RockClocks & Supernovae – May 26
Wonderfest Science Envoys are early-career researchers with enhanced 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 geophysicist Caroline Hasler on Measuring Geologic Time with Rock Clocks — In microscopically small crystals within rocks, radioactive elements decay at predictable rates and function as tiny clocks. These “rock clocks” help us to figure out the timing of major events in Earth history — from the moment of Earth’s formation to the asteroid impact that killed the dinosaurs.
• UC Berkeley astronomer Eli Wiston on Seeing Core-collapse Supernovae with Radio Telescopes — At the end of its life, a massive star will contract and explode in spectacular fashion, outshining the light of an entire galaxy. While most astronomers focus on the optical light given off by these stellar explosions, there is a wealth of new information to be gained by observing invisible wavelengths. With radio telescopes, we can study new aspects of supernovae: their stars’ activity in the years before death, their environments, and what they leave behind after the explosion fades.
This interactive science presentation, free and unticketed, is produced by Wonderfest in partnership with Marin Science Seminar.
Marin Science Seminar [https://marinscienceseminar.com]
DreamFish & Wetlands – May 10
Wonderfest Science Envoys are early-career researchers with enhanced 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 Marina Luccioni on Fish that Make Dreams — Hawaiian traditional knowledge from the 1400s references “nightmare fish.” Indeed, eating the heads of certain fish species does induce dizziness, severe hallucinations, and nightmares. How do these fish come to contain and accumulate neurotoxins, and how do those molecules cause hallucinations? Of equal importance, how do we do such science that is respectful of indigenous knowledge and fair to local communities and ecosystems?
• Stanford ecologist Ryan Rogers on What’s Up with Wetlands? — Tidal wetlands are environments of constant change: tides rise and fall, salinity shifts, and waters stay perpetually in motion. In these challenging conditions, seagrasses flourish, creating underwater meadows that support rich and diverse communities. Studying these ecosystems reveals how biodiversity sustains them, and why protecting wetlands and estuaries is critical for resilient coastlines.
This interactive science presentation, free and unticketed, is produced by Wonderfest in partnership with Marin Science Seminar.
Marin Science Seminar [https://marinscienceseminar.com]
Elements & Fairness – Apr 28
Wonderfest Science Envoys are early-career researchers with enhanced 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 astronomer Natalie LeBaron on Origins of the Elements — From the oxygen we breathe to the gold in our jewelry and the calcium in our bones, most periodic table elements are forged by stars. How does the universe transforms simple hydrogen into the rich diversity of atoms that build planets, life, and everything we see around us? Beginning their lives in vast clouds of gas and ending in massive explosions, every star in the night sky creates and scatters ingredients for new worlds.
• UC Berkeley psychologist Colin Jacobs on Children’s Sense of Fairness — Our motivation to enact fairness shapes human behavior across societal and individual levels: from outrage at economic inequalities, to personal protest against not being considered in a discussion. As parents and teachers know, our motivation to insist upon fairness starts early, often through shouts of “that’s not fair,” or very strict regulation of turn-taking. What motivates children to object to unfairness, and how does this moral impulse develop throughout early childhood?
This interactive science presentation, free and unticketed, is produced by Wonderfest in partnership with Marin Science Seminar.
Marin Science Seminar [https://marinscienceseminar.com]
Cosmology & Evolution – Apr 14
Wonderfest Science Envoys are early-career researchers with enhanced communication skills and aspirations. Following short talks on provocative modern science topics, these two Science Envoys will answer questions with insight and enthusiasm:
• Stanford physicist Mahlet Shiferaw on Learning Cosmology from Galaxies — The Universe is shaped by an invisible “cosmic web” of dark matter that guides where galaxies form. By comparing observations of galaxies to predictions from models, we can probe the nature of dark matter and dark energy. Cosmologists are now developing new modeling and inference techniques to unlock even more information from upcoming galaxy surveys.
• Stanford biologist Sebastian Somolinos on Give Evolution a Chance — When was the last time you watched evolution happen? Evolution is nature’s most powerful problem solver, yet creatures like horseshoe crabs remind us that it can also be slow and stubbornly conservative. To unlock evolution’s full creative potential, and to appreciate evolution more fully, we must learn how to accelerate it. We need to give evolution a chance.
