Hello again Science Fans!
I fully realize that with a subject line/title such as the one I wrote this week, I run the risk of shooting myself in the foot with an unclear editorial today. Ah, the risks we take…
As I’m sure you know, California faces a serious drought condition. While the rain and snow we received so far has lessened the severity, the drought is far from broken. So we’re under water use restrictions that call for a 15% reduction in water usage compared to our 2019 usage. So far, so good.
But who knows what their 2019 water usage was? Show of hands? And even if you did, how would you know if you were using less now? Consulting your bill would be after the fact and you can’t put water back in the tap.
So a few weeks ago I got a letter from San Jose Water, my water utility. If they supply your water, you probably got one too. It showed how much I used in 2019 and what my allocation would be for 2022, based on a 15% reduction. Just the information I was looking for! Or was it?
Here’s what it showed:
First off, on the left it shows my 2019 usage in roughly 2 month periods, matching my billing periods, while showing my allocations for each month on the right. The periods don’t match, so we have an apples and oranges comparison right off the bat.
The units of measure are in CCF. Nowhere in the letter does it tell me what CCF means. So I turned to Google. The first C stands for the Roman numeral for 100, believe it or not. The remaining letters stand for cubic feet, so 100 cubic feet = 1 CCF. The letter DOES define 1 CCF as 748 gallons of water, something I can finally relate to, sort of, except I have little concept of just how big 748 gallons, or 100 cubic feet (or 6,230.84 pounds for that matter) of water is.
Next, the letter says my allocation reflects the 15% reduction that will be imposed. Yet the numbers on the right showing my allocation per month (not per billing period) are all larger.
Further down on the page is this table:
There’s a minimum amount per month below which you won’t be cut, and that amount is larger than what I used at any point. The column on the right matches the allocation allowance in the previous table.
That was clear, wasn’t it? They couldn’t just say “since your usage was less than the minimum, don’t worry”?
I was reminded of the importance of clarity just today when I read that way back in 1845, on this date, Congress passed a law setting Federal Election Day as the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November. That means November 1st can’t be election day. Why? What is so special about November 1st that it can’t be election day? A Sugar coma from Halloween the night before? All Saints Day?
It turns out it is more mundane than that and is related to our agrarian society, the harvest, going to church on Sunday, and travel to the county seat to vote. Here’s the full explanation.
We’ve talked here many times about the importance of clear communication in science. As I researched articles for this week’s Schmooze, I came across more examples where clear communication would improve things.
One area deals with COVID-19, of course, where various studies are quoted on a daily basis to either support or refute the writer’s point of view. Booster shots fight off Omicron. Booster protection wanes after 10 weeks. A fourth booster is only partially effective.
We’re now told we should be wearing N95 or KN95 rated masks instead of cloth masks to fight Omicron. Back when masks were first being called out, N95s were in short supply and were being restricted to medical use. Now they are more plentiful. Here’s why they are better.
Most times when omicron is mentioned, it coincides with language along the lines of it being milder, or not as serious, as previous strains. I’ve even heard of people saying they want to be exposed to omicron to get it over with. Your definition of “mild” and health professionals’ definition probably are not nearly the same.
Another area of science where clear communication is critical is sex. Yet our sex education is anything but clear, detailed, uniform, or even accurate. It varies greatly depending on which state you live in. I recently came across a YouTube channel by sexologist Dr. Lindsey Doe. She is one of those rare people who can communicate science clearly, with humor, and without embarrassment. Her channel began in June, 2013 and I highly recommend it. I’m about half way through watching her short videos and have learned a lot.
I’m sure you have seen emails and other communications where the signature area contains a list of pronouns the writer wishes to be used to identify themselves. You may have wondered, like I did, what is behind this movement. Dr. Doe has several short videos on the subject of non-binary sexual identification and the science behind it. Now I’m educated!
I’ve also skipped ahead and I’m distressed and angry about what I found.
Dr. Doe has been harassed by people who don’t share her views, or who just don’t like the subject matter in general, to the point that she shut down her channel at the end of 2021 and had to move out of the US for her own physical and mental health. That’s plain awful, and I’m sorry that the political and social climate in this country is such that she was driven to take this extreme action.
On to other science news…
The Tongan undersea volcano eruption appears to be much larger than the largest nuclear detonation ever conducted, by a large margin. There’s nothing nuclear about the volcano, but in terms of energy released it was enormous. And echos of the shock wave are still traveling around the planet and into space.
No doubt you’ve read or heard about issues with 5G cell phone service and airports. Why are airlines canceling some flights and pushing back on the deployment of 5G around some airports? The short answer is it has to do with radio altimeter interference. It has nothing to do with the deployment of 5G and the concurrent spread of COVID. But that has not stopped conspiracy theorists from burning down 5G towers.
