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2023 Archive

ForensicScience

Forensic Science – Dec 19

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In some ways, forensic science (also known as criminalistics) has changed little since the 1880s when fictional detective Sherlock Holmes first solved a crime with a thumbprint. While modern forensic scientists continue to embrace the tried-and-true methods of the past, modern innovations in ciminalistics have enabled technogical advances that are anything but "Elementary!"

Our speaker, Hillary Daluz, is a fingerprint examiner for the US Army, and a director of the International Association for Identification. She is the author of five books including Fundamentals of Fingerprint Analysis and Courtroom Testimony for Fingerprint Examiners.


Hillary Daluz

WHAT: Innovations in Forensic Science: A Brief History
WHO: Hillary Daluz, Fingerprint Examiner, U.S. Army
WHERE: HopMonk Tavern, 224 Vintage Way, Novato CA 94945 [https://www.hopmonk.com/novato]
WHEN: 2023-12-19 — 7pm, Tuesday, Dec 19 (1.5 hr)
HOW:

This event is FREE and unticketed ... and valuable. But what value does it have for YOU? Accordingly, please consider a donation to nonprofit Wonderfest via the Eventbrite window, below.


LovingChocolate

Loving Chocolate – Dec 17

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"It comes from cocoa, a leafy-green plant; ... chocolate is salad!" Why do so many of us love chocolate despite its non-saladesque qualities? Wonderfest joins St. Helena's Cameo Cinema for the Science On Screen® presentation of Wonka, portraying the wondrous backstory of Earth's greatest magician, inventor, and chocolate-maker. Q&A with UC Berkeley happiness expert Dr. Emiliana Simon-Thomas will follow the special screening. Ticket purchase includes a small-size popcorn and chocolate treats from the Master Chocolatier at Yountville's Kollar Chocolates.

Our interviewee, Dr. Emiliana Simon-Thomas, is Science Director at UC Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center. She is a leading researcher on the neuroscience and psychology of prosocial skills that bolster human happiness. Disclaimer: Dr. Simon-Thomas may not suggest that eating chocolate is a prosocial skill, or that chocolate is salad, but she does attribute her life-long love of chocolate to Willy Wonka (and, perhaps, to a biological affinity for theobromine).


Dr. Emiliana Simon-Thomas

WHAT: WONKA & Loving Chocolate
WHO: Dr. Emiliana Simon-Thomas, Science Director, Greater Good Science Center, UC Berkeley [https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/profile/emiliana_simon_thomas]
WHERE: Cameo Cinema, 1340 Main Street, St. Helena, CA 94574 [https://www.cameocinema.com/movie/wonka-science-on-screen]
WHEN: 2023-12-17 — 1:00 pm, Sunday, Dec 17 (2.5 hr)
HOW:

Doors open at noon for the 1:00pm showtime; early arrival and ticket purchase ($25, via the link below) are advised.


TICKETS:
https://ticketing.uswest.veezi.com/purchase/4150?siteToken=ngdcybs2pe7aqsn3zewdgzctjm
Fast&Far

Fast & Faraway – Nov 28

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In astronomy, the redder a galaxy appears, the faster it is fleeing, and the older a tale its light can tell. Such "redshifts" in the spectra of galaxies (symbolized with the letter "z") allow compelling cosmic insights. The recently-launched James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has allowed astronomers to study the properties of high-z galaxies in existence only 250 million years after the Big Bang, when the universe was only 2% of its current age! How are these objects detected in such very "deep" space, and what are the early science results from this JWST research?

Our speaker is Dr. Thomas Targett, Associate Professor of Physics & Astronomy at the Sonoma campus of California State University. Dr. Targett's Wonderfest history includes an eye-opening talk entitled Popular Myths of Astronomy, presented as part of the Mt. Tam Astronomy Program.


Dr. Thomas Targett

WHAT: Fast & Faraway: The High-Redshift Universe
WHO: Dr. Thomas Targett, Assoc. Professor of Physics & Astronomy, Sonoma State University
WHERE: HopMonk Tavern, 224 Vintage Way, Novato CA 94945 [https://www.hopmonk.com/novato]
WHEN: 2023-11-28 — 7:00pm, Tuesday, Nov 28 (1.5 hour)
HOW:

This event is FREE and unticketed ... and valuable. But what value does it have for YOU? Accordingly, please consider a donation to nonprofit Wonderfest via the Eventbrite window, below.


