Hello Curious Friends,
Let’s get this started… It seems that AI is everywhere. Some see it as a threat and others see it as a promise… Earlier there the hot item was the smart phone. How about a "smart toilet" that analyzes your urine stream and fecal deposits while taking a picture of your anus for good measure? There is so much to learn at the Ig Nobels that I can’t begin to answer some of your questions. You’re going to have to do some research. You might want to start with an understanding of how the universe is measured.
As a contrast to the true equity practised at the Ig Nobels, you do have to shudder at stories like this… Why Physicist Lise Meitner Was Denied the Nobel Prize for Her Pioneering Work on Splitting the Atom. This also leads me to think of how NASA’s first women astronauts changed space (does that need to be phrased as “How the first women astronauts at NASA changed changed space?)
A couple of extra space thoughts and questions. You might wonder if a colorblind person can see a green comet. | "This update on planetary boundaries clearly depicts a patient that is unwell," | Annular solar eclipse of October 14, 2023 | Imagine Lucy in the sky… | Lucy spacecraft gets its 1st view of target asteroid
I’ve recently become more aware of how many medications some folks take. Looking at a palm full of pills can be a bit daunting to friends, family, or the patient themselves. Pharmacology is an amazing science. Imagine asking someone to take multiple different pills that may affect she/he differently because of gender as well as genetics, diet, general health, and probably a bit of luck. Finding information can be very confusing! Maybe pharmacogenetic testing will help. Medicine doesn’t always have all of the answers! Melting Ice By Advanced Meditation
It’s that time of year. Life on a Warming Planet The kids are going back to school and lots of opportunities to learn are happening in and out of the classrooms. Here’s a few that I think are worth checking out…
Exploring Shadows at the South Lunar Pole - Livestream Tu @ 6 PM
Measuring the Earth - Livestream Wed @ noon
After Dark: SMARTBOMB Th @ 6 PM
It’s that time of year. The kids are going back to school and the folks that don’t have kids are stepping out to play! Have you visited your local museum this month? If you’re not that into kids you should! Of course you should anyway. Here are a few that I think are worthy of your time and effort this week.
There are so many interesting things to see, do, experience, or just read about! Here are some that have me thinking this week…
Searching for a Breakup makes me wonder about how so much of our lives that we were able to keep from interfering with each other are now so inseparable.
Earthquakes happen everyday here on earth. If you haven’t experienced a 6+ earthquake you might be surprised at how the earth can move like that. They don’t always hit where you expect them! Deadly Morocco quake resulted from Africa’s ongoing collision with Europe
Some 14 billion miles from here floats a 12-inch gold-plated record. It is a remarkable story.
Have an amazing week learning cool new stuff. Be sure to watch the Ig Nobels. Drop us a note sometime. Let us know what you think.
herb masters
“The notion that power should be limited so that no person or institution can enjoy unaccountable influence is at the very root of our democracy.” —Tim Wu, Columbia University
Upcoming Events:
Click to see the next two weeks of events in your browser.
Monday, 09/18/2023
The Good, the Bad, and the Bugly: Invasive Insects and Disease - Livestream - 09/18/2023 12:00 PM
Sonoma State University Biology Colloquium
Speaker: Curtis Ewing, CalFIRE
SCVAS Learn: Warblers 2023 - Part 1 - Rare and Regular - Livestream - 09/18/2023 07:00 PM
Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society
The fall migration of Warblers is an exciting event for birders. It can also daunting because many of these tiny tree-top insectivores lack the distinctive breeding plumage that makes them so memorable. How do we sort through the many similar features and identify the individuals we find? Why are there so many species on our checklist which (according to the range maps) shouldn’t be here at all? In this three-part presentation, instructor Matthew Dodder will guide you through the basic (and not-so-basic) challenges of our “confusing Fall Warblers”. We will discuss places to go to find Warblers, what marks and behaviors to watch for, and how to enjoy some of the most confusing and enigmatic migrants of the fall season.
