<< Monday, January 30, 2017 >>

Monday, January 30, 2017

Expanders and Extractors

Workshop | January 30 – February 3, 2017 every day |  Calvin Laboratory (Simons Institute for the Theory of Computing)

This workshop will focus on explicit constructions of graphs and functions with pseudorandom properties. There will be two main themes related to each object in the title. For expanders, these will be proofs of existence of expander graphs using lifts, a la Bilu-Linial and Marcus-Spielman-Srivastava, and the possibility of using the method to obtain explicit constructions of Ramanujan expanders...   More >

Simons Institute Workshop: Expanders and Extractors

Seminar | January 30 | 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. | Calvin Laboratory (Simons Institute for the Theory of Computing), Auditorium

Various, Various

Department of Mathematics

Jan. 30 – Feb. 3, 2017

This workshop will focus on explicit constructions of graphs and functions with pseudorandom properties. There will be two main themes related to each object in the title. For expanders, these will be proofs of existence of expander graphs using lifts, a la Bilu-Linial and Marcus-Spielman-Srivastava, and the possibility of using the method to obtain explicit...   More >

Women's Tennis ITA Kick-Off Weekend: Consolation Match

Sport - Intercollegiate - Tennis | January 30 | 10 a.m. |  Hellman Tennis Center

Cal Bears Intercollegiate Sports

Cal Women's Tennis hosts the ITA Kick-Off Weekend at Hellman Tennis Complex.

Combinatorics Seminar: Combinatorial Physics: you only live twice

Seminar | January 30 | 11:10 a.m.-12 p.m. | 939 Evans Hall

Emmanuel Tsukerman, UC Berkeley

Department of Mathematics

(Please note the unusual time of this talk.)

A sneak preview into the beauty and wonder of Combinatorial Physics. I will talk about Random Matrix Theory, heavy nuclei, Dyson's Threefold way, Macdonald polynomials, Heisenberg XX spin chain, localization and dualities.

Seminar | January 30 | 12-1:30 p.m. | 489 Minor Hall

Brian Cheung, Olshausen Lab; Dylan Paiton, Olshausen Lab

Graduate student Brian Cheung will be speaking on:
Emergence of foveal image sampling from learning to attend in visual scenes

&

Graduate student Dylan Paiton will be speaking on:
Towards understanding how extrastriate feedback shapes a V1 neuron's visual response characteristics

The Effect of Cumulative Advantages on the Stability and Dynamics of Collaborations in US Physics, Chemistry and Sociology from 1980 to 2015

Seminar | January 30 | 12-1 p.m. | Goldman School of Public Policy, 355 GSPP, 3rd floor,1893 LeRoy Ave

Oliver Wieczorek, Visiting Scholar, Sociology, Bamberg, Germany; Heiko Heiberger, Postdoctoral Researcher,Department for Micro-Sociology at University of Bremen, Germany

In academia, effects of “cumulative advantage” are well studied in regards to different types of resources. Those resources are money, influence, number of collaborations, number of publications and the impact of the findings. In other words: the rich and famous departments and researchers get richer and more famous over time while the poor get (relatively) poorer. This effect is visible on both...   More >

Combinatorics Seminar: Dyck paths and positroids from unit interval orders

Seminar | January 30 | 12:10-1 p.m. | 939 Evans Hall

Anastasia Chavez and Felix Gotti, UC Berkeley

Department of Mathematics

It is well known that the number of non-isomorphic unit interval orders on $[n]$ equals the $n$-th Catalan number. Using work of Skandera and Reed and work of Postnikov, we show that each unit interval order on $[n]$ naturally induces a rank $n$ positroid on $[2n]$. We call the positroids produced in this fashion unit interval positroids. We characterize the unit interval positroids by describing...   More >

Women's Tennis ITA Kick-Off Weekend: Championship Match

Sport - Intercollegiate - Tennis | January 30 | 1 p.m. |  Hellman Tennis Center

Cal Bears Intercollegiate Sports

Cal Women's Tennis hosts the ITA Kick-Off Weekend at Hellman Tennis Complex.