JawsOfLife

Jaws of Life – Nov 14

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One of the defining features of all mammals is, surprisingly, the set of bones that form the hearing system. Those bones evolved from jaw components in our mammalian ancestors. In the evolutionary process of repurposing them for hearing, mammals came to possess a jaw configuration different from all other jawed vertebrates. Here is the story of how the unique jaws of mammals fundamentally changed the form and function of how we bite.

Our speaker is Dr. Jack Tseng, Associate Professor of Integrative Biology at UC Berkeley, where he directs the Functional Anatomy and Vertebrate Evolution (FAVE) Laboratory. Dr. Tseng's specialties include the evolution of humanity's best friend, the dog.


Dr. Jack Tseng

WHAT: Jaws of Life: The (R)evolutionary Story of the Mammalian Bite
WHO: Dr. Jack Tseng, Assoc. Professor of Integrative Biology, UC Berkeley [https://sites.google.com/site/zjtseng/laboratory]
WHERE: HopMonk Tavern, 224 Vintage Way, Novato CA 94945 [https://www.hopmonk.com/novato]
WHEN: 2023-11-14 — 7pm, Tuesday, Nov 14 (1.5 hr)
HOW:

This event is FREE and unticketed ... and valuable. But what value does it have for YOU? Accordingly, please consider a donation to nonprofit Wonderfest via the Eventbrite window, below.


NextScience-2

Next Scientist #2 – Nov 7

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Next Scientist is a new Wonderfest series of online presentations. Every Next Scientist Zoom consists of two 30-minute presentations (including 10 minutes of Q&A), each featuring a young researcher describing next-level science:

UC Berkeley arachnologist Trinity Walls on Creepy or Captivating: A Spider Scientist's Perspective — How have recent discoveries about spiders changed beliefs that have been passed down for generations? Can we see that the study of spiders is beneficial to society? One person's life-long journey — from curious child to rigorous researcher — reveals spider science to be an avenue of creative self-expression that offers rich insights into nature.

UC Berkeley astrophysicist Tyler Cox on Creating the Largest-Ever Maps of the Universe — New datasets from the James Webb Space Telescope have begun to reveal some of the oldest known galaxies in the universe. But what lies beyond these extremely remote objects, and what more can we learn by going deeper? Next-generation experiments are working to map the most distant regions of the universe to help explain the origins of the first galaxies.

WHAT: Next Scientist: Spider Love & Deep Cosmic Maps
WHO: Trinity Walls & Tyler Cox, Wonderfest Next Scientists
WHERE: ONLINE, via Zoom [https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82484948244]
WHEN: 2023-11-07 — 7:30pm, Tuesday, Nov 7 (1 hour)
HOW:

This free, online, science presentation is produced by Wonderfest in partnership with the Castro Valley Educational Foundation and Castro Valley Science.

What value does this experience — and these insights — have for YOU? Accordingly, please support nonprofit Wonderfest, the Bay Area Beacon of Science, by donating via the Eventbrite space, below.


NextScientist-1

Next Scientist #1 – Nov 2

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Next Scientist is a new Wonderfest series of online presentations. Every Next Scientist Zoom consists of two 30-minute presentations (including 10 minutes of Q&A), each featuring a young researcher describing next-level science:

UC Berkeley seismologist Sarina Patel on Earthquake Science Using Crowdsourced Data from Smartphones — MyShake is a free citizen-science smartphone app that delivers earthquake early warnings(!) to users in California, Oregon, and Washington. It also uses a phone's vibration sensor 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?

Exelixis medical chemist Trevor Chang on Advances in Cancer Treatment: Synthetic Lethality — Chemotherapy is a standard component of both the treatment and study of cancer. Conventional chemotherapeutic agents are toxic to cells, underscoring the continued focus on precision medicines. Research in synthetic lethality aims to develop medicines that target specific genetic mutations expressed only in cancer cells while sparing healthy cells.