Fee covers all three sessions
September LASER Event - 09/18/2023 07:00 PM
Li Ka Shing Center for Learning and Knowledge Stanford
Program (the order of the speakers might change):
Michal Kosinski (Stanford Univ) on "Theory of Mind Might Have Spontaneously Emerged in Large Language Models"The uniquely human ability to impute unobservable mental states to others may have spontaneously emerged in large language models...Read more Amy Karle(Media Artist) on "Digital Dreams and Bio-realities: Reimagining Humanity Through Art and Technology" Art that explores what it means to be human at this time of merging with technology...Read more Eti Ben Simon (UC Berkeley) on "The Emotional Brain in a Sleepless World"Not getting enough sleep dramatically changes how we feel and think...Read more
Room 130
Tuesday, 09/19/2023
Energy and Power Challenges for the Army - 09/19/2023 10:15 AM
Environment and Energy Building (Y2E2) Stanford
The Army leverages significant power and energy research executed by industry. However, unique DoD and Army needs for power, mission length, and environmental concerns require government expertise. Army requirements are driven by the need for mission success, which includes soldier safety, while the commercial sector is driven by the marketplace. As a result, the science and technology drivers for the Army include increasing electric power requirements for advanced weapons, unique military systems, and improved operational capabilities including increased reach and reduced risk. The criticality of fulfilling military requirements defines where the Army focuses its resources as well as enabling it to accept a higher level of technological risk than the commercial sector. Some active R&D efforts include high energy density storage, high power systems, thermal management, long duration power sources, alternative energy sources, and energy management. This talk will focus on those energy and power challenges that are Army unique.
Speaker: Morris Berman, DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory
Popping the Science Bubble: Two talks - 09/19/2023 05:30 PM
Berkeley Public Library Berkeley
Special delivery! How your cells' microscopic delivery service works
Speaker: Joseph Slivka, Physics, UC Berkeley
To Energize or not to Energize - Mitochondrial Control of Organismal Metabolism, Proliferation, and Differentiation
Speaker: Rumi Sherriff, Molecular and Cell Biology, UC Berkeley
Attend in person or online.
Jobs, Truth, and AI: Where do we go from here? - 09/19/2023 06:00 PM
Manny's San Francisco
Join Lexi Reese, Democratic Candidate for US Senate from California and the only technology leader in the race, and Kent Beck, original signer of the Agile Manifesto and author of the Extreme Programming book series, for a 45-minute fireside chat on Jobs, Truth, and AI.
Be part of a workshop where we co-create AI Objectives & Key Results for the country. Let’s improv being a very functional Senate for the night (no filibusters allowed). Together, let’s build a modern regulatory framework and set of suggestions for making sure we get the best from AI, while also protecting and strengthening people, the planet, our economy and our democracy in the process.
Exploring Shadows at the South Lunar Pole - Livestream - 09/19/2023 06:00 PM
Night Sky Network
Join the NASA Night Sky Network on Tuesday, September 19 at 6:00 PM Pacific Time (9:00 PM Eastern) along with Dr. Erwan Mazarico from NASA Goddard Space Flight Center will bring us up to date about NASA’s plans to explore the lunar south pole region.
The lunar south polar region is the target of the Artemis program. It is very different from the equatorial regions explored by Apollo, particularly due to the lighting and thermal conditions. Both permanently shadowed regions and areas of high solar illumination can co-exist in close proximity, presenting challenges and opportunities for robotic and human exploration. Hear from Dr. Mazarico about how the lighting conditions contribute to NASA's plans, and how we plan to explore the lunar south pole region.
Exploring the Unknown: Cryptic Mushroom Diversity In Your Backyard - 09/19/2023 07:00 PM
Mycological Society of San Francisco San Francisco
California has an extremely diverse 'mycoflora', with over 4,000 species of macro fungi documented. Modern taxonomical tools have shown that this is just the tip of the iceberg. This talk will highlight some of the recent discoveries, and how you can help move mycology forward.
Attend in person or online (see weblink)
Astronomy on Tap Tucson #91: Eclipses and Hubble - Livestream - 09/19/2023 07:30 PM
Astronomy on Tap
On tap this month, we have Steward Observatory researchers Nick Schragal and Azalee Bostroem! Nick will talk about eclipses near and far and Azalee will teach us all about all the wonderful things the Hubble Space Telescope can do! We’ll also be hearing all about the latest Astronomy in the News from Dr. Jackie Champagne and Dr. Danny Krolikowski, so please join us to learn about the latest and greatest in the astronomical world.
