Lectures and talks on the Peninsula — 16 upcoming

Data for Agents: The New Database User

Science & TechBusiness & Economy Lecture / ForumBar / Cafe Talk Free

Wed, Oct 28 ·5:30 pm ·135 Constitution Dr ·Menlo Park

How data infrastructure and database systems are evolving to support autonomous AI agents in production. The talk covers data freshness, parallel request handling, access control, and metadata discovery across the data stack. Speakers include Savannah Whitman (VeloDB) on enterprise AI agents querying databases; Sijie Guo (StreamNative) on agent runtime failures and cost control; Jaz Ku (PuppyGraph) on mapping relationships across thousands of tables; and Adi Wabisabi (Datastrato) on scoping agent access to user permissions. The event concludes with a panel and Q&A.

via Bond AI ↗ Event link ↗ Edit
Andrew Miller with Yangsze Choo - The Land in Winter

Culture & Humanities Book TalkBookshopLecture / Forum Free

Wed, Oct 28 ·7:00 pm ·Kepler's Books ·Menlo Park

Booker Prize-shortlisted author Andrew Miller discusses his novel *The Land in Winter*, a masterpiece set in December 1962 in the English countryside. The story follows two couples—doctor Eric and his pregnant wife Irene, and farmer Bill with his expectant wife Rita—whose quiet lives unravel when the mildest December gives way to the harshest winter in living memory, exposing secret resentments in both marriages. Miller, whose debut *Ingenious Pain* won the James Tait Black and International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, has established himself as a chronicler of the human heart across 14 acclaimed novels, including *Pure* (Costa Book Award) and *Now We Shall Be Entirely Free*. *The Land in Winter* won the Winston Graham Historical Prize and the 2025 Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction. In conversation with Yangsze Choo at Kepler's Books.

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Douglas Stuart with Karen Joy Fowler - John of John

Culture & Humanities Book TalkBookshopLecture / Forum Free

Thu, Oct 29 ·7:00 pm ·Kepler's Books ·Menlo Park

Douglas Stuart, Booker Prize–winning author of *Shuggie Bain* and *Young Mungo*, discusses his Booker Prize Longlisted novel *John of John*. Set in the remote Outer Hebrides, the novel follows John-Calum Macleod's return home after art school, navigating family secrets and fractured relationships with his father John, a sheep farmer and lay preacher, and his grandmother Ella. In conversation with fellow acclaimed author Karen Joy Fowler, Stuart explores this intensely character-driven story of impossible struggles and hidden truths unfolding across a single transformative season.

via Kepler's ↗ Event link ↗ Edit
Company Brain Hackathon: Build an AI Agent That Knows Your Organization

Science & Tech Workshop / PracticeLecture / Forum Free

Wed, Nov 4 ·1:00 pm ·135 Constitution Dr ·Menlo Park

A hands-on afternoon hackathon where participants build a Company Brain—an AI-powered knowledge system that connects organizational documents, tools, and institutional knowledge. The program opens with a keynote by Stephen Chin (VP of Developer Relations, Neo4j) on GraphRAG patterns and production systems, followed by two hackathon rounds with live demonstrations and judging. Designed for developers, engineers, startup founders, students, and anyone exploring agent-based AI systems. Hosted by TechEquity AI at Snowflake's Silicon Valley AI Hub in Menlo Park.

via TechEquity AI ↗ Event link ↗ Edit
Gatekeeping AI, Responsibly: Best Practices for AI Gateways with Snowflake AI Gateway Workshop

Science & Tech Workshop / PracticeLecture / ForumConference / Symposium Free

Wed, Nov 4 ·1:00 pm ·135 Constitution Dr ·Menlo Park

Part of the TechEquity AI Summit, this half-day program combines a keynote on GraphRAG patterns with a hands-on 90-minute workshop on AI Gateway architecture and governance. Learn core concepts including build-vs-buy tradeoffs, cost visibility, rate limiting, and sensitive data redaction using Snowflake AI Gateway as a primary case study, with comparison to alternatives like LiteLLM, Kong, and Cloudflare AI Gateway. Speakers: Okhtay Azarmanesh, Principal AI/ML Architect at Snowflake, and Stephen Chin, VP of Developer Relations at Neo4j. No prerequisites beyond familiarity with AI agents and LLMs.

