Watching the Clock & SciSchmoozing
Welcome again,
We get such good feedback from so many of you that i often think of you as colleagues.
Lately i’ve been living less than a hundred meters from a heavily-traveled 6-lane, 55 mph thoroughfare. (Quick question: ¿Of the world’s 190+ nations, how many officially use “miles” instead of kilometers for road signs? Answer below.) All but a tiny portion of the vehicles zooming by are gobbling up fossil fuel and spewing out CO2. There’s not much i can do about that … but i did a little. I made up cards printed on one side, “Make your next vehicle F3 (Fossil Fuel Free). Buy Electric and refuel at home.” On the other side i printed the following:
These messy QR codes work to pull up a list of available electric cars and the cost to ship them to or around the Bay Area (although i have not vetted the retailer). If you live elsewhere, you can alter the algorithm. As i was handing out these cards to drivers waiting their turn at Costco gas pumps, one driver jumped out of his car holding the card and confronted me. I held my ground as he said, “Thank you for doing this!” <Whew> Handing out these cards is nearly pointless. Informing you and the thousands of other SciSchmooze readers is slightly better. Better still would be for you to spread the word to your contacts that we must rapidly abandon fossil-fuel-burning vehicles - and there are good choices for under $20k.
Getting rid of fossil-fuel-burning vehicles is far from all that we need to do. The Princeton University study, “Net Zero America,” presents five different strategies to reach net zero CO2 emissions by 2050 in the U.S. - and their costs. However, the best and fastest U.S. strategy might not prevent our exceeding global climate tipping points.
I stumbled upon an enigma this week. The website fossilfuelfreefuture.org lists “Parliamentarians” who have signed a statement recognizing the need to:
End new expansion of oil, gas and coal production ...;
Phase out existing oil, gas and coal in a manner that is fair and equitable ...;
Commit to and pursue transformational policies and plans to ensure 100% access to renewable energy globally ...;
Enact national budgets and fiscal policies that will support this swift and just transition nationally and globally ...;
As of now, about 600 national legislators (senators, representatives, members of parliament, etc.) from 78 nations have signed this statement. Tellingly, not one U.S. Senator or Representative has signed it. That is a puzzle and a problem. I wrote to my House Representative and to my Senators asking why they haven’t signed. No replies yet. You could also ask.
¿Are people who are negatively affected by the climate crisis entitled to recompense? Both the United Nations and the European Court of Human Rights are dealing with that question.
Answer to the question: ¿Of the world’s 190+ nations, how many officially use “miles” instead of kilometers for road signs? - Two: Belize and the U.S.A.
Samantha M. won the Crooke’s Radiometer with her guess of 311; closest of only 13 entries. The prize this time is a favorite of ours, a glass beaker coffee mug. Just send an email before noon Friday to david.almandsmith [at] gmail.com with an integer between 0 and 1,000.
SPACE
The ISS will (potentially) be visible from the Bay Area from horizon to horizon on Monday starting at 8:06 PM PDT. Give the multinational crew a wave!
NUTRITION (& the Environment)
A Mammoth meatball was grown in a vat at the Vow Company in Australia. Yes it is mammoth-sized, but it also contains Mammoth myoglobin created from Mammoth DNA. The company did this mainly for publicity; and it clearly worked. ¿But is cultured meat in our future? ¿What about soy burgers? Using grazing animals for meat is environmentally destructive, a major source of greenhouse gas, is ethically controversial, and provides a reservoir for pathogenic viruses and bacteria. Some push instead for a general overhaul of agriculture in the face of our climate crisis. ¿Where does a “paleo diet” fit in? (Do not follow that last link if you are squeamish.)
It was during the Vietnam War in 1970 when Lolita was captured, as four of her young companions perished. Demands to end her confinement in Florida have been repeatedly voiced during the intervening 52 years. Finally, plans and funding are in place for the orca to be released back into Puget Sound where her mother still lives. We hope it goes well.
My Picks of the Week
– The Caves of Mars: Mission to a Lava Tube 7:30pm Monday, San Francisco, $
– Class: Aliens in Science & Science Fiction Livestream 2pm Tuesday, College Credit, $
– Birding the Bay Area: Part One Livestream 6:30pm Tuesday
– Wonderfest: Earthquakes; Gene Engineering Livestream 8pm Wednesday
– Easy Morning Walk at Wavecrest 10am Thursday, Half Moon Bay
– Family Nature Walk: Foothills Nature Preserve 11am Saturday, Los Altos
Artificial Intelligence – AI – is able to predict how proteins fold which assists medical science to the benefit of all of us. AI is helping physicists control plasma streams in prototype fusion reactors. AI is helping mathematicians find previously unknown patterns leading to advanced theorems. AI is also assisting in the creation of misinformation and disinformation. People have been creating misinformation for hundreds of millennia and purveyors of misinformation needn’t employ AI to mislead millions of people. The QAnon conspiracy is a prime example. But AI can make garbage far more believable and it is getting better. ¿How will future generations manage to protect themselves from misinformation in all of its forms? Perhaps we should look to the Finnish example where learning to evaluate information is part of the standard curriculum.
Fun nerdy videos:
Saving lives one drone at a time - Mark Rober - 22 mins
Waste heat and the future of our planet - Sabine Hossenfelder - 22 mins
Microplastics - The Right Chemistry, Joe Schwarcz - 5 mins
National High Magnetic Field Lab - Veritaseum, Derek Muller - 23 mins
History of the scientific method - PBS Get Smart, Joe Hanson - 12 mins
Why is there something rather than nothing? - David Kipping - 20 mins
Science News without the gobbledygook - Sabine Hossenfelder - 17 mins
The Space Gun: Project HARP - Real Engineering - 20 mins
Make this week special - and also expand your sphere/bubble/circle of empathy,
Dave Almandsmith, Bay Area Skeptics
"I have noticed that even people who claim everything is predetermined and that we can do nothing to change it, look before they cross the road."
– Stephen Hawking (1942 - 2018) English theoretical physicist
Upcoming Events:
Click to see the next two weeks of events in your browser.