Ever wonder what it would be like to be a penguin and swim through a school of sardines?
On Monday, the James Webb Space Telescope will reach L2, the point in space where it will assume an orbit. The telescope’s mirrors have deployed successfully. Live coverage of the arrival at L2 should be available from NASA here. The next step, after reaching L2, is for scientists to fine tune the alignment of the mirrors, a process that will take some time. Congratulation are in order to all the folks who worked long and hard to make this mission a success so far.
On Mars, Perseverance has taken care of some troublesome pebbles and is back in action. Meanwhile, the Ingenuity helicopter had to remain grounded due to inclement weather. Flight delays are now a thing on Mars too.
Closer to home, the dark side of the earth’s moon is covered with sticky soil and fresh craters, discovered by China’s Yutu-2 rover.
The Solar Dynamics Observatory captured images of a very large solar flare this week. An animation leads the Schmooze.
Lastly, the Telescope Makers Workshop, one of only a handful of regular telescope making workshops in the US, resumes this Friday, January 28 at Chabot Space and Science Center in Oakland. If you or someone in your family is interested in building their own telescope, this might be the project to start them on a journey of exploration. The workshops are free, but materials cost up to $200, depending on the size of the mirror. This isn’t listed on Chabot’s website (yet) so contact Richard Ozer directly if you are interested (richozer1@gmail.com).
Please support science education and clear communication. And in the words of Dr. Lindsey Doe, “Stay Curious”.
Have a great week in Science.
Bob Siederer
Monday, 01/24/2022
Florilegia: From Historic Voyages to the Present-day Revival - Livestream - 01/24/2022 10:00 AM
UC Botanical Garden
A florilegium is a collection of botanical illustrations depicting the plants of a notable location. This online lecture by botanical artist Catherine Watters will take you on a journey from 16th century voyages of exploration to gather and document plants from far corners of the world, to contemporary collections illustrating the plants of notable botanical gardens or areas of particular interest. (Learn out about the UC Botanical Garden's own florilegium project to begin in 2022!)
Register at weblink to receive connection information
Athermal Phonon Sensor R&D for Low-Mass Dark Matter Detectors - Livestream - 01/24/2022 10:00 AM
SLAC Special Seminar
In the direct detection of dark matter with masses down to O(keV), the energies im- parted in the detector become vanishingly small. Many novel ideas have been proposed for instrumenting athermal phonon sensors on Fermi-degenerate materials [1], polar crystals [2-4], and CVD diamond [5], requiring detector energy thresholds of O(1-100) meV.
Transition-Edge Sensors (TESs) are commonly used in similar applications for their energy variance scaling relation σE2 ∝ V Tc3. However, a baseline energy variance that scales as σE2 ∝ V Tc6 can be achieved by using QETs (Quasiparticle-trap-assisted Elec- trothermal feedback Transition-edge sensors) and decreasing the amount of phonon ab- sorbing surfaces (“low-coverage”) to match the athermal phonon collection bandwidth to the QET sensor bandwidth. This dependence on Tc suggests that huge gains in energy sensitivity can be made with low-Tc devices.
In this talk, I will discuss the R&D progress that I have made towards the develop- ment of these sensors as part of the SPICE/HeRALD and SuperCDMS collaborations. Specifically, I will present the design and testing of a low-Tc, low-surface coverage pro- totype set of detectors that takes advantage of the above QET scaling laws and are expected to have sub-100 meV energy resolutions. Additionally, I will propose an R&D plan to improve the energy collection efficiency of athermal phonon sensors, which would not only benefit the direct dark matter detection community, but the larger quantum sensing community.
Speaker: Caleb Fink, UC Berkeley
See weblink for Zoom information
How do we know anything at all about space? - Livestream - 01/24/2022 11:00 AM
Royal Observatory, Edinburgh
No one has ever travelled beyond our cosmic back yard, so all we really have to go off is the tiny drizzles of light that hit our telescope.
The Andromeda Galaxy weighs 800 billion times the mass of the sun. The Galaxy M51 is 26 million light years from earth. The Pleiades are between 75 and 150 million years old. These are all "facts" about space, but how do we know any of them? No one has ever travelled beyond our cosmic back yard, so all we really have to go off is the tiny drizzles of light that hit our telescopes. In this talk Dr. Ciaran Fairhurst will devote some time looking at how the sausage is made, and just how hard it is to assemble anything that looks like knowledge about space.
