Eric

Everyone loves a good time travel story, but given what we know—and don’t know—about physics, is time travel in any way plausible? Using popular movies as a framework, Prof. Wharton will outline several distinct categories of consistent time travel stories, and discuss possible connections with actual physics. 

We humans often do battle with creepy invaders of our living spaces.  Come and learn the latest research on the biology, detection, and control of three particularly villainous house guests.  You might be surprised to find which room in your home is their favorite target.  We will have a lot of fun, and there will be props a-plenty to go around.

Vernard Lewis

Roger Ebert wrote of this terrific little film:

“Few descriptions of ‘Safety Not Guaranteed’ will do it justice. It’s a more ambitious and touching movie than seems possible.”

Time travel is a wonderful idea.  Come explore that wonder while watching what Mr. Ebert called “a more ambitious and touching movie than seems possible.”

Your evening begins at 6:30 in the lounge of San Francisco’s luxurious Variety Preview Theater with great conversation and a cash bar.  SF in SF will be serving a special Deadline cocktail, as a nod to to the time travel novels of author Connie Willis.

Then, at 7:30, take limitless free popcorn to plush theater seating for a special screening of 2012’s “Safety Not Guaranteed” (rated 91% FRESH by Rotten Tomatoes).

Physicist/Sci-Fi Author Ken Wharton

Finally, at about 9 o’clock, physicist and sci-fi author Ken Wharton will help us examine the logic — and illogic — of time travel.  Dr. Wharton is Professor of Physics and Astronomy at San Jose State University.  He is also author of “Divine Intervention,” earning the Special Citation for the Philip K. Dick Award in 2001.

All proceeds benefit Variety Children’s Charity of Northern California and Wonderfest, the Bay Area Beacon of Science.

Are you excited about the potential of stem cell research to provide cures for debilitating conditions like diabetes, spinal cord injury, macular degeneration, heart disease, and neurologic disorders? Perhaps you’ve noticed the enthusiasm, the caveats, and the controversy — and you want to understand what it all means, where the research stands today, where it’s heading, and how people suffering from problems like those mentioned might be helped. Uta Grieshammer and Kevin Whittlesey of the state’s stem cell agency, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, will talk to us about why this area of medical research is so exciting to scientists and what we may see in terms of therapies in the future. This event is presented in partnership with Ask A Scientist.

The scientific understanding of our origins began in earnest with Copernicus, Galileo, Darwin, and others, and has since evolved into a rich, detailed, and well-tested model. Direct observations of the infant universe now show that it was remarkably smooth compared to what we see around us today, with only tiny differences in its properties from one part to another. By contrast, in the present universe there are enormous differences in the properties of matter from one part to another: some regions host planets, stars, and galaxies (and even humans!) while others do not. In this talk, Prof. Quataert will describe how the universe evolved from its smooth beginnings to its current state, emphasizing how gravity reigns supreme and builds up the planets, stars, and galaxies required for biological evolution to proceed.