Hello again, fans of science,
“nuqneH, QeD parmaq,” (I found no data on how many Klingons are in the Bay Area.)
A “Stand Up for Science” gathering will be this Friday in the San Francisco Civic Center Plaza from 1 to 3PM. Come with or without a sign. Come with or without a costume. Come with or without your family and friends. But come.
Now is an especially important time to communicate with the President, the Vice President, and your three Congressional members: two Senators and a Member of the House of Representative. Here is a site for looking them up. The address for the President and Vice President is:
White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington DC 20500
Hmmmm. I wonder what would happen if we all mailed letters to the White House on the same day - March 15?
BIOLOGY / ETHOLOGY
The “National Nature Assessment” was prepared by 150 scientists and experts under the auspices of the Environmental Protection Agency. It was about to go to the printers when it was cancelled on January 30 by Executive Order. Its twelve chapters include one on nature’s effects on human health, and another one on the dependence of the nation’s economy on nature. The nation’s Sixth National Climate Assessment is due in 2026 or 2027, but climate scientists doubt it will be scientifically accurate regardless whether it is allowed to be published.
By a January Executive Order, each individual has an “immutable biological classification” based on the size of their gametes. Females have large gametes and males have small. Except this doesn’t apply to everyone. People with Swyer syndrome have the chromosomes of normal males - XY - but develop with female anatomy although they produce no gametes. Some Swyer syndrome ‘wives’ have wondered why they don’t get pregnant. Some Jacobs syndrome - XYY - ‘men’ develop normally but others may not be able to produce sperm - the small gamete. Turner syndrome - a second X chromosome is partially or wholly missing - persons are unlikely to produce eggs. Persons with Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia [CAH] can develop as males even though chromosomally they are female - XX. Roughly 1.7% of babies are born with ambiguous genitalia - intersex. Surgery to render the child as one sex or the other is usually up to the parents.
In spite of Executive Orders to remove “gender identity” from federal agency websites, i found this on an NIH website last Thursday: “Gender identity is the self-defined experience of one’s gender.” [Shhh. Don’t tell anyone.]
RAFFLE
Our previous raffle offering was so popular among SciSchmoozers, we are offering it again. It’s a 12” wall clock with the first 12 elements of the periodic table. 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, Edward guessed closest to the randomly generated 774 to win his element clock.
CHEMISTRY
Ron Hipschman has an entertaining YouTube channel called “Tales from the Periodic Table” that i highly recommend. Individual videos range from 20 to 40 minutes.
CLIMATE
Good news:
Investment in the U.S. for clean energy and clean transportation increased 16% in 2024 over 2023. Investment in EV supply chains was up 79%. Battery technology investment was up 91%. [New York Times] During 2024 in the European Union, electricity generation from sunshine exceeded generation from coal. [The Guardian]
Globally, however, electricity from coal far exceeds all other sources, and solar lags far behind. But the International Energy Agency predicts that electricity generation from solar photovoltaics will exceed all other forms of production just 8 years from now.
You might find it interesting that 37% of campaign contributions from the fossil fuel industry in 1990 went to Democrats, but that dropped to 11% in the 2024 elections.
THINGS TO DO THIS WEEK – My Picks
Airborne - Life in a Breath Livestream with Carl Zimmer - Monday 3pm, $
Arc of Climate Change: Discernable to Unequivocal - Tue 7pm, Stanford
Energy Transition: Place-Based Economic Strategy - Wed 4:30, Stanford
Clear Thinking about Climate Livestream with Bill Nye - Thurs 4pm
Nightlife: Hot Dino Nights Thurs 6 - 10pm, San Francisco, $
Stand Up for Science Rally Friday 1 - 3pm, San Francisco
Morning (7 mile) Hike at Windy Hill Sat. 9am Portola Valley
SPACE
This last week all of the other 7 planets have been visible at night. (I suppose if you also looked down at your feet, you could also count the planet Earth) ¿So where is the barycenter - the center of mass of the solar system around which the planets orbit? Normally it is near the physical center of the Sun, but with all of the planets on one side of the solar system, the barycenter is currently outside of the Sun. Even the Sun is orbiting around that external location, albeit slowly.
The Blue Ghost just landed on the Moon - upright and healthy. It settled down within a hundred meters of its intended target and has been phoning home with data and selfies. That got me to wondering - ¿How does the surface area of the Moon compare to the surface area of the United States? Answer: The Moon’s surface area is 3.86 times that of the U.S.
FUN (?) NERDY VIDEOS
Catastrophic Sinkholes in Brazil City - Reuters - 2 mins
Purple Isn’t Real - Slice of Science - Alexander Wynn - 2 mins
Homeopathy - Show & Tell - Joe Schwarcz - 4 mins
Gila Monster - U.S. Geological Survey - Cecil Schwalbe - 4 mins
Mexican Mole Lizard - Bizarre Beasts - Hank Green - 5 mins
¿Rain in Antarctica? - Dr. Gilbz - Ella Gilbert - 6 mins
Kessler Syndrome Update - Sabine Hossenfelder - 6 mins
Mars, Pareidolia, and Belief - StarTalk - Neil deGrasse Tyson - 9 mins
¿Fungal Infection, Mammalian Selection? - PBS Eons - Michelle Barbosa-Ramirez - 10 mins
Big Oil Has $7 TRILLION of Our Money - Just Have a Think - Dave Borlace -11 mins
What Actual Aliens Might Look Like - Kurzgesagt - 13 mins
¿Black Holes in the Solar System? - PBS SpaceTime - Matt O’Dowd - 18 mins
We Can’t Explain Spiral Galaxies - Dr. Becky - Becky Smethurst - 20 mins
Goal: Microscopes That See Atoms - Veritaseum - Derek Muller - 21 mins
Homo floresiensis: ¿Extinct Species? - History with Kayleigh - Kayleigh A.N. - 28 mins
Continuous videos. Move the cursor on the red line to explore earlier views.
ISS Earth Cam
Namib Desert Cam
Okaukuejo Waterhole, Namibia
Don’t lose your ability to be empathetic. Practice daily.
Dave Almandsmith, Bay Area Skeptics
“Let both sides seek to invoke the wonders of science instead of its terrors. Together let us explore the stars, conquer the deserts, eradicate disease, tap the ocean depths, and encourage the arts and commerce.”
— John F. Kennedy (1917 - 1963) 35th President of the United States
Upcoming Events:
Click to see the next two weeks of events in your browser.
Monday, 03/03/2025
Global nutrient cycles are regulated by a complex network of biogeochemical processes, and microbes are at the center of these processes! Anthropogeni - 03/03/2025 09:00 AM
Spilker Hall Stanford
Speaker: Christian White, Argonne National Laboratory
NuMA Mechanically Reinforces the Spindle Independently of its Partner Dynein - 03/03/2025 12:00 PM
Sonoma State University - Biology Colloquium Rohnert Park
Speaker: Nathan Cho, UC San Francisco
Artificial Intelligence in the Knowledge Economy - Livestream - 03/03/2025 12:00 PM
Gates Computer Science Building Stanford
The rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the potential to reshape the knowledge economy by automating cognitive, non-codifiable work. This paper introduces a framework to analyze this transformation, incorporating AI into an economy where humans form hierarchical firms to use their time and knowledge efficiently: Less knowledgeable individuals become "workers" engaging in routine knowledge work, while more knowledgeable individuals become "solvers" assisting workers with exceptional problems. We model AI as a technology that transforms computing power into "AI agents," which can either operate autonomously (as co-workers or solvers/copilots) or non-autonomously (only as copilots).
We show that basic autonomous AI displaces humans towards complex problem solving, leading to smaller, less productive, and less decentralized firms. In contrast, advanced autonomous AI reallocates humans to routine knowledge work, resulting in larger, more productive, and more decentralized firms. While autonomous AI primarily benefits the most knowledgeable individuals, non-autonomous AI disproportionately benefits the least knowledgeable. However, autonomous AI achieves higher overall output. These findings reconcile seemingly contradictory empirical evidence and reveal key tradeoffs involved in regulating AI autonomy.
Speaker: Eduard Talamas, IESE Business School in Barcelona, Spain
Register at weblink to attend. In person attendance limited to Stanford community
Galactic Accretion through the Dynamic Circumgalactic Medium - 03/03/2025 12:10 PM
Campbell Hall, Rm 131 Berkeley
The region of space surrounding galaxies, the circumgalactic medium (CGM) is the site of all gas flows into and out of galaxies and is therefore responsible for regulating or promoting galaxy growth. Observations reveal an interesting diversity of gas properties in this tenuous medium, but it is only recently that we are able to resolve it in cosmological simuations to investigate the physics there. Using the Figuring Out Gas and Galaxies in Enzo (FOGGIE) simulations that resolve the CGM of Milky Way-like galaxies in exquisite detail, I will describe how dynamic gas motions in the CGM like turbulence, rotation, or bulk radial flows drive the galactic ecosystem away from classical assumptions. These gas flows also disrupt inflowing filaments of gas, ultimately affecting how galaxies accrete new gas to convert into stars. I will show that upcoming missions that will observe the CGM in emission will be able to directly observe these gas flows, and how simulations can be used to predict and interpret the new data to increase our understanding of the cosmic ecosystem.
