The SciSchmooze meets ChatGPT
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The preceding introduction was written by ChatGPT, the Artificial Intelligence engine you’ve probably heard a lot about. Today we’ll have a conversation with it, as well as link to some articles written about it.
While the third paragraph sounds nice, your editors (Herb, David, and myself) are not experts, nor do we often do interviews. But this is a pretty good response to the directions I gave to ChatGPT, namely “Write an introduction to a weekly science newsletter for general audiences”.
Next I told it to “Include references to current discoveries”. Here’s the response:
Absolutely! Here are a few references to some current discoveries that we might include in our weekly science newsletter.
In astronomy, scientists recently announced the discovery of a new exoplanet, dubbed TOI-1231 b, that has the potential to support life. This planet is located relatively close to Earth, making it an exciting target for future studies.
Biologists have made progress in understanding the cellular mechanisms behind aging. A recent study identified a protein that is linked to age-related decline in muscle stem cells, which could help pave the way for new anti-aging treatments.
In physics, researchers at CERN's Large Hadron Collider have discovered a new particle called the "Xicc++", which contains two charm quarks and one up quark. This discovery could provide new insights into the fundamental nature of matter.
Chemists have developed a new technique for producing hydrogen fuel using sunlight and seawater. This could provide a sustainable and abundant source of clean energy for the future.
By keeping up with these exciting discoveries and more, we hope to provide our readers with a glimpse into the cutting-edge research that is shaping our understanding of the world around us.
I then went online to do a little research on these current discoveries. It turns out ChatGPT’s knowledge ends in 2021. It has not been given data newer than that, hence the reference below to the upcoming James Webb Space Telescope which has been in space for over a year now. I looked up TOI-1231 b as that seemed like an easy one to find information about. I asked ChatGPT to “tell me more atout [sic] TOI-1231 b”. Of note, I did accidently make a typo, meaning to say “about” but ChatGPT figured that out.
Sure! TOI-1231 b is a newly discovered exoplanet that is located approximately 90 light-years away from Earth in the constellation of Dorado. The planet was first identified by NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and was confirmed using ground-based telescopes.
TOI-1231 b is what's known as a "super-Earth" because it is slightly larger than Earth, with a radius about 1.4 times that of our planet. The planet orbits a red dwarf star, which is smaller and cooler than our Sun, in a relatively tight orbit that takes just 24 days to complete.
One of the most exciting things about TOI-1231 b is that it is located in what is known as the "habitable zone" of its star, which is the range of distances where conditions could be right for liquid water to exist on the planet's surface. This means that TOI-1231 b could potentially support life, although we don't yet have enough information to know for sure.
Scientists are planning to use future telescopes, such as NASA's upcoming James Webb Space Telescope, to study the atmosphere of TOI-1231 b in more detail. By analyzing the composition of the planet's atmosphere, they hope to learn more about its potential habitability and the types of molecules that are present on the surface.
The discovery of TOI-1231 b is an exciting step forward in the search for potentially habitable exoplanets and could help us to better understand the conditions necessary for life to exist beyond our own Solar System.
Now things get interesting. TOI-1231 b is not a super earth, but a Neptune-sized planet. I mistakenly found a link to TOI-1331 in my Google search results, didn’t notice the error, and provided the following feedback to ChatGPT: “TOI-1231 b is not a super earth. It is classified as a Neptune-sized planet and it orbits a binary star pair”, which would be TOI-1331, not TOI-1321. ChatGPT corrected itself, but didn’t catch my error.
I apologize for the mistake in my previous response. You are correct that TOI-1231 b is not a super-Earth, but rather a Neptune-sized exoplanet, and it orbits a binary star pair.
The planet has a radius of approximately 2.7 times that of Earth, which makes it larger than the Earth, but smaller than the gas giant Neptune in our Solar System. It was first identified by NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) in 2019, and its size and mass were later confirmed using ground-based telescopes.
TOI-1231 b orbits a pair of M dwarf stars that are about one-third the size and mass of the Sun, and it takes approximately 24 Earth days to complete one orbit. The planet's surface temperature is estimated to be around 134 degrees Celsius (273 degrees Fahrenheit), which is relatively cool for a planet that is located in the habitable zone of its star.
The discovery of TOI-1231 b is still an exciting development in the search for potentially habitable exoplanets, as its location in the habitable zone suggests that it could have the right conditions for liquid water to exist on its surface. Future observations using telescopes like the James Webb Space Telescope may reveal more about the planet's atmosphere and composition, which could provide further insights into its potential habitability.
TOI-1231 is, in fact, a single M dwarf star, but the rest of the information appears to be correct. So I corrected myself: “The information I gave you about the star is incorrect. It is not a binary pair”.
I apologize again for the confusion in my previous responses. You are correct that TOI-1231 b orbits a single star, not a binary pair.
The host star of TOI-1231 b is an M dwarf star, which is a type of small, cool, and dim star. The star is about one-fifth the size of the Sun and is located approximately 90 light-years away from Earth in the constellation of Dorado.
As I mentioned earlier, TOI-1231 b is a Neptune-sized exoplanet that was first discovered by NASA's TESS in 2019. The planet is located in the habitable zone of its star, which means that it orbits at a distance where temperatures are just right for liquid water to exist on its surface.
There is a lot of bad information on the internet. Some of it is outdated, some simply false. Unless the folks feeding engines such as ChatGPT have verified the information they provide as valid and current, the engine itself has no way to verify the data it uses for answers. The old computer adage of “garbage in, garbage out” applies. A little more alarming is the fact that I provided incorrect information to the engine, and it didn’t correct me. The writing style it uses is very impressive, but it can make incorrect information sound very authoritative.
Here’s a more in depth article about the capabilities and limits of ChatGPT, echoing my experience. Tom Scott, a British YouTuber who produces STEM education, had this to say about his experiences using ChatGPT to try and solve a simple email problem and some more existential issues with AI. How good is ChatGPT with physics questions? How are we preparing today’s students to deal with AI such as ChatGPT? In New York, some computer science courses are addressing this.
I have to agree with Tom Scott that we are on the edge of a huge leap in technology that will change the world, for better or worse. This is a topic that bears watching.