String-Math Seminar: Cluster Theory of the Coherent Satake Category

Seminar | January 30 | 2-3 p.m. | 402 LeConte Hall

Harold Williams, University of Texas

Department of Mathematics

We discuss recent work showing that in type A_n the category of equivariant perverse coherent sheaves on the affine Grassmannian categorifies the cluster algebra associated to the BPS quiver of pure N=2 gauge theory. Physically, this can be understood as a statement about line operators in this theory, following ideas of Gaiotto-Moore-Neitzke, Costello, and Kapustin-Saulina – in short, coherent...   More >

Seminar 211, Economic History: “Lifespans of the European Elite, 800-1800”

Seminar | January 30 | 2-3:30 p.m. | 639 Evans Hall

Neil Cummins, London School of Economics

Department of Economics

Human Brain Imaging with fMRI: The life of a memory: post-encoding reactivation and reorganization of episodic memory

Colloquium | January 30 | 3 p.m. | 5101 Tolman Hall | Canceled

Lila Davachi, PhD, New York University

Department of Psychology

BLISS Seminar: Network Analysis Problems Motivated by the Smart Grid

Seminar | January 30 | 3-4 p.m. | 400 Cory Hall

Vincent Poor, Princeton University

Smart grid involves the imposition of an advanced cyber layer atop the physical layer of the electricity grid, in order to improve the efficiency, security and cost of electricity use and distribution, and to allow for greater decentralization of power generation and management. This cyber-physical setting motivates a number of problems in network analysis, and this talk will briefly describe...   More >

Seminar 208, Microeconomics Theory: "Bargaining and Competition in Small Markets"

Seminar | January 30 | 4-6 p.m. | 639 Evans Hall

Francesc Dilme, University of Bonn

Department of Economics

Delineating Protein Transportation Processes: Hierarchical Models for Single-Molecule Data

Seminar | January 30 | 4-5 p.m. | 1011 Evans Hall

Yang Chen, Department of Statistics, Harvard University

Department of Statistics

Single-molecule experiments investigate the kinetics of individual molecules and thus can substantially enhance our understandings of various organisms. Analyzing data from single-molecule experiments poses a number of challenges: (a) the inherent stochasticity of molecules is usually buried in random experimental noise; (b) single-molecule behavior can be highly volatile. For both of these...   More >

CryoEM structure of Tetrahymena telomerase: insights into functions and interactions of the subunits

Seminar | January 30 | 4-5 p.m. | 106 Stanley Hall

**Jiansen Jiang**, University of California, Los Angeles

Leningrad Underground Poets and the Russian Poetic Tradition: How to Write Yourself Into the Canon

Colloquium | January 30 | 4-6 p.m. | B-4 Dwinelle Hall

Josephine von Zitzewitz, Leverhulme Early Career Fellow, Department of Slavonic Studies, Faculty of Modern & Medieval Languages, University of Cambridge

The second lecture in the Spring 2017 Slavic Colloquium series.

Commutative Algebra and Algebraic Geometry: The Eisenbud-Goto Regularity Conjecture

Seminar | January 30 | 4:10-5 p.m. | 939 Evans Hall

Irena Peeva, Cornell University

Department of Mathematics

Regularity is a numerical invariant that measures the complexity of the structure of homogeneous ideals in a polynomial ring. Papers of Bayer-Mumford and others give examples of families of ideals attaining doubly exponential regularity. In contrast, Bertram-Ein-Lazarsfeld, Chardin-Ulrich, and Mumford have proven that there are nice bounds on the regularity of the ideals of smooth (or nearly...   More >

Job Market Seminar: "Estimating Hospital Quality with Quasi-experimental Data"

Seminar | January 30 | 4:10-5:30 p.m. | 648 Evans Hall

Peter Hull, MIT - Economics

Department of Economics

Field(s): Labor (education, health), Applied econometrics

Algebra Seminar: The Eisenbud-Goto Regularity Conjecture

Seminar | January 30 | 4:10-5 p.m. | 939 Evans Hall

Irena Peeva, Cornell

Department of Mathematics

Regularity is a numerical invariant that measures the complexity of the structure of homogeneous ideals in a polynomial ring. Papers of Bayer-Mumford and others give examples of families of ideals attaining doubly exponential regularity. In contrast, Bertram-Ein-Lazarsfeld, Chardin-Ulrich, and Mumford have proven that there are nice bounds on the regularity of the ideals of smooth (or nearly...   More >

