/2024 09:00 AM
Varies
Join us for Coastal Clean-up Day - the statewide movement that removed 376,308 pounds of trash from California’s coastlines and inland waterways last year! Volunteers will enjoy beautiful ocean views while they remove litter and debris, protect native habitats, and help minimize marine debris. This is a fun family-friendly volunteer opportunity, volunteers of all ages are welcome! Registration required
Coastal Clean-up Day is a statewide effort hosted by the California Coastal Commission. For additional sites on the bay side of San Francisco, Marin, San Mateo counties (outside of the GGNRA boundaries), check out the map on the Coastal Commission's website.
Critter Search at Sanborn Park - 09/21/2024 10:30 AM
Sanborn Science and Nature Center Saratoga
Some of the most exciting critters are hard to find. Join us as we look for some of the smaller residents of Sanborn Park. Look for Salamanders under rocks, Millipedes under logs, and newts in the ponds! Let’s see who we can find!
For ages 1 - 5 + parent
Bair Island Walking Tour - 09/21/2024 02:30 PM
Bair Island Wildlife Refuge & Trail Redwood City
Join Peninsula Open Space Trust for a walking tour at the Bair Island Unit of the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge! You’ll be guided by POST ambassadors who will share the history of this beautiful protected space, information about the species that live there, and what you can do to contribute.
This easy 1 mile walk with little to no elevation gain will highlight the wetlands and the marine life that live within, such as: Endangered Ridgeway’s rails and salt marsh harvest mice. Also cottontail rabbits, peregrine falcons, pelicans, egrets, terns, and stilts. We recommend bringing binoculars to catch sight of some of the beautiful birds at Bair Island.
Register at weblink
Twilight Marsh Walk - 09/21/2024 06:15 PM
Don Edwards Refuge Headquarters & Visitors Center Fremont
Experience the salt marsh at twilight on an easy stroll along refuge trails (about .6 miles). At the setting of the sun we will observe the beginning of nature’s night shift. Come discover the sights, sounds, and smells of the refuge as night descends. Not suitable for young children. Tickets are limited. If you are not able to attend please cancel through this website. You can also call 510-377-5659 for help if you cannot cancel and someone on the waitlist will be notified. This program is led by Mary and Gene Bobik.
Register at weblink
Is Human Hibernation a Possible Tool for Future Long-Term Crewed Space Flight? - 09/21/2024 07:30 PM
East Bay Astronomical Society Oakland
Dr. Wallace’s talk with discuss the fantasy of human hibernation, what are the different types of hibernation, what are the proposed mechanisms of hibernation, and why humans are biologically and physiologically unlikely to tolerate hibernation. This discussion will review how anesthesia is fundamentally different from hibernation with separate risks and complications that fundamentally limit it as a model of hibernation. The risks of anesthesia will be discussed as well as the approaches we use to mitigate those risks. Speculation on the implications of the differences between living and dead organisms and tissue will provide a foundation for a discussion of what may be fundamental to living organisms.
Speaker: Art Wallace, UC San Francisco
Attend in person or watch virtually here.
Sunday, 09/22/2024
Family Hikes Youth 3 - 12 (first session) - 09/22/2024 10:00 AM
Chabot Space and Science Center Oakland
Pack your sunscreen and lace up on your hiking shoes, we’re venturing forth for a gentle 1-2 mile hike. Explore the lush redwood forest that surrounds Chabot, hike off some steam then have a sit-down and snack with your family and new friends you’ve just made. Expert Chabot staff lead these fun, informative, easy to moderate hikes and can answer your questions about plants and animals we live among in our vibrant Bay Area bioregion and the historical lands of the Ohlone people.
FAMILY PROGRAM: Beautiful Succulents - 09/22/2024 10:00 AM
UC Botanical Garden Berkeley
Discover the beautiful diversity of succulent plants! We’ll explore their amazing features, talk about where and how they grow, and learn how you can grow them at home too.
This hands-on workshop includes creating your own designed potted succulent garden to take home!
Admission and all materials included. Children must be accompanied by a registered adult. (Adults can make a garden too!)
Morning Walk at Wavecrest - 09/22/2024 10:00 AM
Wavecrest Open Space Preserve Half Moon Bay
Join Peninsula Open Space Trust for a very easy 2-mile walk at Wavecrest Open Space in Half Moon Bay! We’ll walk through groves of trees and fields where we’ll have a great chance to spot a variety of birds, especially raptors! We’ll also walk along the coastal bluffs where we may see whale spots and other sea life.
You’ll hear from POST representatives about how we have been working for years to protect a variety of properties that make up this beautiful open space. We will proceed at a very slow and easy pace so this hike is great for all ages and ability levels.