Moving on to earthquakes. An unusually strong aftershock struck Turkey this week. We can’t predict earthquakes, but we can forecast them. Social media (a phrase I’m starting to hate) was full of misinformation following the quakes. How do we counter bad information about science? A Nobel Prize Summit aims to address this issue this May.
We live in an age of incredible discovery, yet so many mysteries remain, such as this Dark Galaxy that emits no visible light!
Are black holes the source of dark energy? Perhaps! How about intermediate mass black holes?
The auroras found in our most northern and southern latitudes are beautiful and mysterious. New ones have been discovered in the skies of Jupiter’s moons!
Alex Filippenko sends along this bit of information about the conjunction of Venus and Jupiter in the evening sky.
“Venus is the brightest celestial object in the sky, other than the Sun and Moon (and occasionally a bright meteor). It is now visible in the west/southwest evening sky shortly after sunset. Jupiter, usually the second-brightest object (Mars sometimes appears brighter, but not often), is also visible in the west/southwest shortly after sunset (45 minutes to an hour after sunset is a good time to look).
”[T]he two planets will approach each other in the sky, coming closest together (sometimes called a "conjunction") on March 1 and 2 when they will form a lovely close pair. You might want to take some photos with your smartphone or regular camera!
“The waxing Moon will appear progressively farther above Jupiter, so not as striking. But Venus and Jupiter will continue to approach each other until conjunction on March 1 and 2. Try to view them at least those evenings and a few earlier and later dates! Thereafter, the two planets will drift progressively further apart as Venus continues to get farther from the Sun (in the sky) while Jupiter approaches the Sun.
”This ‘dance of the bright planets’ during the next two weeks will dramatically show that planets drift slowly among the backdrop of ‘fixed stars’ in the sky. (Indeed, the word ‘planet’ goes back to ancient Greek, meaning ‘wanderer’ -- the behavior of planets differs from that of the stars, whose positions relative to each other don't visibly change from night to night.)”
Alex will be speaking on early results from the James Webb Space Telescope on March 8 at the Silicon Valley Astronomy Lecture at Foothill College. I heard him give a version of this talk recently and it was excellent. Details here.
News from the animal kingdom:
You’re heard of goats eating grasses and brush to help prevent wildfires? How about crows that remove cigarette butts from streets in Sweden!
California’s ongoing drought costs a lot in both money and nature. Last year, the state lost 36 million trees as a result of the drought.
This week marked the one year anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This war has awful ecological, economic and human consequences in Ukraine. It is also the first one where commercial space-based technologies have been used with regularity, proving, or disproving claims by both sides and documenting the destruction.
It is difficult for those of us living thousands of miles away to really understand just what is happening in Ukraine. As I have a close friend who lived there, I have a better idea, but still can’t fully comprehend the experience, the loss, and the fear.
Have a great week in Science!
Bob
Upcoming Events:
Click to see the next two weeks of events in your browser.
Monday, 02/27/2023
Exploring the Vegetation of the Montini Open Space Preserve - 02/27/2023 12:00 PM
Sonoma State University - Biology Colloquium Rohnert Park
Speaker: Dr. Gregory Perrier, Sonoma State University
Cyber Diplomacy: Mastering the Soft Skills - 02/27/2023 12:00 PM
South Hall Berkeley
Cybersecurity in private enterprise is as much about relationships as technology. In this session, Hakeem Oseni will share strategies for using diplomacy and personality to achieve good security outcomes. We will discuss tips and tricks for leveraging interpersonal and emotional skills and stories to win people over and make them feel part of the security mission.
Speaker: Hakeem Oseni, Salesforce
A Century of Better Sampling: Ocean Data Collection from Boundary Layer to Basin Scales - 02/27/2023 12:30 PM
Environment and Energy Building (Y2E2) Stanford
Oceanographer Walter Munk famously declared the first century of oceanography "A century of under sampling." And while ocean data collection is still a real pain, I hope, in this talk, to inspire some optimism for the century to come. I will begin by discussing my doctoral work, which relied on custom-built and carefully deployed acoustic and optical instruments to elucidate fluid and sediment dynamics in a combined wave-current bottom boundary layer. These high-fidelity measurements revealed a sediment bed structure that none of us expected (hint: worms were involved). I will then discuss my current role at Sofar Ocean, where we are taking a different approach to ocean data collection; namely, make oceanographic instruments as cheap and durable as possible. This strategy has allowed us to build a global network of free drifting Spotter buoys, the data from which drive an operational assimilative wave forecast model, which itself serves as an input to Wayfinder, our path planning application that guides some of the world's largest cargo ships through safe and fuel-efficient routes. I will conclude by discussing some ongoing research efforts and the advances that we hope to enable in global scale observations of the air-sea interface.
Speaker: Galen Egan, Sofar Ocean
Electronic order and unconventional phase behavior in new classes of kagome metals - 02/27/2023 02:30 PM
Physics North Berkeley
Kagome networks have long been predicted to host an interesting combination of features within their electronic band structures, ranging from localized flat bands to protected Dirac points to saddle points and their corresponding Van Hove singularities. Tuning band filling near these features is predicted to stabilize a wide array of electronic instabilities and presents an exciting means for realizing correlated electron states that potentially interplay with topologically nontrivial band features. Realizing these band structures in real materials is an enduring challenge, and one area of recent focus has been the ability to realize kagome metals with native band fillings close to the saddle points derived from their kagome band structures. Here I will present our recent work exploring a new class of materials of the form AV3Sb5 (A=K, Rb, Cs) that host vanadium-based kagome networks with their Fermi levels close to Van Hove fillings, providing a versatile material platform to test predictions of electronic order in this regime. I will present some of our recent experimental results exploring the charge density wave states and superconductivity that emerge in these compounds as well as the potential coupling between the two states. If time permits, comparisons with other recently discovered kagome metals and future directions will be presented.