This interactive science presentation, free and unticketed, is produced by Wonderfest in partnership with Marin Science Seminar.
Marin Science Seminar [https://marinscienceseminar.com]
Hail Mary Science – Mar 26
Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California and the SETI Institute
Cosmic Life, Human Heart – Mar 24
Dr. Maggie Turnbull
Pulsars & Blindness – Mar 10
Wonderfest Science Envoys are early-career researchers with enhanced communication skills and aspirations. Following short talks on provocative modern science topics, these two Science Envoys will answer questions with insight and enthusiasm:
• Stanford physicist Maya Beleznay on Weighing Black Widow Pulsars — What would Robert Oppenheimer and a modern physicist have in common? Neither could tell you how many particles can fit in a city-size ball before collapsing into a black hole! Some neutron stars in our galaxy teeter on the edge of this maximum theoretical density. Observations of such “black widow pulsars” allow us to explore a regime of physics that cannot be probed in a lab on Earth.
• UC Berkeley vision scientist Lawrence Man on Retinal Remodeling in Degenerative Blindness — As our eyes’ light-sensitive cells begin to die, downstream retinal neurons undergo physiological changes. Unfortunately, this neural remodeling negatively affects the electrical properties of neurons, interfering with vision. Dedicated researchers are developing strategies and restorative technologies to overcome this retinal remodeling.
This interactive science presentation, free and unticketed, is produced by Wonderfest in partnership with Marin Science Seminar.
Marin Science Seminar [https://marinscienceseminar.com]
Multi-Messenger Astronomy – Feb 24
Dr. Raffaella Margutti
Sea Zombies – Feb 10
Dr. Daniel Okamoto
Physiology of Consciousness – Jan 27
Dr. Art Wallace
Evolution of Consciousness – Jan 13
Dr. Mariel Goddu
Precious Science – Dec 16
Albert Einstein: “One thing I have learned in a long life: that all our science, measured against reality, is primitive and childlike — and yet it is the most precious thing we have.” This quotation graces the very top of Wonderfest’s large-format Layers of Scientific Understanding (LoSU) poster. In the spirit of holiday appreciation, this special year-end Wonderfest event will review — with much audience participation — each of the fifteen layers within this wonderful graphic depiction of Einstein’s “most precious thing.” Published in the year 2001, and distributed to every high school science department in the Bay Area, the LoSU poster celebrates science as “a worldview for the 3rd millennium” … perhaps with principles that last for eternity.
Tucker Hiatt
Origin of Life – Nov 18
It’s an age-old question: How did life come about? Even the simplest creatures that exhibit the two hallmarks of life, namely metabolism and replication, are astoundingly complex. While the search for life’s origin has fascinated humans for centuries, recent breakthroughs point us in a more conclusive direction, and have remarkable implications. Among important side insights are the unexpected similarities between prebiotic and human innovation, and the central role that energy and information have played in transforming the planet over the last 4 billion years, leading right up to the present climate crisis.
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
Three Intelligences – Oct 28
A common model of AI suggests that there is a single measure of intelligence, often called AGI, and that AI systems are agents who can possess more or less of this intelligence. Cognitive science, in contrast, suggests that there are multiple forms of intelligence and that these intelligences trade-off against each other and have a distinctive developmental profile and evolutionary history. Exploitation (the pursuit of goals, resources, and utilities) characterizes adult cognition. However, exploration (seeking information about the world) characterizes childhood cognition, and empowerment (of others, through care and teaching) characterizes cognition in elderhood. The combination of these three different kinds of intelligence, across the course of a life, explains human success.
Our Wonderfest speaker, Dr. Alison Gopnik, is Distinguished Professor of Psychology at UC Berkeley. She is also Affiliate Professor of Philosophy at Cal, and a member of the Berkeley AI Research Group. In 2021, Dr. Gopnik received Wonderfest’s Carl Sagan Prize for Science Popularization.
