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Spider Science – May 7

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Do spiders deserve much better press? Modern media tend to portray spiders as eight-legged, multi-eyed terrors. With deeper exposure, and open minds, can we come to see the beauty and benefits of our arachnid aquaintances? UC Berkeley scientist Trinity Walls thinks so. Her 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 and society.

Our speaker, arachnologist Trinity Walls, is a PhD candidate in UC Berkeley's Laboratory of Animal Communication and Behavior. She is also a Wonderfest Science Envoy!

 

WHAT: Creepy or Captivating: A Spider Scientist's Perspective
WHO: Trinity Walls, Arachnologist, UC Berkeley
WHERE: ONLINE, via Zoom with the S.F. Public Library
WHEN: 2024-05-07 — 5pm, Tuesday, May 7 (1 hour)
HOW:

Via the "Register" link, below, please let the SF Public Library know that you intend to join this Zoom. You will receive this event's Zoom URL upon completion of registration with the Library.


Collaborators:
San Francisco Public Library [https://sfpl.org/events/2024/05/07/presentation-creepy-or-captivating-spider-scientists-perspective]
REGISTER:
https://sfpl-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAkdO-vqT4tGNNEM8yzZo33DemItvmMupb5#/registration
Sophia&Josh

Communication; Growth – Apr 30

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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:

• UC Berkeley psychologist Sophia Li on Imperfect Communication — As a communicator, I want to transfer information from my mind into the minds of listeners. Research shows that both listeners and uninvolved observers have overly positive perceptions of any communicator. They believe that the communicator knows more than s/he actually does, and has articulated thoughts better than s/he actually has.

• Stanford physicist Josh Tong on Growth and Form — Living creatures grow and transform their shape, to the awe of many scientists. What does it mean to grow? How do we compare an organism at different stages of its growth? Mathematics can help us find the way to understand this fundamental transformation.

This interactive science presentation, free and unticketed, is produced by Wonderfest in partnership with Marin Science Seminar.

WHAT: Ask a Science Envoy: Imperfect Communication + Growth & Form
WHO: Sophia Li & Josh Tong, Wonderfest Science Envoys [https://wonderfest.org/science-envoy/]
WHERE: HopMonk Tavern, 224 Vintage Way, Novato, CA 94945 [https://www.hopmonk.com/novato]
WHEN: 2024-04-30 — 7pm, Tuesday, April 30 (1.5 hr)
HOW:

What value does this FREE science experience have for you and, indirectly, for society? Accordingly, please consider making a donation to nonprofit Wonderfest via the Eventbrite box, below.


Collaborators:
Marin Science Seminar [https://marinscienceseminar.com]

Teddi&Matt

Verifying AI; Ultracold Atoms – Apr 16

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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:

• Stanford computer scientist Teddi Worledge on Verifying AI with Attributed Sources — So-called large language models (LLMs) provide information and make judgments nearly everywhere — from online search engines to classrooms and medical clinics. But LLMs do make errors. Language model systems that attribute their sources can address this accuracy problem, as long as the attributions theselves are reliable!

• UC Berkeley physicist Matt Tao on What Ultracold Atoms Reveal — Atoms cooled to billionths of a degree can teach us much about the world. The wave nature of ultracold atoms allows interference experiments (interferometry) with astounding precision. Such tabletop interferometers even allow the study of gravity, nature's weakest — but most pervasive — force, at minute scales. 

This interactive science presentation, free and unticketed, is produced by Wonderfest in partnership with Marin Science Seminar.

WHAT: Ask a Science Envoy: Verifying AI; Ultracold Atoms
WHO: Teddi Worledge (Stanford) & Matt Tao (UC Berkeley), Wonderfest Science Envoys
WHERE: HopMonk Tavern, 224 Vintage Way, Novato, CA 94945 [https://www.hopmonk.com/novato]
WHEN: 2024-04-16 — 7pm, Tuesday, April 16 (1 hour)
HOW:

What value does this free science experience have for you and, indirectly, for society? Accordingly, please consider making a donation to nonprofit Wonderfest via the Eventbrite box, below.


Collaborators:
Marin Science Seminar [https://marinscienceseminar.com]

Mila&Ari

Biorhythms; Decarbonization – Apr 2

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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:

• Stanford biologist Mila Pamplona-Barbosa on Biological Rhythms: From Ants to You — How can ants possibly organize their behavior? An ant colony can have hundreds to millions of individuals and, even with all that complexity, the colony still manages to get work done. How does this time-dependent self-organization happen? And what does this have to do with the internal timings of the human body?

• UC Berkeley climate policy scientist Ari Ball-Burack on Complexity in Controlling Greenhouse Gases — Social, technological, and economic systems are complex: they exhibit both balancing and reinforcing feedbacks, and they strongly interact. Wise policy can use this very complexity to advance the "decarbonization" of the atmosphere. Complexity-aware decarbonization policy addresses climate change at local, national, and global scales.