Language and Behavior Change - Livestream - 01/24/2022 01:15 PM
Stanford Symbolic Systems Forum
One surprising barrier to improving our habits is the English language. Our vocabulary for behavior change is impoverished. And frankly, I don’t know why. On one hand, we have common words (like reward and habit) that are ambiguous. On the other hand, we lack English words for important behavior-related concepts and processes. I’ve grappled with these limitations over the last 12 years, as I’ve coached over 40,000 people in habit formation. In this talk I will share some common examples, explain why they are problematic, and share ways I’ve tried to address these challenges by coining new words. To promote a better technical vocabulary, I’ve compiled a glossary of key terms in Behavior Design, which I will share during this talk.
Speaker: B. J. Fogg, Stanford Medical School
See weblink for connection link to Zoom
Continuous Single-Shot Detection of Quasiparticle Trapping - 01/24/2022 02:30 PM
Physics North Berkeley
Superconducting quantum circuits are plagued by nonequilibrium populations of quasiparticle excitations. These quasiparticles can cause relaxation and spurious excitation of qubit states, producing errors in a quantum algorithm, and can cause correlated errors that are particularly difficult to address with error correction. To mitigate the effects of these quasiparticles, we need to understand their behavior better. Measurements of quasiparticle trapping in the internal Andreev states of a Josephson junction provide an excellent tool for continuous, non-saturating detection of quasiparticles. I will present our recent results using a superconducting resonator incorporating two aluminum nanobridge Josephson junctions to detect up to 3 quasiparticles trapping at once with high fidelity. I will present measurements of the quasiparticle trapping and untraping behavior, and discuss how we can use our detector device to develop quasiparticle mitigation techniques.
Speaker: Eli Levenson-Falk, University of Southern California
Attend in person or online
Adventures In Life-Work Balance Across Four Simultaneous Careers - Livestream - 01/24/2022 03:30 PM
SLAC Colloquium
How does diversity intertwine along a pathway as a researcher, teacher, public intellectual, presidential advisor, husband, and father (along with 11D supergravity)?
This will be recounted by our speaker, Jim Gates, Brown University
Stanford Energy Seminar: Vivas Kumar - Livestream - 01/24/2022 04:00 PM
Stanford Energy Seminar
Vivas Kumar is CEO and founder of Mitra Chem, which is the first lithium-ion battery materials manufacturer focused on shortening the lab-to-production timeline by over 90%, addressing the largest barrier to innovation: R&D and scale-up speed. Vivas received his MBA for Stanford University.
Fertile grounds for agricultural resilience: Harnessing multiple interactions in agroecosystems - 01/24/2022 04:00 PM
James H. Clark Center (Bldg 340) Stanford
Dr. Aidee Guzman is interested in agroecological approaches that could harness biodiversity and ecosystem functioning for improved agricultural resilience. She is currently an NSF and UC Chancellor's Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at UC Irvine. Previously, she completed her PhD in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management at UC Berkeley. She studies how agricultural management impacts biotic interactions (e.g. between plants, insects, and microbes) across scales (e.g. shifts in community structure, cascading changes in ecosystem functioning). Her interdisciplinary research program also includes extensive collaborations with social scientists to examine the socio-political drivers and barriers inherent within agricultural systems. The overall goal of her research is to support farmers - especially those who are historically underserved - through research, education, and outreach that builds on their innovations and demonstrates ecological pathways to agricultural resilience.
Breaking the Standard Model (of Embryonic Development) - Livestream - 01/24/2022 04:15 PM
UC Berkeley
Over the last few decades, we have witnessed a revolution in the study of living matter. However, we have yet to reach a predictive understanding of such matter that is on par with the successes seen in physics for inanimate matter. In this talk, I will show how we take on the challenge of predictively understanding of living matter in the important context of cellular decision making. Specifically, we aim to predict how the information stored in the DNA of cells within a developing animal embryo dictates how these cells will adopt different fates and become familiar cell types such as those found in muscle, liver and our brains. Using the fruit fly, arguably the hydrogen atom of embryonic development, as a case study, I will introduce theoretical models rooted in equilibrium statistical mechanics that make polarizing predictions about the number, position and timing of the emergence of the body parts that make up the animal. I will then show how new technologies we have pioneered for precisely quantifying how individual cells adopt their fates within a living, developing embryo cast doubt on this standard model of embryonic development. Instead, our experiments call for the adoption of models drawn from the frontiers of non-equilibrium statistical physics that account for the energy consuming processes inside the cell, motivating a new and exciting iteration of the theory-experiment dialogue.
Speaker: Hernan Garcia, University of California Berkeley
See weblink for Zoom information
Climate Futures: Beyond 02022 - 01/24/2022 07:00 PM
Cowell Theater San Francisco
Long Now continues our dialog with the acclaimed writer Kim Stanley Robinson around COP26 and his most recent book The Ministry for the Future. Tickets for the in-person talk in San Francisco & RSVP for the livestream will be released to Long Now Members first, about one month before the talk. You can find our other talks with Kim Stanley Robinson on our YouTube channel.