Speaker: Stephen Wilson, Kent State University
What Physicists The Higgs Boson Talks to Itself - How and Why Physicists Study Higgs Boson Self-Interactions with the ATLAS Experiment - 02/27/2023 04:00 PM
Sonoma State University - What Physicists Do Rohnert Park
As the most recently discovered fundamental particle, the Higgs Boson offers a promising window into the nature of our universe. One special avenue of study is in measuring how the Higgs Boson interacts with itself. The Higgs bosons' self-interactions carry important implications about both the microscopic and macroscopic behavior of our universe, from how this tiny fundamental particle comes into existence to whether our entire universe is "stable." In this talk, I will discuss how we study the Higgs self-interaction through measurements of the production of pairs of Higgs Bosons at the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. Producing a pair of Higgs bosons is substantially rarer than producing a single Higgs boson, which presents significant challenges for particle physicists to overcome.
Speaker: Rachel Hyneman
Tracking the motion of electrons, atoms, and molecules in strong laser fields - 02/27/2023 04:15 PM
Physics North Berkeley
Excitation of atoms and molecules by intense ultrafast lasers produces quantum tunneling of several electrons on femtosecond timescales, which can lead to attosecond electron bursts and coulomb explosions. I'll describe our recent experiments that detect and film this motion to reveal the underlying physics.
Speaker: Philip Bucksbaum, Stanford University
Capitalizing on coal: early retirement options for China-backed coal plants in Southeast Asia and beyond - 02/27/2023 04:30 PM
Stanford University Energy Seminar Stanford
China's development institutions have played a role in financing over 39GW of currently operating overseas coal power plants, largely in South and Southeast Asia and commissioned within the past two decades. Early retirement of these plants will likely require concessional financing to reduce the cost to investors and address the consequences for related stakeholders, including workers and electricity consumers.
This research analyzes the early retirement options available for retiring representative subcritical and supercritical coal power plants located outside China and financed by Chinese entities. Our analysis of an illustrative subcritical plant with representative characteristics suggests that an interest rate/equity return requirement subsidy approach allows the plant to be retired 25 years early for $151m, less than half the cost of a full buyout, at $341m. The cost of the subsidy relative to buyout costs declines the later the plant is retired. Further, the price on avoided emissions required to fully fund a subsidy for retiring the plant 25 years early is just $12.5/tCO2, falling to $2.8/tCO2 if retired 15 years early. These findings suggest that subsidizing investor returns may be a more effective use of concessional funding than full buyouts in securing early retirement.
These solutions are unlikely to be pursued by host countries, given limited fiscal space to subsidize interest payments and powerful pro-coal entrenched interests. Early retirement of BRI coal plants may therefore require more active engagement by Chinese lenders and equity holders in renegotiating outstanding debts, lowering the cost of borrowing where appropriate and subsidizing interest payments where possible; or agreeing to the transfer of debt and equity ownership to other institutions.
Speaker: Alex Clark, University of Oxford
Attend in person or online here
Editor's Note: At time of editing, this event is still showing on Stanford's calendar as listed here. However, a new event has been added to their calendar at the same time and place, with different speakers, which we will also list separately, and we suspect it has replaced this talk. We don't know which one will actually take place.
Energy Seminar: Holmes Hummel & Anthony Kinslow - 02/27/2023 04:30 PM
Huang Engineering Center Stanford
Dr. Holmes Hummel is an interdisciplinary solutionary focused at the intersections of energy policy, technology, and finance. At Stanford, Dr. Hummel is drawing on two decades of experience that includes work in academia, private sector, public policy, and civil society organizations in order to accelerate just transitions by integrating concepts and practices of energy equity into energy education and research. In collaboration with field partners, Dr. Hummel is also the founding co-director of Clean Energy Works, a public interest organization that accelerates investments in the clean energy economy by bridging multiple clean energy divides with inclusive financial solutions such as inclusive utility investment.
Dr. Hummel has taught Climate Policy Design at the Energy Resources Group at University of California in Berkeley and co-founded four new courses at Stanford, including Racial Equity in Energy and Quest for an Inclusive Clean Energy Economy, and the Justice 40 Policy Lab.
Editor's Note: At the time of this event's posting, it conflicts with another Energy Seminar at the same place and time, a talk by Alex Clark of Oxford University. The Stanford Calendar currently lists both events. Although we suspect this is now the correct listing, we don't know for sure, so we are listing both.
Nanobody Optimization via Machine Learning - 02/27/2023 07:00 PM
SF Bay Association of Computing Machinery
Nanobodies are antibody fragments that mimic human's natural immune response to diseases; unlike traditional small-molecule drugs, nanobodies rarely induce toxic side effects. Moreover, because nanobodies are smaller than antibodies, nanobodies can cross the blood-brain barrier and have shown promise in treating diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Huntington's. However, the identification of optimal nanobodies requires expensive and time-intensive lab-based procedures. To address this issue, the algorithms developed in this study computationally predict nanobodies' effectiveness in neutralizing antigen targets and propose a pipeline to create novel, effective nanobodies against antigen targets de novo. Since nanobody interaction data is extremely complex, a single model would likely make inaccurate predictions of nanobody effectiveness. Classically, to solve this, researchers combine multiple varied models into ensembles. The ensemble in this study is composed of 9 models (1 ANN, 5 CNNs, and 3 LSTM-RNNs), which each make numerical predictions of binding effectiveness for nanobodies. These predictions are then "stacked" or used as features for a higher-level interpreter model. This predictive model, termed EnsembleStack, predicts the effectiveness of nanobodies with a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.88 and an of 0.78. A generative algorithm developed by previous researchers creates novel nanobody sequences, which are filtered for their effectiveness via EnsembleStack. The highly effective nanobodies are then used to re-parameterize the generative algorithm. Therefore, over multiple generations of re-parameterization, the generative algorithm becomes conditioned to produce more effective nanobodies. These nanobodies are not only 6.5 times more novel but, when evaluated in vitro, bound to the target of interest with striking effectiveness. Computational approaches like the pipeline developed in this study can replace the significant cost and time investment derived from in vitro nanobody optimization.
Speaker: Anirudh Venkatraman, Homestead High School
Register at weblink to receive event information
Tuesday, 02/28/2023
Speaker: Jena Johnson, University of Michigan
The Quantum Age: From Bell Pairs to Quantum Computers - 02/28/2023 03:30 PM
Hewlett Teaching Center Stanford
Quantum mechanics has not one but two mysteries: the double-slit experiment and quantum correlations (entanglement) between two or more particles. Criticized by Einstein as "spooky action at a distance", entanglement is now seen as an essential part of the physical world. The Bell inequalities, introduced in 1964 to experimentally distinguish local hidden variable theories from quantum physics, have been confirmed to agree with quantum mechanics in many experiments.