Speaker: Cassandra Lochhass, Harvard University
How Race Makes a Difference - 03/03/2025 12:30 PM
Stanford Symbolic Systems Forum Stanford
A tension appears in contemporary social-scientific studies of the causal effects of race. Race is understood by most scholars today to be a deeply social phenomenon - a category that not only explains distinctive patterns of social inequality but is defined by these myriad social differences. But this fact about race, on the one hand, sits uneasily with a core tenet of the concept of cause, on the other. On the leading philosophical and scientific-methodological accounts of causation, a cause is something that makes a difference in conditions that are, broadly speaking, "otherwise equal." But if race marks social difference, then what is it for two persons or groups that are differently racialized to be "otherwise equal" in the sense required by good causal inquiry into the effects of race? Those different in racial status are defined by a host of social differences. And yet the background conditions that must be installed for causal inquiry to get off the ground require leveling those very inequalities. The aim of this talk is to draw out this internal tension and to see how it might be resolved - without giving up on the scientific project of causal inquiry about race.
Speaker: Lily Hu, Yale University
See weblink for building admission information
Towards Resilient and Sustainable Electricity Grids Under Climate Extremes - 03/03/2025 12:30 PM
Green Earth Sciences Building Stanford
Since the early 21st century, over 80% of major U.S. blackouts have been weather-related. Intensifying extreme events such as hurricanes, heatwaves, and wildfires, have nearly doubled weather-related outages in the past decade compared to the first decade of the century. Meanwhile, our energy sector, especially the electric power system, is becoming more exposed to the environment due to the large-scale integration of intermittent renewable energy such as solar and wind.
Considering this increasingly coupled climate-energy challenge, in this seminar, I discuss our recent research advancements in modeling, optimization, and socio-technical analysis of electricity grids towards climate resilience. Specifically, I cover topics including: (1) Grid modeling under extremes: quantifying cascading power outages with renewable integration under evolving hazards; (2) Grid optimization: enhancing grid resilience through coordinating transmission and distribution networks with large-scale distributed renewable integration; and (3) Social vulnerability: understanding community-level impacts and exploring opportunities for sustainability through microgrids. These topics will be illustrated through case studies of real-world power grids in Puerto Rico and NYC, highlighting the potential of resilience-oriented strategies to inform energy system planning and operation from grid operators to local communities.
Speaker: Luo Xu, Princeton University
Spintronics and Spin Waves: Towards Energy-Efficient and High-Speed Electronics - 03/03/2025 02:30 PM
Birge Hall Berkeley
The exponential growth of electronic devices and data processing has pushed charge-based electronics to their energy and performance limits, with power consumption and heat dissipation becoming critical bottlenecks. As Moore's Law slows, there is an urgent need for a paradigm shift in our approach towards next-generation computing. Here, I investigate spintronics and spin-wave platforms as potentially transformative solutions for high-speed and low-energy computing. I demonstrate how the collective dynamics of spin waves can be harnessed to realize essential computing building blocks, including communication links, transistors, and memory elements, paving the way for spin-based computing platforms. With recent advances in materials and device engineering, spintronics is poised to overcome the limitations of traditional electronics, driving the next generation of energy-efficient and high-performance computing technologies.
Speaker: Hossein Taghinejad, Kavli Energy NanoScience Institute
Air-Borne - Life in a Breath - Livestream - 03/03/2025 03:00 PM
Commonwealth Club
Take a breath. Just breath.
And then reserve your ticket for a special online-only talk with New York Times columnist Carl Zimmer, who will tell you all about what just went into your lungs. Zimmer will share the ideas that are in his new book Air-Borne, giving a fascinating, previously untold story of the air we breathe, the hidden life it contains, and invisible dangers that can turn the world upside down
Every day we draw in two thousand gallons of air - and thousands of living things. From the ground to the stratosphere, the air teems with invisible life. This last great biological frontier remains so mysterious that it took more than two years for scientists to finally agree that the Covid pandemic was caused by an airborne virus.
Zimmer will lead us on an odyssey through the living atmosphere and through the history of its discovery. From the tops of mountain glaciers, where Louis Pasteur caught germs from the air, to Amelia Earhart and Charles Lindbergh above the clouds, where they conducted groundbreaking experiments. Meet the long-forgotten pioneers of aerobiology, including William and Mildred Wells, who tried for decades to warn the world about airborne infections, only to die in obscurity.
Zimmer also chronicles the dark side of aerobiology with gripping accounts of how the United States and the Soviet Union clandestinely built arsenals of airborne biological weapons designed to spread anthrax, smallpox and an array of other pathogens.
Breathtaking, isn't it?
Use discount code WonderfestPromo to receive $10 discount
UC Berkeley Structural & Quantitative Biology Seminar - 03/03/2025 04:00 PM
Stanley Hall Berkeley
Speaker: Hao Wu, Harvard Medical School
The Development of Single-Molecule Force Spectroscopy - 03/03/2025 04:00 PM
Alumni House Berkeley
Martin Meyerson Berkeley Faculty Research Lecture
Speaker: Caros Bustamante, Molecular and Cell Biology, Physics, and Chemistry professor, UC Berkeley
What Physicists Do - Livestream - 03/03/2025 04:00 PM
Sonoma State University - What Physicists Do Rohnert Park
Speaker: CD Hoyle, CalPoly Humboldt
Generative AI as a Disruptive Technology for Educational Systems - 03/03/2025 04:00 PM
Berkeley Way West Berkeley
Disruptive technologies are groundbreaking innovations that fundamentally transform existing markets, create new economic opportunities, and render previous technologies or business models obsolete by offering more efficient, cost-effective, and user-friendly solutions.
In my talk I illustrate, from cognitive, pedagogical, and curricular perspectives, why Generative AI (GenAI) can be viewed as a disruptive technology for educational systems worldwide. To support this claim, we revisit cognitive, pedagogical, and curricular models and theories, and explore their implementation and implications regarding GenAI in educational settings. Among the pedagogical and cognitive theories and models we explore are constructivism and constructionism, motivation theories, Bloom's taxonomy, didactic transposition, the knowledge-skills-attitudes (KSA) model, and the 21st century skills set.
One conclusion of the above claim is that there is an urgent need to rethink and apply new educational formats and models so as to remain relevant in the current transforming era that we are all witnessing but whose future is still unclear and cannot be predicted.
One important insight that I aim for my audience to take away from this talk is that the education community should not perceive GenAI as a threat, but rather as an opportunity. That is, by enabling to increase the level of abstraction and complexity of the tasks we assign students and of the skills and competencies that we seek to impart, GenAI makes it possible to achieve pedagogical goals and impart the values that we have always sought to impart but could not, mainly but not only due to the prevailing organizational culture of education systems whose roots were planted in the first industrial revolution, which took place two hundred years ago. As a disruptive technology, GenAI will actually force education systems to adapt to, and skip directly to, the 5th industrial revolution, which is taking place now.
Speaker: Orit Hazzan, Technion
Attend in person, or watch onlline here.
Generative Agent Simulations of Human Behavior - 03/03/2025 04:00 PM
Soda Hall Berkeley
Simulations of human behavior can empower applications ranging from immersive environments to social policy simulation. However, traditional simulations have struggled to capture the complexity and contingency of human behavior. In this talk, I demonstrate an alternative approach: constructing an agent architecture that accurately simulates individual behavior in open domains. I make my case through generative agents - computational software agents that simulate human behavior using generative artificial intelligence models. Our generative agent architecture enables individual agents to remember, reflect, and plan, and to come together to populate an interactive sandbox environment, such as one inspired by The Sims featuring a small town of twenty-five individuals. Building on this, I propose a scientific foundation for simulations by creating generative agents of real individuals, grounded in 2,000 hours of voice-to-voice interviews with 1,000 U.S. participants, and validating their attitudes and behaviors against the source individuals. I find that these agents replicate their source individuals' attitudes and behaviors 85% as well as the individuals replicate their own behavior. Extending my line of argument, I explore how generative agent-based simulations can help us prototype social scientific theories and design more effective policies for social spaces.
Speaker: Joon Sung Park, Stanford University
A Muon Collider in the Future of Particle Physics - 03/03/2025 04:15 PM
Physics North Berkeley
The quest for learning the fundamental building blocks of matter and underlying laws of Nature has seen colliders playing a major role in the past century. Such projects have become complex international endeavours requiring multi-decade vision to be realized to their full potential.
With the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN now operating until 2041, it is already time to think about the next generation colliders.