Attend in person or online. Watch & share this talk on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Long Now Live.
Tuesday, 01/25/2022
Geomechanical Issues Affecting Long-Term Storage of CO2 - Livestream - 01/25/2022 12:00 PM
Stanford University
The next several decades pose enormous challenges, and opportunities, for the global oil and gas industry. While oil and gas will continue to be used for decades to come, it is now recognized that enormous quantities of CO2 have to be stored in subsurface geologic formations to reach global decarbonization goals. International bodies, countries (including China and the U.S., the world’s two largest greenhouse gas emitters) and 25% of Fortune 500 companies have all established net-zero emission goals by mid-century. In this talk, I will focus on a number of geomechanical issues that have to be considered to ensure long-term storage efficacy. While it has been long recognized that changes in reservoir pressure should not exceed the pressure at which hydraulic fracturing might occur of seal formations, this presentation will focus on a number of other issues have not been sufficiently addressed. First, it is important to identify potentially active faults to limit the possibility that injection-related increases in pore pressure could induce seismic, or aseismic, slip on known faults. Also, as existing evidence shows that potentially active faults (and the damage zones that surround them) are permeable, the presence of potentially active faults represent possible leakage pathways that should be avoided, even when injection-related pressure changes are too small to induce fault slip. Second, when utilizing depleted oil and gas reservoirs for long-term storage of CO2, it is important to understand both the mechanical changes of the reservoir rocks and the stress changes that resulted from depletion. Such knowledge is required to predict how pressure associated with CO2 injection will affect the reservoir. Finally, from the perspective of induced seismicity, it is critically-important to identify reservoirs with both top seals and bottom seals to avoid pressure communication to potentially active faults in the basement.
Speaker: Mark Zoback, Stanford University, Emeritus
Register at weblink to receive connection information.
The development of microwave-multiplexed focal-plane modules for cosmic microwave background probes - Livestream - 01/25/2022 01:00 PM
SLAC Special Seminar
The cosmic microwave background (CMB) provides a snapshot of the early universe and serves a backlight for the subsequent 13.8 billion years of cosmic evolution. Upcoming surveys of the millimeter sky, designed to measure the CMB, will address a host of cosmological and astrophysical questions, from probing primordial gravity waves to constraining sum of the neutrino masses to understanding galactic star formation. Cryogenic superconducting detectors have become photon-noise limited, such that improving the sensitivity of CMB measurements requires increasing the number of these detectors on the sky. Since thermal loading and wiring complexity scale with detector count, novel multiplexing technologies, in which multiple detectors are read out with a single amplification chain, have been developed for CMB experiments. The Simons Observatory (SO), an upcoming CMB experiment, will deploy densely packed detector modules that utilize a novel microwave SQUID multiplexing architecture. The unprecedented multiplexing factor achieved by SO was made possible by advancements in both warm and cold readout electronics. I will present on the design, assembly, and validation of the SO detector modules.
Speaker: Erin Healy, Princeton University
Death to DAMA? Designing and assessing model independent tests of DAMA's modulation signal - Livestream - 01/25/2022 03:00 PM
SLAC Special Seminar
Particulate dark matter is a long hypothesized solution to various astrophysical observations seemingly at odds with a completely luminous universe. Despite the success of dark matter in explaining these observations, to date physicists have been unable to conclusively observe its interactions with Standard Model matter directly.
This talk will focus on results from the DAMA/LIBRA experiment, which for the past 2 decades has reported a modulation signal consistent with dark matter, but in tension with other null experimental results under the usual dark matter assumptions. We will examine how moving away from the typical dark matter models can help to relax the tension between DAMA/LIBRA and other experimental searches, and discuss the need for a model independent test of this signal. In particular we will explore some of the difficulties of designing such a test, the present and projected exclusion power of operating and planned experiments (COSINE, ANAIS, and with a special focus on SABRE), and whether a truly model independent test of this mysterious modulation is even possible.
Speaker: Madeleine Zurowski, University of Melbourne
See weblink for Zoom information
Investigating the redox conditions contributing to organic matter burial in the geologic record - 01/25/2022 03:30 PM
Natural Science Annex Santa Cruz
Speaker: Selva Marroquin, Caltech
Digitized data and computational methods have revolutionized the way we understand ourselves, society, and our place in society. On the one hand, this moment has revived calls for a social physics: a social science that can identify the underlying laws that govern social interaction and behavior. On the other hand, when it comes to prediction, one of the ways to evaluate the efficacy of computational methods to model social systems, even the most sophisticated methods are themselves inaccurate, and perform only marginally better than basic regression models. In this talk I propose that, despite its claims to elevate social science to the level of the physical sciences, the social physics perspective as it is currently practiced produces a decidedly unscientific and unobjective approach to social science. I propose an alternative framework, that of partial perspectives and situated knowledges, that I argue will enable us to better realize the full potential of this moment to truly advance a radically objective science of society.