Building on entangled Bell pairs, the last few years have seen a remarkable development in our ability to control many neutral atoms individually, and induce controlled interactions between them on demand. This progress ushers in a new era where one can create highly entangled states of many particles, break certain limits for quantum sensors, or study quantum phase transitions. I will present results on quantum sensing enhanced by entanglement, and on quantum simulation with atomic arrays containing more than 250 atoms. Finally, I will discuss prospects for near- and medium-term neutral-atom quantum computers with full quantum error correction.
Speaker: Vladan Vuletic, MIT
Stanford Symbolic Systems Forum: CANCELED - 02/28/2023 04:30 PM
Margaret Jacks Hall (Bldg 460) Stanford
How to Draw the Great Blue Heron - Livestream - 02/28/2023 06:30 PM
San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory
The San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory (SFBBO) monitors herons throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Learn how to draw these magnificent birds in a live demonstration/workshop with John Muir Laws! John will explore that anatomy and structure of the birds highlighting details that will help you draw them accurately and quickly. We will then make a detailed study of the head of a heron using graphite and watercolor.
What you'll need: An internet connection, paper, pencil, and watercolor supplies. No experience necessary! Please register - the Zoom link will be sent in the confirmation.
Journey to Mars: Fireside Chat with Roberto Carlino - 02/28/2023 06:30 PM
Italian Innovation and Culture Hub INNOV.IT San Francisco
The Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA) mission is a ground-based astronaut analog simulation run by the NASA Human Research Program to study and evaluate impacts on the crew due to isolation, remoteness, and confined habitation. This last Campaign Six (C6) simulation was a 45-day trip to Mars's moon Phobos and back. The goal of the simulation was to perform geological operations with full communications delays in effect. Investigators looked at psychological, human factor, and physiological impacts to develop and verify countermeasures that might reduce or mitigate impacts to such missions.
In this presentation, Roberto will give a general overview of NASA's HERA analog mission, describe what a normal day in the mission looked like, and what they learned from such a unique experience.
Agenda:
6.30pm Registration and networking
7.00pm Opening remarks and introduction
7.05pm Introduction by Prof. Marcello Romano
7.15pm What I learned from 45 days in isolation with NASA's HERA mission - presentation by Roberto Carlino
7.35pm Fireside chat with Roberto Carlino, led by Marcello Romano
7.45pm Open Q&A8.00pm Networking and reception
Bring 'em Home! The Reintroduction of Salmon in the Central Valley - Livestream - 02/28/2023 07:00 PM
American Cetacean Society
Salmon is a keystone species, iconic for its importance as nourishing food, inextricable connection to human culture from native peoples to current times, an economic driver, and a critical food source for the marine species including some of the cetaceans we aim to protect and conserve. Please join us to hear from Jon Ambrose, salmonid biologist for NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service's (NMFS) Central Valley Office (CVO) in Sacramento, California, on the efforts to save the species. Jon will share from the front lines some of the ongoing reintroduction efforts as essential actions to conserve and recover these iconic species.
Reintroduction of imperiled species to historical habitats is a frequently used conservation tool for many terrestrial and avian species, however, it is less commonly used for at-risk fish species (including anadromous salmonids during their freshwater life stages). NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service has determined reintroduction of California's Central Valley salmonids to historical habitats is an essential action to conserve and recover these iconic species. In the Central Valley, most rivers feature high-head dams just upstream of the valley floor. Every one of these dams lacks fish passage facilities, thus preventing salmon and steelhead from accessing their historical spawning, holding, and rearing habitats found at higher elevations in the Sierra Nevada and southern Cascade mountain ranges. The consequence of this loss of access to high-quality habitats is that the overall viability of steelhead, winter-run Chinook salmon, and spring-run Chinook salmon in the Central Valley has been compromised and these species are now listed under the Endangered Species Act.
In the Pacific Northwest, unlike California, reintroduction upstream of high-head dams is an ongoing fisheries management practice. The benefits are many, and if successful these efforts will provide a hedge against a warming climate and contribute to an overall expansion in salmonid populations.
In his presentation, Mr. Ambrose will describe some of the ongoing reintroduction efforts and the challenges in California's Central Valley. He will conclude with an overview of exciting progress in the reintroduction of highly endangered winter-run Chinook salmon to the McCloud River (upstream of Shasta Dam) in 2022.
Register at weblink to receive connection information
Speaker: Jon Ambrose, NOAA Marine Fisheries Service
Wednesday, 03/01/2023
Xylem Global Student Innovation Challenge - 03/01/2023 08:00 AM
Xylem Innovation Challenge
Join us in solving water challenges to expand water access and resilience for all. By competing in this virtual hackathon, you will have the opportunity to:
Over 8 weeks, solve one of the following challenge statements in teams of up to 5 students:
Compete from a USD $20,000 prize pool awarded for projects in 2 tracks - high school (secondary) & university tracks and receive a certificate for submitting a project
Receive mentorship & participate in educational webinars with water industry experts
Get access to the Xylem Water Master Class, a series of engaging video classes, to learn a range of important water topics from water sustainability to design thinking.
This global virtual hackathon is open to students between the ages of 13 and 25. Innovators of all experience levels are encouraged to join.
X-SSD: A Storage System with Native Support for Database Logging and Replication - Livestream - 03/01/2023 09:20 AM
UC Santa Cruz
Speaker: Alberto Lerner, Universityof Friborug, Switzerland
March Monarch Butterfly Update - Livestream - 03/01/2023 12:00 PM
Golden Gate National Parks Conservatory
Have you heard what community scientists are documenting about the struggling monarch butterfly? What could the numbers mean? Join Mia Monroe, Marin Community Liaison with the National Park Service and longtime Xerces Society volunteer, to hear how monarchs are doing this year, efforts to support them, and how you can help. Presented by One Tam.