While studies towards a muon collider have been done for decades, at various degrees of emphasis, the feasibility studies towards an unprecedented high-energy (10 TeV) machine have ramped up and caught more and more attention in the last few years, fueled also by the current technology possibilities and the state of the field.
A Muon Collider offers the potential for a scalable path towards the next generation of high-energy frontier particle colliders with enormous physics discovery potential. At the same time, the short lifetime of the muon poses non-trivial technical challenges on both the accelerator and detector design.
The most recent US planning exercise (so-called, P5: Particle Physics Project Prioritization Panel) report recognized the high-potential of such a machine and refers to that as "the muon shot".
The relatively compact design, compared to any other option, also offers the possibility of hosting such a collider on US soil (for instance on the Fermi National Laboratory site), which has contributed to increased domestic interest as well.
In this colloquium I will introduce the reasons why such a collider is an appealing option for the future of particle physics, I will give a brief overview of some of the key challenges that need to be addressed, and comment on the current status of the project.
Speaker: Simone Pagan Griso, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
The Validity of Psychiatric Diagnosis: What's in a Name? - 03/03/2025 05:30 PM
Commonwealth Club San Francisco
This presentation by Dr. Descartes Li (UC San Francisco) looks at some of the complexities and controversies about psychiatric diagnoses. It examines the DSM-5's "Harmful Dysfunction" definition, contrasting it with the NIMH's Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) project. The lecture also discusses philosophical approaches to understanding mental illness, including reductionism, cultural relativism, emergentism, and mechanistic approaches to psychiatric diagnosis. Finally, it outlines four perspectives for viewing mental disorders: disease, dimensional, behavioral, and life story, advocating for a comprehensive approach to diagnosis.
Moderator: Patrick O'Reilly, Commonwealth Club
How Can We Be Sure We Have Free Will? - 03/03/2025 06:00 PM
Commonwealth Club San Francisco
Many people are convinced our lives, and all actions in the universe, are totally determined. One question remains: How did they make up their minds that that is true?
One decent definition of the difference between mind and matter is that minds make decisions. Even if you decide to let someone else make all your decisions for you, that itself is a decision. Which you can revoke at will.
Join us at Monday Night Philosophy to remind yourself (in the Platonic sense) that there are indeed many reasons to recover your own agency, to realize that you make decisions all the time that are not determined by - even if they are influenced by - outside forces, and to refresh your awareness of the inner control over your own life that everyone inherently possesses, whether they sense it or not, whether they feel it or not. Because when you have recovered your former certainty that you have free will, you will also understand that one of the most intriguing and ironic uses of our free wills are our always temporary decisions to believe that we don't have it.
Speaker: George Hammond, Author
Attend in person or online
Reconstructing Our Galactic Story with Stellar Sound - 03/03/2025 07:30 PM
California Academy of Sciences San Francisco
Why are we here? Although we may think we know our place in the Galaxy, the Sun was likely born far from where it resides today. In recent years, ESA's space-based Gaia satellite and NASA's K2, Kepler, and TESS missions have helped to uncover not only our own Sun's history but that of our stellar neighbors. While the field of Galactic archaeology has uncovered some of the stories of our Galaxy, decades-old mysteries still remain about how the Galaxy formed and evolved --- touching on larger, age-old questions of why life exists.
In this talk, we will explore how stellar sound waves are revealing the origins of the Milky Way and our place in it. From the Sun's home here in the Galaxy's disc to the graveyard of disintegrated galaxies surrounding us, we will tour through the halls of the Milky Way as seen by ESA and NASA missions. Along the way, we will retrace how generations of stars have set the stage for life here and elsewhere in the Galaxy. We will also preview how upcoming space-based missions may unearth secrets of the oldest regions of the Galaxy.
Speaker: Joel Zinn, CSU Long Beach
Tuesday, 03/04/2025
UC Berkeley Organic Chemistry Seminar - 03/04/2025 11:00 AM
Latimer Hall Berkeley
Speaker: TBA
Intracellular lipid transport in immunoregulation and metabolism - 03/04/2025 11:00 AM
Weill Hall Berkeley
Animal cells are essentially assemblies of membrane compartments marked by diversity and asymmetry of lipids. There remains a significant gap in understanding the biological processes and purposes of lipid localization and trafficking in specialized cell types. Immune cells, with their remarkable adaptability to evolving threats and ability to migrate to distinct microenvironments, would heavily depend on cellular membrane reorganization. My research interests encompass how lipids move within the cells and their interactions with the immune system in physiological and disease conditions. In this talk, I will first discuss my recent work on the immunological roles of ASTERs, a novel protein family that facilitates plasma-membrane-to-ER cholesterol transport. Here I will highlight the new functional modality of ASTER-mediated lipid transport as a metabolic checkpoint for lymphocyte response. I will further present new approaches to studying the dynamics of membrane cholesterol during immune activation. Next, I will discuss the functional impact of immune lipid dysregulation on tissue and systemic metabolism. Finally, I will briefly cover the potential of identifying lipid trafficking pathways for engineering immune responses and share the perspective of future research to understand cellular lipid movement in the context of tissue and immune homeostasis.
Speaker: Yajing Gao, UC Los Angeles
'Sea Change: An Atlas of Islands in a Rising Ocean' - 03/04/2025 12:00 PM
Philosophy Hall Berkeley
Sea Change: An Atlas of Islands in a Rising Ocean is a polyvocal chorus, weaving together essays, maps, art, and poetry to share the impacts of sea level rise on island nations around the world and the solutions to them. Low-lying islands are least responsible for global warming, but they are suffering the brunt of it. Sea Change reorients our vantage point to place islands at the center of the story. Sea Change centers the voices and work of Black Caribbean and Indigenous Pacific islanders, taking action to address sea level rise and to ensure environmental justice.
Speaker: Christina Gerhardt, Clark University
Material-Driven Construction Automation: Advancing Low-Carbon, Adaptive Building Systems - 03/04/2025 12:15 PM
Davis Hall Berkeley
Our built environment faces a critical dilemma: By 2050, global urbanization will require us to double our current building stock, yet construction and building operations account for 37% of annual global CO2 emissions (Weber, Mueller, and Reinhart 2021). Ramping up industry-standard materials and methods to meet housing demand will increase this impact. Architectural scale additive manufacturing (3D printing) with low-carbon materials like earth creates opportunities to address the global need for new construction at a reduced cost to stakeholders, including our planet. This approach fundamentally transforms building economics by decoupling geometric complexity from production time. Performance-driven geometries with structural, thermal, and environment-specific design can be integrated into a holistic engineering process that would have previously been directly correlated to increased project costs in the form of highly skilled labor, exotic materials, and time-consuming assemblies.
In his PhD research in Computational Design and Building Technology at MIT, Sandy Curth works to integrate local, low-carbon materials with construction automation. He has published novel methods for material characterization, robotic path-planning, structural and thermal optimization, and integrated Life Cycle Assessment. Examples include (1) zero-waste 3D printed formwork for reinforced concrete, directly recycling construction waste soils, (2) thermally performative earth wall systems parametrically designed to local building code, and (3) material testing and calibration methods for large-scale additive manufacturing in highly variable on-site conditions. Ongoing work includes developing fire-resistant 3D printed earth structures and shape-optimized reinforced concrete floor systems designed to match localized manufacturing capabilities while lowering cost and carbon impact.
Extreme Plasmas around Neutron Stars and their Radiation - 03/04/2025 03:30 PM
Hewlett Teaching Center Stanford
Neutron stars are physicists' dreams come true: they bring together aspects of classical and quantum electrodynamics, coupled with strongly magnetized plasma physics in the curved rotating spacetime of a massive compact object. They are observed to be powerful emitters of non-thermal electromagnetic radiation, spanning about 20 orders of magnitude in photon energy, from radio waves to multi-TeV gamma-rays. Understanding these diverse emission signatures requires modeling the complex dynamics of radiating relativistic plasmas, which occur across vastly different time and spatial scales. In this talk, I will explore how modern computational techniques now enable accurate simulations of these plasmas, facilitating direct comparisons with observational data. I will highlight simulations of pair production discharges and radiative magnetic reconnection, discussing their crucial role in powering pulsars' multi-wavelength non-thermal radiation. I will finish by discussing the frontiers of studying plasmas around magnetars -- neutron stars possessing the strongest magnetic fields in the Universe --which can also be powering at least some of the enigmatic Fast Radio Bursts.
Speaker: Alexander Philippov, Stanford University
Musings on AI Policy from a Former U.S. Senate Staffer - 03/04/2025 03:30 PM
Calvin Laboratory Berkeley
In this talk, Simons Institute Law and Society Fellow Serena Booth will first discuss the challenges of crafting specifications for AI systems; how easy it is for these systems to go rogue, whether through misspecification or other means; and her research studying both experts' and nonexperts' specifications. This technical research direction - of controlling AI systems - led her to explore the policy questions around designing and deploying AI systems. To this end, she will discuss her work in the U.S. Senate on AI policy. She will make the argument that consumer protection laws are an inalienable first defense for AI safety, and she will show how these laws have been successful in curtailing unsafe AI development and deployment to date.