[Physics Colloquium] Solving Big Problems with Small Accelerators: From Colliders to Medical Devices Based on Laser Plasma Accelerators

Seminar | January 30 | 4:15-5 p.m. | LeConte Hall, Lecture Hall 1

Wim Leemans, Director, Accelerator Technology and Applied Physics Division, LBNL

Department of Physics

We will discuss the progress on building laser powered, plasma based particle accelerators where electrons surf on waves and can reach energy levels in a few inches that, if one relies on conventional methods, would require machines multiple football fields long. Although many challenges remain, this new technology is at the brink of offering a profoundly different way in which we may build...   More >

Undergraduate Lecture Series (Math Monday): An Introduction to Analytic Number Theory

Lecture | January 30 | 5-6 p.m. | 740 Evans Hall

Cailan Li, UC Berkeley

Department of Mathematics

In this talk we will first give a crash course in complex analysis and then talk about the beautiful Riemann zeta function and its generalization, obtaining $1+2+3+...= -\frac 1{12}$ as a corollary. We will then talk about the shiny objects known as modular forms, and some of their applications. In particular, we will discuss the role modular forms played in Andrew Wiles' proof of Fermat's Last...   More >

What is history? or, the life and times of water hyacinth: 2017 Anthropology Distinguished Lecture

Special Event | January 30 | 5-7 p.m. | Doe Library, Morrison Room

Anna L. Tsing, UCSC

Department of Anthropology

Debates about the meaning and role of “history” in anthropology have characterized the discipline since its inception. This lecture revisits some of these debates to consider how anthropologists might better incorporate the contingent and transformative abilities of other species into our stories of what happened. Can “history” make room for multiple ontologies? To show how articulations across...   More >

Botanical Art from the Golden Age of Scientific Discovery - Book Release, Signing, and Talk with Anna Laurent

Special Event | January 30 | 6-8 p.m. |  UC Botanical Garden

Botanical Garden

"Botanical Art from the Golden Age of Scientific Discovery" has been published by University of Chicago Press (US) & Hachette Press (UK). The large-format book features educational botanic wall charts, mostly authored in Europe in the mid 19th & early 20th centuries and implemented in classrooms & lectures. The book is organized by plant family and include comparative analysis of...   More >

$20,$15 members

or by calling 510-664-9841, or by emailing gardenprograms@berkeley.edu

Texas Instruments Info-Session

Information Session | January 30 | 6-7:30 p.m. | Soda Hall, Wozniak Lounge (430-8)

Come join Texas Instruments for a tech talk and Q&A with Sr. Manager Philippe Jansen! Jansen will give an overview of TI and career opportunities and then jump into his talk.

Resumes are accepted, and Berkeley Thai House will be served!

Tech Talk: Towards a better experience interacting with your world!
Learn how an 85 year old semiconductor company keeps earning a top innovator award year...   More >

Entrepreneurial Toastmasters Club Meeting

Meeting | June 6, 2016 – August 14, 2017 every Monday | 6:20-7:20 p.m. | 373 Soda Hall

Toastmasters International is a non-profit educational organization that develops communication and leadership skills through public speaking.

Gender, Identity, Memoir: Judith Butler and Maggie Nelson in Conversation

Lecture | January 30 | 6:30 p.m. | Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Osher Theater

Judith Butler is Maxine Elliot Professor of Comparative Literature at UC Berkeley. Maggie Nelson is author of The Argonauts and winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for criticism.

Judith Butler is Maxine Elliot Professor in the Department of Comparative Literature at UC Berkeley. Her work has been influential in a variety of disciplines including critical...   More >

A+D Mondays: Gender, Identity, Memoir: Judith Butler and Maggie Nelson in Conversation

Panel Discussion | January 30 | 6:30 p.m. |  Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive

Judith Butler is Maxine Elliot Professor in the Department of Comparative Literature at UC Berkeley. Her work has been influential in a variety of disciplines including critical theory and gender studies. She has received many of the highest honors in the humanities, including the Andrew W. Mellon Distinguished Achievement Award.