Speaker: Laura Nelson, University of British Columbia
Register at weblink to receive Zoom information
Phytoplankton: Why these tiny 'plants' are a big deal - Livestream - 01/25/2022 06:00 PM
Seymour Science Center
Without phytoplankton, single-celled organisms that live in the water, life as we know it would not exist. Join our speakers to explore the histories of these fascinating organisms that cause beautiful, blue luminescent oceans or deadly red tides. Learn about the current state of phytoplankton in Monterey Bay and around the globe. Understand how climate change is affecting these microorganisms that are critical to all life on Earth.
Register at weblink to receive connection information
Whale Conservation on the US West Coast: Decreasing the Risk of Deadly Ship Strikes - Livestream - 01/25/2022 07:00 PM
American Cetacean Society
Point Blue Conservation Science has been conducting research to decrease ship strikes along the US West Coast. In this talk, Cotton Rockwood, Senior Marine Ecologist with the California Current Group at Point Blue, will provide an update on their work to estimate whale mortality in the West Coast exclusive economic zone. He will also describe their work focused on National Marine Sanctuaries off San Francisco and the Channel Islands to assess the effectiveness of their ship strike management measures and provide recommendations to save more whales.
Register at weblink to receive connection information
Wednesday, 01/26/2022
January LASER Event - Livestream - 01/26/2022 12:00 PM
LASER Leonardo Art Science Evening Rendezvous
Pattie Maes (MIT) on "Cognitive Enhancement"
Sarah Friend (Cryptoartist) on "Systems as Fictions"
Amelia Winger-Bearskin (Media Artist, University of Florida) on "Visual Storytelling with Bleeding-edge Technologies"
See weblink for connection information
Science on Tap - Improving Groundwater Supply and Quality in California: Challenges and Opportunities - 01/26/2022 07:00 PM
Museum of Art and History Santa Cruz
Due to increased fresh water demand, shifts in land use, and climate change, California is increasingly dependent on groundwater, particularly in times of drought when surface water resources are scarce. This has led to aquifer overdraft, contributing to land subsidence, loss of storage capacity, and decreases in water quality. Managed aquifer recharge (MAR), in which surface water is infiltrated into shallow aquifers for later use, is a strategy that can help to replenish groundwater supplies. Water used for MAR can come from a number of sources such as diverted surface flows, hillslope runoff, or treated wastewater. Source water quality can vary and can potentially contain contaminants that threaten groundwater quality. However, MAR systems can also improve groundwater quality through dilution and biogeochemical cycling of contaminants. In this talk, I will discuss the current water resource challenges California is facing, and the opportunities for improving groundwater resources using MAR systems.
Speaker: Jennifer Pensky, UC Santa Cruz
Register at weblink
Thursday, 01/27/2022
Can ag-tech support organic farming? A political economy perspective - Livestream - 01/27/2022 03:00 PM
UC Santa Cruz
In this UC Santa Cruz Center for Agroecology Research Affiliate Lecture, Professor Julie Guthman (Community Studies) will share a presentation on ag-tech and organic farming. Attendees will have time to meet, greet, and visit before the presentation.
See weblink for Zoom information
Species Here, Species There, and Species, Species Everywhere - Livestream - 01/27/2022 06:00 PM
US Geological Survey Public Lecture Series
Speaker: Thomas Edwards, Utah Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, USGS
See weblink for connection information
Fungus Among Us NightLife - 01/27/2022 06:00 PM
California Academy of Sciences San Francisco
Celebrate the myriad applications of mycelium in a night dedicated to the fascinating world of fungi. Full event details coming soon!
How Technology Shapes Our Thinking and Decisions - 01/27/2022 06:00 PM
Commonwealth Club San Francisco
For nearly five years, NBC News technology correspondent Jacob Ward has reported on the unanticipated consequences of science and technology on our lives. His new book, The Loop: How Technology is Creating a World Without Choices and How to Fight Back, builds on this work by exploring the ways artificial intelligence is beginning to curate our choices for us, and how capitalism packages those choices for our unconscious acceptance. The consequences for individuals and our society from this unseen "loop" are tremendous, and growing every day.
Artificial intelligence is changing the world as we know it. But the real danger isn't some movie-style robot that's going to enslave us; it's actually our own brains that are being re-shaped by technology, according to Ward. He explores how our brains are constantly making decisions using shortcuts, biases, and hidden processes using technology built to reinforce those very same processes. In short, he says it is a feedback loop - that magnifies our worst instincts so that we have fewer choices, leading to a potentially dangerous future.
