nasa.gov

This Wednesday physicist Leonard Susskind of Stanford University will give a non-technical, illustrated talk on The Black Hole Wars: My Battle with Stephen Hawking. No background in science will be required for this talk or having seen Disney’s The Black Hole.

For two decades, physicist Susskind battled cosmologist Stephen Hawking over the behavior of black holes.

Hawking’s theory is that when information falls into a black hole it is permanently lost to the outside; also, that black holes evaporate. It happens very slowly but the black hole does emit particles, and eventually disappears.

Susskind’s theory is that the horizon of a black hole (a two dimensional surface like a film) somehow stores all the information that ever fell into the hole. He also theorizes the photons and other particles carry away every bit of information during evaporation of the black hole.

Stephen Hawking now agrees that the information is not lost when a black hole evaporates.

This is a non-technical talk but how can you not be excited about particle physics, event horizons, quantum mechanics, and holographic principles?

Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Arrive early to locate parking.
Parking lots 1, 7 and 8 provide stair and no-stair access to the Smithwick theatre.

Smithwick Theater, Foothill College
12345 El Monte Road, Los Altos Hills

Wednesday, October 1
7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

Admission: Free
Parking: $2.00

650-949-7888

I heart me some MLK library. Here’s what’s going on there right now:

• The library is celebrating its 5th year anniversary all month. The big kickoff event was on the 6th, and naturally I miss it. Happy birthday to the largest library west of the Mississippi River, and the only library in the nation that is both university- AND city-owned!
• Guest speaker Ralph G. Latza will help explain to parents the steps they need to take to fund their child’s education. Free. Tue, Sept. 16, 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM; Room 255, 2nd Floor.
• For the business-minded amongst you, the Entrepreneurial Society will host Tony Calleja and Jayan Ramankutti, both seasoned entrepreneurs who will impart hard-earned wisdom, I’m sure. Mon, Sep 15 6:15 PM - 8:00 PM; 2nd Floor, Rooms 225/229, check http://www.cob.sjsu.edu/svce/events/. As a side note, the Entrepreneurial Society is the student group responsible for putting on the Silicon Valley Neat Ideas Fair, which showcases SJSU student innovations and business ideas. It’s actually very interesting, each and every year.
• As I previously (barely) mentioned, there is a teen digital photography exhibit called “My World, My Community” that is on display until Sept. 30 on the 4th floor. Teens spent 10 weeks in the summer exploring their surroundings and taking pictures. And as you can see from my very digital, very not-quality camera phone, it has a lot of creative energy , and it’s the kind of project that reminds you why people delve into visual arts in the first place. So go see it in person and support the youth of the community. NOW!

Yesterday word got out about San Jose State’s foray into the digital world, of which they’re supposed to be located smack dab in the middle but still find creative ways to be behind.

A bit of that is changing now. I am talking about SJSU’s entry into iTunesU, a section of iTunes that offers podcasts and videocasts from over 100 institutions of higher learning, from Stanford to Yale to Berkeley. Professors can choose whether to publish their podcasts to the knowledge-thirsty public, or distribute their lectures to too-lazy-to-go-to-class students. And although I lovingly chide SJSU about its ironic techno-lag, credit must be given to SJSU for being the first in the California State University system to partner up with iTunesU.

Right now, SJSU doesn’t have many full lectures per se, although a physics teacher has been getting busy with the lecture podcasting. But most downloads available are more like short snippets of audio information, ranging mostly from 3-20 minutes long. Still, much of it is interesting, from the economics professor to the library grad students to counseling, recreation and career center services.

SJSU is also unique in that it is one of two universities on the iTunesU network to be fully accessible by those with disabilities. Namely, PDF transcripts are posted alongside the podcasts if you’re hearing-impaired. (Read more about it here.)

Not only can you read what’s being said, but professors can also post additional material, flyers and handouts in their virtual classrooms.

Exciting stuff. I’ve been a fan of iTunesU even before I was officially a student. I already downloaded several fantastic podcasts from the Stanford iTunes U site, so it’s great to see SJSU joining the bandwagon. Its offerings are a bit meager at first, compared to Stanford’s at least, but no one here is comparing SJSU to Stanford. I’m just excited to see the huge potential for the public who want to learn but don’t have the time or the funds.

Click here to see everything iTunesU has to offer, or click on the button below to see SJSU’s offerings for yourself. (Note: Both links will open your iTunes.)

This Thursday Foothill College presents Julia Flynn Siler the author of The House of Mondavi: The Rise and Fall of an American Wine Dynasty as part of its Authors Series of guest readings and book signings by best-selling authors.

The House of Mondavi spans four generations from when Italian immigrant Cesare Mondavi passed through Ellis Island, to the Robert Mondavi Corp.’s 21st-century battle over a billion-dollar fortune.

Julia Flynn Siler was a correspondent for BusinessWeek and now The Wall Street Journal. One of her WSJ stories was about the turmoil within the Mondavi familys wine empire, which ran as a front-page story in June, 2004. The story led to her book The House of Mondavi, which involved more than 500 hours of interviews and examination of tens of thousands of pages of documents.

Unfortunately, Robert Mondavi died May 16, 2008.

Campus Center Student Lounge, Foothill College
12345 El Monte Road, Los Altos Hills

Thursday, May 29
3:00 pm

Admission: Free
Parking: $2.00

This Wednesday astronomer Jill Tarter, of the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Institute, will give a non-technical, illustrated talk on The Allen Telescope Array: The Newest Pitchfork for Exploring the Cosmic Haystack. No background in science will be required for this talk.

The Allen Telescope Array, being constructed at the Hat Creek Radio Observatory north of Mt. Lassen as a partnership between the SETI Institute and University of California Berkeley Radio Astronomy Lab, will be the most powerful tool for finding SETI signals ever built. Its an innovative radio telescope assembled from a large number of small dishes, using consumer off-the-shelf technologies whenever possible to minimize costs. This new telescope array will enable exploration of up to 10,000 times more of the cosmic haystack than was searched in the previous decade.

Jill Tarter is Director of the Center for SETI Research at the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California. Dr. Tarter received her Bachelor of Engineering Physics Degree with Distinction from Cornell University and her Master’s Degree and a Ph.D. in Astronomy from the University of California, Berkeley. Jodi Foster based her character on Dr. Tarter for the movie Contact.

Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Arrive early to locate parking.
Parking lots 1, 7 and 8 provide stair and no-stair access to the Smithwick theatre.

Smithwick Theater, Foothill College
12345 El Monte Road, Los Altos Hills

Wednesday, April 23
7:00 pm

Admission: Free
Parking: $2.00