Wednesday, 09/20/2023
Carbon-negative Technology To Solve the Climate Crisis - 09/20/2023 12:00 PM
CITRIS at UC Berkeley Berkeley
In 1977, physicist Freeman Dyson proposed the burial of biomass as a scalable, economical solution to the carbon dioxide problem. Today we know that harvested vegetation should be buried in an engineered dry biolandfill. Plant biomass can be preserved for thousands of years by burial in a dry environment with sufficiently low thermodynamic “water activity,” which is the relative humidity in equilibrium with the biomass. A water activity less than 60 percent will not support life, suppressing anaerobic organisms, thus preserving the biomass for millennia. Current agriculture and biolandfill costs indicate that $60 per ton of sequestered carbon dioxide corresponds to $0.53 per gallon of gasoline. If scaled to the level of a major crop, existing carbon dioxide can be extracted from the atmosphere and sequester a significant fraction of prior years’ carbon dioxide emissions.
Speaker: Eli Yablonovitch, UC Berkeley
Attend in person or online (see weblink)
The John and Mary Louise Riley Seminar Series at Bodega Marine Laboratory - 09/20/2023 12:00 PM
Coastal and Marine Sciences Institute
Join us for the John & Mary Louise Riley Seminar Series, featuring speakers from within the marine sciences community and beyond.
Please register to join us on Zoom.
Speaker: Brian Hoover, Principal Scientist, Farallon Institute
Measuring the Earth - Livestream - 09/20/2023 12:00 PM
John Muir Laws
With some simple geometry and some friends on Zoom, we can measure the polar circumference of the Earth. This task was first done by Eratosthenes (276 BCE. - 195/194 BCE). We will watch shadows along the meridian that runs north-south through San Mateo CA, Portland OR, Seattle, WA, and Prince George, BC. Using these measurements we will calculate the distance around the earth through the poles.
Everything COVID from a Traditional Chinese Medicine Perspective - 09/20/2023 06:00 PM
San Mateo Public Library San Mateo
Although we're coming out of the COVID pandemic, many of our lives have been forever changed by the event. Join us at the San Mateo Public Library for a talk by Dr. Brandon Lip about his work as a doctor who practices both conventional medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine, and hear what we can learn from his experiences.
Register at weblink
How to build LLM-based product - 09/20/2023 07:00 PM
Hacker Dojo Mountain View
If you are considering building an LLM-powered product, such as customer support, internal document search, or a conversational assistant, how do you implement them? In this talk, I will review the basic components and the product pipeline. I will review the options of building in-house (using Llama 2) or using third-party solutions (such as ChatGPT). Another major component is semantic search or document retrieval. I will review both in house and third-party to this problem. By the end of this talk, you will gain a clear overview of LLM product pipeline, and understand where your skill can be best applied.
Speaker: JunLing Hu, Coach.ai
Unveiling the Secrets of Volcanoes in the Springerville Volcanic Field - 09/20/2023 07:30 PM
Marin Science Seminar San Rafael
The Springerville Volcanic Field (SVF), located in east-central Arizona, erupted between 2.1 million and 300,000 years ago, and erupted over 500 distinct lavas. The volcanic products of the field have been mapped and sampled in great detail, which serves as the basis to unraveling the volcanic history to the field. Several similar volcanic fields pose a great risk to people and towns, but aren’t studied in real time (like monitoring at larger, active volcanoes), making the lessons learned in the SVF invaluable for understanding the nature and hazards associated with this type of volcanism.
Speaker: Marissa Mnich, Sonoma State University
Nerd Nite SF #136: Maggot Therapy, Waves, & Your Brain on Exercise! - 09/20/2023 08:00 PM
Rickshaw Stop San Francisco
The World is Made of Waves by Yousef Hindy
Waves are all around us in ways that we may not even realize. They are how we humans perceive and interact with the world, yet many think of waves as restricted to the ocean or football stadiums. In this talk you will see how all the things you see (and dont see) in the world around you are made of waves and are governed by wave principles. We’ll come to understand what a wave is, some real world examples, and how to evaluate and find wave-like phenomena in your everyday life.
Yousef is a physicist turned software engineer.