This interactive science presentation, free and unticketed, is produced by Wonderfest in partnership with Marin Science Seminar.

WHAT: Ask a Science Envoy: Biorhythms; Decarbonization
WHO: Mila Pamplona-Barbosa (Stanford) & Ari Ball-Burack (UC Berkeley), Wonderfest Science Envoys
WHERE: HopMonk Tavern, 224 Vintage Way, Novato CA 94945 [https://www.hopmonk.com/novato]
WHEN: 2024-04-02 — 7pm, Tuesday, April 2 (1 hour)
HOW:

What value does this free science experience have for you and, indirectly, for society? Accordingly, please consider making a donation to nonprofit Wonderfest via the Eventbrite box, below.


Collaborators:
Marin Science Seminar [https://marinscienceseminar.com]

BlackBerry

BlackBerry Psych – Mar 26

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How and why do corporations decline? BlackBerry (98% FRESH at Rotten Tomatoes) offers a tragicomic portrait of decline in Earth's foremost business smartphone maker, 1999-2016. Following this special Science on Screen presentation of BlackBerry, UC Berkeley researcher Dr. Don Moore will illuminate the psychological challenges that face all businesses and, in fact, virtually all human relations.

Psychologist Dr. Donald A. Moore is Professor and Chair in Leadership & Communication at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business. His most recent book is Perfectly Confident: How to Calibrate Your Decisions Wisely.


Dr. Don A. Moore, UC Berkeley

WHAT: BLACKBERRY and Corporate Psychology
WHO: Dr. Don A. Moore, UC Berkeley, Chair in Leadership & Communication, Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley [https://vcresearch.berkeley.edu/faculty/don-moore]
WHERE: Cameo Cinema, 1340 Main Street, St. Helena, CA 94574 [https://www.cameocinema.com/]
WHEN: 2024-03-26 — 5pm, Tuesday, March 26 (2.5 hrs)
HOW:

Please pre-purchase tickets for this Science on Screen event via the "TICKETS" link below.


TICKETS:
https://ticketing.uswest.veezi.com/purchase/4374?siteToken=ngdcybs2pe7aqsn3zewdgzctjm
Fairness

The Sense of Fairness – Feb 20

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Do non-human animals possess a sense of fairness? In particular, do non-human individuals react negatively when they get fewer resources than others? New evidence suggests that the sense of fairness is a human-unique adaptation to our cooperative lifestyles, typically developing in children by age 8. Further, a new theory suggests that, maybe surprisingly, fairness is not about resources, but about social respect.

Our speaker, Dr. Jan Engelmann, is Assistant Professor of Psychology at UC Berkeley. He runs Cal's Social Origins Lab, dedicated to the study of human cognition and behavior from an evolutionary perspective.


Dr. Jan Engelmann

WHAT: The Sense of Fairness in Chimps and Children
WHO: Dr. Jan Engelmann, Assistant Professor of Psychology, UC Berkeley [https://socialorigins.berkeley.edu]
WHERE: HopMonk Tavern's "Session Room", 224 Vintage Way, Novato CA 94945 [https://www.hopmonk.com/novato]
WHEN: 2024-02-20 — 7pm, Tuesday, Feb 20 (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.


MostFamousEquation

Most Famous Equation – Feb 17

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Around the world, people recognize that E=mc^2 oozes cosmic insight. But what does this "most famous equation" really say? What are energy and mass? And what makes the speed of light, c, so important? [Hint: mass, moving at speed c, doesn't turn into energy!] Using little more than common experience and middle-school math, Einstein's "special relativity" gem can come to life — with surprising insights into the nature of reality.

This event is co-produced by Wonderfest and the East Bay Astronomical Society. Our speaker is long-time physics teacher Tucker Hiatt, founding director of Wonderfest. Tucker has been a Visiting Scholar in the Stanford Chemistry Department, and is a recipient of the Amgen Award for Science Teaching Excellence.


Tucker Hiatt

WHAT: The Most Famous Equation
WHO: Tucker Hiatt, Wonderfest Founding Director
WHERE: Chabot Space & Science Center, Classroom 4, 10000 Skyline Blvd, Oakland CA 94619 [https://chabotspace.org]
WHEN: 2024-02-17 — 7:30p, Saturday, Feb 17 (1.5 hour)
HOW:

This event is free, unticketed, ... and valuable. Please assess its value for you, and, in the Eventbrite space below, consider a corresponding donation to nonprofit Wonderfest.