Monday, 04/03/2023
Yerba Buena Island Natural History Walks - 04/03/2023 10:00 AM
Treasure Island Administration Building 1 San Francisco
Yerba Buena Island is unknown to over 99% of San Franciscans, even less by denizens of the greater Bay Area, who may only know it when they drive over the Bay Bridge which spans are connected by the tunnel that traverses the island. Even if city dwellers have ventured over to Treasure Island for the music festival, the flea market or for school-age sports, they drive right through Yerba Buena and onto Treasure. But unlike Treasure, which is an artificial island constructed in the 1930s, Yerba Buena Island is one of the Bay’s many natural islands. While it doesn’t approach the size of Angel Island, it is one of the Bay’s largest islands, and as a result has experienced a lot of human activity in the modern era, including being an Army reservation, a Naval base, and it still harbors a Coast Guard base on its southeast side. Reportedly, an Ohlone fishing village existed on the Island.
Whether or not Yerba Buena Island was named for the Spanish village of Yerba Buena or directly for our local spearmint, Clinopodium douglasii, in fact, yerba buena, the plant, was extirpated from the island in the modern era. Still, the island is home to several distinct native plant communities and some interesting wildlife, including land and water birds, harbor seals, alligator and western fence lizards, albino raccoons, and even possibly a new-to-science banana slug! Plant communities were all described in the Yerba Buena Island Habitat Management Plan, the biologist for which was none other than Mike Wood, long-time Yerba Buena Chapter Rare Plants Co-Chair and author of the recent Chapter publication, the Annotated Checklist of the Vascular Plants of San Francisco. Mike originally described and the Treasure Island Development Authority and San Francisco Environment Department are now managing, coast live oak woodlands, coastal scrub, valley wild rye grassland, foredune, and willow riparian communities. In addition to the existing natural areas, which are represented around the lower elevations of the island, the City and the Treasure Island/Yerba Buena Island developer have revegetated several new sites with local native plants grown by Literacy for Environmental Justice.
Join long-time Chapter Rare Plants Chair, Peter Brastow, for a tour of some of Yerba Buena Island’s natural and resurrected ecology, including the locally very rare fiesta flower (Pholistima auritum). We will mostly explore the northwest quadrant of the island, but Peter will orient folks to the entire island and other places they can visit on their own after the field trip. Sign this waiver to attend. Meet at Building 1 on Treasure Island.
A Slinky of Nucleosomes Builds a Unified Chromosome Architecture - 04/03/2023 12:00 PM
Sonoma State University - Biology Colloquium Rohnert Park
Speaker: Dr. John Sedat, UC San Francisco
Using proxies to assess anthropogenic effects on under-monitored equatorial Pacific reefs - Rescheduled - 04/03/2023 12:30 PM
Environment and Energy Building (Y2E2) Stanford
Speaker: Nathan Mollica, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Editor's Note: This talk will now be given on May 1, 2023.
Salinity Intrusion in Northern San Francisco Bay: Observations and Models - 04/03/2023 12:30 PM
Environment and Energy Building (Y2E2) Stanford
The problem of predicting how the salinity field in estuaries responds to freshwater inflows is one that draws attention from both physical oceanographers and hydraulic engineers since it has both scientific and practical dimensions. In Northern San Francisco Bay, examination of 20+ years of data spanning the estuary shows that the overall structure of the salt field can be described using a single parameter, X2, the distance in km measured from the Golden Gate Bridge to where the salinity on the bottom is 2. In this talk I will discuss the observed behavior of X2 and how it responds to flow, Q. In general, the tendency of freshwater flows to carry salt out of the estuary is balanced by the tendency of dispersion to move salt upstream. A surprising aspect of the X2-Q relation in Northern San Francisco Bay is that it is much weaker than would be inferred from classical estuarine circulation theory, behavior that we attribute to the effects of stratification on the turbulent flows that support upstream salt flux. I will present a rigorously derived albeit simplified integral model of salinity dynamics that can be used to understand this behavior and that can be used to create a dynamically based (rather than purely empirical) model of unsteady salinity intrusion. Finally, examination of the relevant data also suggests that inability to accurately measure freshwater flows during relatively dry periods may be a bigger limitation on accurate predictions of low-flow behavior than is choice of model structure.
Speaker: Stephen Monismith, Stanford University
Correlated Structural Inhomogeneity in Oxide Superconductors - 04/03/2023 02:30 PM
Physics North Berkeley
Superconductivity has been a major scientific topic for more than a century, yet in many important materials this macroscopic quantum phenomenon remains poorly understood. From nonlinear magnetic response and other experiments, we have uncovered that superconductivity emerges in an unusual manner upon cooling in three well-known families of complex oxides - strontium titanate, strontium ruthenate, and the cuprates - for which the origin of superconductivity is thought to differ [1]. Our complementary structural diffuse neutron and x-ray scattering measurements reveal evidence for rare-region effects and indicate that the universal electronic behavior is rooted in intrinsic correlated inhomogeneity inherent to the oxides’ perovskite-based crystal structures [2]. The prevalence of such inhomogeneity has far-reaching implications for the interpretation of electronic properties of perovskites in general, including thin films and heterostructures. In the case of the cuprates, this constitutes a pivotal part of a robust phenomenological model that comprehensively captures hitherto elusive properties of the normal and superconducting states [3]. In the case of strontium titanate, these insights motivated a systematic study of plastically deformed crystals and led to the discovery of remarkable superconductivity and ferroelectricity enhancements associated with the self-organization of dislocations into periodic structures [4].
Speaker: Marin Greven, University of Minnesota
Modeling Supernovae as a Fireball - 04/03/2023 04:00 PM
Sonoma State University - What Physicists Do Rohnert Park
I will be talking about my research on supernovae from conducting preliminary research, writing code, data analysis/visualization to synthesizing all of it into a research paper. My hope for the talk is to showcase my journey from Capstone to finished paper with the hope that it might serve as a model and/or inspiration for students who want to get into undergraduate research
Speaker: Jacob Marshall, Sonome State University alumni
Lessons from poison frogs on ecological tuning of animal behavior and physiology - 04/03/2023 04:00 PM
James H. Clark Center (Bldg 340) Stanford
Lauren O'Connell is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biology at Stanford University. She studies amphibians to learn how animals adapt their behavior and physiology to changing environments. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin and then started her own lab at Harvard University as a Bauer Fellow before joining the Stanford faculty in 2017. Projects in the lab include investigating parent-offspring interactions and the physiology of chemical defenses in poison frogs.