Speaker: Serena Booth, Brown University
2D semiconductors: a platform for ultrafast photonics - 03/04/2025 04:00 PM
Latimer Hall Berkeley
Layered materials consist of crystalline sheets with strong in-plane covalent bonds and weak van der Waals out-of-plane interactions. These materials can be easily exfoliated to a single layer, obtaining 2D materials with radically novel physico-chemical characteristics compared to their bulk counterparts. 2D semiconductors exhibit very strong light-matter interaction and exceptionally intense and ultrafast nonlinear optical response, enabling a variety of applications in optoelectronics and photonics. Furthermore, stacking 2D materials into heterostructures (HS) offers unlimited possibilities to design new materials tailored for applications
This talk will review our recent studies on the ultrafast non-equilibrium optical response of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) and their HS. Using high time resolution ultrafast transient absorption (TA) spectroscopy, we monitor the ultrafast onset of exciton formation in TMDs and the dynamics of strongly coupled phonons. Using helicity resolved TA spectroscopy we time-resolve and control intravalley spin-flip processes. In HS of TMDs we time-resolve ultrafast interlayer hole transfer and interlayer exciton formation processes. We also show that strong exciton nonlinear interactions can lead to a complete quenching of the Rabi splitting in TMD-based microcavities.
Speaker: Giulio Cerullo, Politecnico di Milano, Italy
AI Architectures at Scale: Chiplets, Interconnects, and Co-design for Energy Efficiency - 03/04/2025 04:00 PM
Sutardja Dai Hall Berkeley
Recent advancements in deep neural networks (DNNs), especially transformer-based large language models (LLMs), have driven significant progress in artificial intelligence (AI). As demand grows, models expand to trillions of parameters, potentially requiring dedicated nuclear power plants for data centers. While GPUs are commonly used, they are outperformed in energy efficiency by domain-specific accelerators (DSAs). Modern system-on-chip (SoC) designs utilize these DSAs to enable parallel workload execution, known as accelerator-level parallelism (ALP). SoCs need to scale to meet the growing demand but encounter challenges like reticle limits, yield issues, and thermal management. Chipletization - combining multiple chips in one package - offers a solution for improved scalability and composability, leading to what I call chiplet-level parallelism (CLP). Future systems will incorporate various domain-specific chiplets, enhancing parallel execution. Additionally, technologies like silicon photonics will be vital for scaling these architectures to bridge the gap to warehouse-scale computing. This talk will cover the challenges and optimizations for ALP, CLP, and beyond Moore's architectures.
Speaker: Vikram Jain, UC Berkeley
Caring about Nature as Necessary for a Climate Solution - 03/04/2025 04:00 PM
Mitchell Earth Sciences Building (04-560) Stanford
Even when we overcome climate change denial, the question of how to motivate ecological moral priorities remains. Many hold that high consuming citizens' ethical understanding of the extreme and present/future dangers of climate chaos for human wellbeing is sufficient to provoke effective climate action. However, without intense ethical caring about nature itself, the motivation to effectively address climate change will elude us. What forms of ethical caring are needed to combat the very real dangers of global climate change, and what can help cultivate them?
Speaker: Christine Cuomo, University of Georgia
Room: Hartley Conference Center
From 'Discernible' to 'Unequivocal': The Arc of History in Climate Change Attribution Science - 03/04/2025 07:00 PM
Cemex Auditorium Stanford
This year, we are excited to invite Dr. Ben Santer, Fowler Distinguished Scholar in Residence at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, as our lecturer. In addition to having been one of Dr. Schneider's close friends, Dr. Santer is a renowned climate scientist who has helped to reshape the way we understand climate change. He was the lead author of the IPCC report chapter that proved climate change was significantly influenced by human activities.
In his lecture, "From 'Discernible' to 'Unequivocal': The Arc of History in Climate Change Attribution Science," he will discuss his contributions to the IPCC report and his work on human fingerprinting, which is used to identify specific patterns of warming in the atmosphere, ocean, and land that can be directly linked to human activity. He will also honor Dr. Schneider by discussing his contributions to attribution science and understanding signal-to-noise ratios which revolutionized climate science. We hope to see you there!
Wednesday, 03/05/2025
Salmon Mysteries and Beyond: Accelerating Environmental Chemical Discovery with Computational Mass Spectrometry - 03/05/2025 09:00 AM
Spilker Hall Stanford
Emerging contaminants, such as pesticides, plasticizers, and perfluorinated compounds, are well-documented for their harmful eGects on ecosystems and human health. However, the chemicals we have identified so far represent only the tip of the iceberg, with countless potentially harmful contaminants remaining unknown in our environment. In this seminar, Dr. Zhao will showcase how untargeted mass spectrometry can uncover hidden dangers in our environment. She will describe a 20-yr journey that she participated in to chase down a highly toxic chemical in automobile tires that kills salmon. She will then discuss how recent advances in computational mass spectrometry can accelerate this process to maybe only a few weeks to months.
Speaker: Haoqi Zhao, UC San Diego
Attend in person or online (see weblink)
Toward Better Understanding of Clouds and Aerosols in the Climate System - 03/05/2025 03:30 PM
Earth and Marine Sciences Building Santa Cruz
Speaker: Yuan Wang, Stanford University
Energy and Resources Group Colloquium - 03/05/2025 04:00 PM
Giannini Hall Berkeley
The global pandemic highlighted a medical oxygen crisis in African health systems. Poor electricity quality has emerged as a major bottleneck. This talk explores the intersections between power and health, focusing on a study of 25 health facilities monitored between 2022-2024 in East and SouthEast DRC using IoT sensors and innovations in digital monitoring, reporting, and verification.
Speaker: Sam Miles, UC Berkeley
Detecting AI-generated Content In The Era Of Model Collapse - 03/05/2025 04:00 PM
Hoover Memorial Building Stanford
Speakers: Matyas Bohacek, Stanford University; Sergey Sanovich, Hoover Institution
Energy Transition: A Place-Based Economic Development Strategy - 03/05/2025 04:30 PM
Shriram Center Stanford
The transition from an economy mainly driven by fossil fuels to one that is more sustainable, secure, and resilient is often discussed in terms of climate and energy policy. But in reality, shifting from an extractive to a more distributed energy model will have profound impacts on workers, tax structures, land use planning, and communities. To be politically and practically successful, this shift requires a place-based, economic development approach to planning.
Speaker Kate Gordon, CA FWD
Attend in person or online (see weblink for connection information)
Anesthesia at Stanford: Stanford's Contributions to an Emerging Medical Specialty - 03/05/2025 05:00 PM
Li Ka Shing Center for Learning and Knowledge Stanford
The story of the anesthesia service at Stanford is one of many firsts. In 1909, Caroline Palmer, MD founded a modern, all-physician anesthesia department at the Cooper Medical College, the predecessor of Stanford's Medical School, creating a model for other hospitals in the country. William Neff, her successor, later established California's first university anesthesiology residency training program. After the medical school moved to Palo Alto in 1960, John Bunker chaired one of the country's first independent anesthesiology departments, building it into a world-class center for teaching, research and clinical care. Practice and technology innovations continued apace, with developments in infant and neonatal anesthesia and computational monitoring and analysis among many other areas.
In his talk, Jay Brodsky, Professor of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Emeritus, will discuss the milestones of this important Stanford history and highlight the many contributions Stanford anesthesiologists made during the period 1909-1972 to this emerging and critical medical specialty.
Register at weblink.
Attend in person or online
Room: Paul Berg Hall
'Most Delicious Poison' - 03/05/2025 05:00 PM
Doe Memorial Library Berkeley
Noah Whiteman is Professor of Genetics, Genomics, Evolution and Development in the Department of Molecular & Cell Biology and the Department of Integrative Biology at UC Berkeley. His new book is Most Delicious Poison: The Story of Nature's Toxins - From Spices to Vices, published in 2023. Professor Whiteman will be speaking about his book and research, followed by a conversation with Professor Michael Silver and audience Q&A.
we are excited to hear from the Southwest Research Institutes Dr. Maryame El Moutamid: "Why Should We Explore the Planet Uranus?" and the University of Texas at San Antonio's Aaron Deleon: "Our First and Last Line of Planetary Defense".