At this important talk, Ward will discuss how our brains make decisions and how artificial intelligence in such areas of policing, entertainment, parenting, the military and more are shaped by algorithms, and then how patterns of behaviors are shaped further by those very algorithms, creating patterns that organize and manipulate our lives., often without us even knowing it. Please join us as we question the on-going impact of the machines that humans created.
Attend in person or online
Speaker: Jacob Ward, NBC News
After Dark: Glow Closing - 01/27/2022 06:00 PM
ExplOratorium San Francisco
Visible light inspires us across cultures, reveals nature’s beauty, and contains clues to the history of space and time. Join us for the final After Dark before the lights dim on Glow - a collection of ten luminous sculptures big and small inviting you to connect to, reflect on, and interact with light. Glow features artworks by Michael Brown, CHiKA, Nick Dong, Alicia Eggert, Ekene Ijeoma, Luke Jerram, Burt Libe, and Ames Palms.
Friday, 01/28/2022
Simulations of Dust Thermal Processing in Space inside of an Electron Microscope - 01/28/2022 12:00 PM
Earth and Marine Sciences Building Santa Cruz
Speaker: Pierre Haenecour, University of Arizona
Chemical Recycling of Mechanically Robust Polyacetals Synthesized by Living Cationic Ring-Opening Polymerization - 01/28/2022 02:00 PM
LeConte Hall, Rm 4 Berkeley
Chemical recycling of polymers to monomer (CRM) is one of the most attractive methods to retain value in polymer materials during the recycling process. Polymers with low to moderate ceiling temperatures (Tc) are often employed in applications where recycling by depolymerization is desired. Polyacetals are a promising class of chemically recyclable polymers that exhibit a wide range of ceiling temperatures and mechanical properties that depend upon monomer structure. However, current catalyst systems for polyacetal synthesis are uncontrolled and produce polymers with low molecular weights, reducing the mechanical integrity of these materials and limiting their practical use. Furthermore, polyacetals produced by these systems often possess low thermal stabilities due to the presence of residual catalyst. To access well-defined high molecular weight polyacetals, we have developed a highly selective catalyst system that facilitates the controlled cationic ring-opening polymerization (CROP) of cyclic acetal monomers. High molecular weight polyacetals were synthesized at room temperature and possessed high thermal stability (Td > 300 °C) in the absence of catalyst. Additionally, select polyacetals exhibit mechanical properties that rival those of polyolefins and can be selectively depolymerized from complex mixtures of plastic waste back to pure monomer at moderate temperatures using a separate depolymerization catalyst. The use of distinct polymerization and depolymerization catalysts allows for both synthesis and depolymerization of polyacetals under mild conditions, affording a practical method towards the catalytic conversion of polyacetals back to value-retained monomers.
Speaker: Brooks Abel, UC Berkeley
The Future of Mental Health Apps - 01/28/2022 06:00 PM
SF Health Tech San Francisco
The digital mental health space was overgrowing even before the COVID-19 but, stress and anxiety brought by the pandemic have increased the demand for virtual mental health services, including mental health apps.
According to recent research, more than 11% of the global population, nearly 800 million people, live with a mental health illness. Mental health was the top-funded therapeutic area in 2021, with mental health startups raising $2 billion in funding globally.
What are some of the most popular mental health apps?How useful are mental health apps compared to traditional talk therapy?What are some of the limitations?
Space is limited.
Free Telescope Viewings - 01/28/2022 07:30 PM
Chabot Space and Science Center Oakland
Join Chabot astronomers on the Observatory Deck for a free telescope viewing! Weather permitting, this is a chance to explore stars, planets and more through Chabot’s historic telescopes. Chabot’s three large historic telescopes offer a unique way to experience the awe and wonder of the Universe. Our observatory deck offers breathtaking views 1,500 feet above the Bay. Three observatory domes house the Center’s 8-inch (Leah, 1883) and 20-inch (Rachel, 1916) refracting telescopes, along with a 36-inch reflecting telescope (Nellie, 2003).
Are the skies clear for viewing tonight? Viewing can be impacted by rain, clouds, humidity and other weather conditions. Conditions can be unique to Chabot because of its unique location in Joaquin Miller Park. Before your visit, check out the Weather Station to see the current conditions at Chabot.
Saturday, 01/29/2022
Science Saturdays - Amazing Migrations - 01/29/2022 10:00 AM
Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History
Join us as we investigate the world of long-distance animal travels. Whales, birds, insects, and more will be the focus of our deeper look at these natural phenomena. Learn about the many amazing migrators that visit Monterey County every year and celebrate another birthday for Sandy the Whale!