Quantum optics with organic molecules: cavity QED, optomechanics, and cooperativity - 04/03/2023 04:15 PM
Physics North Berkeley
Laboratory manipulation of single quantum emitters and single photons has matured to a routine procedure over the past two decades. These activities have motivated new emerging topics such as coherent cooperative interactions among several quantum emitters and the development of quantum networks. In this presentation, I summarize our efforts of the last decade in coupling single molecules to high-finesse Fabry-Perot cavities and nanoscopic waveguides on a chip, demonstrating dipole-induced transparency, strong coupling and single-photon nonlinearity. I will then present the latest results on the coupling of two individual molecules to a common mode of a micro-resonator and discuss routes for scaling up to many molecules. Moreover, I report on precision spectroscopy of vibronic transitions in single molecules as well as a theoretical conception for a hybrid optomechanical platform, which allows one to achieve long coherence and storage times.
Speaker: Vahid Sandoghdar, Max Planck Institute
Ensuring a Circular Batteries Industry: Challenges and Opportunities - 04/03/2023 04:30 PM
Stanford University Energy Seminar Stanford
Electrochemical energy storage devices such as batteries will play a dominant role in electrification of transportation and clean electricity from renewables for reaching the ambitious goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. Li-ion batteries (LIBs), the current dominant technology, is facing an increasing pressure on maintaining a stable supply-chain and their dependence on critical materials such as Li, Co, Ni and graphite, and their associated socio-environmental impacts. Furthermore, LIBs are not optimal from both cost and scalability perspective for long duration energy storage (LDES) that demands resilient storage systems longer than 10 hours. This talk will provide a high-level overview and summary of current high energy density battery chemistries for transportation and grid-scale energy storage and research efforts to develop alternate battery materials from earth abundant elements.
Speaker: Jagjit Nanda is Distinguished Scientist at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Director of the SLAC-Stanford Battery Center. In this seminar, he will discuss the work of the battery center.
Beyond ChatGPT: Stuart Russell on the Risks and Rewards of A.I. - 04/03/2023 05:30 PM
Commonwealth Club San Francisco
OpenAI’s question-and-answer chatbot ChatGPT has shaken up Silicon Valley and is already disrupting a wide range of fields and industries, including education. But the potential risks of this new era of artificial intelligence go far beyond students cheating on their term papers. Even OpenAI’s founder warns that “the question of whose values we align these systems to will be one of the most important debates society ever has."
How will artificial intelligence impact your job and life? And is society ready? We talk with UC Berkeley computer science professor and A.I. expert Stuart Russell about those questions and more.
This talk was originally scheduled for March 15, 2023
My Fish Filled Life and How I Became an Accidental Science Communicator - 04/03/2023 07:00 PM
Hopkins Marine Station Pacific Grove
Alaska artist Ray Troll will share the twists and turns of his unique aquatically inspired career as an artist and an educator, and how marine science came to be an important focal point for his unconventional body of work.
Settling in the rainswept, coastal town of Ketchikan, Alaska he began producing offbeat fish-inspired T-shirts that have gained him a global audience with anglers, cannery workers, commercial fishers and scientists around the world. His art has toured in major exhibitions at museums across the United States and overseas, and graces the rim of the former NOAA building in Pacific Grove.
Register at weblink to attend in person or online
The Caves of Mars: Preparing for a Mission to a Lava Tube - 04/03/2023 07:30 PM
California Academy of Sciences San Francisco
Biologic and Resource Analog Investigations in Low Light Environments (BRAILLE) is a multi-year, NASA-funded Mars analog project centered around fieldwork in volcanic caves at Lava Beds National Monument in Northern California. We are motivated to search for evidence of life on Mars beneath its surface - and one way to gain access there is through a volcanic cave!
We have identified many such "lava tubes" in images from Mars orbiters, and by visiting similar environments on Earth with the right technology, we hope to quantify the microbial life living there (and find out what it eats), to characterize mineral features that could be signatures of life, and to gain experience using robots to detect life and to map below-ground regions.
These efforts will help NASA prepare for a future life-detection mission to a Martian lava tube! Our project has evolved to include new autonomous and AI technologies that show much promise for developing future missions to Mars - or the Moon! This presentation will provide an overview of BRAILLE, showcasing its most significant accomplishments and taking audiences inside these remarkable caves.
Speaker: Jennifer Blank, Blue Marble Space Institute of Science
Tuesday, 04/04/2023
A class on Aliens in Science and Science Fiction - Livestream - 04/04/2023 02:00 PM
Osher Livelong Learning Institute
Few areas of astronomy provoke our imaginations as much as the search for “alien life” among the stars. It is a staple of science fiction stories and films, but recently it has also become a legitimate branch of scientific inquiry. In this non-technical class (designed for people without much science background), we first take a look at our modern view of the universe. We then discuss why astronomers are more optimistic than ever that there must be life beyond the Earth, what experiments we are undertaking to find or communicate with such life, and what we propose to do if we find “them.” We’ll also look at some of the most imaginative science-fiction ideas about what aliens will be like, and what the positive and negative results of getting in touch with aliens might be.
Note that this course runs for 6 weeks at the same time each week April 4 - 9. We are only listing the first session.
The class costs $60 and you must also pay a $40 membership fee in the CSU East Bay OLLI program. To register, click here.
Instructor: Andrew Fraknoi, San Francisco State University, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, and Fromm Institute.