Please RSVP as space is limited. We will share the meetup location and directions closer to the event, so please ensure your e-mail address is valid when you register!
Register at weblink
Family Hikes Youth 3 - 12 (second session) - 09/22/2024 03:00 PM
Chabot Space and Science Center Oakland
Pack your sunscreen and lace up on your hiking shoes, we’re venturing forth for a gentle 1-2 mile hike. Explore the lush redwood forest that surrounds Chabot, hike off some steam then have a sit-down and snack with your family and new friends you’ve just made. Expert Chabot staff lead these fun, informative, easy to moderate hikes and can answer your questions about plants and animals we live among in our vibrant Bay Area bioregion and the historical lands of the Ohlone people.
Monday, 09/23/2024
The Effects of Anthropogenic Global Changes on Plant-Pollinator Mutualisms in California Grasslands - 09/23/2024 12:00 PM
Sonoma State University - Biology Colloquium Rohnert Park
Speaker: Rebecca Nelson, UC Davis
Regulation of LRRK2: Identifying vulnerabilities for Parkinson’s Disease therapeutics - 09/23/2024 04:00 PM
Stanley Hall Berkeley
Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is the second most prevalent neurodegenerative disease, affecting ~10 million people worldwide. One of the most commonly mutated genes in PD codes for Leucine Rich Repeat Kinase 2 (LRRK2). Autosomal dominant mutations in LRRK2 cause familial PD, while mutations in LRRK2 are risk factors for sporadic PD and increased activity of LRRK2’s kinase has been linked to the sporadic form of the disease as well. This has made LRRK2 the main actionable target for PD therapeutics.
LRRK2 is a large protein with multiple domains, including both a kinase, which phosphorylates membrane-associated Rabs, and a Ras-like GTPase. The bulk of LRRK2 exists in the cytosol in an autoinhibited state and the protein is recruited to membranes, where its substrates are found. While we are beginning to understand LRRK2’s recruitment, how the protein becomes activated and is generally regulated remains a mystery. We are using structural biology (cryo-EM), single-molecule biophysics, chemistry, biochemistry, and cell biology, to understand the LRRK2’s function and mechanism, and how these are affected by PD-linked mutations. Our goal is to use these fundamental insights into LRRK2 to discover new vulnerabilities that can be exploited for PD therapeutics.
Speaker: Andreas Leschziner, UC San Diego
The Science of Why We Exist - 09/23/2024 04:00 PM
James H. Clark Center (Bldg 340) Stanford
Speaker:Tim Coulson, University of Oxford
Room: S360
UC Berkeley Physics Colloquia - 09/23/2024 04:30 PM
Physics North Berkeley
Speaker: Vladan Vuletic, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Taming Big Tech and AI - 09/23/2024 05:30 PM
Commonwealth Club San Francisco
On balance, will AI help humanity or harm it? Proponents of the new technology say AI could revolutionize science, medicine, and technology, and deliver us a world of abundance and better health. Opponents say it could be a disaster, leading to the downfall of democracy, or even our extinction.
Gary Marcus occupies a position that includes parts of both propositions. He is a noted psychologist, cognitive scientist, businessman, and AI researcher who believes “Big Tech” is taking advantage of us, AI is making it worse, and there’s still a way we can create a thriving, AI-positive world.
He says we still have a choice about what future we have. He lays out his arguments in his new book Taming Silicon Valley: How We Can Ensure That AI Works for Us, and he’ll draw on the ideas raised in the book when he joins us at the Club.
Marcus says Big Tech has effectively captured policymakers and has been playing both the public and the government. Why has the U.S. government thus far been ineffective at reining in Big Tech? What are some suggestions for what a coherent AI policy should like? How can ordinary citizens push for what is so desperately needed?
Part Abbie Hoffman’s Steal This Book and part Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, Marcus’ outlook is tuned to this perilous historical moment.
