As modern electronic devices shrink, it is increasingly clear that the future of electronics lies in devices capable of harnessing quantum mechanical effects. Perhaps surprisingly, just as silicon forms the basis of contemporary electronics, silicon could form the basis of quantum electronics. Silicon-based approaches to quantum devices have several advantages: the ability to leverage industrial fabrication techniques, easy integration with CMOS control electronics, excellent coherence times, and the luxury of working in an extremely clean, stable, and well-studied material system.

Classical optimization methods are a vital resource in virtually every large-scale, complex human endeavor, from timely delivery of our mail to the planning of deep-space exploration missions. Because of this ubiquity, any technology which can provide substantial improvements in optimization efficiency or effectiveness has the potential for enormous practical impact.

Non-thermal, low-frequency radio emissions from the Earth, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, and Uranus have been observed for decades. They are now "understood" to be caused by the cyclotron-maser instability (CMI) from unstable keV electron distributions in the planetary magnetospheres. It stands to reason that this process is also at work in the purported magnetospheres of extrasolar planets. Particularly from ”Hot Jupiters”, extrasolar Jupiter-size planets that orbit their primary at very close range, we expect the radiated power to be strong enough to allow detection from Earth.

In January the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists moved the “Doomsday Clock" closer to midnight, stating: "Over the course of 2016, the global security landscape darkened as the international community failed to come effectively to grips with humanity’s most pressing existential threats, nuclear weapons and climate change."  This talk will present an objective overview of the nuclear arms race with an emphasis on the current escalating dangers. A brief sketch of how nuclear weapons work and some ironic lessons from history will be presented.

Abstract: There has been tremendous growth in studying nonequilibrium systems in which the individual units are internally driven and are self-mobile. Such dynamics can effectively describe certain biological systems such as run-and-tumble bacteria or crawling cells, as well as non-biological systems such as self-driven colloids or artificial swimmers. These systems are now being grouped into a new class of matter called active matter.  They exhibit a wealth of novel nonequilibrium behaviors, such as clustering, flocking, and phase separation.