Building Smarter, Safer Systems: Unlocking AI's Potential for Autonomous Systems with Proven Performance - 03/05/2025 05:30 PM
UC Santa Cruz Silicon Valley Campus Santa Clara
Today's most exciting technologies - self-driving cars, air taxis, space transportation, and healthcare breakthroughs - rely on advanced systems that combine physics, computing, and data. However, the inherent uncertainty in ensuring their safety, reliability, and performance is challenging. Traditional methods often fall short, and while AI techniques like machine learning offer significant potential, they lack the necessary safeguards and formal guarantees needed for real-world applications. This talk will focus on how recent advances in hybrid systems and control are addressing these challenges. By combining certifiable algorithms with modern AI, hybrid systems enable the design of algorithms that meet safety and performance standards under uncertainty, paving the way for safer autonomous vehicles, more reliable space technologies, and robust AI tools.
The Surprising Expansion History of the Universe - 03/05/2025 07:00 PM
Hewlett Teaching Center Stanford
In 1929 Edwin Hubble discovered that our Universe is expanding. Eighty years later, the Space Telescope that bears his name is being used to study an even more surprising phenomenon: that the expansion is speeding up. The origin of this effect is not known, but is broadly attributed to a type of "dark energy" first posited to exist by Albert Einstein and now dominating the mass-energy budget of the Universe. Professor Riess will describe how his team discovered the acceleration of the Universe and why understanding the nature of dark energy presents one of the greatest remaining challenges in astrophysics and cosmology. He will also discuss recent evidence that the Universe continues to defy our best efforts to predict its behavior.
Speaker: Adam Riess, Johns Hopkins University
Copernicus 4.0: How Our Views of Earth's Importance and the Search for Life are Changing - 03/05/2025 07:00 PM
Silicon Valley Astronomy Lecture Series Los Altos Hills
Copernicus' work in 1543 was the kick-off date in the cosmic decentralization of Planet Earth. First, we were relegated to be just another planet in the solar system, then our sun to being just another star in the Milky Way. Now our galaxy seems to be just a suburban member of a regional supercluster. What has remained stubbornly geocentric is our understanding of life and intelligence in the cosmos. But for how much longer? New discoveries and technological advances are accelerating us towards a cosmic vision of Earth as part of a living and thinking universe. This talk will focus on the latest research and observations, at the SETI Institute and elsewhere, about the search for life and intelligence in the Milky Way, and beyond.
Speaker: Dr. Simon Steel, SETI Institute
Earthquakes and their impact on San Francisco - 03/05/2025 07:00 PM
Manny's San Francisco
San Francisco sits on shaky ground. How prepared are we for the next big earthquake?
Join us at Manny's for a fascinating conversation with Dr. Annemarie Baltay, a leading geophysicist at the U.S. Geological Survey, as we dig into the science behind earthquakes and what they mean for our city.
How likely is "The Big One" to happen in our lifetime? What do the recent small quakes tell us about the possibility of a major one? Which parts of San Francisco are in the most danger from liquefaction? And how do scientists actually predict and study earthquakes?
Dr. Baltay's work focuses on ground motion, seismic hazard mapping, and earthquake early warning systems like ShakeAlert, critical tools that help us prepare before disaster strikes. Don't miss this chance to learn what we can do now to build a more resilient city.
Thursday, 03/06/2025
The impacts of hybridization: from molecular mechanism to evolution in nature - 03/06/2025 12:30 PM
Valley Life Sciences Building Berkeley
Hybridization, or the exchange of genes between different species, is much more common than previously recognized. In the past decade, the genome sequencing revolution has allowed us to peer into the evolutionary histories of myriad species. This has led to the realization that many if not most plant and animal species have hybridized with their close relatives. Even the genome of our own species has been shaped by past hybridization. My research program seeks to characterize the genetic and evolutionary consequences of hybridization. We study the mechanisms through which negative genetic interactions are eliminated after hybridization and the situations under which hybridization is beneficial, using swordtail fish as a model system.
Speaker: Molly Schumer, Stanford University
Urban change in energy landscape via AI - 03/06/2025 01:30 PM
Environment and Energy Building (Y2E2) Stanford
Tianuan Huang is a Ph.D. candidate in Civil Engineering with minor in Computer Science at Stanford University. His research focuses on AI applications for urban sustainability, particularly applying computer vision and multimodal learning in the geospatial context, and developing data-driven approaches to enable large-scale mapping, monitoring, and modeling of urban systems.
SETI Live: Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere (PUNCH) - Livestream - 03/06/2025 02:30 PM
SETI Institute
NASA's Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere, or PUNCH mission, is a constellation of four small satellites in low Earth orbit that will make global, 3D observations of the Sun's corona to better understand how the mass and energy there become the solar wind that fills the solar system. Imaging the Sun's corona and the solar wind together will help scientists better understand the entire inner heliosphere - the Sun, solar wind, and Earth - as a single connected system. Solar wind and energetic solar events like flares and coronal mass ejections can create space weather effects throughout the solar system. These phenomena can significantly impact human society and technology, sparking and intensifying auroras, interfering with satellites, and triggering power outages.
The measurements from PUNCH will provide scientists with new information about how these potentially disruptive events form and evolve. This could lead to more accurate predictions about the arrival of space weather events at Earth and the impact on humanity's robotic explorers in space. The launch of PUNCH and the SPHEREx mission is scheduled for no earlier than 27 February 2025 from Vandenberg SFB. Simon Steel, Deputy Director of the Carl Sagan Center, and MUSE Outreach Lead Rebecca Robinson will attend the launch and return to the SETI Institute for a chat about the mission, its scientific goals, and its relevance to understanding life on Earth.
Interactive Language Agents: Training, Evaluation, and Interface - 03/06/2025 04:00 PM
Sonoma State Dept. of Engineering Science Rohnert Park
The increasing capability of Large Language Models (LLMs) makes them appealing for adoption in labor-intensive human tasks. For example, significant efforts have recently focused on developing agents -- systems that map observations and instructions to executable actions -- and their benchmarks in real-world tasks like web navigation. In this talk, I will discuss recent work in training and improving such models through interactions with human users, and developing better evaluations for these agents, which in turn can be used to automatically improve agent performance without requiring any demonstration data or human annotation. However, in developing systems like this, and in applying LLMs and other large pre-trained models to real-world problems, we should be aware of their fundamental limitations; for example, their sensitivity to design considerations like prompt formatting. I will detail recent work where we find that LLMs can be incredibly sensitive to arbitrary design decisions, like choices of separators or multiple choice labels.
Speaker: Alane Suhr, UC Berkeley
Clear Thinking About Climate | Bill Nye - Livestream - 03/06/2025 04:00 PM
Skeptical Inquirer
Skeptical Inquirer was honored to have Bill Nye as the guest editor of its January/February issue, in which he called climate change and critical thinking "the two most serious problems facing us." Nye has spent his award-winning, decades-long career working to address both of them - and has plenty of ideas about how the rest of us can, too.
Bill Nye will join host Bertha Vazquez to discuss his very busy 2025 (including receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom and his stint as SI guest editor), how decades of disinformation has blunted public support for addressing climate change, and why it's essential humankind accept responsibility for its own future...and that of every other species on the planet.
Register at weblink
NightLife: Hot Dino Nights - 03/06/2025 06:00 PM
California Academy of Sciences San Francisco
Step into a colossal party millions of years in the making that will awaken your dino-loving inner child. We're celebrating the launch of our latest exhibit Dino Days with a nod to the most popular dinosaur movie of all time.
After Dark: Play of Light - 03/06/2025 06:00 PM
ExplOratorium San Francisco
Immerse yourself in the world of moving images, cinema arts, and optical illusions.
Friday, 03/07/2025
Morning Hike at Bear Creek Redwoods - 03/07/2025 09:30 AM
Bear Creek Redwoods Los Gatos
Join us for this beautiful hike! A POST volunteer will share a few words about POST's decades of conservation success before the hiking group explores a strenuous but mostly shaded 5.4 mile hike with ~900 feet of elevation gain.
In one of the county's best preserved, second-growth coastal redwood forests, we'll also pass extensive areas of Douglas fir and oak woodland, as well as a few remaining old-growth redwoods. The proximity to the San Andreas fault results in a unique geology and landscape, while there are many remnants of a rich cultural history of the region. The park is also home to a wide variety of mammals, birds and reptiles, some of which might be spotted along the trails.
Register at weblink
UC Santa Cruz Geophysical & Planetary Physics Seminar - 03/07/2025 12:00 PM
Earth and Marine Sciences Building Santa Cruz
Speaker: TBA
Stand Up for Science Rally - 03/07/2025 01:00 PM
Civic Center Plaza San Francisco
Science is for everyone - and benefits everyone. When the federal government supports scientific research through taxpayer funding, it fuels innovation, creates jobs, and sustains the world we live in. From purified water to the polio vaccine to the cell phone you might be reading this on, science has significantly impacted our lives in countless ways. And science has revealed a world of unmatched beauty, order, and mystery, from the inside of the atom to the farthest galaxies.
We're mobilizing in Washington DC and across the nation to keep science free from interference and censorship by government officials.