WHAT: Next Scientist: Smartphone Seismology & Synthetic Lethality
WHO: Sarina Patel & Trevor Chang, Wonderfest Next Scientists
WHERE: ONLINE, via Zoom [https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83316164405]
WHEN: 2023-11-02 — 7:30pm, Thursday, Nov 2 (1 hour)
HOW:

This free, online, science presentation is produced by Wonderfest in partnership with the Castro Valley Educational Foundation and Castro Valley Science.

What value does this experience — and these insights — have for YOU? Accordingly, please support nonprofit Wonderfest, the Bay Area Beacon of Science, by donating via the Eventbrite space, below.


WarpedUniverse

Warped Universe – Oct 30

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The warping of space becomes noticeable near small massive objects — black holes, in particular. Beyond "noticeable," that curvature becomes beautiful when rendered with the skilled artist's hand and described with the poetic physicist's verse. Lia Halloran and Kip Thorne team up to describe an odyssey through black holes, wormholes, time travel, and gravitational waves. In fact, that is the subtitle of their soon-to-be-published book, The Warped Side of Our Universe. Kirkus Reviews calls the book "Beautiful art in the service of cutting-edge astrophysics."

Award-winning artist Lia Halloran is Associate Professor and Chair of the Chapman University Art Department. Nobel Prize-winning physicist Kip Thorne is Emeritus Professor of Physics at Caltech. These two authors will be in conversation with the Commonwealth Club's George Hammond.

WHAT: The Warped Side of Our Universe
WHO: Physicist Kip Thorne and artist Lia Halloran
WHERE: The Commonwealth Club, 110 The Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA 94105
WHEN: 2023-10-30 — 5:30pm, Monday, Oct 30 (1 hour)
HOW:

Visit the Commonwealth Club event webpage (link below) to purchase tickets for this in-person event. During the final steps of ticket acquisition, use code WonderfestPromo for a $10 discount.


TICKETS:
https://www.commonwealthclub.org/events/2023-10-30/kip-thorne-and-lia-halloran-exploring-warped-side-our-universe
CurvedSpaces

Curved Spaces – Oct 25

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The geometry of the ancient Greeks took place on an ideal, infinite, flat plane. In the millenia since then, mathematicians have opened our minds to the more general and flexible geometries of curved spaces — from the fabric that makes up our clothing, to the spacetime around a black hole. Now, we can develop an 'insider's view' of such geometries. This newfound intuition has intriguing applications, including to recent images from the James Webb Space Telescope! Such understanding allows us to better appreciate Einstein's greatest insight: that gravity is not a force, but rather a consequence of living in a curvy world.

Our speaker, Dr. Steve Trettel, is Assistant Professor of Mathematics at the University of San Francisco. He is a geometric topologist who loves computer graphics and a good bike ride.

 

PLEASE REGISTER BELOW


Dr. Steve Trettel

WHAT: Curved Spaces — Geometry from the Inside
WHO: Dr. Steve Trettel, Asst. Professor of Mathematics, University of San Francisco [https://stevejtrettel.site]
WHERE: Castro Valley Library, 3600 Norbridge Ave, Castro Valley, CA 94546
WHEN: 2023-10-25 — 7pm, Wednesday, Oct 25 (1.5 hour)
HOW:
Collaborators:
Castro Valley Education Foundation [https://www.cvef.org]
Castro Valley Science [https://cvscience.us]
PillsForAging

Pills For Aging – Oct 24

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How did society enable the distribution of drugs and supplements — principally in the form of pills — to billions of people? How, in particular, did "anti-aging treatments" come about? Can vitamins be efficacious against aging? Finally, what is the promise of recent supplements — developed based on our understanding of cellular biology — that influence aging in cells and model organisms, mainly mice?

Our speaker, Dr. Steve Cummings, is Professor Emeritus of Medicine, Epidemiology, and Biostatistics at UCSF. Dr. Cummings directs the San Francisco Coordinating Center, having designed and led many of the most important medical studies of human aging.