Stanford Applied Physics/Physics Colloquium - 04/04/2023 03:30 PM
Hewlett Teaching Center Stanford
Speakers: Steve Chu, Steve Koonin, Bob Laughlin
Subseafloor Hydrogeology: Moving beyond watersheds - 04/04/2023 03:30 PM
Natural Science Annex Santa Cruz
The field of submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) was launched in the 1990s by the remarkable discovery, via naturally-occurring isotopic tracers, that saline groundwater was discharging to the South Atlantic Bight in very large volumes. Subsequent studies confirmed that saline groundwater discharges to the Atlantic Ocean in volumes that rival river discharge. All available evidence indicates that this saline groundwater is highly enriched in nutrients compared to river water, so the nutrient contributions of this submarine discharge exceed that of river discharge. These findings have been slow to find widespread acceptance, however, because it has been exceedingly difficult to confirm this flow by means other than the original isotropic tracers. This discharge does not occur near the shoreline, and no conceptual models for SGD far from shore existed.
This changed recently when new studies using heat as a tracer identified clear pulses of groundwater discharge 10-15 km offshore in the South Atlantic Bight. This talk investigates this 20-year mystery and the recent discoveries that suggest that it may be time to rewrite chemical budgets for the coastal ocean.
Speaker: Alicia Wilson, University of South Carllina
Electron Spin Resonance and Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Single Organic Radicals with the STM - 04/04/2023 04:00 PM
Latimer Hall Berkeley
Magnetic single atoms and molecules constitute the ultimate spatial limit for data storage, quantum sensors and quantum information units. Recently electron spin resonance spectroscopy combined with the scanning tunneling microscope (ESR-STM) has developed into a powerful tool to address magnetic adsorbates at the single atom level. Compared to other STM magnetic spectroscopy techniques, ESR-STM provides unprecedented energy resolution and allows for coherent spin manipulation. Concurrently, organic magnetism has seen a surging interest due to the exciting properties of magnetic edge states in graphene nanoribbons and magnetism induced by topological frustration in open-shell nanographenes. In today's seminar I will describe our efforts to measure the electron spin resonance of organic pi radicals adsorbed on metal-supported MgO thin films. We successfully drive delocalized electron spins with the localized RF field from an atomically sharp tip apex and characterize the spin of a molecular anion. Further, we acquire MRI scans of single molecules, revealing unexpectedly rich sub-molecular resolution detail which arises from the delocalized pi electron sensing the magnetic field from the STM tip as it scans over the molecule. Our results extend ESR-STM to the study of organic magnetism and provide new opportunities for visualizing magnetic interactions with sub-angstrom spatial resolution.
Speaker: Gregory Czap, IBM
Stanford Symbolic Systems Forum: Nandi Sims - 04/04/2023 04:30 PM
Margaret Jacks Hall (Bldg 460) Stanford
Speaker: Nandi Sims, Stanford University
Room 126
Birding the Bay Area Part 1 - Livestream - 04/04/2023 06:30 PM
San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory
With hundreds of bird species found throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, we are fortunate to have several birding organizations dedicated to appreciating and conserving the birds here. In the first part of SFBBO's Birding the Bay Area series, Golden Gate Audubon, Mt. Diablo Audubon, and Ohlone Audubon will each share a few of their favorite birding hotspots in the areas they serve, which include the counties of San Francisco, Contra Costa, and Alameda. Join us to learn about great spots to check out, some of the birds you can find, and what makes these areas special!
Speakers:
Jerry Britten, President of Mt. Diablo Audubon SocietyWhitney Grover, Deputy Director of Golden Gate Audubon SocietyBob Toleno, Field Trip Chairperson of Ohlone Audubon Society
Register at weblink to receive Zoom information
Bringing Biotech to Wildlife Conservation - 04/04/2023 07:00 PM
Club Fugazi San Francisco
How can we turn the tide on species loss and help biodiversity and bioabundance flourish for millennia to come?
Ryan Phelan is Executive Director of Revive & Restore; the leading wildlife conservation organization promoting the incorporation of biotechnologies into standard conservation practice. Phelan will share the new Genetic Rescue Toolkit for conservation - a suite of biotechnology tools and conservation applications that offer hope and a path to recovery for threatened species. In this talk, Phelan will present examples of the toolkit in action, including corals that better withstand rising ocean temperatures, trees that withstand a fungal blight, and the genetic rescue of the black-footed ferret, once thought to be extinct.
Revive & Restore brings biotechnologies to conservation in responsible ways; from engaging local communities where ecological restorations are underway, to connecting stakeholders in disciplines like biotech, bioethics, conservation organizations and government agencies. Together, they are forging new paths to bioabundance in our changing world.
Ryan Phelan will be joined by forecaster and Long Now Board Member Paul Saffo for the Q&A to discuss long-term outcomes and the Intended Consequences framing used by Revive & Restore.
Wednesday, 04/05/2023
VC Stories: NEA Cofounder Charles W. Newhall III - Livestream - 04/05/2023 10:00 AM
Computer History Museum
Who better to share insights about the ever-evolving world of venture capital than an insider?
Charles Newhall, cofounder of NEA, a leading venture capital firm for nearly fifty years, will share stories and insights about founding and building NEA as well as the "good, the bad, and the ugly" of creating new companies. And, as a member of a venture family with a combined 80+ years of experience, Newhall offers a unique, firsthand perspective on the evolution of the venture finance industry.
The virtual fireside chat will be moderated by Accel cofounder Jim Swartz. Join us to tap into the wisdom of two of the industry's respected leaders.
What You'll Experience:
Hard-won lessons about how to make investment decisions, select teams, and build firms that last.
Best practices, potential pitfalls, and enduring culture values for venture capital firms.
What's at stake today for the venture capital industry as a driver for economic growth.
Plastics in the deep sea - the ocean floor reservoir - 04/05/2023 11:00 AM
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute Moss Landing
The ocean floor is suspected to be a permanent resting place, or sink, of plastic pollution, yet its importance has not yet been quantified. The amount and distribution of plastic pollution in the deep ocean dictates the risks that plastic may pose to living organisms, and also has implications for effective mitigation and remediation. In this study, we provide one of the first estimates of the global ocean floor reservoir of plastic pollution. First, we conducted a systematic review of the abundances of plastic pollution reported in the deep ocean was conducted to identify studies that published findings on the amount and types of plastic on the seabed from the 1970’s until January 1st, 2020. These data were then used to build a generalized additive model (GAM) with relevant covariates to model how much plastic resides on the ocean floor on a global scale.