Maggot Therapy or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bugsby Avir Mitra MDWhat’s the most disgusting thing I see too often in the ER? Maggots. In this lecture, we explore the fascinating science and history of maggot infections and the surprising ways in which they may be just what the doctor ordered.Avir Mitra is an ER doctor and Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine and Education at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
Why We Want to Wiggle: This is Your Brain on Exercise by Katie Shakman
The brain is a miraculous organ, allowing us to sense, experience, and interact with the world. And it’s constantly changing. Everything we do impacts the connections our neurons will form, and some of our behaviors - like exercise - can have an outsized impact. We’ll explore controversy and surprising connections in the life of your brain and the neuroscience of how your own actions can change it.
Katie is a neuroscientist-turned-mental health data scientist who has studied fly aggression and the importance of salience signals for learning and memory.
Thursday, 09/21/2023
Developing a National Eviction, Displacement, and Housing Precarity Risk Model in a Post-Pandemic World - 09/21/2023 12:00 PM
Sutardja Dai Hall Berkeley
As the nation moves away from pandemic-era protections, who will be impacted and where are the highest concentrations of vulnerable people? From the household to the state, Dr. Tim Thomas - Director of Berkeley’s Eviction Research Network, Research Director for the Urban Displacement Project, and BIDS Data Scientist - will discuss his teams work on using data and social science tools to mine court record text, link evictions to consumer and administrative data, and develop machine learning models to identify where the highest levels of housing precarity are located.
Attend in person or via Zoom (see weblink)
Application of LoRa Protocol in IoT - 09/21/2023 04:00 PM
Sonoma State Dept. of Engineering Science Rohnert Park
The rapid evolution of the Internet of Things (IoT) necessitates robust and efficient communication protocols. This lecture zooms in on the LoRa (Long Range) protocol, heralded for its superior range and low power consumption in IoT applications. While traditional Wi-Fi and cellular technologies have their merits, LoRa stands out in scenarios demanding extended communication distances with minimal energy draw.
To provide a clear perspective, we compare LoRa with other leading technologies on parameters like performance, range, power consumption, security, cost, and application suitability. Through real-world case studies, attendees will glean insights into LoRa's distinct advantages and potential challenges. By the lecture's end, participants will have a nuanced understanding of where and how LoRa fits into the broader IoT communication landscape.
Speaker: Roberto Medina, Sesteco
Attend in person or online here. Passcode: 2009A
After Dark: SMARTBOMB - 09/21/2023 06:00 PM
ExplOratorium San Francisco
For one night only, Oakland-based creative arts community SMARTBOMB takes over After Dark to share their singular approach to an art party. Since their beginnings in 2013, SMARTBOMB has become a Bay Area cultural hub for arts, music, and culture. They create multimedia events rooted in hip-hop that bring the creative community together, encouraging experimentation in expression and planting seeds for collaborative connection. Tonight, there will be an evening of live performances pairing musicians with A/V artists as they illuminate the Exploratorium floor with a selection of short films and projections. Featured artists includeen XYLA, Macro Waves, Raven, Melanie Marie, AshTreJinkins, Rose Cherami, and more.
NightLife - 09/21/2023 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 60,000 live animals (including familiar faces like Claude, our alligator with albinism), the night is sure to be wild.
Venture into our latest aquarium exhibit Venom to encounter live venomous animals and learn the power of venom to both harm and heal.
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+.
Astronomy on Tap Santa Cruz: Santa Cruz and the Edges of the Universe - 09/21/2023 06:30 PM
Humble Sea Brewing Co Santa Cruz
Come learn about how astronomers from Santa Cruz have used the James Webb Space Telescope (launched in late 2021 by NASA) to study exoplanets in our local neighborhood and to discover the most distant galaxies ever observed!
Hear how the unprecedented observing power of the Webb Telescope has provided stunning breakthroughs both near the start of time and in our very nearby universe.
Speakers: Natalie Batalha & Brant Robertson, UC Santa Cruz
An Eclipse Double Header - 09/21/2023 06:30 PM
Menlo Park Main Library Menlo Park
Two dramatic eclipses of the Sun are coming to North America during the 2023-24 school year:
· An annular (“ring of fire”) eclipse Oct. 14, 2023· A total eclipse Apr. 8, 2024
People in two narrow paths will have the full eclipse experience each time. Everyone else (an estimated 500 million people, including all of us in the Bay Area) will see a nice partial eclipse, where the Moon covers a good part of the Sun.
