Special Lecture
The Little Book of String Theory

Steven Gubser
Professor of Physics at Princeton University

Tuesday, September 7th at 12:30 pm, Board Room
Explore the mysteries of quantum mechanics, black holes, strings, branes, supersymmetry, and extra dimensions. In this engaging and concise introduction to the main ideas in string theory, Gubser gives us a quick tour of the basic laws of physics as we understand them today. And then, he demonstrates how string theory seeks to go beyond them.

Reservations: Free with Museum admission. Seating is limited. Reserve a Space Online or call 800-794-7576

Benjamin Dean Lecture
Kepler: Are There Any Good Worlds Out There?

Jon Jenkins
Principal Investigator, SETI Institute
Co-Investigator, Kepler Discovery Mission

Monday September 13th at 7:30pm
The Kepler Mission began on May 12, 2009, initiating NASA’s first search for Earth-like planets. Kepler released light curves for the first 43 days of observations for over 150,000 target stars and announced the identification of over 700 planetary candidates, 3000 eclipsing binaries, and five multiple transiting planet candidate systems. Jenkins will discuss the equipment, mission and how the Science Pipeline will be modified to reveal small Earth-like planets in habitable zones of their stars.

Reservations:Adults $12, Seniors $10, Academy members $6. Seating is limited. Reserve a space online or over the phone at 800-794-7576

Special Lecture
How To Find A Habitable Planet

James Kastings
Professor of Geosciences at Pennsylvania State University

Wednesday September 22nd at 12:30pm
Ever since Carl Sagan first predicted that extraterrestrial civilizations must number in the millions, the search for life on other planets has gripped our imagination. Is Earth so rare that advanced life forms like us--or even the simplest biological organisms--are unique to the universe? How to Find a Habitable Planet describes how scientists are testing Sagan's prediction, and demonstrates why Earth may not be so rare after all. Join the author to learn more.

Reservations: Free with museum admission. Seating is limited. Reserve a Space Online or call 800-794-7576

Pritzker Lecture
From Bones to Bodies

Dr. Adrienne Zihlman
Professor of Anthropology, UCSC & Academy Fellow

Tuesday, September 28th at 7:00 pm, African Hall
Learn how research on chimpanzee and gorilla anatomy has been applied to understanding differences in females and males, the transformation of infants to adults, and evaluating fossil humans. This research even played a role in the creation of the movie “Tarzan of the Apes.”

Reservations: Adults: $12, Seniors: $10, Members: Free. Reserve A Space Online or call 800-794-7576.

NightLife Lecture: Bottled and Sold:
The Story Behind Our Obsession with Bottled Water

Peter Gleick
President and Co-founder of Pacific Institute for-
Studies in Development, Environment, and Security

Thursday September 30th NightLife Lecture
Peter Gleick, scientist and freshwater expert, will talk about his latest book: Bottled and Sold: The Story Behind Our Obsession with Bottled Water. Tap water is safe almost everywhere in the U.S. It takes far more water to make the plastic bottle than it even holds. Most bottled water is simply water from somebody else’s tap! Why on earth does this industry continue to thrive? Come out to NightLife to talk to a leading expert on the subject and share your thoughts in this social environment.

Reservations: NightLife is a 21 and over event. Space for the program is limited and passes are first come first served to NightLife ticket holders. Learn about NightLife and how to buy tickets or call 800-794-7576

Benjamin Dean Lecture
Making Sense of the Dynamic Universe in the Synoptic Survey Era
Prof. Joshua S. Bloom
University of California, Berkeley

Monday October 4th at 7:30pm
Viewing the night sky with sufficient sensitivity, everything in the Universe appears to change in brightness and position. To understand this rich diversity of time-variable sources, astronomers must tame a data deluge, soon to be explored by projects such as the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST). Scientists will need to move beyond the point where they themselves can be directly involved in discovery, classification, and even the inference processes. Bloom will discuss this abstraction of the traditional role of astronomer, an emerging revolution and our efforts at extracting novel science from large amounts of data.

Reservations:Adults $12, Seniors $10, Academy members $6. Seating is limited. To reserve a place today, buy a ticket online or over the phone at 800-794-7576

Litquake Festival: Civilization on Six Legs
The Complex Societies of Ants and Honeybees

Thomas Seeley
Professor of Neurobiology and Behavior at Cornell University
The Honey Bee Democracy

Matt Moffett
Research Associate in Entomology at the Smithsonian
Adventures Among Ants:
A Global Safari with a Cast of Trillions

Wednesday, October 6th at 7:00 pm, Planetarium
Can human beings really improve our group decision making by imitating the democracy of honeybees? Are ants truly considered the highest form of insect evolution? Join Litquake and the California Academy of Sciences as we present two leading experts for a fascinating and thrilling discussion of our planet’s smallest and most complex social organizations. Moffett provides fascinating details on how ants live and how they dominate their ecosystems through strikingly human behaviors, while animal behaviorist Thomas Seeley reveals that bees have much to teach us when it comes to collective wisdom and effective decision making. Moderated by QUEST producer Amy Miller.