Speaker: Xia Zhu, University of Toronto
Attend in person or online
Ethical AI Decision-making: How Not To Destroy the World With AI - 04/05/2023 12:00 PM
Sutardja Dai Hall Berkeley
It is reasonable to expect that artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities will eventually exceed those of humans across a range of real-world decision-making scenarios. Should this be a cause for concern, as Alan Turing and others have suggested? Will we lose control over our future? Or will AI complement and augment human intelligence in beneficial ways? It turns out that both views are correct, but they are talking about completely different forms of AI. To achieve the positive outcome, a fundamental reorientation of the field is required. Instead of building systems that optimize arbitrary objectives, we need to learn how to build systems that will, in fact, be beneficial for us. Russell will argue that this is possible as well as necessary. The new approach to AI opens up many avenues for research and brings into sharp focus several questions at the foundations of moral philosophy.
Speaker: Stuart Russell, UC Berkeley
Attend in person or online. See weblink to register
Plastic pollution in marine food webs: pathways, trends, and risk assessments - Livestream - 04/05/2023 03:30 PM
Estuary & Ocean Science Center Tiburon
As plastic production increases, understanding how plastic debris enters and flows through marine food webs is becoming more crucial than ever before. Data from abiotic (water, sediment) and biotic (seabirds, fish) reservoirs have confirmed exponential growth of meso- and microplastics and fibers in marine systems over the past half century. This presentation will focus on what is known about how marine consumers ingest plastic, how plastic moves through the marine food web, and what strategies and techniques are emerging to evaluate the risks of ingested plastic debris. Monterey Bay has proven an ideal location to investigate these issues and serves as a natural comparison to the well-studied and more heavily impacted San Francisco Bay and its adjacent marine sanctuaries. Taken together, our work can help scientists and managers understand and mitigate this emerging pollutant in California’s waters and beyond.
Speaker: Matthew Savoca, Hopkins Marine Station
Register at weblink to receive Zoom information
A strategic perspective on rivers processes and infrastructure in the water-energy-food nexus - 04/05/2023 04:00 PM
Giannini Hall Berkeley
Rivers are hotspots of biodiversity, provide important ecosystem services, and are crucial biophysical connectors in the water, food, and energy nexus. Harnessing benefits from rivers, e.g., for hydropower and irrigation typically requires infrastructure, such as dams and reservoirs, which impact river processes and create negative externalities for people and nature. Current planning of water infrastructure does not commonly consider those impacts across scales and domains, resulting in avoidable environmental impacts and endangering the resilience of water, energy, and food systems in profound, but often overlooked, ways. This talk will give an introduction in how river processes are crucial for sustainable water-energy-food systems. Based on my research in the Mekong and other large rivers, I will discuss concepts of system-scale strategic planning as a prerequisite to resolve pressing ecologic-economic trade-offs in water infrastructure development.
Speaker: Rafael Schmitt, Stanford University
Parks4All: Pink Full Moon Hike and Party - 04/05/2023 05:00 PM
Presidio Tunnel Tops San Francisco
In the spirit of newness, we are throwing a one-of-a-kind pink-out party under April's Pink Full Moon at Presidio Tunnel Tops! Bring all the pink clothing and accessories you own to celebrate change and growth with all of your friends. There will be food, drinks, and all your friends dressed in pink. There will even be your choice of a special guided hike of either the nearby Main Post Parade Grounds or the Presidio Tunnel Tops campus. Come spend this night of rejuvenation dancing with all your friends at the beautiful Presidio Tunnel Tops!
Ages 21+
The Age of Scientific Wellness: The Future of Medicine Is Personalized, Predictive, Data-Rich and in Your Hands - 04/05/2023 05:30 PM
Commonwealth Club San Francisco
Taking us to the cutting edge of the new frontier of medicine, a visionary biotechnologist and a pathbreaking researcher show how we can optimize our health in ways that were previously unimaginable. They say we are on the cusp of a major transformation in health care - yet few people know it. At top hospitals and a few innovative health-tech startups, scientists are working closely with patients to dramatically extend their "healthspan" - the number of healthy years before disease sets in.
Using information gleaned from our blood and genes and tapping into the data revolution made possible by AI, doctors can catch the onset of disease years before symptoms arise, revolutionizing prevention. Current applications have shown startling results: diabetes reversed, cancers eliminated, Alzheimer's avoided, autoimmune conditions kept at bay. This is not a future fantasy: it is already happening, but only for a few patients and at high cost. Proponents say it is time to make this gold standard of care more widely available.
Speakers: Leroy Hood, Phenome Health; Nathan Price, Thorne HealthTech; Robert Lee Kilpatrick, Phenome Health, Moderator
Attend in person or online. Register at weblink. Reduced price for online attendance.
EV Financial Incentives Clinic - Livestream - 04/05/2023 07:00 PM
Acterra
Think you can't afford an EV (electric vehicle)? Think again! Learn about the many financial assistance programs available for purchasing an EV. This webinar is available in Mandarin, Spanish and English. For more guidance, opt-in for a free consultation in the post-event survey.
Register at weblink
Wonderfest: Ask a Science Envoy: Earthquakes; Gene Engineering - Livestream - 04/05/2023 08:00 PM
Wonderfest
Wonderfest Science Envoys are early-career researchers with special communication skills and aspirations. Following short talks on provocative modern science topics, these two Science Envoys will answer questions with insight and enthusiasm:
Earthquake Science Using Crowdsourced Data from Smartphones - MyShake is a free citizen-science smartphone app which has been downloaded globally 2.5 million times. MyShake delivers earthquake early warnings(!) to users in California, Oregon, and Washington. It also uses the vibration sensor built into all smartphones to record earthquake motion for scientific analysis. How can the gadget in your pocket contribute to earthquake early warning, shake-hazard mapping, and structural-health monitoring? Speaker: Sarina Patel, UC BerkeleyGenetic Engineering Refined with Single-Molecule Microscopes - CRISPR enzymes allow precise genetic engineering, cleaving DNA molecules to improve the health and function of organisms. However, naturally compact and twisted pieces of DNA, under stress due to mechanical deformation, are tough to cut precisely. Single-molecule microscopy helps us design novel CRISPR enzymes that become highly-accurate molecular scissors - new tools for beneficial gene modification. Speaker: Kevin Aris, Stanford University
See weblink for Zoom information
Thursday, 04/06/2023
Easy Morning Walk at Wavecrest - 04/06/2023 10:00 AM
Wavecrest Open Space Preserve Half Moon Bay
Enjoy a refreshing morning hike along the bluffs of the Wavecrest Trail! This family-friendly hike is an easy 2-mile walk and great for all ages and levels of hikers.