Learn:
· How eclipses come to be (and why they are total only on Earth)· What scientists learn during eclipses· When and where the eclipses of 2023 and 2024 will be best visible· How to observe the eclipses and the Sun safely
Andrew Fraknoi, who is sometimes called the “Bay Area’s Public Astronomer,” retired a few years ago as the chair of the astronomy department at Foothill College and still teaches short, noncredit courses on astronomy at the University of San Francisco and SF State. He is the co-author When the Sun Goes Dark, a book for children about eclipses, and the lead author of OpenStax Astronomy, a free online book that is now the most frequently-used introductory astronomy textbook in the country.
This is an after-hours event. The library will close at 6 p.m. on Sep. 21, and the doors will reopen shortly before this event’s 6:30 start time. This free event received partial funding support from the Friends of the Menlo Park Library.
Unraveling the Mystery of Avian Keratin Disorder in Alaska - Livestream - 09/21/2023 07:00 PM
Golden Gate Audubon Society
Avian keratin disorder (AKD) is an outbreak of debilitating beak deformities affecting wild birds. First observed among Black-capped Chickadees in Alaska in the late 1990s it now appears to affect a variety of species across a broad geographic area. Danielle Gerik will present results of tracking AKD across the globe using citizen science and will discuss which bird species might be most vulnerable.
Speaker: Danielle Gerik, Alaska Science Center
Click here to watch the lecture
Clocking Electrons: an Attosecond Stopwatch - 09/21/2023 07:00 PM
Stanford Linear Accelerator (SLAC) Public Lecture Series Menlo Park
Electrons in a molecule zip around the atom in times measured in billionths of a billionth of a second, or attoseconds. To learn the basic mechanisms of chemical reactions - how catalysts work, how batteries operate - we need to follow electrons over these very short times, and for that, we need a stopwatch that ticks in attoseconds. In this lecture, I will explain how we use SLAC's X-ray laser, the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), to measure times in attoseconds. Part of the challenge is to verify that the stopwatch is accurate. This work provides tools to watch electrons move on their natural time scales.
Speaker: Siqi Li, SLAC
Point Bonita Lighthouse Sunset Tour - 09/21/2023 07:00 PM
Point Bonita Lighthouse Sausalito
On the Point Bonita Lighthouse Sunset Tour, you will enjoy stunning sunset views and learn the compelling story of this landmark. The tour will include elements of natural and cultural history as well as thought-provoking guided discussion that ties the lighthouse’s history to our present. The tour does not include moonrise.
Reserve your space at www.recreation.gov.
This 90-minute tour starts at the Point Bonita Trailhead service gate where you will check in. Led by a ranger or volunteer docent, the group will go on a half mile hike to the lighthouse, which includes a downhill slope, a hand carved tunnel, and a suspension bridge to the lighthouse itself. The suspension bridge has a sheer drop on either side.
A few things to keep in mind:
Bring water and layers, as it can be cold.No pets or bikes allowed on the trail.Ask us about ADA accomodations.No sunset guaranteed! There is a reason, after all, that San Francisco is called 'Fog City.'High winds means we will close the suspension bridge.
Friday, 09/22/2023
Two talks: StorageX International Symposium - Livestream - 09/22/2023 09:00 AM
Stanford University
Thermal Battery Failures and Designing for Safety: Analyses and Case Studies
Speaker: Troy Hayes, Practice Director, Director of Asia Offices and Principal Engineer, Exponent
Upscaling and Automation: Pushing the Boundaries of Multiscale Modeling of Thermal Runaway through Symbolic-Numeric Computing
Speaker: Ilenia Battiato, Associate Professor, Energy Science & Engineering, Stanford University
Register at weblink to attend
Coastal Walk at Cowell-Purisima Trail - 09/22/2023 10:00 AM
Cowell Purisima Coastal Trailhead Half Moon Bay
Join Peninsula Open Space Trust for a beautiful Sunday 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 a part of our Wednesday walk series (despite it being on a Sunday). It is moderate at about 4.5 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
Saturday, 09/23/2023
Free National Parks Day - 09/23/2023 07:00 PM
Various
Admission to most US National Parks is free today, National Public Lands Day
Drop-in at the Charleston Slough Observation Deck - 09/23/2023 09:00 AM
Charleston Slough Observation Deck Palo Alto
We’ll be at Shoreline Park (Mountain View) from 9 to 11:30 am. Visit our birding station at the Charleston Slough observation deck, where our volunteers will help you identify ducks, shorebirds, and more. No need to sign up - come by anytime we’re there! This event is wheelchair accessible.
