SOLD OUT! Secret Science Club (North) presents Astrophysicist Priyamvada Natarajan @ Symphony Space, Tuesday, September 30, 8PM

Kick it into warp drive! Secret Science Club is blasting off into its ninth year with a special series of lectures & happenings @ Manhattan's Symphony Space. First up... we're heading out—way out!

Tuesday, September 30, Secret Science Club (North) presents "Dark Discoveries, Constantly Cosmic" with Astrophysicist Priyamvada Natarajan @ Symphony Space, $25. 

Rocket into deep space with astrophysicist Priyamvada Natarajan as she explores dark matter and dark energy! Making up 95 percent of the known Cosmos, the Dark Duo are maddeningly invisible—yet they shape the very structure of the Universe and drive its expansion.  

Professor of Astronomy and Physics at Yale University, Dr. Natarajan presents an out-of-this-world talk on cosmology, black holes, and the Dark Duo. She shares how new telescopes, space missions, and experiments are giving scientists unprecedented views and clues, allowing us to peer into the earliest growing pains of the Universe. Don't miss a nanosecond of this cosmic talk!

Before & After 

--Imbibe the starry-eyed cocktail of the night, the "Cosmic Ray"

--Lift off with intergalactic grooves

--Enter our quantum quiz contest!

Snag tickets for $15 here with code SECRET15, by phone at 212.864.5400, or in person at the box office. 

Secret Science Club (North) meets Tuesday, September 30, 8pm @ Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway @ 95th St in Manhattan. Subway: 1, 2, or 3 to 96th Street. This is an all-ages event!

Next up . . . Tuesday, October 14, Secret Science Club (North) @ Symphony Space with Zoologist Mark Siddall

Thursday, September 11, 8PM @ the Bell House, FREE! Secret Science Club presents Rob Fergus on Computer Vision and Artificial Intelligence

Can computers see like humans? At NYU and Facebook, Rob Fergus is eyeing the possibilities.

Seeing ain’t easy. About one-third of your brain is devoted to vision. And that complexity makes vision one of the thorniest problems in artificial intelligence. Computer scientist Rob Fergus and his colleagues aim to mimic or even surpass the capabilities of the human brain. But getting a computer to correctly identify a visual object (a cat, for instance) was nearly impossible until recently.

A technique called deep learning has radically improved the ability of devices to recognize images and interpret speech. Deep learning uses computerized neural networks to process information, and their performance at visual recognition is rapidly approaching that of humans.

Where is machine vision taking us? The Secret Science Club is ready to leap into the future. Dr. Fergus asks: What if you could tell your computer to use its “eyes” to organize your photo collection? Can space telescopes be trained to look for Earth-like planets? Are there medical conditions that can be screened for or diagnosed with machine vision? Could your personal robot valet’s eyes get so good that he never gives you mismatched socks ever again?

Rob Fergus is associate professor of computer science at NYU’s Courant Institute and a research scientist at Facebook’s new Artificial Intelligence lab.

Before & After

--Try our pixelated cocktail of the night, the Machine Dream!

--Do the robot to data-driven grooves

--Stick around for the wet-wired Q&A

This open source edition of the Secret Science Club meets Thursday, September 11, 8 pm @ the Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn. Subway: F or G to 4th Ave.

Doors open at 7:30 pm. Please bring ID: 21+. No cover. Just bring your smart self! 

PLUS! Check out these three special SSC events coming up at Symphony Space!