Marine Life Studies is a nonprofit organization committed to protecting our ocean, whales, dolphins and other marine wildlife. Tune in as they teach us about the many Monterey Bay marine visitors. We will learn why some of these organisms stop here on their long migrations, getting a closer look at humpback whales and gray whales.
This is a free family-friendly event. All are welcome!
Urban Hikes: Visitacion Valley and Little Hollywood - 01/29/2022 12:00 PM
Shaping San Francisco
From a Greenway to sites of industry, architecture, and agriculture, the neighborhoods on our City's southeastern border are alive with history and growth!
RSVP required: shaping@foundsf.org to obtain specific location information.
Free Telescope Viewings - 01/29/2022 07:30 PM
Chabot Space and Science Center Oakland
Join Chabot astronomers on the Observatory Deck for a free telescope viewing! Weather permitting, this is a chance to explore stars, planets and more through Chabot’s historic telescopes. Chabot’s three large historic telescopes offer a unique way to experience the awe and wonder of the Universe. Our observatory deck offers breathtaking views 1,500 feet above the Bay. Three observatory domes house the Center’s 8-inch (Leah, 1883) and 20-inch (Rachel, 1916) refracting telescopes, along with a 36-inch reflecting telescope (Nellie, 2003).
Are the skies clear for viewing tonight? Viewing can be impacted by rain, clouds, humidity and other weather conditions. Conditions can be unique to Chabot because of its unique location in Joaquin Miller Park. Before your visit, check out the Weather Station to see the current conditions at Chabot.
Monday, 01/31/2022
Butterflies - Livestream - 01/31/2022 12:00 PM
Sonoma State Biology Colloquium
Speaker: Akito Kawahara, Florida Museum of Natural History
See link for Zoom information
Symbolic Systems Forum - Livestream - 01/31/2022 12:15 PM
Stanford Symbolic Systems Forum
Speaker: Kelly Cochran, Stanford University
Johannes Eichstaedt, Stanford University, was originally scheduled to speak on this date.
See weblink to register
Symbolic Systems Forum - Rescheduled - 01/31/2022 12:15 PM
Stanford Symbolic Systems Forum
Speaker: Johannes Eichstaedt, Stanford University, will now speak on March 7, 2022.
See weblink to register
Many-body ground state problem and near-term quantum computer - Livestream - 01/31/2022 02:30 PM
UC Berkeley Condensed Matter Physics Seminar
Speaker: Isaac Kim, UC Davis
It is well-known that solving the ground state of locally interacting quantum many-body systems can be computationally challenging in two spatial dimensions and higher. There are approaches to solve this problem using a quantum computer, but the quantum computers available these days are still noisy and small, posing a significant challenge in obtaining high-accuracy solutions. I will discuss an overview of known approaches, focusing on their promises and challenges. Then I will discuss an approach that can sidestep many of these practical challenges. This is an approach in which the variational calculation of already-established many-body ansatz (e.g., tensor network) is delegated to a quantum computer. This approach leverages the known structure of wave functions in many-body systems, leading to speedups using a modest amount of resources, while ensuring that the outcome of the computation is robust to experimental noise.
Attend in person or online
Stanford Energy Seminar: Alex Grant - Livestream - 01/31/2022 04:00 PM
Stanford Energy Seminar
Alex Grant is focused on sustainable mining of lithium and other battery minerals. He works with lithium project developers, investors, and governments to evaluate the feasibility of new tech in lithium extraction which will reduce the CO2 and water intensity of lithium manufacturing. In 2021, he was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 for energy.
The future of our forests in a rapidly changing world - 01/31/2022 04:00 PM
James H. Clark Center (Bldg 340) Stanford
Dr. Joan Dudney is a postdoctoral fellow based at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis. She recently completed a David H. Smith Postdoctoral Fellowship at UC Davis and received her Ph.D. from the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management at UC Berkeley in May 2019. Her research is broadly focused on global change impacts in terrestrial plant communities. She uses interdisciplinary analytical approaches to disentangle the complex, interacting, and emergent relationships between plants and global change drivers, including climate change, invasive species, and altered disturbance regimes. Her research is motivated by the challenges humanity faces in an era of unprecedented environmental change.
From Dinosaurs to Nuclear Waste - an adventure in physics - Livestream - 01/31/2022 04:15 PM
UC Berkeley
My research in 1985 on the death of the dinosaurs led directly to my current work disposing of nuclear waste. After I retired from academic research, my daughter and I founded a company, Deep Isolation Inc, that offers an inexpensive method safely to disposal of high level nuclear waste. We drill a narrow borehole about a mile deep and then a mile horizontally.The waste is disposed in the horizontal section under a billion tons of rock. Detailed simulations show that the waste remains isolated from the biosphere for more than a million years, by which time most of the radioactivity has decayed. We currently have 50 employees and exploratory contracts in the US, UK, Finland, Japan, Estonia, Croatia, and several other countries. Life after retirement for a physicist can be interesting.