More info at
http://www.standupforscience2025.org
A Conversation with Eric Schmidt - Livestream - 03/07/2025 02:00 PM
PARC Forum Palo Alto
Join us for a conversation with Eric Schmidt as he delves into AI's societal and ethical implications. Drawing from his new book, Genesis: Artificial Intelligence, Hope, and the Human Spirit, Schmidt will share insights and stories about the critical role of AI in U.S. national security, the ethical and trust issues related to AI, and the essential role of humans in guiding AI innovation in the 21st century. Schmidt is an accomplished technologist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist, and is well-known for his previous role as Google CEO and Chairman.
The event will include a Q&A session, offering attendees the opportunity to engage with one of the world's leading voices on AI's impact on humanity.
Please arrive early to secure your seat. Seating in the main auditorium will be first-come, first-served. Doors will open at 1:15 pm and close promptly at 2 pm. Parking fills up fast, and the walk to the venue is uphill, so please plan accordingly.
Following the program, guests are invited for light refreshments and conversation in our cafe.
Attendees must be 18 to join in person.
Speaker: Eric Schmidt, former CEO and Chairman, Google
In-person event is sold out. You can still watch the event online by registering at the weblink
First Friday: Space for Her - 03/07/2025 06:00 PM
Chabot Space and Science Center Oakland
In September of 2025, NASA's Artemis 2 is set to launch their first crewed mission of the Orion Spacecraft, which will land the first woman on the moon. Meanwhile, women have been making monumental advancements in space science for decades. This First Friday, come hear from some phenomenal women and gender minorities working in space science today!
Free First Friday: Wild Monterey Bay Book Talk and 'From the Unreal to the Real' exhibit opening - 03/07/2025 06:00 PM
Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History Pacific Grove
Join us for a special night with the editors and storytellers of Wild Monterey Bay, a beautiful book that explores the interactions between humans and the wildlife that lives here. Authors of the book will be there to tell their amazing tales, and copies of the book will be available for sale and for signing. The talk will start at 6:15 and will include a Q&A. Visitors are welcome to join at any point during the evening and to explore the Museum while the talk is going on. There will also be a new exhibit on display, "From the Unreal to the Real" that we encourage everyone to explore before or after the talk.
The Moon & Mars: Amazing Places for Humans to Soon Explore - 03/07/2025 08:00 PM
College of San Mateo Bldg 36 San Mateo
The Moon and Mars are humanity's destinations in space this century. Why and how will we explore these worlds? When will we go? Where will we land, what will we see, and what will we do? And who will go?
Dr. Pascal Lee is a leading planetary scientist working on planning the future human exploration of the Moon and Mars. He will guide us through current and emerging new plans to return to the Moon and journey on to Mars, the challenges we face, the wonderful opportunities ahead, and the amazing places humans will soon explore.
Saturday, 03/08/2025
Mt. Tamalpais Frog Docent Program Training - 03/08/2025 09:00 AM
Lake Lagunitas Parking Lot Fairfax
Foothill yellow-legged frogs (Rana boylii) are special because they are only found in isolated ranges in California and nowhere else in the world and are a federal and state listed species. They also tell us important things about the health of fast-flowing streams where they live.
Join ecologists at Marin Water, Marin County Parks, and Kleinfelder to learn about these amphibians and the volunteer program that protects these frogs. When we meet online (9:00 - 11:00 via Zoom), we will cover the natural history, ecology and threats to the frogs, the conservation work going on locally, and how you can volunteer to protect these frogs! In the afternoon (1:00 - 4:00) , join us on a 3-mile round trip hike to Little Carson Falls to meet other volunteers in person, practice using spotting scopes and binoculars, and put identification skills into practice. Once you have completed this training we ask that you shadow a seasoned docent or staff a couple times and then you can sign up for your own shifts. Volunteers will be expected to conduct 3 shifts on their own. The season runs through the end of May. Volunteers must be 18 or older. Sign up for trainings by completing this google form.
Morning Hike at Windy Hill - 03/08/2025 09:00 AM
Windy Hill Open Space Preserve Portola Valley
Join POST on a guided hike on one of the first open spaces we protected as an organization! A POST Representative will share a few words about POST's decades of conservation success before hiking groups leave to explore a strenuous but rewarding 7 mile hike with 1,500 feet of elevation gain.
Windy Hill was the first land protection project POST ever completed. Today, it's an ideal spot for flying kites, walking dogs, mountain biking and horseback riding. The grassy ridge top of this popular 1,312-acre open space preserve is clearly visible from many spots along the Peninsula and is an ideal property to highlight POST's work to expand the extensive recreational trail networks in our region.
Register at weblink. Exact location will be provided on registration.
Wake up to Nature Breakfast Benefit - 03/08/2025 09:30 AM
Mitchell Park Community Center Palo Alto
We are excited to announce Environmental Volunteers annual Wake Up to Nature breakfast benefit! Join us for a morning of inspiration, connection, and celebration of the work that we do to nurture the next generation of environmental stewards. We will have inspiring speakers, testimonials, and more!
Speakers: Alison Cormack, former Palo Alto Councilmember; Scott Loarie, iNaturalist
North Bay Science Discovery Day - 03/08/2025 10:00 AM
Sonoma County Fairgrounds Santa Rosa
The North Bay Science Discovery Day is a one-day public free science festival designed to spark children's wonder and curiosity for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. With over 70 organizations and 100 hands-on interactive exhibits, explore rockets and beehives, robots and sharks, catapults and hearts, animation, animals, and art, and more. Meet and talk to professional scientists and engineers.
Fire ecology hike at Bouverie Preserve - 03/08/2025 10:00 AM
Bouverie Preserve Glen Ellen
Join us for a walk and talk through the oak woodlands, covering prescribed fire management at the Bouverie Preserve in Glen Ellen. We will look at prescribed fire sites burned last spring and fall of 2024.
The hike will be led by Hannah Lopez, projects manager of our Fire Forward program.
Hannah will discuss the ecological significance of burning at Bouverie, why fire is an important tool for stewardship and restoration, and its critical role in creating resilient landscapes. This is a great opportunity to enjoy Bouverie Preserve come alive during the springtime.
Come prepared for a few hours of walking on varied terrain through different habitats. We recommend snacks, water, sunscreen, and a pack. Please bring weather appropriate gear, including suitable hiking shoes and attire.
Register at weblink
Future of Food Grand Opening - 03/08/2025 10:00 AM
Lawrence Hall of Science Berkeley
Come experience our newest hands-on exhibition Future of Food! Discover a world where food choices can help heal the planet, fuel our bodies, and build more sustainable communities. Explore a cow's microbiome, learn about farmbots, and see how new technologies can be to produce foods with a respect for cultural traditions and the environment. Plus, meet food heroes who are innovating how our food can be produced to create a better future for ourselves, our communities, and our planet.
Family Nature Adventures: The Buzz About Bees - Discovering Nature's Tiny Heroes! - 03/08/2025 10:30 AM
Chabot Space and Science Center Oakland
Buzz into the world of bees, from beloved honeybees to the other hidden helpers of our local ecosystem! Learn all about these amazing pollinators, their unique behaviors, and how to identify different species. Head into the redwood forest for a closer look at bees in their natural environment and explore their vital role in the ecosystem. Get ready to bee amazed by the wonders of these tiny yet mighty creatures!
EV Ride and Drive - 03/08/2025 11:00 AM
Sunnyvale Community Center Sunnyvale
Charge up your weekend and experience electric vehicles (EVs). At this event, you'll have the opportunity to:
Sit in, ride and drive EVs to experience the joy of switching to electric firsthand.Explore a lineup of various electric vehicles.Learn from local EV owners and experts.Discover how to save on your next car purchase.
Note: Drivers must be 21 years or older. Otherwise, you can be a rider.
Following your test drive, complete the post-survey and receive a food voucher for the on-site complimentary taco/burrito food truck.Â
CuriOdyssey Weekend Workshop: Rocket Power - 03/08/2025 01:00 PM
CuriOdyssey San Mateo
Become a rocket scientist for the day! Participants will design and test different methods of launching rockets and discover what shapes make the best flyers. From using air pressure to causing a chemical reaction blast see how far your designs can go!
Ages 5 to 10 years old
Cinema Arts: 'Universe in a Grain of Sand' - 03/08/2025 01:30 PM
ExplOratorium San Francisco
How do we make sense of the world around us? Our understanding of nature is shaped by the tools we create to observe it. Both scientists and artists have pushed the frontiers of understanding through an astounding array of human ingenuity and innovation: from glassmaking to semiconductors; from Leibniz's 17th century binary systems to the art of M.C. Escher; from the diverse boat-building techniques of First Nations peoples to the latest advances in computer-generated art and quantum computing.