via TechEquity AI ↗ Event link ↗ Edit
Story Is the Thing

Culture & Humanities Book TalkLecture / ForumBookshop Free

Wed, Nov 4 ·6:00 pm ·Kepler's Books ·Menlo Park

A signature reading series featuring four Northern California fiction authors sharing work from their debut and latest titles. The evening includes a reception with authors at 6:00 PM, followed by readings, discussion, and Q&A, concluding with a book signing at 7:30 PM.

via Kepler's ↗ Event link ↗ Edit
Cassini-Huygens Mission to Saturn, its Moons and Rings — Dr Jeff Cuzzi

Science & Tech Lecture / Forum Free

Fri, Nov 6 ·8:00 pm ·College of San Mateo Planetarium ·San Mateo

Dr. Jeff Cuzzi, NASA Ames research scientist and former Interdisciplinary Scientist for Planetary Rings on the Cassini-Huygens mission, discusses highlights from two decades of exploration at Saturn. The talk emphasizes Saturn's rings—increasingly believed to be relatively young (100–200 million years old)—and covers their complex structure, composition, and origin. Cuzzi also discusses Titan, with its dense atmosphere, and Saturn's icy moons including Enceladus, which harbors a subsurface ocean with signs of hydrothermal activity. A survey of one of NASA's most ambitious planetary missions and its ongoing discoveries.

via SMCAS ↗ Event link ↗ Edit
Welcome to the Vera C Rubin Observatory — Dr Philip Marshall

Science & Tech Lecture / Forum Free

Fri, Nov 6 ·8:00 pm ·College of San Mateo Planetarium ·San Mateo

Dr. Philip Marshall, Deputy Director of Operations at the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, presents a virtual tour of the world's newest astronomy and astrophysics facility in Chile and discusses its groundbreaking mission. The Rubin Observatory will conduct an unprecedented ten-year survey of the southern sky, generating the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST)—more astronomical data than all previous telescopes combined. Marshall explores how Rubin addresses the resulting Big Data challenge through AI and machine learning, with applications to gravitational lensing, dark matter studies, and cosmological analysis. Held at the College of San Mateo Planetarium.

via SMCAS ↗ Event link ↗ Edit
Bay Area Skeptics: Skeptics in the Pub

Science & Tech Bar / Cafe TalkLecture / Forum Free

Tue, Nov 10 ·7:00 pm ·Fiddlers Green ·Millbrae

An evening of science talk and socializing at an Irish pub featuring Benjamin Radford, deputy editor of Skeptical Inquirer and Research Fellow with the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. Radford, author of fourteen books on urban legends, paranormal investigation, critical thinking, and science literacy, will discuss his work debunking myths and mysteries. The event is part of International Skeptics Day, with a simultaneous global Zoom component connecting skeptic communities worldwide. Hosted by Bay Area Skeptics.

via Bay Area Skeptics ↗ Event link ↗ Edit
Bryant Lin with Laurel Braitman - Sunshine

Science & TechCulture & Humanities Book TalkLecture / ForumBookshop Free

Tue, Nov 10 ·7:00 pm ·Kepler's Books ·Menlo Park

Leading cancer researcher and physician Bryant Lin discusses his memoir *Sunshine*, which explores living with terminal illness from both a doctor's and patient's perspective. After his own lung cancer diagnosis, Lin created a Stanford Medical School course called "From Diagnosis to Dialog: A Doctor's Real-Time Battle with Cancer," which gained international attention. In conversation with Laurel Braitman, Lin offers philosophical and scientifically grounded insights into navigating medical crises, finding hope and resilience, and making meaning in life's most challenging moments.