Speaker: Richard Muller, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
See weblink for Zoom information
Wonderfest: Secrets to the Study of Animal Behavior - 01/31/2022 07:00 PM
Hopmonk Tavern Novato
Many of us are captivated by the behavior of wild animals: a pride of lions fighting off a clan of hyenas, a honeybee dancing to communicate the location of food, the crazy acrobatic courtship displays of male lance-tailed manakins. What is it like to be a biologist who studies the behavior of such creatures? What are the implications for the study of human behavior? Using examples drawn from her work with rodents known as tuco-tucos, tojos, and tokoros (pictured above), Dr. Eileen Lacey will describe the types of questions, concerns, and sometimes astounding solutions that field biologists employ in their quest to understand why animals do what they do.
Speaker: Dr. Eileen Lacy, UC Berkeley
Tuesday, 02/01/2022
The Water Table Model: global hydrology and sea level in the past and present - 02/01/2022 03:30 PM
Natural Science Annex Santa Cruz
The Dance Language of Honey Bees - Livestream - 02/01/2022 04:00 PM
Bees Beyond Borders
Secondary organic aerosol: current understanding of main formation pathways and knowledge gaps - 02/01/2022 04:00 PM
Latimer Hall Berkeley
Our Magnetic Universe - Livestream - 02/01/2022 07:00 PM
Kavli Institute for Particle Physics & Cosmology
Wednesday, 02/02/2022
Informatics Advances for Personalized Health Interventions - 02/02/2022 12:00 PM
CITRIS Research Exchange
Ask the Scientist - Ben Becker - Livestream - 02/02/2022 02:30 PM
Estuary & Ocean Science Center
Post-aquaculture estuarine restoration and eelgrass recovery in Drakes Estero, California - Livestream - 02/02/2022 03:40 PM
Estuary & Ocean Science Center
This Old Zero-Emission House: Climate Retrofits on a Limited Budget - Livestream - 02/02/2022 07:00 PM
City of Sunnyvale Sunnyvale
Thursday, 02/03/2022
Brown Hares, Their biology, ecology, mythology and future - Livestream - 02/03/2022 11:00 AM
London Natural History Society
Getting to the Core of Earth’s Magnetic Field - Livestream - 02/03/2022 05:00 PM
SLAC Public Lecture
Space Fest 2022 - “Operation Moonglow” - Livestream - 02/03/2022 05:00 PM
Bell Museum
Lunar New Year NightLife - 02/03/2022 06:00 PM
California Academy of Sciences San Francisco
After Dark: See for Yourself - 02/03/2022 06:00 PM
ExplOratorium San Francisco
NightSchool: Fungi Underground - Livestream - 02/03/2022 07:00 PM
California Academy of Sciences
Friday, 02/04/2022
Planetary Seismology on Icy Ocean Worlds - 02/04/2022 12:00 PM
Earth and Marine Sciences Building Santa Cruz
Regulating Thermal Radiation With Metal-Insulator Phase Transition - 02/04/2022 02:00 PM
LeConte Hall, Rm 4 Berkeley
Virtual Star Party - Space Fest - Livestream - 02/04/2022 05:00 PM
Bell Museum
First Friday: Winter Skies - 02/04/2022 06:00 PM
Chabot Space and Science Center Oakland
San Mateo Astronomical Society Monthly Meeting - Livestream - 02/04/2022 08:00 PM
San Mateo County Astronomical Society
Saturday, 02/05/2022
Space Fest 2022 - Spectacular Spacecraft, Extraordinary Missions - Livestream - 02/05/2022 09:00 AM
Bell Museum
Sunday, 02/06/2022
Space Fest 2022 - Moon, Mars, and Beyond! - Livestream 02/06/2022 09:00 AM
Bell Museum
Monday, 02/07/2022
Commercial Plant Nurseries as Habitat for Wild Bees - Livestream - 02/07/2022 12:00 PM
Sonoma State Biology Colloquium
Two Condensed Matter Physics Talks - Livestream - 02/07/2022 02:30 PM
UC Berkeley Condensed Matter Physics Seminar
A unified ab-initio framework for studying phonon mediated and limited exciton diffusion in molecular crystals - 02/07/2022 03:00 PM
Physics North Berkeley
Energy Seminar: Mayte Sanchez - Livestream - 02/07/2022 04:00 PM
Stanford Energy Seminar
UC Berkeley Physics Colloquia - Livestream - 02/07/2022 04:15 PM
UC Berkeley