The Thermodynamic Costs of Computing and Communications
2025-02-25 12:00 - 13:00 (America/New_York) | Zoom Talk
Tuesday, February 25 @ Noon ET, 10 AM MT
Login to the talk here:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87966171694?pwd=[REDACTED]

Meeting ID: 879 6617 1694
Passcode: [REDACTED]
About the Talk
Running a computer program isn’t just about processing information – it also comes with energy costs. The amount of energy needed depends on both the type of computation being done and the physical system doing it.
In a special DC Science Writers Association (DCSWA) lunchtime event, the Santa Fe Institute’s David Wolpert will share new findings on the minimum thermodynamic costs required to perform a communication within a computer, and will show us what it takes to run a simple type of computer model called a deterministic finite automaton (DFA), which follows a set of fixed rules to process information. David also will discuss emerging research questions at the intersection of stochastic thermodynamics (a field of study describing systems that are out of thermodynamic equilibrium) and computer science theory, highlighting how they drive advancements in both fields.
Our Speaker
David Wolpert is a professor at the Santa Fe Institute, with affiliations at the Complexity Science Hub in Vienna, Arizona State University, and the International Center for Theoretical Research in Italy. David has authored three books, over 250 papers, and holds three patents. He is an associate editor for multiple journals and a fellow of the IEEE.
With 45,000 citations, his research spans thermodynamics of computation, physics foundations, social dynamics, machine learning, game theory, and distributed optimization. His machine learning method, stacking, contributed to winning the Netflix competition, and his work on the No Free Lunch theorems has over 10,000 citations.
Wolpert previously held positions at Los Alamos National Laboratory, NASA Ames, and Stanford University, where he founded the Collective Intelligence group. He has also worked at IBM and a data mining startup. He holds physics degrees from Princeton and the University of California.
Moderator and Event Organizer
DCSWA Board Member Abha Eli is director of communications at the Santa Fe Institute. An editor and journalist from Nepal, Abha earned an MFA in Creative Writing (fiction) from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. After graduation, she joined CERN, where she remained for the next decade, exploring possibilities in science communications for particle physics. She also has worked with ICTP’s Physics Without Frontiers and the European Physical Society’s High Energy Particle Physics group to design and create communication strategies. Before joining SFI, she was the science communications manager at the American Physical Society.

Newsbrief Award Entries Due by 11:59 PM Monday, February 24th!
2025-02-16 08:00 - 17:00
Since 2009, we’ve been celebrating achievement in short-form science writing with the DCSWA Newsbrief Award. Members of DCSWA can enter their own work, or others can nominate it, via the entry form. Entries will be judged by a panel of science writers and media professionals on the quality of the writing. The winner will receive a prize of $300. Honorable mention certificates will be awarded at the judging panel’s discretion.
DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS IS 11:59 PM ET ON MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2025.
Submission Form at:
https://forms.gle/nzP5rWyc4pauLn4T8
The award consists of a single category, which honors science writers for their writing in any medium and any outlet. The suggested limit for written works is 500 words and for audio/video, 4 minutes. DCSWA members can be the entrant on up to two entries, and there is no limit on how many times they may be listed as team members on other entries.
Don’t wait until the last minute to enter!
For competition rules and additional information:
https://dcswa.org/newsbrief-award/

Questions? Email president@dcswa.org

DCSWA 2024 Holiday Party
2024-12-14 19:00 - 22:00 | Busboys and Poets – 14th and V Streets NW, 2021 14th St NW, Washington, DC, 20009
On Saturday, December 14th from 7pm-10pm, join us at Busboys and Poets 14th and V for a fun evening of food and drinks with your fellow science communicators. Mingle and meet friends new and old!
Your ticket gets you two (2) drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic options available), lots of tasty food, and three hours of serious merriment. DCSWA members, guests, and science enthusiasts are welcome.
Where: Busboys and Poets 14th and V (2021 14th St NW, Washington, DC 20009)
When: Saturday, December 14th, 2024, 7:00 – 10:00 pm
Cost:

$45 for DCSWA members, ($85 for members plus a guest)

$35 for DCSWA student members, ($65 for student members plus a guest)

$55 for non-members

REGISTER AT https://dcswa.wildapricot.org/event-5962985
Questions: president@dcswa.org

Tour of the School of Engineering at the University of Maryland College Park
2024-11-01 08:15 - 11:15 | Clark School of Engineering, Univ of MD College Park, 4298 Campus Dr, College Park, MD, 20742, United States
*** REGISTRATION DEADLINE EXTENDED TO THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24! ***
Engineers at Maryland are designing, building, 3D printing and commercializing new technology solutions that take on society’s grand challenges.
Join Clark School of Engineering researchers and fellow DCSWA members at UMD’s College Park campus for:
· A science cafe-style coffee chat with a bioengineering professor.
· A facility tour of UMD’s nuclear reactor, a small, low-power training reactor that uses an inherently safe fuel called TRIGA.
· A facility tour of UMD’s 367,000-gallon neutral buoyancy tank—one of only two in the U.S. designed to mimic the zero-gravity environment of space, and the only one in the world on a college campus.
Please note:

The tour is limited to the first 22 DCSWA members and guests (limit 1 per member) who register before 11:59 p.m. EDT on October 24 (NEW DEADLINE!).