Featuring a dazzling integration of artwork and experimental cinema - from Picasso to Hilma af Klint to Stan Brakhage - interwoven with scientists striving to understand the deepest mysteries of nature, this film from the award-winning director Mark Levinson (Particle Fever) celebrates the transcendent power of the imagination to make sense of the universe.
Limited Capacity, admission not guaranteed.
City Public Star Party - 03/08/2025 06:30 PM
City Star Parties - Tunnel Tops Park San Francisco
Come join the San Francisco Amateur Astronomers for free public stargazing of the Moon, planets, globular clusters and more!
The event will take place in Tunnel Tops National Park, parking is located adjacent to Picnic Place (210 Lincoln Blvd for GPS) with the telescopes setup in the East Meadow.
Dress warmly as conditions can be windy or cold in the Presidio. Rain, heavy fog or overcast skies cancel the event. Check the SFAA website for a cancellation notice before leaving for the star party.
Jazz Under the Stars - 03/08/2025 06:30 PM
College of San Mateo Bldg 36 San Mateo
Jazz Under the Stars is a FREE monthly public stargazing event! Occurring on the Saturday nearest the 1st quarter moon, join us for a night of smooth jazz, bright stars, and a lot of fun! We play our jazz from CSM's own KCSM 91.1. Founded in 1964, KCSM has grown to become one of the top 35 most listened to non-commercial stations in the US. With their help, the Astronomy department at CSM opens its observatory doors and balcony, for a night of science and fun! We operate for public viewing 8" dobsonian telescopes, prefect for viewing the planets Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. We also have a 140mm refractor, with which we view the craters on the moon. Finally, our 11' schmidt-cassegrain is for our deep sky needs. It can peer deep into globular clusters, and nebulae. Occasionally we even have the chance to image galaxies on our 20" telescope. Our astronomers will also be available for questions and conversation, which you wouldn't get anywhere else! Feel free to ask us your questions about the cosmos.
*Weather in the bay area is notoriously hard to predict, and often the sources we use don't get it correct. Before leaving you home, be sure to check this webpage. If we are to cancel it will be posted here at least a few hours before the start of the event.*
Sunday, 03/09/2025
'SEA Adventures: Stories of Wildlife Encounters' - 03/09/2025 11:00 AM
Seymour Marine Discovery Center Santa Cruz
Meet the editors and some of the storytellers from the 2024 published book: "Wild Monterey Bay: Up Close and Personal Stories of Memorable Wildlife Encounters". Within its pages, over 40 people from all walks of life were interviewed about their most memorable wildlife encounter in Monterey Bay.
Learn about the history of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary from Dan Haifley and meet some of the storytellers, including Ari Friedlaender, Kate Spencer, Monte Ash, and more! Books will be available for purchase and signing. Light refreshments will be provided.
Monday, 03/10/2025
Artificial and Post-Artificial Texts: The Reader's Expectation after AI - 03/10/2025 12:00 PM
Sutardja Dai Hall Berkeley
With the advent of large language models, the number of artificial texts we encounter on a daily basis is about to increase substantially. This talk asks how this new textual situation may influence what one can call the "standard expectation of unknown texts," which has always included the assumption that any text is the work of a human being. As more and more artificial writing begins to circulate, the talk argues, this standard expectation will shift - first, from the immediate assumption of human authorship to, second, a creeping doubt: did a machine write this? In the wake of what Matthew Kirschenbaum has called the "textpocalypse," however, this state cannot be permanent. I suggest that after this second transitional period, one may suspend the question of origins and, third, take on a post-artificial stance. One would then focus only on what a text says, not on who wrote it; post-artificial writing would be read with an agnostic attitude about its origins.
Speaker: Hannes Bajohr, UC Berkeley
Register to attend in person or to watch online (see weblink)
Asteraceae in Isolation: Island Biogeography of the Largest Plant Family - 03/10/2025 12:00 PM
Sonoma State University - Biology Colloquium Rohnert Park
Speaker: Nathan Cho, UC San Francisco
Tell-tale electromagnetic Signatures of Massive Black Hole Binaries - 03/10/2025 12:10 PM
Campbell Hall, Rm 131 Berkeley
Speaker: Jordy Davelaar, Princeton University
Symbolic Systems Forum - 03/10/2025 12:30 PM
Stanford Symbolic Systems Forum Stanford
Speaker: Joshua Phillips, Stanford University
See weblink for building admission information
Magnetic topological insulators: from fundamental physics to a quantum standard of resistance - 03/10/2025 02:30 PM
Birge Hall Berkeley
The quantum anomalous Hall effect (QAHE), first observed in Cr/V-doped (Bi,Sb)2Te3 [1], holds promise as a disruptive innovation in quantum metrology, for its potential to define a new generation of quantum standards of resistance. A goal of modern metrology is to combine the various standards into a combined "quantum electrical metrology toolbox", that can perform quantum resistance, voltage and current metrology. Conventional quantum standards of resistance rely on the integer quantum Hall effect for their operation. The large external magnetic field they need makes a quantum standard of voltage (based on the AC Josephson effect) inoperable. The QAHE is the path to combining these standards.
To this aim, I will begin by reviewing the rich phenomenology we uncovered in our transport studies of these materials, including the transition of conventional electrodynamics to the axionic scaling regime as a function of samples thickness [2,3], as well as the observation of macroscopic quantum tunneling of the magnetization [4].
I will then turn towards applying the QAHE. Metrologically relevant precision of the quantization has already been demonstrated [5,6] under challenging experimental conditions (extremely low temperature and low electrical current). Here, I will introduce a new sample geometry, a multi-terminal Corbino geometry, and show how its use can help push the window of operation towards higher temperature [7] and current [8], and bring us closer to mainstream metrology application.
Speaker: Charles Gould, University of Wurzburg, Germany
Innovator's Edge in Supply Chain Transparency and Food Waste Reduction - 03/10/2025 03:30 PM
Etcheverry Hall Berkeley
Digital technologies are transforming fresh produce retail by enabling real-time freshness tracking and direct consumer access to supply chain data. However, adopting these technologies comes at a high cost. It is therefore essential to determine whether an innovator - the first retailer to adopt supply transparency technology - gains a competitive edge over a follower, who adopts it only after the innovator, and under what conditions this advantage justifies the investment. In a duopoly with freshness-sensitive demand, we show that the innovator benefits from higher profits, greater consumer satisfaction, and improved demand fulfillment - particularly when consumers value transparency.
Additionally, the innovator curbs more food waste through a market shrinkage effect, where the competitor's market share contracts, reducing supply-demand mismatches. We further find that industry-wide adoption is more likely in less competitive markets, suggesting that grocery retail mergers could accelerate transparency adoption and enhance consumer demand satisfaction. Finally, we extend our analysis to cases involving freshness-based discounts and sequential adoption.
Speaker: Jeannette Song, Duke University
Room 3108
AWAKE: beam-plasma interactions and plasma wakefield acceleration - 03/10/2025 03:30 PM
Stanford Linear Accelerator (SLAC) Colloquium Series Menlo Park
Plasma-based accelerators have demonstrated their ability to accelerate electrons at very high gradients (>100GeV/m). They have a number of niche applications.
The AWAKE experiment, located at CERN, aims at producing high-energy electron bunches (50 to 200GeV) for application to particle physics. Large energy gain is in principle possible by avoiding staging challenges, using a single energetic driver and only one plasma for acceleration. A 400GeV bunch from the SPS with 3e11 protons first self-modulates in a 10m-long plasma, then drives wakefields in an accelerator plasma (10 to 200m long). Self-modulation (SM) is an instability we observe. We can control it and make it reproducible with two seeding methods. We observe its growth and saturation. We can suppress it by imposing a linear density gradient along the plasma. SM is an axi-symmetric mode of beam-plasma interaction. We can also seed the non-axi-symmetric hosing mode, and observe its growth. Under particular conditions, we also observe the early stage of the filamentation instability. We accelerate externally-injected, test electrons from 19MeV to 2GeV. Based on these results obtained with only the self-modulator plasma (see the reference below), we developed a clear plan to reach much higher energies by adding a scalabe-in-length accelerator plasma, and injecting a 150MeV electron bunch from an RF-linac. After the success of these injection/acceleration experiments, we will propose an application to particle physics. We will introduce AWAKE, summarize the main results obtained so far, and describe our plans.
Speaker: Partic Muggli, Max Planck Institute for Physics, Munich
Attend in person or online (see weblink)
The quantum limit of gravitational-wave detection - 03/10/2025 04:00 PM
Sonoma State University - What Physicists Do Rohnert Park
Speaker: Prof. Victoria Xu from UC Berkeley will share how the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) uses subtle tricks in quantum squeezing to expand our new gravitational-wave window into the Universe.