Dr. Alison Gopnik
Replacement Anatomy – Oct 9
The human body may be hard to improve, at least from the perspective of modern medical innovation. Still, we try — especially as these wonderful mortal machines start to fall apart. Mary Roach, New York Times bestselling author of Stiff and Fuzz, follows the astonishing evolution of body-part replacement, from sculpting noses of brass to crafting body parts using stem cells & 3-D printing. While such advancements can be lifesavers, they often beg a difficult bioethical question: How and when does a person decide they’d be better off with a prosthesis? Wonderfest joins the Commonwealth Club for a fascinating conversation with Mary Roach as she investigates the moral, medical, and metaphysical implications of remaking ourselves from the inside out.
Two types of tickets are available: in-person and online-only. Pre-register with the Commonwealth Club / World Affairs via the “Tickets” link, below. Use promo code WONDERNAUTS for a $7 ticket discount.
Mary Roach
Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California [https://www.commonwealthclub.org]
AI for Learning – Sep 30
AI tools are everywhere now, promising to help us write, solve, understand, and create faster and more easily than ever. But there is a growing concern: Are these tools actually helping us learn, or just making it look or feel like we know something? Can we develop AI systems to support deep human learning? Truly useful systems don’t just give answers, but help us to build metacognitive skills to think critically, reflect, and adapt as we learn.
Our Wonderfest speaker, Dr. Kelsey Urgo, is Assistant Professor of Computer Science at the University of San Francisco.
Dr. Kelsey Urgo
Sleep & Recovery – Sep 16
Diet, exercise, connection, and sleep are four key determining factors in human health. Sleep, in particular, plays a critical role in recovery and resilience. Fortunately, recent eye-opening (*ahem*) research can help us harness sleep science to improve everyday life and long-term health.
Our Wonderfest speaker, Greg Tranah, PhD, is Professor of Epidemiology & Biostatistics at UC San Francisco. He is also Senior Scientist at California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute.
Dr. Gregory Tranah
Fusion Energy – Aug 12
Fusion research aims to bring sun-like energy production safely to Earth. Recent advances have been momentous, including scientific breakthroughs at Lawrence Livermore Lab’s National Ignition Facility, where Earth’s most energetic lasers drive hydrogen atoms to fuse in a controlled thermonuclear reaction. What challenges remain as we work to put the world’s first fusion power plant on the grid?
Our Wonderfest speaker is Ellie Tubman, Assistant Professor of Nuclear Engineering at UC Berkeley. Dr. Tubman was Research Associate at the UK’s Imperial College, London.
Dr. Ellie Tubman
Quantum Gravity – July 29
By allowing space and time to bend, Einstein’s theory of gravity, General Relativity, explains how apples fall, how planets move, how the universe expands, and how black holes form. Quantum Mechanics, on the other hand, describes subatomic physics — in a very different language that seems incompatible with General Relativity. Yet, unlike any other classical theory in physics, General Relativity “knows” about Quantum Mechanics. Einstein’s theory allows us to compute how many quantum states a black hole has, and how much quantum information fits in the universe. Somewhat like an oracle, it has revealed to us profound properties of quantum theory that have since been rigorously proven. Amazingly, gravity encodes quantum information using sophisticated tools that are central to emerging quantum technologies.
Our Wonderfest speaker is Raphael Bousso, Professor of Physics at UC Berkeley. Dr. Bousso leads the Bousso Group at the Berkeley Center for Theoretical Physics.
Dr. Raphael Bousso
Evolution on Trial – July 8
2025 marks the 100th anniversary of the “Trial of the Century”: Tennessee vs. John T. Scopes, the first major legal assault against the teaching of evolution in America. Mostly because of the fictional movie Inherit the Wind, the Scopes “monkey trial” is wrongly perceived as a victory for evolution over the forces of obscurantism. The full story is much more complex and interesting, involving science, religion, law, education, politics, celebrities, modern communications, and the politicization of science.
Our Wonderfest speaker is physical anthropologist Dr. Eugenie Scott, author of Evolution vs. Creationism: An Introduction, and former director of the National Center for Science Education. Genie is the recipient of numerous awards from both scientists and educators, including the National Academy of Sciences Public Welfare Medal.
Dr. Eugenie Scott