Dr. Steve Cummings

WHAT: Pills For Aging
WHO: Dr. Steve Cummings, Emeritus Professor of Medicine, Epidemiology, & Biostatistics, UCSF [https://sfcc.ucsf.edu/steven-r-cummings-md]
WHERE: HopMonk Tavern, 224 Vintage Way, Novato CA 94945 [https://www.hopmonk.com/novato]
WHEN: 2023-10-24 — 7pm, Tuesday, Oct 24 (1.5 hour)
HOW:

This event is FREE and unticketed ... and valuable. But what value does it have for YOU? Accordingly, please consider a donation to nonprofit Wonderfest via the Eventbrite window, below.


JoyOfScience1

Joy of Science – Oct 16

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How do the methods of science enrich the world for us? The latest book by physicist Jim Al-Khalili, The Joy of Science, invites us to engage with the world as scientists do. It discusses the nature of truth and uncertainty, the role of doubt, the pros and cons of simplification, the value of guarding aginst bias, the importance of evidence-based thinking — all ideas that can empower us to think more objectively, see through the fog of our preexisting beliefs, and lead a more fulfilling life.

Dr. Jim Al-Khalili is Distinguished Professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Surrey in England. Having written 14 popular books and having earned the Stephen Hawking Medal for Science Communication, he is also a university chair in the public engagement in science. Dr. Al-Khalili will discuss The Joy of Science with Kishore Hari, Science Correspondent at Tested.com.


Dr. Jim Al-Khalili

WHAT: The Joy of Science
WHO: Dr. Jim Al-Khalili, Professor of Theoretical Physics, University of Surrey, UK [https://jimal-khalili.com]
WHERE: ONLINE, with the Commonwealth Club
WHEN: 2023-10-16 — 5:30, Monday, Oct 16 (1 hour)
HOW:

Please register for this event with the Commonwealth Club via the "Tickets" link, below. Use discount code WonderfestPromo for $10 off, rendering that ticket completely FREE. Upon registration, you will receive an email containing a link to this live-stream event.


TICKETS:
https://www.commonwealthclub.org/events/2023-10-16/jim-al-khalili-joy-science
SearchForET

Search for ET – Oct 15

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Humans have sought "signs from above” for millennia. The scientific search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) began circa 1960, and, today, grows ever deeper and more technologically diverse. The scope of modern research is breathtaking. Methods include targeted searches for electromagnetic (EM) signals near known Earth-like exoplanets, continuous EM scans over the entire sky (e.g., PANOSETI at the Bay Area's Lick Observatory, pictured), the hunt for exotic forms of communication, and the careful search for ET artifacts on/near Earth.

Our speaker, Dan Werthimer, is Chief Scientist at the Berkeley SETI Research Center. He is also co-founder of SETI@Home, and principal investigator of CASPER, the Center for Astronomy Signal Processing and Electronics Research. Since 1979, Dan has helped to design and build numerous sensitive tools for the detection of ET. In 2019, Dan earned Wonderfest's Carl Sagan Prize for Science Popularization. And, in 2021, he received the prestigious Frank Drake Award of the SETI Institute.


Dan Werthimer

WHAT: Innovation in the Search for ET
WHO: Dan Werthimer, Chief Technologist, Berkeley SETI Research Center [https://seti.berkeley.edu/people/Dan.html]
WHERE: Alameda Free Library, 1550 Oak Street, Alameda, CA 94501 [https://www.alamedafree.org/Home]
WHEN: 2023-10-15 — 2pm, Sunday, Oct 15 (1.5 hr)
HOW:

This free event is produced by Wonderfest and by the Alameda Free Library. In the Eventbrite space below, please consider a donation to help nonprofit Wonderfest in its mission of science outreach.


Poincaré

Poincaré Beauty – Sep 24

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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.

Our speaker, Dr. Steve Trettel, is Assistant Professor of Mathematics at the University of San Francisco. He is a geometric topologist who loves computer graphics and a good bike ride.