Eliminating Pollution from Gas Appliances in the Bay Area - Livestream - 03/01/2023 12:30 PM
SF Planning + Urban Research Assoc. (SPUR)
Gas-powered building appliances cause hundreds of deaths each year in the Bay Area and account for a quarter of the region's carbon emissions. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District plans to vote this spring on rules to eliminate toxic nitrogen oxide emissions from building heating systems, spurring the transition to zero-emission electric appliances. Learn how appliance emissions affect health and the climate, how the proposed rules would work, and how you can support action at the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. Join the Bay Area Clean Air Coalition at our online community mobilization event to show your support for clean air in the Bay Area!
Speakers:
Melissa Yu, Sierra ClubVirginia Reinhart, Sierra ClubMegan Leary, Emerald Cities
Register at weblink to receive connection information
Reproducible is reusable: promoting research and education through open science - 03/01/2023 03:30 PM
Estuary & Ocean Science Center Tiburon
Marine megafauna include some of California's most iconic species, from gigantic blue whales to ocean-traversing albatrosses and sea turtles. An indispensable component of the modern marine biologist's toolkit for studying these large vertebrates is the bio-logger: animal-attached sensor packages that track an organism's location, behavior, physiology, and local environment. The current generation of bio-loggers now contain many of the same sensors found in smart phones, including cameras, GPS, and fine-scale movement sensors. As bio-loggers collect ever larger and more complex data, our traditional analysis techniques are being stretched beyond their capacity. In this talk, I will share two new computational methods for analyzing behavior and physiology in bio-logging data, demonstrating how these devices capture diverse biological information beyond their intended use. I also turn a critical lens on the "big data revolution" and address growing technical barriers to broad participation in the scientific process.
Speaker: Max Czapanskiy, Postdoctoral Scholar, NOAA / UC Santa Cruz
Attend in person or online.
Energy and Resources Group Colloquium - 03/01/2023 04:00 PM
Giannini Hall Berkeley
Speaker: Bodie Cabiyo, Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment
Rising Seas: Bridging Three Perspectives for Action - 03/01/2023 05:30 PM
swissnex San Francisco San Francisco
Be prepared to feel inspired and empowered to make a meaningful impact: Hear from an artist, a scientist, and an architect about the impact of rising sea levels in the Bay Area and explore strategies for a more resilient future.
As the Bay Area experiences more frequent weather extremes, from devastating floods to scorching droughts, the impact of climate change on our communities has become all too clear. With sea levels projected to rise by nearly seven feet by 2100, we must start exploring what it means for our future and what we can do to protect it.
Join us as we bring together a trio of visionary thinkers - the internationally renowned Bay Area artist Ana Teresa Fernández, architect Liz Ranieri, and a scientist Letitia Grenier - to delve into the crucial topic of rising sea levels and its effects on the Bay Area. The event will include some of Fernández' art work, On the Horizon and Under Pressure that invites the audience to experience the reality of a planet under pressure.
This event will not only display the speakers' achievements and discoveries, but also encourage a meaningful discussion about the part each of us can play in making a positive impact. By the end, you will feel motivated, educated, and equipped to bring about change. Let's join forces and build a more resilient future for both the environment and our societies.
Wellness in Tech: Improving Culture and Mental Health - 03/01/2023 06:00 PM
Lattice San Francisco
It's no secret that two out of five workers in tech consider themselves at high risk of burnout, with 42% of them considering a career change in the next six months. Poor representation, hustle culture, and a lack of equitable working conditions all contribute to the lack of psychological safety for women in today's industry. So, how do we make a difference?
Join us on 1st March in collaboration with the fabulous team at Lattice, where we plan to dissect these issues together, tackling them head-on with the help of the experts. Expect an insightful, forward-thinking panel discussion, followed by a live Q&A session and a networking initiative with like-minded DevOps enthusiasts.
We'll be covering:
The Steps to Creating an Inclusive Workplace and Culture
How to support mental wellbeing
The Importance of psychological safety
Reasonable adjustments
How to Channel your inner 'superpower'
Our Hopes for the future of the Space
Our panel will include:
Sabrina Battiston - Host and Chair @ Women in DevOps
Asha Camper Singh - Senior Software Engineer @ Lattice
Rob Stolarz - Senior Software Engineer @ Lattice
Shubha Guruaja Rao - Senior Manager of Solution Engineering @ JFrog
The Higgs Boson: 10 years after the discovery - 03/01/2023 07:30 PM
Marin Science Seminar San Rafael
Speaker:Miha Muškinja of Lawrence Berkeley Labs
Bay Area Bird Photographers (BABP) - Livestream - 03/01/2023 07:30 PM
Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society
Colombia is the most diverse country on the planet, boasting 1860+ bird species. The Colombian habitats are extremely diverse and the great Andes split into three parallel mountain ranges (Cordillera Occidental, Cordillera Central and Cordillera Oriental) in southern Colombia. Luis Villablanca, Harjeet Singh and I visited the Cauca valley (Valle del Cauca) between the Cordillera Occidental and Cordillera Central, starting at Cali in the south and moving north towards Medellin. We were able to photograph birds in riparian habitats close to the river and then we moved further up the elevation as we moved north towards Manizales.
All three of us have contributed photos to the presentation. We all hope you enjoy this presentation of colorful Tanagers, Toucans and Hummingbirds.
Thursday, 03/02/2023
2023 EDGE in Tech Symposium: Smarter Tech for a Resilient Future - Livestream - 03/02/2023 08:30 AM
University of California Edge in Tech Initiative
How can we engage diverse talent to transform the future of infrastructure to address inequality and promote smarter environments?
Join EDGE in Tech, CITRIS and the Banatao Institute, and Berkeley Engineering for a virtual symposium highlighting the experiences of experts using emerging technologies to advance innovation for more sustainable infrastructure.
The event will feature professionals who are pioneering new approaches to intelligent transportation networks, healthy indoor environments, aviation infrastructure and next-generation agriculture. Speakers will also discuss their career pathways to help attendees visualize themselves in high-growth sectors and rise to meet society's needs for a greener future.
The symposium will also feature the EDGE in Tech Athena Awards, recognizing leaders who have championed the advancement of women and people of color in technology.