This serene space is surrounded by POST-protected agricultural land and open space. Many people enjoy this scenic hike because of the great bird watching opportunities. There is also a chance to head down to the beach for a quiet place to relax or to catch a gorgeous summer sunset.
On this walk, closed-toed shoes are required and we recommend bringing plenty of water and a light snack. Minors are welcome to attend as long as they are accompanied by a parent or guardian. Please leave the pups at home!
Register at weblink
A Study of Hydrological Extremes from Space - 04/06/2023 12:00 PM
Mitchell Earth Sciences Building (04-560) Stanford
Land surface hydrology is a collection of complex processes. The spatial variability both the land surface properties (soil and vegetation) as well as the meteorological inputs (precipitation and radiation) play an important role in hydrology. Satellite remote sensing has a broad spatial and repeat temporal view of the land surface and is able to provide observations for use in hydrology such as soil moisture, surface temperature and vegetation density. The variability of the water cycle causes extremes such as droughts and floods and these have an impact on society. In addition, landslides and permafrost thaw are the two other hydrological extremes that impact society. In the past two decades with the advent of improved satellite sensors, modeling and in-situ observations, quantification of the water cycle and its extremes has become possible. These satellite sensors include - microwave observations for soil moisture and precipitation; visible/near infrared for vegetation and evapotranspiration, gravity for groundwater/total water and thermal observations for surface temperature. In this talk I will focus on using models, satellite and in-situ observations for hydrological variability specifically as they relate to hydrological extremes.
Speaker: Venkat Lakshmi, University of Virginia
Attend in person or online
Room 350/372
Putting Contemporary Climate Migration in Context: What Do We Know from Two Decades of Research? - 04/06/2023 03:30 PM
Moses Hall Berkeley
“Climate-related migration,” “disaster mobility,” and “climate refugees” have become salient topics in the last decade in both the political and scholarly realms. Most of the discourse looks to the future, with mass migrations expected in the wake of ever more severe climate change. These climate mobilities tend to be regarded as a novel phenomenon. Yet, they are not new: Although the scope of these mobilities has never been larger, environmental factors and disasters have played a role in the movement of people throughout history. This lecture series explores this relation between human mobility and climate change and disaster from the early modern period to our own time. It charts various ways in which people in the Middle East, North America, and Asia have grappled with the need to move out of harm’s way, whether that harm was a sudden flood or a slow drought leading to famine. Sometimes, these people may only have had to relocate by several miles, while other times they had to traverse continents, but in their mobility, both they and the environments they came to inhabit (either permanently or in transit) were transformed. The lectures examine a wide range of mobilities that climate change and disaster have provoked and the economic, social, and cultural developments they sparked. They also draw attention to the immobilities caused by choice or specific mobility regimes, as well as their interactions with the mobilities of others. With the help of some historical perspectives and contemporary considerations, the lecture series aims to explore new ways of thinking about climate-related mobilities today and in the future.
Speaker: Amanda Carrico, University of Colorado, Boulder
Registration required at weblink
New Product Introduction - Livestream - 04/06/2023 04:00 PM
Sonoma State Engineering Colloquium
New Product Introduction Engineering is a field of engineering that ensures the quality and robustness of new designs and processes. The role of the NPI engineer is to take a design from R&D and help get it ready for full scale production. This talk will delve into the tasks and skill sets that are needed and developed as an NPI engineer.
Speaker: David House, Keysight Technologies
Fungus Among Us NightLife - 04/06/2023 06:00 PM
California Academy of Sciences San Francisco
Make room for ‘shrooms because fungi are taking over! Enter the world of mycology at this annual NightLife fave.
Featured events:
Embark on an evening of discovery with Oakland Hyphae in a talk about the fascinating science behind entheogenic (or psychoactive) mushrooms. Learn about the Indigenous and ancestral roots of human use of various types of mushrooms, get the basic skills needed to cultivate fungi in your own home, and so much more. Did you know that fungi can act as a powerful tool to manage environmental pollution? Learn about these amazing organisms’ eco-superpowers with Dr. Cherie DeVore as she shares ecological restoration work, which is grounded in Indigenous knowledge. Embrace your inner Sherlock Holmes and search for one-of-a-kind mushroom art hidden throughout the museum. Artist and creator of the worldwide holiday Game of Shrooms Daniel Seifert, better known as Attaboy, will dole out clues via his Instagram @attayumfactory for eagle-eyed NightLife attendees to find (and keep!) hidden works of art throughout the museum. Pro tip: Be sure to show up when doors open for the best chance to score one of Attaboy’s pieces! Expand your fungi familiarity while getting your hands dirty in a workshop with Arthur Lee of Mazu Mushrooms, where you’ll learn all about mushroom cultivation and build your own oyster mushroom grow kit to take home. Forage some fungi fashion with the Museum of Craft and Design! Make a sparkling Magic mushroom crown or a Button ‘shroom bandanna�" it will be spore fun than you can imagine!
After Dark: Vitality - 04/06/2023 06:00 PM
ExplOratorium San Francisco
Spring is in swing and new life is popping up everywhere. After the chill of winter, tree buds and young animals remind us of the vitality of our ecosystems. Tonight, be inspired by flora in our ¡Plantásticas! exhibition and enjoy a life-giving cabaret of art and science with the Gold Beams Social Club.
Gold Beams Social Club 8:00 p.m. Osher Gallery 1, Kanbar Forum
What happens when an artist, a scientist, and a performer walk into a room? Find out inside the Gold Beams Social Club at the Exploratorium! The theme for tonight’s curious cabaret is “It’s Hard to Kill.” Experience irrepressible creative energy as each performer shares their stories and talents with the audience - and shows us just how resilient the creatures of the world really are. Afterward, connect and mingle with this imaginative community. Emceed by Gold Beams co-owners Tayleur Crenshaw and Kiersten “KC” Chresfield.