See weblink for details.
National Public Lands Day 2023 - 09/23/2023 09:00 AM
Golden Gate National Recreation Area
Join us as we celebrate National Public Lands Day! With habitat restoration, landscaping, and maintenance programs, there is something for everyone. Bring yourself, your friends, and your family! Registration required.
See weblink for locations or different projects.
Coastal Clean-up Day 2023 - 09/23/2023 09:00 AM
Golden Gate National Recreation Area
Join us as we celebrate California Coastal Clean-up Day! With beach clean-ups scheduled at Ocean Beach and various sites in Marin, there's something for everyone. Bring yourself, your friends, and your family! Registration required. Coastal Clean-up Day is a statewide effort hosted by the California Coastal Commission. For additional sites on the bay side of San Francisco, Marin, San Mateo counties, check out this map.
Locations vary
The Physics Show - SOLD OUT - 09/23/2023 10:00 AM
Foothill College Los Altos Hills
The Physics Show is a fun science show for kids and their families. This year we will have two weekends of shows in September and two weekends of shows in January.
What is The Physics Show? It’s all sold out!
Kitchen Chemistry at Vasona - 09/23/2023 10:30 AM
Youth Science Institute Los Gatos
You don’t need to be in a lab to see chemistry in action! Join us as we show you fun experiments that you can do with things found in your kitchen! Make a lava lamp out of oil, explode diet coke with Mentos, and make elephant toothpaste! Prepare for a messy time!
Family Nature Walks - Foothills Nature Preserve - 09/23/2023 11:00 AM
Foothills Nature Preserve Los Altos
Environmental Volunteers’ Family Nature Walks program is designed to help students and their families get to know our local open space areas. Small family groups will be guided by a knowledgeable environmental educator during an exploration of a local open space. These small groups will be introduced to fun nature-based activities, and a chance to learn more about the plants and animals all around us. Join us for some fun, outdoor learning!
Each group will have a maximum limit of 12 participants.
Families/groups are welcome to sign up for as many as they like. The nature walks are intended for children aged 6 to 11, and we ask that each group is accompanied by an adult.
If registration is full, get on the waitlist! If the waitlist is large enough, additional groups can be created if EV Nature Walk leaders are available.
Intended for ages 6 - 11, plus adult supervision.
This walk was originally scheduled on September 9.
Fall Equinox Family Lunch + Learn with Dr. Bryan Mendez - 09/23/2023 12:30 PM
Lawrence Hall of Science Berkeley
Bring your lunch and picnic outside next to our Sun Stones II exhibit, a sculpture offering unique viewing opportunities of a variety of astronomical events and phenomena. Planetarium Director Dr. Bryan Mendez will give a family-friendly talk about the seasons and the equinox, including movement and storytelling. Then, observe the equinox with Sun Stones II at 1:03 p.m
Location: Forces That Shape The Bay
Young Birders Club: Sunset Photo Walk at Shoreline - 09/23/2023 05:15 PM
Palo Alto Baylands Nature Preserve Palo Alto
Join the Young Birders Club for a casual bird photo walk at Shoreline Lake for the Bay Area Bird Photo Big Day, a fundraiser for the San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory (SFBBO)! Since 2020, Bay Area birders have banded together to photograph as many birds as possible for the Bird Photo Big Day.
All levels of birders and photographers are welcome - there are no bad photos, and you can shoot on anything, from an iPhone to a long lens. Don't want to take photos but still want to participate? Join in on the fun by cheering on the photographers and birding with us!
Register at weblink
Jazz Under the Stars - 09/23/2023 08:00 PM
College of San Mateo Bldg 36 San Mateo
Jazz Under the Stars is a FREE monthly public stargazing event! Occurring on the Saturday nearest the 1st quarter moon (check our Events Page), join us on the 4th floor observatory for a night of smooth jazz, bright stars, and a lot of fun! We play our jazz from CSM's own KCSM 91.1. Founded in 1964, KCSM has grown to become one of the top 35 most listened to non-commercial stations in the US. With their help, the Astronomy department at CSM opens its observatory doors and balcony, for a night of science and fun! We operate for public viewing four 8” dobsonian telescopes, prefect for viewing the planets Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. We also have a 140mm refractor, with which we view the craters on the moon. Finally, our 8’ schmidt-cassegrain is for our deep sky needs. It can peer deep into globular clusters, and nebulae! Our astronomers will also be available for questions and conversation, which you wouldn’t get anywhere else! Feel free to ask us your questions about the cosmos. Occasionally we even have the chance to image galaxies! Don't miss out, join us at our next Jazz Under the Stars!!