Maggie Nelson, a 2016 MacArthur Fellow, is the author of...   More >

Free for BAMPFA members, UC Berkeley students, faculty, staff, retirees; 18 & under + guardian | $10 Non-UC Berkeley students, 65+, disabled persons |$12 General admission Admission for this lecture is free

MATTERS: Topics in Contemporary Architecture

Panel Discussion | January 30 | 7-8:30 p.m. | 108 Wurster Hall

College of Environmental Design

MONDAY, JAN. 30, 7PM -- A quarterly panel discussion featuring a rotating board of faculty members that focuses on contemporary issues in the field. Dana Buntrock, Neyran Turan, Andrew Atwood and Mark Anderson will discuss The Next Four Years.

Exhibits and Ongoing Events

Protecting the New Wonderland: The Origins of the National Park Service

Exhibit - Artifacts | February 26, 2016 – April 1, 2017 every day | Bancroft Library, Rowell Cases & 2nd floor corridor between The Bancroft Library and Doe Library

Bancroft Library

Signed by President Woodrow Wilson in August 1916, the Organic Act created the National Park Service, the federal bureau that protects our national parks and monuments. Several UC Berkeley alumni with conservationist interests and the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco played key roles in its development. This exhibition explores the origins of the NPS with materials...   More >

Beyond Tintin and Superman: The Diversity of Global Comics

Exhibit - Multimedia | September 19, 2016 – April 23, 2017 every day | Doe Library, Bernice Layne Brown Gallery

Library

You are invited to this exhibit of comics and graphic novels owned by the UC Berkeley Library. These materials often reflect the socioeconomic, ideological and political realities of the societies in which they are produced. To highlight these diverse realities, and to celebrate our differences, this exhibit presents a selection of comics and graphic novels published in many countries.

We...   More >

Guerra Civil at 80

Exhibit - Artifacts | September 1, 2016 – July 1, 2017 every day | Bancroft Library, 2nd floor corridor between The Bancroft Library and Doe Library

Bancroft Library

Marking the 80th anniversary of the beginning of the Spanish Civil War, the exhibition Guerra Civil @ 80 features selections from The Bancroft Library's Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, Bay Area Post records and photographic collections, along with posters, books, pamphlets, and other ephemera. A visual and textual display of the struggle to defend the Second Spanish Republic, the...   More >

War Ink: California Veterans Exhibit

Exhibit - Photography | November 1, 2016 – May 1, 2017 every day | Doe Library, Brown Gallery (east wing)

Cal Veteran Services Center

Photographs from the celebrated War Ink Project will be on display in Berkeley’s Doe Library in November. The exhibit features striking images of tattoos that express the impact of combat experiences on California veterans. Jason Deitch, co-creator of War Ink and a Cal veteran, hopes the display will “bridge the divide between the veterans and civilian communities.” The project is “both exhibit...   More >

Exhibit: FIFTY LANDSCAPE INTERPRETATION SKETCHES

Exhibit - Artifacts | January 19 – February 3, 2017 every day |  Wurster Hall

Environmental Design, College of

EXHIBIT OPEN THROUGH FEB 3. Tito Patri (FASLA Emeritus, A.S. 55) exhibit of charming sketches rendered while traveling in Europe and the US.

Designs from a Distance

Exhibit - Artifacts | January 30 – May 19, 2017 every day | 210 Wurster Hall

Environmental Design, College of

CLOSES May 19. This exhibit features design and planning projects on six continents by architects based in the San Francisco Bay Area and held by the Environmental Design Archives.

The Gift to Sing: Highlights of the Leon F. Litwack and Bancroft Library African American Collections

Exhibit - Artifacts | September 23, 2016 – February 17, 2017 every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday & Friday | 10 a.m.-4 p.m. | Bancroft Library, Gallery

Bancroft Library

For decades professor emeritus of history Leon F. Litwack has been accumulating what is arguably the world’s finest private collection of books on African American history and culture. This exhibition displays highlights of the collection that will be coming to The Bancroft Library as a bequest. The Litwack collection is particularly noteworthy for its Harlem Renaissance first editions in...   More >

DISPERSAL: Seed Pod Photography by Anna Laurent

Exhibit - Photography | January 17 – 30, 2017 every day | 10 a.m.-4 p.m. |  UC Botanical Garden

Botanical Garden

Individually, each photograph is a fine art portrait of a unique botanic specimen; as a series, it is a scientific inquiry into the diversity of botanic design. Each includes companion text about the specimen's form & function.