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Outdoor Science Talks at the Cantor Arts Center (EVT 173)
Please join us for Stanford’s acclaimed Summer Science Lecture Series on the lawn adjacent to the Cantor Arts Center on four Thursday evenings. You are invited to come early and wander through the art museum, buy dinner in the Art Center’s Cool Café or bring your own picnic, and then settle on the lawn outside to hear informal lectures about cutting-edge research from four of Stanford’s most esteemed professors.
We promise that all of the talks will be delivered in terms understandable to the lay public. So bring your whole family (high school age and up) and enjoy!
The Outdoor Science Series is co-sponsored by the Stanford Office for Science Outreach, the Cantor Arts Center, and Stanford Continuing Studies.
Outdoor Science Talk 1 - Why is Earthquake Prediction so Difficult?
Earthquakes can be extreme catastrophes. Rapid urbanization of earthquake-prone regions means that a future earthquake with a million fatalities is a distinct possibility. By some estimates, the next large earthquake under Tokyo could cause trillions of dollars in direct economic losses, which would have serious global financial consequences.
The consequences of earthquakes might be mitigated if they could be predicted; however, to date, earthquake prediction has proven elusive. Earthquakes differ in this respect from other natural hazards, which to some extent are predictable over time scales short enough to allow an effective response. The combination of unpredictability, abrupt onset, rarity, and unfamiliarity means that the risk posed by earthquakes is difficult to manage. It is natural for us—as well as our government—to focus on the many other immediate, and more readily predictable, problems that demand our attention.
In this talk, Gregory Beroza will cover what it is that makes earthquake prediction an intrinsically difficult problem. He will also cover aspects of the earthquake process that we can predict, and what the prospects are for future progress.
GREGORY C. BEROZA, Professor of Geophysics
Gregory Beroza has been on the Stanford faculty for eighteen years. He serves as Deputy Director of the Southern California Earthquake Center, and is a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union. His research focuses on using seismic waves to understand how earthquakes work. He received a PhD from MIT.
Thursday, July 10, 7:00 pm
Lawn outside Cantor Arts Center
FREE; no registration required
Outdoor Science Talk 2 - Global Warming: How Do We Manage the Risks?
There is strong consensus that the earth’s growing population, as it demands higher standards of living and uses cheap, available technologies (e.g. burning coal, and driving gas-consuming large automobiles), will cause the carbon dioxide content in the atmosphere to double or even triple by the year 2100. This implies many potentially serious impacts, though not all are negative. However, the distribution of these impacts is uneven, with most severe effects being experienced in poorer, warmer places, high mountains, polar regions, or in “hurricane alley.” In this talk, Stephen Schneider will discuss the local, regional, and international actions that are already being taken to address the problem, and he will describe what else could be done if there were political will to substantially reduce the magnitude of the risks.
STEPHEN H. SCHNEIDER , The Melvin and Joan Lane Professor for Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies
Stephen H. Schneider is the Melvin and Joan Lane Professor for Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies, Professor of Biological Sciences, and a Senior Fellow in the Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford. His research focuses on climate change science, integrated assessment of ecological and economic impacts of human-induced climate change, and identifying viable climate policies and technological solutions. .
Thursday, July 24, 7:00 pm
Lawn outside Cantor Arts Center
FREE; no registration required
Outdoor Science Talk 3 - Wired for Speech: How Voice Activates Interactions with People and Computers
Technologies that talk and listen are populating computers, cars, call centers, and even home appliances and toys, but voice interfaces frequently seem to be more problem than opportunity. This talk will describe how the human brain and body are “wired” for speech: The sound of a voice, whether from a person or machine, causes us to respond as we respond to actual people and to behave as we would in any social situation.
In this lecture, you will discover how voice can lead people to be polite to computers, to gender-stereotype cars, to buy more when a website's personality matches their own, to be charmed by a toy’s flattery, and to drive more safely when the car has the correct emotion. You will learn whether an automated call center should apologize when it can't understand what you say; why negotiations and creativity can improve when your words don’t come from your mouth; when to speak to maximize learning; how to encourage people to disagree with a robot; and the perfect combination of microphone and speaker to elicit honesty. This discussion will also help you gain a better understanding of the future of the machines that will speak with and listen to us.
CLIFFORD NASS , The Thomas More Storke Professor and Professor, by courtesy, of Computer Science and Sociology
Clifford Nass is the director of the Communication Between Humans and Interactive Media (CHIMe) Lab and Co-Director of the Kozmetsky Global Collaboratory at Stanford. Nass is co-author of two award-winning books, The Media Equation and Wired for Speech, and more than 100 papers on human/technology interaction and experimental and statistical methodology. He has been involved in the design of more than 250 information products and services for companies including Microsoft, Sony, Charles Schwab, Fidelity, Philips, AOL, Toyota, BMW, Nissan, Time-Warner, Hewlett-Packard, and Dell.
Thursday, August 7, 7:00 pm
Lawn outside Cantor Arts Center
FREE; no registration required
Outdoor Science Talk 4 - Powering the Future with Sustainable Energy
Meeting the world's growing energy needs in a sustainable fashion is one of the most pressing problems of our time. Although there are multiple possibilities on the horizon for renewable and clean energy, many scientific and engineering challenges remain. This is an exciting time for researchers in the field of sustainable energy. This presentation will introduce the scope of the energy problem and some of the options for sustainable energy, then will focus on two main devices: solar cells and fuel cells. Solar cells convert the energy of the sun directly into electricity, while fuel cells convert chemical energy directly into electricity. Both devices will likely play an increasing role in future energy technologies. In this talk, Stacey Bent will touch upon current research at Stanford that is exploring the use of new materials to develop the next generation of solar cells and fuel cells.
STACEY F. BENT , Professor of Chemical Engineering and Professor, by courtesy, of Chemistry, Electrical Engineering, and Materials Science and Engineering
Stacey Bent joined the Stanford faculty in 1998 from New York University. Her research is focused on understanding surface and interfacial chemistry and materials synthesis, and applying this knowledge to a range of problems in semiconductor processing, nanotechnology, biomaterials, and renewable energy. She recently won the Tau Beta Pi Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching.
Thursday, August 21, 7:00 - 8:30 pm
Lawn outside Cantor Arts Center
FREE; no registration required
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Course Details
Thursdays
7:00 - 8:30 pm
Jul 24 - Aug 21
Free
Drop by: Aug 6
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