Weather dependent, check the weblink before attending.
Sunday, 09/24/2023
Resilient Forest Series - 09/24/2023 10:00 AM
The West Mill at Green Valley Farm + Mill Sebastopol
Join Forestree Collective, Regenerative Forest Solutions and Audubon Canyon Ranch’s Fire Forward program for this series highlighting forest health practices, ecological stewardship, regional milling infrastructure, prescribed burning, and more.
Each series date will engage participants in stewardship strategies employed at Green Valley Farm + Mill for improving the forest and watershed, a demo and information about Forestree Collective's small-diameter milling infrastructure and Regenerative Forest Solutions' biomass campus project. Staff from Audubon Canyon Ranch’s Fire Forward program will share about the prescribed burn they accomplished alongside Green Valley Farm + Mill and will share resources for those wanting to bring good fire back to the land.
Our day will be broken into two portions: 1) from 10:00 am - 12:30 pm; 2) Afternoon Session: Forest stewardship work from 1:00 pm - 3:30 pm. A waiver and survey will be sent out to all participants prior to the workshop date.
At the end of each workshop, attendees will be offered a locally cultivated blue elderberry (Sambucus nigra ssp cerulea) start to take home as well as a recently published guide produced by Fire Forward.
Latinx Engineering Day 2023 - 09/24/2023 12:00 PM
ExplOratorium San Francisco
Join us for a family-friendly collaboration between the Exploratorium and the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE).
Our 24th annual Día de la Ingeniería/Latinx Engineering Day combines a panel discussion, presentations on the science and engineering heritage of Latinx people, and playful hands-on activities. This annual program is conducted bilingually in Spanish and English and provides opportunities to meet with prominent engineers in the Latinx community.
The Cultural Significance of Sea Otters to the Ohlone - 09/24/2023 12:00 PM
Lawrence Hall of Science Berkeley
Join Sea Otter Savvy’s Heather Barrett and Cafe Ohlone co-founders Vincent Medina and Louis Trevino in our Outdoor Nature Lab for a special Sea Otter Awareness Week event! Vincent, Louis, and Heather will discuss the significance of sea otters to Ohlone people and tradition.
Wonderfest: Beauty of the Poincaré Conjecture - 09/24/2023 03:00 PM
San Francisco Public Library San Francisco
At the turn of the new millennium, a renowned mathematics institute pledged $7 million for the solution of seven special math problems, $1 million each. Only one of these seven Millennium Prize Problems has been solved. That problem, originally posed over a century ago by Henri Poincaré, asked a deep question about the nature of 3-dimensional space. Its resolution opened our (mathematical) eyes to the beauty of 3-dimensional universes - filled with curved geometries, wormholes, and a whole lot of pretty math. This presentation, assuming only a high school math background, will explore the beauty of these spacey ideas in mathematical topology.
Speaker: Steve Trettel, University of San Francisco
City Public Star Party - 09/24/2023 07:30 PM
City Star Parties - Parade Grounds at the Presidio San Francisco
Come join the San Francisco Amateur Astronomers for free public stargazing of the Moon, planets, globular clusters and more!
SFAA members with telescopes are encouraged to attend and share their views of the stars with the general public.
Dress warmly. Due to the pandemic, social-distancing and masks are encouraged, but not required.
Rain, heavy fog and overcast skies cancel. Check the SFAA website for a cancellation notice before leaving for the star party.