Reservations: Adults: $15, Seniors: $12, Members: $12. Reserve A Space Online or call 800-794-7576.

Special Event
The Leakey Foundation

Dr. Anne Pusey Professor and Chair:
Evolutionary Anthropology at Duke University

Friday, October 15th at 7:00 pm, Forum
Join the Leakey Foundation and Dr. Anne Pusey in celebration of 50 years of research at Gombe Stream in Tanzania. In 1960, Dr. Louis Leakey sent Jane Goodall to Gombe Stream, where she began her groundbreaking study of chimpanzees in the wild. Dr. Pusey worked for Dr. Goodall in Gombe and has studied chimps there, as well as Japanese monkeys in Japan, and lions in the Serengeti. She is the former director of the Jane Goodall Institute Center for Primate Studies.

Reservations: Adults: $12, Seniors: $10, Academy & Leakey Foundation Members: $10. Reserve A Space Online or call 800-794-7576.

Pritzker Lecture
Disaster Medicine: In The Field

Dr. Matt Lewin, California Academy of Sciences
Dr. Noah D. Weiss, Dr. Toby Salz, Dr. Philip Bickler

Tuesday October 26th 12:30 pm & 7:00pm, Forum
With recent disasters in Haiti and Guatemala, doctors from around the world take to the field in an emergency response to natural disasters. Doctors from our Bay Area community and UCSF will enlighten us about how they join forces on the ground in response to tragic and unexpected large scale disasters. Recent experiences from Haiti and Guatemala will be featured in this talk. It will be hosted by the Academy's own Matt Lewin MD, PhD who coordinates a wilderness medicine program here at the Academy of Sciences.

Reservations: Adults: $12, Seniors: $10, Members: Free. Reserve A Space Online or call 800-794-7576.

Benjamin Dean Lecture
Determining the Age of the Universe

George V. Coyne, S.J.
Vatican Observatory

Monday, November 1st at 7:30 pm, Planetarium
Assuming that the Universe originated in a Big Bang, one can imagine various ways in which we could measure the time elapsed since the Big Bang occurred. Rev. Coyne will describe a number of approaches and techniques for measuring the Universe’s age, and explain which ones are doable and which technique is a proven one.

Reservations:Adults $12, Seniors $10, Academy members $6. Seating is limited. Reserve a space online or over the phone at 800-794-7576

Expedition Spotlight
Assassin Spiders from Around the World

Hannah Wood
California Academy of Sciences, U.C. Berkeley

Wednesday November 3rd 12:30 PM Forum
Join arachnologist Hannah Wood as she talks about her field expeditions to Madagascar and other remote places in the world. They may be small, but assassin spiders are among the most dangerous spiders on the planet – if you’re another spider, that is. A classic example of convergent evolution, Wood’s findings suggest that the need to strike out at prey from a distance encouraged the evolution of extended spider body parts on more than one occasion.
* Photo by Jeremy Miller

Reservations: Free with Museum admission. Seating is limited. Reserve a Space Online or call 800-794-7576

Pritzker Lecture
Ecosystem Impact of the Deepwater Horizon Disaster

Dr. Peter Roopnarine
Curator of Geology, California Academy of Sciences

Tuesday, November 9th at 12:30 pm & 7:00 pm
Dr. Roopnarine will present early results of a study of the impact of the Gulf oil spill on marine life there, particularly the mollusks. The techniques used can also be applied to a variety of questions ranging from evolutionary biology to drought in the southwest.

Reservations: Adults: $12, Seniors: $10, Members: Free. Reserve A Space Online or call 800-794-7576.

Special Lecture - The Darwinian Tourist:
Viewing the World through Evolutionary Eyes

Christopher Wills
Professor Emeritus, Behavior and Evolution, UCSD

Tuesday, November 16th at 12:30 pm
Biologist Wills takes us on a series of adventures that demonstrate how ecology and evolution have interacted to create the world we live in. Some of these adventures, like his SCUBA dives in the incredibly diverse Lembeh Strait in Indonesia, or his encounter with a wild wolf cub in western Mongolia, could perhaps be experienced by any reasonably intrepid traveller. Others, like his experience of being hammered by a severe earthquake off the island of Yap while filming manta rays sixty feet under the ocean’s surface, stand far outside the ordinary.

Reservations: Free with Museum admission. Seating is limited. Reserve a Space Online or call 800-794-7576

Special Lectures and Programs

Special lectures run the gamut from Academy scientists sharing insights about their research and expeditions to partnerships with the Leakey Foundation to the opportunity to hear firsthand from an author about his or her new book. They are perfect for members and the general public.

NightLife Lecture: Bottled and Sold:
The Story Behind Our Obsession with Bottled Water
Peter Gleick

Thursday September 30th NightLife Lecture
Peter Gleick, scientist and freshwater expert, will talk about his latest book: Bottled and Sold: The Story Behind Our Obsession with Bottled Water. Tap water is safe almost everywhere in the U.S. It takes far more water to make the plastic bottle than it even holds. Most bottled water is simply water from somebody else’s tap! Why on earth does this industry continue to thrive? Come out to NightLife to talk to a leading expert on the subject and share your thoughts in this social environment.