Talks, etc. in the Department

Below is a schedule and brief description of the talks and other events that occur weekly in the astronomy department. For the invited talks, you should receive an email beforehand with the title and abstract of the talk that week. These emails will also usually call for those who are interested to have lunch and/or dinner with the speaker. Take advantage of these because grad students eat free! Other opportunities for free food are in bold below.

Schedule

Day Time Room What
Monday 11-11:30 3rd floor lounge General Arxiv Discussion (join the "Berkeley Astro" journal club). Begins on human time (not Berkeley time).
12-1 131 TAC (Theoretical astrophysics) Seminar
4:15 - 5:15 1 Le Conte Physics Colloquium
Tuesday 11:15-12 3rd floor lounge Cosmology arXiv Discussion (pizza afterwards)
1-2 131 Cosmology Seminar
3:30-4 6th floor lounge Tasty Tuesday/TAFT
Wednesday 1-2 131 CIPS (Planetary Science) Seminar
Thursday 12:30-1:30 131 Thursday Lunch Talks
3 - 3:30 6th floor lounge Colloquium Tea (on hiatus since COVID)
3:30 - 4:30 1 Le Conte Colloquium
4-5 LBL Occasional RPM (“Research Progress Meeting”) at LBL
Friday 11-12 6th floor/501B Bagels/coffee + GSPS
12-1 LBL Occasional INPA seminar at LBL

Descriptions

Talks:

  • TAC Seminar: Invited talk hosted by the Theoretical Astrophysics Center.
  • Cosmology Seminar: Invited cosmology talk.
  • CIPS Seminar: Invited talk hosted by CIPS on planetary sience as well as geophysics
  • Thursday Lunch: 3 short (12 + 3 min) talks. Usually 2 are given by department members (undergrads, grad, postdoc, faculty) and the third is given by the colloquium speaker
  • Colloquium: The main invited talk of the week, complete with snacks (colloquium tea).
  • GSPS: Grad students and postdocs present their own work to an audience of ONLY grad students and post docs in order to get practice talking about their research in a more friendly environment.

Informal Gatherings:

  • arXiv Discussion: Any who are interested meet in the lounge to discuss recent papers posted to the arXiv. Sign up on benty-fields and join the “Berkeley Astro” journal club.
  • Tasty Tuesday/TAFT (Tuesday Afternoon Food Time): Each week, a grad student/postdoc volunteers to procure snacks (reimbursed) to encourage friendly interaction among hungry grad students/postdocs in the lounge.
  • Colloquium Tea: Snacks and beverages prepared by grad students (see student jobs) enjoyed by all before colloquium.