Dr. Steve Trettel

WHAT: Beauty of the Poincaré Conjecture
WHO: Dr. Steve Trettel, Asst. Professor of Mathematics, University of San Francisco [https://stevejtrettel.site]
WHERE: San Francisco Public Library (Latino/Hisp. Rooms), 100 Larkin Street, San Francisco [https://sfpl.org/locations/main-library]
WHEN: 2023-09-24 — 3pm, Sunday, Sep 24 (1.5 hour)
HOW:

This free event is produced by Wonderfest and by the SF Public Library. In the Eventbrite space below, please consider a donation to help nonprofit Wonderfest in its mission of science outreach.


Collaborators:
San Francisco Public Library
HealthyAging-wide+tall

Healthy Aging – Aug 29

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Modern insights into wise exercise, sleep, and diet are enhancing healthspan, the years of healthy life that one actually enjoys. This presentation focuses on human clinical data with actionable recommendations for lifestyle choices that can maximize the healthy years of life.

Our speaker, Dr. Greg Tranah, is Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at UC San Francisco. He is also Director of Genetic Research at California Pacific Medical Center.


Dr. Greg Tranah, PhD

WHAT: The Science of Healthy Aging
WHO: Dr. Greg Tranah, PhD, Professor of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, UCSF [https://sfcc.ucsf.edu/gregory-j-tranah-phd]
WHERE: HopMonk Tavern, 224 Vintage Way, Novato CA 94945 [https://www.hopmonk.com/novato]
WHEN: 2023-08-29 — 7pm, Tuesday, August 29 (1.5 hr)
HOW:

Since Wonderfest is COVID-cautious, consider wearing a mask (provided upon request). The warm feeling of Wondernaut(!) camaraderie radiates through masks and across wide seat-spacing.

This event is FREE and unticketed ... and valuable. But what value does it have for YOU? Accordingly, please consider a donation to nonprofit Wonderfest via the Eventbrite window, below.


Creating&CoveringScience

Creating/Covering Science – Sep 5

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The married team of Katie Hafner and Robert Wachter understand both crucial sides of science: creativity and communication. Wonderfest joins the Commonwealth Club for a doubly-fascinating interview that explores the talents of both team members. Katie Hafner will discuss her groundbreaking books and her popular Lost Women of Science podcast; Dr. Robert Wachter will discuss his work in guiding the digital transformation of healthcare and in coping with the COVID crisis. [Note that this program takes place both in person and online; discounted tickets for either form of experience must be reserved via the Commonwealth Club website presented below.]

Journalist Katie Hafner is Host and Co-Executive Producer of Lost Women of Science, and author of Mother Daughter Me and The Boys. Physician Robert Wachter, Professor and Chair of Medicine at UC San Francisco, is author of Understanding Patient Safety and The Digital Doctor. They will be in conversation with the Commonwealth Club's George Hammond.

WHAT: Creating and Covering Science
WHO: Katie Hafner, Journalist & Author / Robert Wachter, UCSF Chair of Medicine
WHERE: The Commonwealth Club, 110 The Embarcadero, SF, CA 94105 & ONLINE
WHEN: 2023-09-05 — 5pm PDT, Tuesday, Sep 5 (1 hour)
HOW:

Visit the Commonwealth Club event website (below) for info about the two types of tickets: in-person and online. During the final steps of ticket acquisition, use discount code WonderfestPromo for $10 off. (That price reduction renders the online ticket entirely FREE.)


TICKETS:
https://www.commonwealthclub.org/events/2023-09-05/robert-wachter-and-katie-hafner-creating-science-covering-science
Astrobiology2

Extraterrestrial Life – Sep 5

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An August-24th New York Times article about audacious astronomer Avi Loeb concludes with this: "Now, that being said, if [Dr. Loeb] finds something, it's life-changing ... It will change everything." What was "being said" referred to professional academic complaints about Dr. Loeb's alleged "transgressions against scientific norms and protocols." However, no one disputes the excitement of Prof. Loeb's investigations. Wonderfest joins the Commonwealth Club to present controversial Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb in conversation about ideas in his latest book, Interstellar: The Search for Extraterrestrial Life and Our Future in the Stars. That conversation will explore some vital — if highly speculative — long-term questions: How do we prepare for first contact with ET? And how can our species itself become interstellar?