The symposium will feature:
A fireside chat with Tsu-Jae King Liu, dean of Berkeley Engineering, and special guestTwo keynote talksFeatured panels convened by UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC Merced and UC Santa Cruz:Inclusive Innovation on the Farm of the Future hosted by UC MercedEvery Breath You Take: The Future of Indoor Air Quality hosted by UC DavisAdvanced Manufacturing in the 21st Century hosted by UC BerkeleyThe Future of Aviation hosted by UC Santa CruzDeep-dive sessions:Smarter Tech for National SecurityHow To Get a Job in Smart TechIntelligent Transportation and Mobility Systems
Coastal Walk at Cowell-Purisima Trail - 03/02/2023 10:00 AM
Cowell Purisima Coastal Trailhead Half Moon Bay
Join Peninsula Open Space Trust for a beautiful walk along the Cowell-Purisima trail that POST helped create by protecting adjacent farmland. While it may be foggy, we hope to catch gorgeous views of the ocean, nearby farmland, and glimpses of harbor seals, pelicans, hawks, rabbits, and whales during the winter season.
You will be guided by POST ambassadors who will share details about POST's work with farmers on the coast, and to create recreational opportunities along one of the most scenic stretches of our state's coastline!
The walk is moderate at about 5 miles round trip with about 400 feet of gradual elevation gain. It is mostly flat throughout, however, it is quite a long walk.
Register at weblink
Silicon Valley Leaders Symposium - Tony Vega - 03/02/2023 12:00 PM
Silicon Valley Leaders Symposium San Jose
Since Fall 2002, the Charles W. Davidson College of Engineering has hosted the Silicon Valley Leaders Symposium (SVLS). The Symposium hosts industry and technology leaders to talk about business and technology trends. It also features prominent leaders who discuss broader societal and political issues that shape our life and society.
Register at weblink
Speaker: Tony Vega, VP Business Development, Octolytics
How a Scottish academic in 1873 set the stage for today's global communications - Livestream - 03/02/2023 04:00 PM
Sonoma State Engineering Colloquium
Hard as it is to believe today, the connection between electricity and magnetism was not made until early in the 19th Century. James Clerk Maxwell brought together field theories from Gauss, Ampere and Faraday into a unified set of equations. At the publication of his "Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism" 1873, radio had not yet been demonstrated and the electromagnetic properties of light were not understood. Today these equations are the basis of our modern world allowing us to carry powerful communications tools in our pocket or place a telescope in space a million miles away. The talk is a review of some of the miracles that followed from the math, though understanding the vector math is not required (119 words).
Speaker: Rob Rowland, Sonoma State University
Quack Quack: The Threat of Pseudoscience - Livestream - 03/02/2023 04:00 PM
Skeptical Inquirer
We are in a crisis. A tsunami of misinformation and disinformation is threatening to engulf evidence-based science. While quackery ۥ loosely defined as the spread of false "knowledge," often accompanied by various versions of "snake oil" ۥ is not a novel phenomenon, it has never posed as great a threat to public health as it does today.
Bestselling author Dr. Joe Schwarcz will discuss his latest book, Quack Quack: The Threat of Pseudoscience. Professor Schwarcz has been battling flimflam for decades, and in Quack Quack he focuses on the deluge of anecdotes, cherry-picked data, pseudoscientific nonsense, and seductive baseless health claims that are undermining efforts to educate the public about evidence-based science. It's a life preserver for a world that's drowning in a sea of misinformation.
Registeration required at weblink to receive connection information
From Pupils to Space Telescopes: What Your Eyes Can Teach You About How Telescopes Work - Livestream - 03/02/2023 04:00 PM
Astronomical Society of the Pacific
In this 1-hour workshop for middle school teachers, we'll explore how your eyes form images, and how your pupil and iris are key to understanding how all optical tools work, even the largest space-based telescopes.
While most people have a general idea of how their eyes work, they haven't made the connection between them and other optical tools such as cameras, microscopes, or telescopes. All telescopes - whether they are large or small, ground-based or space-based, optical or radio - rely on lenses and mirrors to organize light and form images of distant objects. But it all starts with an aperture: the hole where light enters an optical system and is far more important than you expect. In this workshop, participants will explore how making holes in a simple optical system reveals the basis for understanding how our eyes - and even the largest telescopes on Earth and in space - work.
Intended for middle school teachers
Nightlife - 03/02/2023 06:00 PM
California Academy of Sciences San Francisco
Calling all creatures of the night: explore the nocturnal side of the Academy at NightLife and see what's revealed. With live DJs, outdoor bars, ambiance lighting, and nearly 40,000 live animals (including familiar faces like Claude, our alligator with albinism), the night is sure to be wild.
Step inside the iconic Shake House and our four-story Osher Rainforest, where you can explore the Amazon's treetops surrounded by free-flying birds and butterflies. Reservations for these exhibits are no longer required. However, please note that the last entry into the rainforest is 7:30 pm€"our animals need their sleep.
Venture into our latest aquarium exhibit Venom to encounter live venomous animals and learn the power of venom to both harm and heal.
Visit the BigPicture exhibit in the Piazza to marvel at the most recent winners of the BigPicture Natural World Photography competition.
Bask in the glow of one of the largest living indoor coral reef displays in the world: our 212,000-gallon Philippine Coral Reef habitat.
Take in the interstellar views from the Living Roof, then grab a bite from the Academy Café and head to the West Garden outdoor bar to drink and dine under the stars. For adults 21+.
After Dark: Extended Cinemas - 03/02/2023 06:00 PM
ExplOratorium San Francisco
The warm glow of the projected image invites us to in-between worlds. During this cinematic celebration the passive act of watching turns to listening, peering, touching, and interacting as Exploratorium Cinema Arts takes over museum spaces to provide experiences - both on and off the screen - created by artists and filmmakers from the Bay Area and beyond.
Friday, 03/03/2023
Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics Seminar - 03/03/2023 12:00 PM
Earth and Marine Sciences Building Santa Cruz
Speaker: Max Rudolph, UC Davis
"R.U.R." ROSSUM'S UNIVERSAL ROBOTS - 03/03/2023 07:00 PM
Merrill Cultural Center Santa Cruz
Come explore the very nature of life with the play written by Karel Capek that invented the word "robot."
