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ModernAlchemy

Modern Alchemy – July 21

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Like thoroughly scientific alchemists, nuclear chemists work to create elements that don’t exist naturally on Earth. These new super-heavy atoms could be long-lived, residing on proton-packed islands of stability off the far end of the periodic table. What new elements have most recently been added to the periodic table? How do scientists construct these fundamental novelties? How do investigators deduce the physical and chemical properties of the new elements from just a few ephemeral atoms?
 
Our Wonderfest speaker is Dr. Jacklyn Gates, leader of the Heavy Element Group in the Nuclear Science Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Dr. Jacklyn Gates

WHAT: Modern Alchemy: Building New Elements
WHO: Dr. Jacklyn Gates, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab [https://heavyelementgroup.lbl.gov/home]
WHERE: HopMonk Tavern, 224 Vintage Way, Novato CA 94945 [https://www.hopmonk.com/novato]
WHEN: Tuesday, July 21, 2026 — 7pm (1.5 hr)
HOW: This event is free and unticketed ... and valuable. But what value does it have FOR YOU (and, indirectly, for society)? Accordingly, please use the DONATE button (below) to support Wonderfest in its nonprofit mission to share the scientific outlook.
Help share the scientific outlook - donate!
CambrianExplosion

Cambrian Explosion – Jun 23

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Charles Darwin was deeply troubled by the sudden appearance of complex animal life during the Cambrian Explosion about half a billion years ago, animal evolution’s Big Bang. He felt the sudden appearance of such diverse animal body-plans was inexplicable, fearing that it was the Achilles heel of his theory. What do we now know of this spectacular event? Drawing on the fossil record, ecology, developmental biology, genetics, and computer simulation, can we understand how and why the Cambrian Explosion occurred?
 
Our Wonderfest speaker, Dr. Charles Marshall, is Distinguished Professor of Integrative Biology at UC Berkeley. He is also Director of the University of California Museum of Paleontology.

Dr. Charles Marshall

WHAT: Animal Evolution's Big Bang: The Cambrian Explosion
WHO: Dr. Charles Marshall, Distinguished Professor of Integrative Biology, UC Berkeley [https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/people/charles-marshall/]
WHERE: HopMonk Tavern, 224 Vintage Way, Novato CA 94945 [https://www.hopmonk.com/novato]
WHEN: Tuesday, June 23, 2026 — 7pm (1.5 hr)
HOW: This event is free and unticketed ... and valuable. But what value does it have FOR YOU (and, indirectly, for society)? Accordingly, please use the DONATE button (below) to support Wonderfest in its nonprofit mission to share the scientific outlook.
Help share the scientific outlook - donate!
Miller+Patra

Prescribed Burns; Exploding Stars–Mar2

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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 evironmental scientist Rebecca Miller on "Prescribed Burns in California" — Over the past several years, California has experienced record-breaking wildfire seasons. Recent wildfires have prompted important policy conversations about prescribed burns, fires that are purposefully set to remove ground vegetation and reduce fire risks. What are the challenges that have prevented us from using prescribed burns in California, and how might we wisely expand the use of this valuable fuel treatment?
  • UC Berkeley astrophysicist Kishore Patra on "Exploding Stars" — The atoms in everything around us — the oxygen in the air, the carbon in our bodies, the gold in our jewelry — were forged in stellar furnaces. We owe our very existence to stars that died in cataclysmic explosions known as supernovae. What is the cosmic story of our elemental origins? What do we know about supernovae, and how do astronomers study them?
WHAT: Ask a Science Envoy: Prescribed Burns & Exploding Stars
WHO: Rebecca Miller (Stanford) and Kishore Patra (UC Berkeley), Wonderfest Science Envoys
WHERE: ONLINE via Zoom, with this link: [https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85443402857]
WHEN: 2021-03-02 — 8pm PST, Tue, March 2 (1 hour)
HOW:

What value do these science insights have FOR YOU? Accordingly, please use the space below to contribute to nonprofit Wonderfest, and help to promote the scientific outlook broadly — as through the outstanding Science Envoy Program.