Dr. Avi Loeb is Professor of Science and former chair of the Astronomy Department at Harvard University. During this online event, he will be in conversation with the Commonwealth Club's George Hammond.


Dr. Avi Loeb

WHAT: Avi Loeb's Search for Extraterrestrial Life
WHO: Dr. Avi Loeb, Professor of Science, Harvard [https://astronomy.fas.harvard.edu/people/avi-loeb]
WHERE: ONLINE, with the Commonwealth Club
WHEN: 2023-09-05 — 3pm PDT, Tuesday, Sep 5 (1 hour)
HOW:

Please pre-register with the Commonwealth Club (via the URL below) to receive a link — via email — to this live-stream event. Use discount code WonderfestPromo for $10 off the ticket price, rendering that ticket completely FREE.


Collaborators:
The Commonwealth Club
TICKETS:
https://www.commonwealthclub.org/events/2023-09-05/avi-loebs-search-extraterrestrial-life
TwoEclipses

Two Solar Eclipses – Aug 28

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Two eclipses of the sun are coming to North America during the academic year ahead: an annular (“ring of fire”) eclipse on October 14, 2023, and a total eclipse on April 8, 2024. Observers 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 portion of the sun.

Astronomer extraordinaire Andrew Fraknoi will describe how eclipses come to be (and why they are total only on Earth), what scientists learn during eclipses, exactly when and where the eclipses of October and April will be best visible, and how to observe the eclipses safely.


Andrew Fraknoi

WHAT: Two Solar Eclipses
WHO: Andrew Fraknoi, Chair Emeritus, Foothill College Astronomy Department [https://www.fraknoi.com]
WHERE: Commonwealth Club of California, 110 The Embarcadero, SF, CA 94105 & ONLINE
WHEN: 2023-07-28 — 5:30 PT, Monday, Aug 28 (1 hour)
HOW:

Visit the Commonwealth Club event website (below) for info about the two types of tickets: in-person and online. During the final steps of ticket acquisition, use discount code WonderfestPromo for $10 off. (That price reduction renders the online ticket entirely FREE.) In-person attendees will receive a free pair of safe-viewing glasses for the partial eclipse phases.


TICKETS:
https://www.commonwealthclub.org/events/2023-08-28/andrew-fraknoi-two-eclipses-sun
AI-Risk

How To Make A.I. Safe – Aug 1

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Artificial intelligence is advancing rapidly, demonstrating success in multiple areas in recent years. But by their very nature, AI problems don't have definitive correct solutions. Programs can give wrong answers, be unfairly biased against some groups, and can be hard to understand. Dr. Peter Norvig literally wrote the book on artificial intelligence. In this informal presentation, Dr. Norvig will discuss the promise and peril of AI, welcoming attendee input.

Dr. Peter Norvig is Director of Research at Google, and he is a Fellow at Stanford's Human-Centered AI Institute. Peter is co-author (with Stuart Russell) of Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach, the leading textbook in the field, and he is a member of the Wonderfest Advisory Board.


Dr. Peter Norvig

WHAT: How To Make A.I. Safe
WHO: Dr. Peter Norvig, Director of Research, Google [https://norvig.com]
WHERE: HopMonk Tavern, 224 Vintage Way, Novato CA 94945 [https://www.hopmonk.com/novato]
WHEN: 2023-08-01 — 7pm, Tuesday, Aug 1 (1.5 hour)
HOW:

Since Wonderfest is COVID-cautious, consider wearing a mask (provided upon request). The warm feeling of Wondernaut(!) camaraderie radiates through masks and across wide seat-spacing.

This event is FREE and unticketed ... and valuable. But what value does it have for YOU? Accordingly, please consider a donation to nonprofit Wonderfest via the Eventbrite window, below.


PandemicsUpdate

Pandemic(s) Update – July 25

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The SARS-CoV-2 virus has killed 7 million people. (16% of those deaths were in the US, yet we have only 4% of global population!) Last century, the influenza virus killed more than 20 million. Humankind may face famine, war, and disease for centuries to come, but we are learning to lessen the death toll. Dr. Robert Siegel, infectious disease expert at Stanford, will discuss the progress that we've made — and must extend — against COVID and other, future, scourges. Welcoming attendee questions, he will address our growing understanding of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and its affects on the human mind and body.