Speaker: Gary Marcus, Geometric.AI; Rachael Myrow, KQED, moderator
Members receive 30 - 50% discounts at checkout
Tuesday, 09/24/2024
AI Agents, LLMS, AI Voice & Building AI Assistants - 09/24/2024 09:00 AM
The Event Space at CSI San Francisco
Strategies for Selective Alkene and Arene Functionalizations - 09/24/2024 11:00 AM
Latimer Hall Berkeley
How Enterprises are Building AI Agents with LLMs, Prompt Engineering, & RAG - 09/24/2024 12:30 PM
The Event Space at CSI San Francisco
Formation and dissociation of hydrocarbons under interstellar conditions - 09/24/2024 04:00 PM
Latimer Hall Berkeley
Bigg’s Killer Whales of the Pacific NW: Supporting and Identifying this orca population - Livestream - 09/24/2024 07:00 PM
American Cetacean Society
Wednesday, 09/25/2024
The Control of Transposable Elements in Plants - 09/25/2024 12:10 PM
Barker Hall, Rm 101 Berkeley
Holistic health indices in a changing environment: pathogens, stress, disease, and death - Livestream - 09/25/2024 03:00 PM
Bodega Marine Laboratory
The microbiome and gut homeostasis - 09/25/2024 03:30 PM
Genetics and Plant Biology Building Berkeley
Energy and Resources Group Colloquium - 09/25/2024 04:00 PM
Giannini Hall Berkeley
Jupiter’s moon Europa, and what NASA’s Europa Clipper mission will investigate upon arrival in 2030 - Livestream - 09/25/2024 06:00 PM
NASA Night Sky Network
Science on Tap: An Invisible Enemy: Pathogens, Colonialism, and Ancient DNA - 09/25/2024 07:00 PM
Museum of Art and History Santa Cruz
Dangerous Materials: How California Protects Communities and the Environment from Hazardous Waste - 09/25/2024 07:30 PM
Marin Science Seminar San Rafael
Thursday, 09/26/2024
Advancing Wildfire-Resilient Architecture in a Post-Climate Change California - 09/26/2024 12:00 PM
Studio VARA Architecture Urbanism + Design San Francisco
Ecological genomics in NZ: human-induced evolution of insect color and wing phenotypes - 09/26/2024 12:30 PM
Valley Life Sciences Building Berkeley
Failed WD Supernovae - 09/26/2024 03:30 PM
Physics North Berkeley
After Dark: Land Use - 09/26/2024 06:00 PM
ExplOratorium San Francisco
NightLife: Unusual Perspectives - 09/26/2024 06:00 PM
California Academy of Sciences San Francisco
Open Question: Extreme Environments How do we manage increasingly severe conditions? - 09/26/2024 07:00 PM
ExplOratorium San Francisco
Friday, 09/27/2024
Land x Good Fire: Sonoma Valley - 09/27/2024 09:00 AM
Sonoma Valley Regional Park Glen Ellen
Cybersecurity and the Clean Energy Transition - 09/27/2024 10:00 AM
Sutardja Dai Hall Berkeley
What warmed early Mars?: Investigating impacts, hydrogen, and clouds - 09/27/2024 12:00 PM
Earth and Marine Sciences Building Santa Cruz
Educator Resource Giveaway Days at the Astronomy Society of the Pacific - 09/27/2024 01:00 PM
Astronomical Society of the Pacific San Francisco
Reimagining Porous Materials for a Sustainable Future - 09/27/2024 04:00 PM
Latimer Hall Berkeley
In Town Star Party - 09/27/2024 08:15 PM
San Jose Astronomical Association San Jose
Saturday, 09/28/2024
Latinx+ Engineering Day - 09/28/2024 07:00 PM
ExplOratorium San Francisco
Stewardship Saturday: Valuing Seaweed for Humans and Marine Life - 09/28/2024 09:00 AM
Avila Beach Park Avila Beach
Educator Resource Giveaway Days at the Astronomy Society of the Pacific - 09/28/2024 09:00 AM
Astronomical Society of the Pacific San Francisco
Land x Good Fire: Bodega Bay - 09/28/2024 09:00 AM
Bodega Bay Bodega Bay
Science Saturdays: Biodiversity Blast - 09/28/2024 10:00 AM
Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History Pacific Grove
Life's Better Electric: Electrification Fair - 09/28/2024 10:00 AM
Women's Building San Francisco
Lunch, Bocce, and Electrochemical Systems for Large-Scale Energy Storage - 09/28/2024 11:30 AM
Mission Peak Sportsplex Fremont
Google Colab: AI co-pilot socio-emotional training system for autistic children - 09/28/2024 03:00 PM
Maker Nexus Sunnyvalle
Jazz Under the Stars - 09/28/2024 09:00 PM
College of San Mateo Bldg 36 San Mateo
Monday, 09/30/2024
At Every Depth: Stories From Our Changing Ocean - 09/30/2024 12:00 PM
Sonoma State University - Biology Colloquium Rohnert Park
UC Berkeley Condensed Matter Seminar - 09/30/2024 02:30 PM
Physics North Berkeley
Drugs, vaccines, and coexistence: toward a comprehensive understanding of population dynamics in Streptococcus pneumoniae under selection by treatment - 09/30/2024 04:00 PM
James H. Clark Center (Bldg 340) Stanford
UC Berkeley Physics Colloquia - 09/30/2024 04:30 PM
Physics North Berkeley