What makes us human? What is consciousness? And what will it look like when artificial intelligence turns against its creators?
A secretive robot factory creates a global supply of humanoid robots to perform those tasks humans no longer wish to do. As the robots take over every aspect of human labor, people lose their purpose and soon the robots are sparked to revolt.
Imagine the near future with this original stage adaptation directed by Abel Cornejo and performed by Digital Theatre Workshop.
With sets and costumes inspired by cyberpunk manga and anime, witness this dazzling and colorful quest for love and connection, in a time of encroaching artificial life.
Exploration of Mars for Habitable Environments and Life - 03/03/2023 08:00 PM
College of San Mateo Bldg 36 San Mateo
Recent Mars missions have discovered fascinating landscapes as well as chemicals and minerals formed by the action of liquid water. Mars could have been habitable sometime in the past, and liquid water might persist in some subsurface environments today. Dr. Des Marais will discuss recent missions and discoveries that are helping to identify the most promising places to search for evidence of life.
Speaker: David Des Marais, NASA Astrobiology Institute
Saturday, 03/04/2023
Guided nature walk at Bouverie Preserve - 03/04/2023 10:00 AM
Bouverie Preserve Glen Ellen
Experience the beauty and rich natural history of Bouverie Preserve by signing up for a Guided Nature Walk Participants are paired with a trained volunteer to explore the mixed evergreen forest, flower-carpeted oak woodland and rugged chaparral.
Visitors of all ages are welcome. Minors MUST be accompanied by their parent or legal guardian. Reservations are required. (see weblink)
Womxn in Tech Panel - 03/04/2023 11:00 AM
Soda Hall Berkeley
Listen to a diverse panel of womxn-identifying speakers & learn how they blazed their paths in tech. Followed by discussion groups for closer conversation.
Panelists include:
Radhika Rangarajan is a co-founder and CEO of Women in Big Data US Non-Profit entity and works closely with several Silicon Valley Tech companies to raise awareness and move conversations to commitment for increasing Diversity in Tech. Radhika is also the Director of Cloud Foundations Solutions Engineering at VMware, and holds 20+ years of technology background and industry experience.Melanie Imfeld is a Senior Map Designer at Mapbox where she leads a team of Map Designers striving to build the next generation of web maps. Mapbox maps power anything from a New York Times cover story to the navigation applications in your car that help you to get from A to B. Melanie's team also co-develops Mapbox Studio, a web-based tool that makes it easy for anybody to create custom web maps.Sadie St Lawrence is the Principle of SSL Innovations and Founder and CEO of Women in Data. Women in Data is an international non-profit organization with representation in 55 countries and a community of 40,000+ data leaders, practitioners, and citizens. Sadie has been awarded Top 30 Women in AI (2022), Top 10 Most Admired Businesswomen to Watch in 2021, and more.Nile Fossett is a second/final year graduate student in the MPA program at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) program. She is focusing in ICT and Data for Development, and specializing in Management. Outside of graduate school, Nile is currently the Communications and Events Coordinator at Girls Who Code, an NYC-based organization.Harshada Jivane is a Machine Learning Engineer at Intuit and currently serves as the co-chair of Intuit's Women's Network. She is also a Project Mentor for AI4ALL, a US nonprofit dedicated to increasing diversity and inclusion in AI. Harshada has an engineering experience of 5+ years.
Register at weblink
Solar Observing - 03/04/2023 01:30 PM
San Jose Astronomical Association San Jose
It's there for us year round, lighting our days and providing energy for our lives, so maybe it's time to give it a closer look. Join SJAA for amazing and detailed views of the Sun, and be assured that we'll be using special telescopes that will keep your eyeballs perfectly safe.
We'll have white-light telescopes with dense solar filters that reveal sunspots. Further, we'll show you hydrogen-alpha telescopes that isolate a very specific color of red that reveals prominences (often thought of as solar flares) and intricate texture within the Sun's chromosphere (its atmosphere).
We can also share with you a little about how the Sun works and how complex magnetic fields drive the number of sunspots and prominences that we'll see on a given day.
Around 1:45, we'll have a short, informal introductory talk, and at other times, you can enjoy the views and ask questions about the Sun, telescopes, or astronomy in general.
You may bring your own telescope. If you have a properly filtered white light or H-alpha telescope and want to share views with others, please arrive at 1:00 or earlier, so you have time to set up before the event officially starts.
Marine Ecology - EcoCenter Family Event - 03/04/2023 02:30 PM
Environmental Volunteers EcoCenter Palo Alto
Bring your family to the Environmental Volunteers EcoCenter, located on the Baylands Nature Preserve, for an afternoon of environmental education. Activities are intended for ages 6-11.
What is life in the ocean like? What features and adaptations do marine animals have to survive in their environment? Join the EV for engaging, hands-on activities exploring marine ecology. Learn about marine mammals, what the ocean floor is like, and learn about the anatomy of squid by dissecting real specimens!
Note: squid dissection activity encouraged but optional.
"R.U.R." ROSSUM'S UNIVERSAL ROBOTS - 03/04/2023 07:00 PM
Merrill Cultural Center Santa Cruz
See description on 3/3/2023 at 7:00 PM
Sunday, 03/05/2023
"R.U.R." ROSSUM'S UNIVERSAL ROBOTS - 03/05/2023 02:00 PM
Merrill Cultural Center Santa Cruz
See description on 3/3/2023 at 7:00 PM
Monday, 03/06/2023
Drug Discovery: Concepts and Case Study - 03/06/2023 12:00 PM
Sonoma State University - Biology Colloquium Rohnert Park
Speaker: Dr. Jeanne Baker, Merck
How Hole-y is your Spacetime? aka How to Measure Topology in Quantum Gravity - 03/06/2023 04:00 PM
Sonoma State University - What Physicists Do Rohnert Park
In this talk, I will introduce the field of Quantum Gravity and my favorite candidate framework: String Theory. Furthermore, I will discuss the AdS/CFT (Gauge/Gravity) duality, which is a tool for answering questions in Quantum Gravity. Finally, we will explore how to measure the topology of a quantum spacetime and specifically address whether topology can be represented by a linear operator on your spacetime or not.
