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Synthetic Biology and Quantum Mechanics

  • The Starry Plough 3101 Shattuck Avenue Berkeley, CA, 94705 United States (map)

Join us for the final event of our taste of science festival where we tackle quantum mechanics and synthetic biology


Food and drinks are available for purchase

21+ event.


Synthetic Biology (and pants)

Terry Johnson

Professor at UC Berkeley

We are surrounded by microorganisms. Your intestines contain 100 trillion of them; three microorganisms for every human cell in your body. The oceans contain as many as a million bacteria in every milliliter. Each has evolved a variety of techniques to survive and thrive. Synthetic biologists aim to harness this diversity to solve real, human problems - like the need for pants.

Thomas-Mittiga.jpg

(Can) Things be at two places at one time (?)

Thomas Mittiga

Physics PhD Candidate at UC Berkeley

Big objects like you and me (no offense) are always in one place at any one time. The physics of small particles, quantum mechanics, breaks common experience and suggests that particles can be in two places at once. Is that really what the theory implies? In this talk, I’ll tackle that question and argue that the “being” in two places at once makes more sense than only ever being at one place at a time. I’ll discuss how this quantum property plays out in atomic clocks and atom interferometers.

For any questions or comments please contact us at: 

eastbay@tasteofscience.org

 
Later Event: April 27
When Art meets Science