Dr. Robert Siegel is Professor of Microbiology & Immunology at Stanford University, and he is a member of the Wonderfest Advisory Board. Dr. Siegel has won numerous awards for his teaching at Stanford, and has given hundreds of public service interviews on radio and TV.


Dr. Robert Siegel

WHAT: Pandemic(s) Update
WHO: Dr. Robert Siegel, Professor of Microbiology & Immunology, Stanford [https://profiles.stanford.edu/robert-siegel]
WHERE: HopMonk Tavern, 224 Vintage Way, Novato, CA 94945 [https://www.hopmonk.com/novato]
WHEN: 2023-07-25 — 7pm, Tuesday, July 25 (1.5 hr)
HOW:

This event is FREE and unticketed ... and valuable. But what value does it have for YOU? Accordingly, please consider a donation to nonprofit Wonderfest via the Eventbrite window, below.


Astrobiology

Astrobiology Memoir – July 24

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How far off are the "goldilocks" worlds? These are the planets, orbiting other stars, that have just the right environmental traits to make life possible — not too hot, not too cold, etc. Will we be able to detect the chemical signals of alien life from so far away? In her new book, Life on Other Planets: A Memoir of Finding My Place in the Universe, Dr. Aomawa Shields discusses these questions alongside the personal challenges she's encountered on the path to success in the thrilling field of astrobiology. Dr. Shields is in conversation with author and journalist Julia Flynn, and in touch with the online audience via the chat bar.

Dr. Aomawa Shields is Associate Professor of Physics & Astronomy at UC Irvine. She is also founding director of Rising Stargirls, dedicated to encouraging girls to explore the universe using theater, writing, and visual art.


Dr. Aomawa Shields

WHAT: Astrobiology, a Memoir
WHO: Dr. Aomawa Shields, Associate Professor of Physics & Astronomy, UC Irvine [https://www.faculty.uci.edu/profile/?facultyId=6345]
WHERE: ONLINE, with the Commonwealth Club
WHEN: 2023-07-24 — 3pm PDT, Mon, July 24 (1 hour)
HOW:

Please pre-register with the Commonwealth Club (via the URL below) to receive a link — via email — to this live-stream event. Use discount code WonderfestPromo for $10 off the ticket price, rendering that ticket completely FREE.


Collaborators:
The Commonwealth Club
TICKETS:
https://www.commonwealthclub.org/events/2023-07-24/aomawa-shields-life-other-planets
3AgesOfWater3

3 Ages of Water – June 27

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As the "universal solvent," water supports interesting chemistry, geology, and, of course, biology. If there is an elixir of life, it is water. In The Three Ages of Water, Dr. Peter Gleick describes the long, fraught history — and future — of humanity's relationship with this precious resource. Water has shaped civilizations and empires, and it has underpinned centuries of technological advance: from agriculture and public health, to our search for life on other worlds. But is our current relationship with water all wet? Drawing from the lessons of the past, Dr. Gleick charts a visionary path toward a sustainable future for water and for the planet.

Dr. Peter Gleick is a hydrologist and climatologist who co-founded Oakland's nonprofit Pacific Institute. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, a MacArthur Fellow, and winner of Wonderfest's Carl Sagan Prize for Science Popularization. Dr. Gleick will principally be discussing ideas in his new book, The Three Ages of Water: Prehistoric Past, Imperiled Present, and a Hope for the Future.


Dr. Peter Gleick

WHAT: The Three Ages of Water
WHO: Dr. Peter Gleick, Co-Founder & Senior Fellow, Pacific Institute [https://www.gleick.com]
WHERE: BookShop West Portal, 80 West Portal Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94127 [https://www.bookshopwestportal.com]
WHEN: 2023-06-27 — 7pm, Tuesday, June 27 (1.5 hour)
HOW:

This free event is co-presented by San Francisco's BookShop West Portal and by Wonderfest. To purchase Dr. Gleick's book, please visit BookShop West Portal. To support public science outreach, please donate modestly (or immodestly!) to Wonderfest via the Eventbrite form below.


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