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SRI at 80: SRI-invented technology used by billions of people every day

Science & TechCulture & Humanities Lecture / ForumMuseum

Thu, Nov 12 ·SRI International ·Menlo Park

SRI International celebrates its 80th anniversary at the Computer History Museum, reflecting on transformative inventions—from foundational computing technologies to modern applications used globally—and exploring the organization's future research directions. The event showcases how SRI-developed technologies have shaped contemporary life across computing, communications, and related fields.

via SRI International ↗ Event link ↗ Edit
Bing Gordon & Chloe Gordon with Paul Saffo - Everybody Wins

Business & EconomyCulture & Humanities Book TalkLecture / ForumBookshop Free

Thu, Nov 12 ·7:00 pm ·Kepler's Books ·Menlo Park

Bing Gordon, legendary video game industry strategist, and his daughter Chloe discuss *Everybody Wins*, their guide to applying game design psychology to product development and customer engagement. Drawing on four decades shaping companies like EA Sports, Amazon Prime, Spotify, and Duolingo, Gordon presents his "Gamification Checklist"—eight core principles including Wow Moments, Social Integration, Retention Hacking, and Game Loops—with Paul Saffo moderating. The event explores how the psychological drivers that make games irresistible can unlock better business strategy and user experience across industries.

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In celebration of SRI’s history of innovation: Two new IEEE Milestones to be unveiled

Science & TechCulture & Humanities Lecture / Forum

Fri, Nov 13 ·SRI International ·Menlo Park

The Computer History Museum and IEEE honor SRI International's significant technical achievements with the unveiling of two new IEEE Milestones. The event celebrates SRI's history of innovation in computing and related fields.

via SRI International ↗ Event link ↗ Edit
Daniel Duane - Yosemite Falls

Culture & Humanities Book TalkBookshopLecture / Forum Free

Tue, Nov 17 ·7:00 pm ·Kepler's Books ·Menlo Park

Nature writer Daniel Duane discusses his memoir *Yosemite Falls*, which traces his family's devotion to John Muir and Yosemite National Park while reckoning with the park's violent and absurd history. Duane explores his childhood worship of Muir's wilderness gospel through climbing, backpacking, and reading—only to confront the writer's Victorian worldview and the legacies of white supremacy, cultural theft, and Indigenous erasure embedded in California's conservation mythology. Drawing on his family's stories alongside figures like Ishi, the last Yahi person, Duane offers a vital correction to the wilderness canon, blending memoir, environmental history, and wry humor.

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Jen Murphy Parker with Irena Smith - Fault Line Boy

Culture & Humanities Book TalkBookshopLecture / Forum Free

Thu, Nov 19 ·6:00 pm ·Kepler's Books ·Menlo Park

Jen Murphy Parker discusses her memoir *Fault Line Boy*, a lyrical account of raising her youngest son through severe pediatric epilepsy—the seizures, ICU nights, medication trials, and slow recalibration of family life. Parker explores how she and her family found resilience, joy, and endurance amid uncertainty, alongside the strange intimacy that grows in long-term caregiving. In partnership with her son's neurologist, Dr. Joseph Sullivan, Parker has raised over $2 million to establish a pediatric epilepsy center at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital. For readers of Joan Didion and Emily Rapp Black seeking narrative nonfiction on medical motherhood and marriage under pressure.

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Tom Molanphy - Marie's Tree: Implosions and Injustice in San Francisco

Civics & PowerCulture & Humanities Book TalkLecture / ForumBookshop Free

Sat, Dec 5 ·6:00 pm ·Peninsula Books ·Daly City

Tom Molanphy discusses his book *Marie's Tree: Implosions and Injustice in San Francisco*, a chronicle of environmental activist Marie Harrison's three decades fighting to protect San Francisco's Bayview Hunters Point from development, pollution, and contamination. Molanphy, a journalist whose work has appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle and who teaches at the Academy of Art University, traces Harrison's battles against the implosion of Geneva Towers, the removal of PG&E stacks, and cleanup of a major superfund site. Half of book proceeds benefit the Marie Harrison Community Foundation. Endorsement from Bill McKibben, author of *Here Comes the Sun*.

via Peninsula Books ↗ Event link ↗ Edit