Gold Beams curates beautifully eclectic events, experiences, programming, and productions for Black creatives and our Black community at large.
Capturing Molecular Motion using Artificial Intelligence - 04/06/2023 07:00 PM
Stanford Linear Accelerator (SLAC) Public Lecture Series Menlo Park
Molecules in our cells are in constant motion. Many of them act as tiny machines and carry out a delicate choreography to achieve their tasks. To understand the basic processes of life, we must observe and reconstruct this molecular motion. We can take detailed, atomic-level photographic images, but this is not enough. We need to interpret these images as 3-dimensional structures, and then as sequences that follow their motions as they evolve to carry out their work. In this lecture, Axel Levy will explain how we construct these sequences, applying artificial intelligence to databases of millions of images to capture the fine details of the dances of molecules in action.
Speaker: Axel Levy, Stanford University
AI & Neurotechnology: Ethics & The Future - 04/06/2023 07:30 PM
Sydney Goldstein Theater San Francisco
What is “cheating” in the era of generative AI and cognitive enhancers? What rights do we have against institutional misuse of AI and nanotechnology? These technologies have permeated everything from criminal justice to the future of work - and without proper safeguards, they have the power to wreak havoc on our fundamental human rights to privacy, freedom of thought, and self-determination. Former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, podcast host, and author Preet Bharara (Doing Justice) will talk to futurist and legal ethicist Nita Farahany (The Battle for Your Brain) about these questions, and how we can navigate the complex legal and ethical dilemmas that lie ahead.
Attend in person or online
Friday, 04/07/2023
New Directions and Challenges in the Packaging of AR/VR Hardware - 04/07/2023 11:30 AM
SEMI Global Headquarters Milpitas
This presentation will focus on the new trajectory for Si Packaging technology set by the emergence of AR/VR hardware and advanced wearable computing. We believe the next major step beyond handheld computing will be wearable computing in the form of novel, hands-off and all-day wearable AR/VR devices like AR glasses. These devices will continue the remarkable journey of miniaturization and power/performance carved out by its predecessors. We will discuss the complex array of Si and packaging technologies that lie “under the hood” of such devices, spanning these three areas: Augmented Reality Processing (ARP), Display and Imaging (D&I), and Low-energy Wireless (LW) communication. We will demonstrate unique approaches that combine advanced packaging technologies like flip chip, fan-out wafer-level packaging and TSVs, often within the same package. Finally, we will discuss the challenges created by the need to spawn new ecosystems such as heterogeneous integration and fabrication methods that often fall in the grey zone between Foundry and OSAT.
Speaker: Rejendra Pendse, Meta Reality Labs
Attend in person or online. Register at weblink to attend
In person check-in starts at 11:30. The talk starts at 12:00
A dive into planetary interiors: insights from matter at extreme conditions - 04/07/2023 12:00 PM
Earth and Marine Sciences Building Santa Cruz
Speaker: Feilpe Gonzalez, UC Berkeley
First Fridays Climate Series: Drying Out: Understanding California’s Drought - 04/07/2023 06:00 PM
Chabot Space and Science Center Oakland
One of the most obvious effects of climate change in California is our prolific drought. Why is California so prone to these dry spells? What are the long-term effects on our ecosystem? How are different communities in the Bay Area affected? Learn from experts how droughts begin, how they affect the plants and animals of our state and what we can do to help slow down drought conditions.
Join Ann-Marie Benz from the California Native Plant Society, for a talk about creating a drought-resistant garden by planting California native plants and be sure to stop by their table for hands-on activities demonstrating how drought resistant plants have adapted to survive harsh conditions. See how science and innovation are helping us to understand and combat our drought locally and around the world.
How to See with Artistic and Scientific Eyes - 04/07/2023 07:30 PM
College of San Mateo Theater Building 3 San Mateo
We have two worlds: In our outer world, we exist, interact with others, and deal with the everyday commerce of life. At the same time, we live, dream, imagine, and think in our inner universe. Our mental imagery connects these worlds, and how we connect them determines the nature of our reality. Moreover, that connection is governed by the way we see the world. Seeing with both artistic and scientific eyes is a fundamental and fulfilling excercise in visualization and is the topic of the 34th Presentation of Art & Science. I will demonstrate this by exhibiting some of my artwork and material from my book, “Conjunctive Theory: Mental Imagery in the Arts and Sciences” (in production by Cognella Publishing Company and available in June 2023). After the presentation, please join us for refreshments in the Theatre lobby. We will complete the evening by setting up telescopes outside in front of the Theatre, courtesy of the San Mateo County Astronomical Society and CSM’s Astronomy dept. With help from the experts, you will be treated to a spectacular view of celestial beauties.
Speaker: Mosen Janatpour
Sonoma State University Astronomy Public Viewing Nights - 04/07/2023 09:00 PM
Sonoma State University Public Astronomy Rohnert Park
Join members of the Sonoma State Physics - Astronomy department for public astronomy viewing. See weblink for map to the site.
Event is weather dependent. Check the weblink prior to attending for last minute cancelations.
Saturday, 04/08/2023
Guided nature walk at Bouverie Preserve - 04/08/2023 09:30 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)
Family Nature Adventures: Eco Gardening - 04/08/2023 09:30 AM
Chabot Space and Science Center Oakland
Learn how to fight climate change by regrowing your food from seeds and scraps! We’ll teach you how to classify soil with fun hands-on chemistry experiments.
Discover the secrets behind amazing hydrophobic plants that perform amazing acts of science at the nanoscale. You’ll use microscopes and other scientific instruments to find the answers. Learn how scientists mimic these processes to make useful futuristic inventions.
Join us every 2nd Saturday for Nature Adventures where we’ll take a deep look into a different aspect of the surrounding redwood forest. Your adventure includes a hands-on workshop, access to scientific tools and instruments, a simple snack, and a short exploration work in the forest. We’ll explore themes like forest animals, insects, and trees to name a few.