Monday, 09/25/2023
Advising for Biology Majors - 09/25/2023 12:00 PM
Sonoma State University - Biology Colloquium Rohnert Park
Speaker: Dr. Sean Place, Biology Department Chair, Sonoma State University
Substrate-driven assembly of a translocon for multipass membrane proteins - 09/25/2023 04:00 PM
James H. Clark Center (Bldg 340) Stanford
Speaker: Robert Keenan, University of Chicago
Room: Auditorium
Black Holes and Quantum Theory - 09/25/2023 04:00 PM
Sonoma State University - What Physicists Do Rohnert Park
Speaker: Dr. Edgar Shaghoulian, UC Santa Cruz
Tuesday, 09/26/2023
Rooted in Sustainability: The Power of Urban Gardening - Livestream - 09/26/2023 04:30 PM
Acterra
The Secret Life of Harbor Porpoises, New Insights into Mating Behavior and Implications for Conservation - Livestream - 09/26/2023 07:00 PM
American Cetacean Society
Wonderfest: The Sense of Fairness in Chimps and Children - 09/26/2023 07:00 PM
Hopmonk Tavern Novato
Wednesday, 09/27/2023
More than 20 years of zooplankton data from the deep Southern Ocean - Livestream - 09/27/2023 11:00 AM
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
Imitation and Innovation in AI: What Four-year-olds Can Do and AI Can’t (Yet) - 09/27/2023 12:00 PM
Sutardja Dai Hall Berkeley
The John and Mary Louise Riley Seminar Series at Bodega Marine Laboratory - 09/27/2023 12:00 PM
Coastal and Marine Sciences Institute
Beyond Roll Call: Inferring Politics from Text - 09/27/2023 04:30 PM
Sutardja Dai Hall Berkeley
Origins and Innovations of Science in the U.S. National Parks - 09/27/2023 05:30 PM
UC Botanical Garden Berkeley
Peninsula Gem & Geology Society - 09/27/2023 07:00 PM
Peninsula Gem and Geology Society
Thursday, 09/28/2023
Silicon Valley Leaders Symposium - Lubab Sheet-Davis - 09/28/2023 12:00 PM
Silicon Valley Leaders Symposium San Jose
After Dark: College Night - 09/28/2023 06:00 PM
ExplOratorium San Francisco
NightLife 1923 - 09/28/2023 06:00 PM
California Academy of Sciences San Francisco
Geothermal Energy Research Within the USGS: Goldilocks to Electricity With Earthquakes in Between - Livestream - 09/28/2023 06:00 PM
US Geological Survey Public Lecture Series
Science is a Piece of Cake: A Geology Bake-Off - 09/28/2023 07:00 PM
KQED Headquarters San Francisco
Friday, 09/29/2023
Cyber Defending Taiwan: Lessons from Ukraine - 09/29/2023 10:00 AM
Bancroft Hotel Berkeley
Nanomaterials in 3D Functional Mesosystems: From Neural Interfaces to Environmental Monitors - 09/29/2023 02:00 PM
Physics North Berkeley
Saturday, 09/30/2023
CSM's Family Science & Astronomy Festival + Makerspace - 09/30/2023 01:00 AM
College of San Mateo San Mateo
Young Birders Club: McClellan Ranch - 09/30/2023 08:30 AM
McClellan Ranch Preserve Cupertino
Stewardship Saturday: Studying Marine Mammals in Elkhorn Slough - 09/30/2023 09:00 AM
Kayak Connection Moss Landing
Science Saturday: Pollinator Palooza! - 09/30/2023 10:00 AM
Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History Pacific Grove
Small-group walk with two goals: search for fall birds, learn about leaf galls and miners along Cerrito Creek - 09/30/2023 10:00 AM
Creekside Park Albany
Los Cenzontles Mexican American Music Performance at the Lawrence Hall of Science - 09/30/2023 12:30 PM
Lawrence Hall of Science Berkeley
Monday, 10/02/2023
Meiosis is a Primary Cause of Death in Young Plants and Animals - 10/02/2023 12:00 PM
Sonoma State University - Biology Colloquium Rohnert Park
Building an equitable, inclusive, and welcoming culture in science - 10/02/2023 04:00 PM
James H. Clark Center (Bldg 340) Stanford
Optical Physics for Brain Imaging - 10/02/2023 04:00 PM
Sonoma State University - What Physicists Do Rohnert Park
Alzheimer's Disease: recent advances and practical tips for prevention - Livestream - 10/02/2023 06:00 PM
San Mateo Public Library
Mapping Cosmic Magnetism in the Space Between the Stars - 10/02/2023 07:30 PM
California Academy of Sciences San Francisco