Collaborators:
East Bay Astronomical Society [https://eastbayastro.org]
FutureNuclearPower

Future Nuclear Power – Feb 13

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Currently, nuclear power provides ten percent of world electricity generation. As physicists and engineers strive to make new reactors that are small, clean, and safe, what does the future hold for nuclear power in a warming world? Join this discussion of the current status and future directions for nuclear energy.


Dr. Per Peterson

WHAT: Future Directions for Nuclear Power
WHO: Dr. Per Peterson, Professor of Nuclear Engineering, UC Berkeley [https://vcresearch.berkeley.edu/faculty/per-peterson]
WHERE: HopMonk Tavern, 224 Vintage Way, Novato CA 94945 [https://www.hopmonk.com/novato]
WHEN: 2024-02-13 — 7pm, Tuesday, Feb 13 (1.5 hr)
HOW:

This science 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.


MostFamousEquation

Most Famous Equation – Jan 31

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Around the world, people recognize that E=mc^2 oozes cosmic insight. But what does this “most famous equation” really say? What are energy and mass? And what makes the speed of light, c, so important? [Hint: mass, moving at speed c, doesn’t turn into energy!] Using little more than common experience and middle-school math, Einstein’s “special relativity” gem can come to life — with surprising insights into the nature of reality.

Around the world, people recognize that E=mc^2 oozes cosmic insight. But what does this "most famous equation" really say? What are energy and mass? And what makes the speed of light, c, so important? [Hint: mass, moving at speed c, doesn't turn into energy!] Using little more than common experience and middle-school math, Einstein's "special relativity" gem can come to life — with surprising insights into the nature of reality.

This event is co-produced by Wonderfest and Marin Science Seminar. Our speaker is long-time physics teacher Tucker Hiatt, founding director of Wonderfest. Tucker has been a Visiting Scholar in the Stanford Chemistry Department, and is a recipient of the Amgen Award for Science Teaching Excellence.


Tucker Hiatt

WHAT: The Most Famous Equation
WHO: Tucker Hiatt, Wonderfest Founding Director
WHERE: The Innovation Hub at Terra Linda High School, 320 Nova Albion Way, San Rafael, CA 94903
WHEN: 2024-01-31 — 7:30pm, Wed, January 31 (1 hour)
HOW:

This event is free, unticketed, ... and valuable. Please assess its value for you, and, in the Eventbrite space below, consider a corresponding donation to nonprofit Wonderfest.


Collaborators:
Marin Science Seminar [https://marinscienceseminar.com]
AptConfidence

Self Confidence – Jan 23

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How confident should we be? Overconfidence leads people to delude themselves with wishful thinking, take too many risks, pursue impossible goals, and waste their time on doomed ventures. Underconfidence dissuades people from taking risks that would pay off, and scares them away from trying things they would enjoy. Psychological studies offer evidence pointing to a middle way between these twin risks.

Our speaker is Dr. Don A. Moore, Professor and Chair in Leadership & Communication at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business. His most recent book is Perfectly Confident: How to Calibrate Your Decisions Wisely.


Dr. Don A. Moore

WHAT: The Psychology of Confidence
WHO: Dr. Don A. Moore, Professor, Haas School, UC Berkeley [https://vcresearch.berkeley.edu/faculty/don-moore]
WHERE: HopMonk Tavern, 224 Vintage Way, Novato CA 94945 [https://www.hopmonk.com/novato]
WHEN: 2024-01-23 — 7pm, Tuesday, Jan 23 (1.5 hr)
HOW:

This science 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.


AnesthesiaVsHibernation

Human Hibernation? – Jan 9

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Sci-Fi movies often depict hibernation as the secret to long-duration human spaceflight. (Note: Even with ideal starship acceleration and deceleration — AND with the benefit of relativistic effects — the nearest exoplanet is 3.6 years away!) Of course, the boundary between science fiction and science fantasy is hazy. Advances in anesthesia may facilitate hibernation. Physiologically, however, general anesthesia is detrimental in the short term, and worse in the long term. Will long-spaceflight medical advances ever be able to deal with this sobering hibernation fact: roughly half of naturally-hibernating animals never revive!

Our speaker is Dr. Art Wallace, Professor and Vice-Chair of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Care at UC San Francisco. He is also Chief of Anesthesia at San Francisco's Veterans Affairs Medical Center.


Dr. Art Wallace, MD, PhD

WHAT: Anesthesia and Hibernation: Enduring Deep-Space Travel
WHO: Dr. Art Wallace, MD, PhD, Professor and Vice-Chair of Anesthesiology, UCSF [https://anesthesia.ucsf.edu/people/arthur-wallace]
WHERE: HopMonk Tavern, 224 Vintage Way, Novato CA 94945 [https://www.hopmonk.com/novato]
WHEN: 2024-01-09 — 7pm, Tuesday, Jan 9 (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.


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]

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