High-Temperature Superconductivity in Cuprates - Strides Made and Challenges Remain - 03/10/2025 04:15 PM
Physics North Berkeley
The enduring mystery of high-temperature superconductivity in copper-based materials, with critical temperatures surpassing earlier expectations set by the BCS theory, remains one of the most intriguing puzzles in physics, even three decades after its initial discovery. What makes this enigma so captivating is its simultaneous simplicity - characterized by a single-band and half-spin system - and its extraordinary complexity, featuring rich phenomena such as d-wave superconductivity, the pseudogap, spin and charge orders, and the peculiar behavior of strange metals. Consequently, cuprates have become a paramount model system for exploring correlated electrons, igniting discussions on topics ranging from the physics of the Hubbard model to quantum critical points and Planckian metals.
Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) has emerged as the premier experimental technique for unraveling the intricacies of electronic structure and many-body interactions. In this presentation, I aim to deliver a comprehensive overview of the cuprate conundrum, highlighting both the strides made and the hurdles that persist, with particular focus on recent advancements [1-7]. I will delve into five key themes: i) the unconventional characteristics of the superconducting state, exploring non-s wave pairing and the remarkably robust phase fluctuations; ii) the enduring enigma of the pseudogap, examining its manifestations within the complex electronic phase diagram and the anomalous normal state; iii) the indispensable role played by Mott-Hubbard physics and antiferromagnetic interactions; iv) the inadequacies of the Hubbard model in capturing the pronounced attractive interactions among doped carriers in cuprates; v) and the plausibility of elucidating the entire spectrum of phenomena, including the enhanced superconductivity of unconventional nature, through the interplays of anisotropic electron-electron and electron-phonon interactions.
Speaker: Zhi-Xun Shen, Stanford University
March LASER Event - 03/10/2025 07:00 PM
LASER Leonardo Art Science Evening Rendezvous Stanford
For this LASER we'll experiment a different format than the traditional 20-minute talks. We'll try the "A.T.O.M.I.C." format: A for Anthropology, T for Technology, O for "Omega Point", "M" for Music, "I" for Images, "C" for Cognitive Science. Six discussions on six topics. "I" will be led by Jennifer Parker, founding director of OpenLab at UC Santa Cruz and will be the only extended talk. The others will be:
"A": Jinxia Niu on "Does Disinformation Research hurt Free Speech?"
"T": Piero Scaruffi on "DeepSeek and Sustainable AI"
"O": Krishnan Thyagarajan on "What does Human Obsolescence mean for the future of intelligence?"
"M": Sofia Lozano on "Sound as a Therapy and a Practice"
"I": Jennifer Parker on
"C": Anirudh Sankar on "What the Evolution of Stone Tool Technology says about Cognition"
Each will lead a conversation with a brief introduction and then will invite the others and the audience to join the conversation.
Room: LiKaShing building, LK120
Tuesday, 03/11/2025
UC Berkeley Organic Chemistry Seminar - 03/11/2025 11:00 AM
Latimer Hall Berkeley
Innovation at Agilent: Bridging Research and Real-World Applications - Livestream - 03/11/2025 12:00 PM
Berkeley Sensor & Actuator Center
Unintended Environmental Consequences of Investment Stimulus Policy - 03/11/2025 02:10 PM
Evans Hall Berkeley
Path Towards Exciton Condensation at High Temperatures - 03/11/2025 03:30 PM
Hewlett Teaching Center Stanford
UC Berkeley Physical Chemistry Seminar - 03/11/2025 04:00 PM
Latimer Hall Berkeley
False Beliefs in a Post-Truth World: Psychological Causes and Antidotes - 03/11/2025 05:30 PM
Commonwealth Club San Francisco
Spritacular: Electrical Discharges Above Thunderstorms - Livestream - 03/11/2025 06:00 PM
Night Sky Network
Sal Khan's Brave New Words - 03/11/2025 07:00 PM
Computer History Museum Mountain View
Wednesday, 03/12/2025
Understanding a Fish through Genomics, Microbiomes, and Microplastics - Livestream - 03/12/2025 11:00 AM
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
Fun Times with Fungi: What the Clock of a Fungus can Teach Us about the Importance of a Healthy Circadian Rhythm - 03/12/2025 12:10 PM
Morgan Hall Berkeley
The Morphology and Mythology of Nuclear Waste Containment in the American West - 03/12/2025 03:30 PM
McCone Hall Berkeley
UC Santa Cruz Whole Earth Seminar - 03/12/2025 03:30 PM
Earth and Marine Sciences Building Santa Cruz
Leveraging eDNA to Survey Large Marine Ecosystems in the Northeast Pacific - 03/12/2025 03:30 PM
Estuary & Ocean Science Center Tiburon
Energy and Resources Group Colloquium - 03/12/2025 04:00 PM
Giannini Hall Berkeley
Science in the White House: Integrating Solutions to the Triple Crises of Climate Change, Loss of Biodiversity, and Inequality/Inequity - 03/12/2025 04:10 PM
International House Berkeley
Artificial Art - AI vs Human Composers - 03/12/2025 06:30 PM
swissnex San Francisco San Francisco
Talking Trout: Studying Fish and Taking the Science of Ichthyology - 03/12/2025 07:30 PM
Marin Science Seminar San Rafael
How Do Humans Influence Evolution? Studying the Impacts of Human-made Dams on Endangered Trout Anatomy - 03/12/2025 07:30 PM
Marin Science Seminar San Rafael
Thursday, 03/13/2025
Silicon Valley Leaders Symposium - 03/13/2025 12:00 PM
Silicon Valley Leaders Symposium San Jose
UC Berkeley Integrative Biology Seminar - 03/13/2025 12:30 PM
Valley Life Sciences Building Berkeley
Smart Grid Seminar - 03/13/2025 01:30 PM
Environment and Energy Building (Y2E2) Stanford
SETI Live: Amino Acids on Bennu! Building Blocks for Life Detected in Asteroid Bennu Samples - 03/13/2025 02:30 PM
SETI Institute
Seas the Day: A New Narrative for the Ocean - 03/13/2025 04:10 PM
International House Berkeley
Vector Media - 03/13/2025 05:00 PM
Dwinelle Hall Berkeley
After Dark: Syzygy - 03/13/2025 06:00 PM
ExplOratorium San Francisco
NightLife - 03/13/2025 06:00 PM
California Academy of Sciences San Francisco
Deliberation corrects: The case of conspiracy theories - Livestream - 03/13/2025 06:30 PM
Bay Area Skeptics
Beavers - Livestream - 03/13/2025 07:00 PM
Marin Audubon Society
Total Lunar Eclipse - 03/13/2025 09:00 PM
Chabot Space and Science Center Oakland
Lunar Eclipse Observation - 03/13/2025 10:00 PM
Foothill College Los Altos Hills
Lunar Eclipse Watch Party - 03/13/2025 10:00 PM
Lawrence Hall of Science Berkeley
Friday, 03/14/2025
Bair Island Walking Tour - 03/14/2025 10:00 AM
Bair Island Wildlife Refuge & Trail Redwood City
Pi Day - 03/14/2025 11:00 AM
ExplOratorium San Francisco
UC Santa Cruz Geophysical & Planetary Physics Seminar - 03/14/2025 12:00 PM
Earth and Marine Sciences Building Santa Cruz
Superconducting van der Waals Devices For Quantum Technology - 03/14/2025 02:00 PM
Tan Hall Berkeley
Robotaxis and AI: Navigating Mobility Innovation and the Public Good - 03/14/2025 03:00 PM
CITRIS at UC Berkeley Berkeley
Sonoma Mycological Association General Meeting: David Arora - 03/14/2025 06:00 PM
Sebastopol Grange Sebastopol
Saturday, 03/15/2025
Keeper Academy at CuriOdyssey - 03/15/2025 08:30 AM
CuriOdyssey San Mateo
AI Workshop: Humanoid Robotics - 03/15/2025 09:00 AM
UC Santa Cruz Silicon Valley Campus Santa Clara
Salamander Search at Sanborn - 03/15/2025 10:30 AM
Sanborn Science and Nature Center Saratoga
Foothills Family Nature Walk - 03/15/2025 11:00 AM
Foothills Nature Preserve Los Altos
Monday, 03/17/2025
Searching for Wandering MHBs and Stornly Lensed Transients in the Ear of Rubin, Roman, and Euclid - 03/17/2025 12:10 PM
Campbell Hall, Rm 131 Berkeley
UC Berkeley Industrial Engineering and Operations Research Seminar - 03/17/2025 03:30 PM
Etcheverry Hall Berkeley
Seeing Triple: the Multiply-imaged Standard Candle Supernova 'H0pe' That Yielded a Value for the Current Expansion Rate of the Universe - 03/17/2025 03:30 PM
Stanford Linear Accelerator (SLAC) Colloquium Series Menlo Park
UC Berkeley Special Chemistry Lecture - 03/17/2025 04:00 PM
Stanley Hall Berkeley
Evolution of social behaviors in nature and under domestication - 03/17/2025 04:00 PM
James H. Clark Center (Bldg 340) Stanford