Speaker: Alexandra Miller, Sonoma State University
Role of mobile genes in the community interactions of the intestinal microbiota - 03/06/2023 04:00 PM
James H. Clark Center (Bldg 340) Stanford
Speaker: Leonor Garcia-Bayona, University of Chicago
UC Berkeley Physics Colloquia - 03/06/2023 04:15 PM
Physics North Berkeley
Speaker: Lars Bildsten, UC Santa Barbara
Stanford Symbolic Systems Forum: Asifa Majid - 03/06/2023 04:30 PM
Margaret Jacks Hall (Bldg 460) Stanford
Speaker: Asifa Majid, University of Oxford
Room 126
Hearing the Stars: New Insights into Stellar Interiors - 03/06/2023 05:30 PM
International House Berkeley
Space-based observations have provided a remarkable new tool for studying stars within our galaxy, the Milky Way. Simply by measuring how bright a star is over many years, we can now directly measure its mass and radius, as well as the properties of its deep interior, such as the rate of rotation. This has been done for tens of thousands of stars across the Milky Way, also allowing us to unravel how the galaxy was formed over cosmic time. It's a great story of how theory and observation, together, can make a remarkable impact on our understanding of the universe.
Speaker: Lars Bildsten, UC Santa Barbara
This event was originally scheduled on January 24, 2023.
Searching for Planet B - What can humanity learn from other planets if it is to survive into the future? - 03/06/2023 07:30 PM
California Academy of Sciences San Francisco
Do alien worlds hold the answers to humanity's future? Can we use the discoveries from astronomy and modern space science to address the climate crisis here on Earth? Synthesizing the last 15 years of research lectures and science visualization at the California Academy of Sciences, this immersive talk was originally presented at last fall's Ars Electronica Festival in Linz, Austria. We will explore what we know about potentially habitable worlds, but also how modern space-based observations of our home planet can guide us toward a regenerative future.
Speaker: Dan Tell, Planetarium Engineering, California Academy of Sciences
Tuesday, 03/07/2023
Women in Data Science at UC Berkeley - 03/07/2023 09:00 AM
Sutardja Dai Hall Berkeley
Whole Earth Seminar - 03/07/2023 03:30 PM
Earth and Marine Sciences Building Santa Cruz
The Deep Synoptic Array: fast radio burst probes of the unseen universe - 03/07/2023 03:30 PM
Hewlett Teaching Center Stanford
Programming with Rust - Livestream - 03/07/2023 06:00 PM
UC Santa Cruz Silicon Valley Extension
Saving Time: Discovering a Life Beyond the Clock - 03/07/2023 07:00 PM
Long Now Foundation San Francisco
Wednesday, 03/08/2023
The role of Instagram in diversifying women in STEM - Livestream - 03/08/2023 11:00 AM
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
Mycorrhizal fungi and the future of forests in a changing climate - 03/08/2023 12:00 PM
Barker Hall, Rm 101 Berkeley
Algal Solutions for a Sustainable Future - 03/08/2023 04:00 PM
Giannini Hall Berkeley
National Geographic Women Explorers celebrate International Women's Day - 03/08/2023 05:30 PM
CANOPY Jackson Square San Francisco
Free Drinks At the Conference: How To Deliver a Compelling Technical Talk - Livestream - 03/08/2023 06:00 PM
IEEE San Francisco Bay Area Consumer Technology
Emoji for Everyone - 03/08/2023 07:00 PM
Computer History Museum Mountain View
First Results from the James Webb Space Telescope - 03/08/2023 07:00 PM
Silicon Valley Astronomy Lecture Series Los Altos Hills
Thursday, 03/09/2023
A Conversation with Senator Josh Becker on Climate Change, Equity, and California's Sustainable Future - Livestream - 03/09/2023 12:30 PM
SF Planning + Urban Research Assoc. (SPUR)
EXPO: Environmental Careers for Youth - 03/09/2023 05:00 PM
Advanced Energy Center Santa Rosa
Nightlife: Unladylike - 03/09/2023 06:00 PM
California Academy of Sciences San Francisco
After Dark: Integrating Ecologies - 03/09/2023 06:00 PM
ExplOratorium San Francisco
A Light in the Dark - How Light Pollution Affects Avian Health - Livestream - 03/09/2023 06:00 PM
San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory
Netflix, Apocalypses, and the Lost Civilization: Confronting Mainstream Pseudoarchaeology - Livestream - 03/09/2023 07:30 PM
Bay Area Skeptics
Friday, 03/10/2023
Long-term and continuous evaluation of hydro-geochemical changes in response to the earthquakes in Northeast India - 03/10/2023 12:00 PM
Earth and Marine Sciences Building Santa Cruz
Sonoma State University Astronomy Public Viewing Nights - 03/10/2023 07:30 PM
Sonoma State University Public Astronomy Rohnert Park
Saturday, 03/11/2023
North Bay Science Discovery Day - 03/11/2023 10:00 AM
Sonoma County Fairgrounds Santa Rosa
Family Nature Walks - Foothills Nature Preserve - 03/11/2023 11:00 AM
Foothills Nature Preserve Los Altos
EV Ride and Drive: Electrify your Ride - 03/11/2023 11:00 AM
Sunnyvale Community Center Sunnyvale
Sunday, 03/12/2023
Drop-in at the Charleston Slough Observation Deck - 03/12/2023 09:00 AM
Charleston Slough Observation Deck Palo Alto
Monday, 03/13/2023
Genomics (Plus Field Ecology) to Enhance California Biodiversity Conservation - 03/13/2023 12:00 PM
Sonoma State University - Biology Colloquium Rohnert Park
Programmable adiabatic demagnetization: preparing low energy states by simulated cooling - 03/13/2023 02:30 PM
Physics North Berkeley
Diving Deep Uncovers Deep Knowledge - 03/13/2023 04:00 PM
Sonoma State University - What Physicists Do Rohnert Park
Live Cell Force Dynamics - Do Cell Membranes Support or Resist Tension Propagation? - 03/13/2023 04:00 PM
James H. Clark Center (Bldg 340) Stanford
UC Berkeley Physics Colloquia - 03/13/2023 04:15 PM
Physics North Berkeley