Science Safari - Native or Non-Native at Vasona Park - 04/08/2023 10:00 AM
Youth Science Institute Los Gatos
Join YSI as we walk through the Vasona trails and look for a variety of plants/animals while discussing if they're native or not!
Ages 4 - 12. A registered adult must accompany their children.
Family Nature Walks - Foothills Nature Preserve - 04/08/2023 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.
Science and Technology Innovation at Lick Observatory - 04/08/2023 07:30 PM
San Jose Astronomical Association San Jose
Lick Observatory has a long history of being at the forefront of science and technology. Lick Observatory persevered through the challenges of the COVID pandemic and the SCU Lightning Complex Fire, recovering to full operations and introducing new telescopes and instruments, such as PANOSETI and PEAS. I’ll give an overview of our research telescopes, and the exciting new technologies and research in progress, such as the search for extrasolar planets, extraterrestrial life, and my own research on quasars.
Speaker: Dr. Elinor Gates, Lick Observatory
Monday, 04/10/2023
Social and Pathogen Networks in Captive Exotic Ungulates - 04/10/2023 12:00 PM
Sonoma State University - Biology Colloquium Rohnert Park
Speaker: Erika Defer, UC Davis
UC Berkeley Condensed Matter Physics Seminar - 04/10/2023 02:30 PM
Physics North Berkeley
Speaker: Long Ju, Massachusets Institute of Technology
What Physicists Do - 04/10/2023 04:00 PM
Sonoma State University - What Physicists Do Rohnert Park
Speaker: Kassahun Betre, San Jose State University
UC Berkeley Physics Colloquia - 04/10/2023 04:15 PM
Physics North Berkeley
Speaker: Chen-Yu Liu, Indiana University Bloomington
Stanford Energy Seminar: Clifford Rechtschaffen - 04/10/2023 04:30 PM
Stanford University Energy Seminar Stanford
Speaker :Clifford Rechtschaffen was a commissioner at the Calfornia Public Utilties Commission (CPUC) from January 2017 to December 2022.
Attend in person or online.
Tuesday, 04/11/2023
Direct search for the neutrino mass scale with the KATRIN experiment - 04/11/2023 03:30 PM
Hewlett Teaching Center Stanford
Whole Earth Seminar - 04/11/2023 03:30 PM
Natural Science Annex Santa Cruz
Emerging Security Challenges in the Indo-Pacific: Innovation in an Era of Strategic Competition - 04/11/2023 04:00 PM
Sutardja Dai Hall Berkeley
Stanford Symbolic Systems Forum: Ge Wang - 04/11/2023 04:30 PM
Margaret Jacks Hall (Bldg 460) Stanford
Wednesday, 04/12/2023
The devilish aspects of sea angels and sea butterflies - Livestream - 04/12/2023 11:00 AM
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
Imitation and Innovation in AI: What Four-year-olds Can Do and AI Can’t (Yet) - 04/12/2023 12:00 PM
Sutardja Dai Hall Berkeley
April LASER Event - Livestream - 04/12/2023 12:00 PM
LASER Leonardo Art Science Evening Rendezvous
Tending a CA Native Plant Garden - 04/12/2023 01:30 PM
UC Botanical Garden Berkeley
Experimenting around climate change: predicting the marine invertebrate response - 04/12/2023 03:30 PM
Estuary & Ocean Science Center Tiburon
Thursday, 04/13/2023
Coastal Walk at Pillar Point Bluff - 04/13/2023 10:00 AM
Pillar Point Bluff Moss Beach
Whole Earth Seminar - 04/13/2023 12:00 PM
Natural Science Annex Santa Cruz
Behind-the-Scenes Look at Pupping Season - Livestream - 04/13/2023 12:30 PM
Marine Mammal Center
NightLife - 04/13/2023 06:00 PM
California Academy of Sciences San Francisco
After Dark: See for Yourself - 04/13/2023 06:00 PM
ExplOratorium San Francisco
Did paleo people actually eat Paleo? - Livestream - 04/13/2023 07:30 PM
Bay Area Skeptics
Friday, 04/14/2023
Faster Cures and The Future of Health - 04/14/2023 12:00 PM
Commonwealth Club San Francisco
Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics Seminar - 04/14/2023 12:00 PM
Earth and Marine Sciences Building Santa Cruz
Sonoma State University Astronomy Public Viewing Nights - 04/14/2023 09:00 PM
Sonoma State University Public Astronomy Rohnert Park
Saturday, 04/15/2023
Spring Baylands Bioblitz with Environmental Volunteers - 04/15/2023 09:00 AM
Environmental Volunteers EcoCenter Palo Alto
Tri-Valley Innovation Fair - 04/15/2023 10:00 AM
Alameda County Fairgrounds Pleasanton
Bringing Back the Natives Virtual Garden Tour - 04/15/2023 10:00 AM
Bringing Back the Natives
20th Anniversary KIPAC Community Day - 04/15/2023 01:00 PM
Science and Engineering Quad Stanford
Sunset Hike at Mindego Hill - 04/15/2023 04:00 PM
Mindego Hill Trail Head Redwood City
Sunday, 04/16/2023
Bringing Back the Natives Virtual Garden Tour - 04/16/2023 10:00 AM
Bringing Back the Natives
Morning Hike at San Vicente Redwoods - 04/16/2023 10:00 AM
San Vicente Redwoods Trailhead Santa Cruz
Presidio: Changes Through Time - 04/16/2023 11:00 AM
The Presidio San Francisco
Monday, 04/17/2023
Sonoma State University Biology Colloquium - 04/17/2023 12:00 PM
Sonoma State University - Biology Colloquium Rohnert Park
UC Berkeley Condensed Matter Physics Seminar - 04/17/2023 02:30 PM
Physics North Berkeley
Sonoma State University STEP Program Presentations - 04/17/2023 04:00 PM
Sonoma State University - What Physicists Do Rohnert Park
UC Berkeley Physics Colloquia - 04/17/2023 04:15 PM
Physics North Berkeley
California High-Speed Rail - 04/17/2023 04:30 PM
Stanford University Energy Seminar Stanford
Ask a Science Envoy: Fish Ways & Monkey Business - Livestream - 04/17/2023 08:00 PM
Wonderfest