There is no fee for the tour; however, on-campus parking is $3 per hour ($15 daily maximum). For visitor parking information, go to: https://transportation.umd.edu/parking/visitors

Portions of the tour are not accessible. Stairs are required.

To register, go to https://dcswa.wildapricot.org/event-5875961
In addition, EACH attendee MUST complete the visitor and safety acknowledgement before 11:59 p.m. EDT on October 24: https://go.umd.edu/dcswa
For more information on Maryland Engineering, go to https://eng.umd.edu

Pizza Social at Sonny's in DC
2024-10-10 18:30 - 20:30 | Sonny’s Pizza, 3120 Georgia Ave NW, Washington, DC, 20010, United States
Who doesn’t like free pizza? *
On Thursday, October 10, starting at 6:30 pm, come grab a slice – on us – with fellow DCSWAns
and bring along friends who are considering joining!
Sonny’s Pizza is at 3120 Georgia Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20010,
just 4 blocks from the Columbia Heights metro stop.
RSVP at https://dcswa.wildapricot.org/event-5885528 so that we will have enough pizza to meet demand!
* lactose intolerant people — don’t worry we’ll order some sans cheese

Tour of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
2024-09-20 09:00 - 16:00 | NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, 8800 Greenbelt Rd, Greenbelt, MD, 20771, United States
*** SORRY, REGISTRATION CLOSED 8/22/2024 ***
*** LIMIT OF 20 ATTENDEES REACHED ***
Where was that beautiful gold mirror on NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope assembled? Where is mission control for the remarkable achievements of the Hubble Space Telescope? Tour NASA’s legendary Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and go behind the scenes with the scientists and engineers who make the magic happen.
Exact tour stops will depend on mission operation activities.
Kudos to DCSWA Vice President Liz Landau (who serves as Multimedia Lead for Astrophysics at NASA Headquarters) for organizing this fantastic tour!
Attendance is free, but is limited to the first 20 who register (DCSWA members only).
Registration ends at midnight EDT on Thursday, August 22, per NASA requirements.
Successful registrants must send the following information in an email to president@dcswa.org by that date and time in order to attend:

Full legal name (first, middle and last names)
Citizenship status (U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents)
Name of employer
Phone number
Email address

Directions and tour details will be sent to registrants prior to the event

DCSWA Happy Hour
2024-08-15 18:00 - 20:00
Thursday, August 15, 2024
6:00 – 8:00 PM Eastern Time
Lulu’s Winegarden
1940 11th St NW, Washington, D.C. 20001
A 3-minute walk from the U Street/African-American Civil War Memorial/Cardozo Metro Station
No registration necessary; just come and have fun!

What Every Reporter in DC Should Know About AI
2024-08-09 09:00 - 12:00 | Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center, 555 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC, 20001
What: A briefing and information session for journalists offered by Johns Hopkins University
When: 9 a.m. to noon, Friday, Aug. 9, a half-day session with breakfast. No streaming option.
Where: The Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center, 555 Pennsylvania Ave. NW Washington, D.C. 20001
REGISTRATION REQUIRED: Please register by Aug. 2 and feel free to share this invitation with share will colleagues who might like to attend: https://washingtondc.jhu.edu/events/what-every-reporter-in-d-c-should-know-about-ai/
Possibilities for artificial intelligence are thrilling, terrifying, and unavoidable. At this free session, Johns Hopkins researchers will get to the heart of the elements of AI that matter most to a DC media audience. In other words, we’ll focus on the intersection of science and policy, and explore topics including:

What’s on the horizon for AI in health care
Implications for the power grids and emissions, and what can be done about it
Inherent risks of AI: What could go wrong and why is it so hard to regulate
New inequities AI will cause
What the federal government can learn from the most forward-thinking states and cities
How the federal government can best support AI

Speakers will include:

Beth Blauer, who led JHU’s Coronavirus Research Center and advises governments in technology innovation
Computer vision pioneer Rama Challapa, who is interim co-director of JHU’s Data Science and AI Institute
Cybersecurity expert Anton Dahbura, who is executive director of the Johns Hopkins University Information Security Institute
Mark Dredze, interim deputy director of JHU’s Data Science and AI Institute known for his work mining big language data to pioneer new applications in public health
Yury Dvorkin, who studies challenges posed by emerging smart grid technologies
Suchi Saria,, who uses AI to individualize patient care and save lives

REGISTRATION REQUIRED: Please register by Aug. 2 and feel free to share this invitation with share will colleagues who might like to attend: https://washingtondc.jhu.edu/events/what-every-reporter-in-d-c-should-know-about-ai/
CONTACT: Jill Rosen
Cell: 443-547-8805/jrosen@jhu.edu
jhunews@jhu.edu

Theodore Roosevelt Island Midsummer Microbiota
2024-07-18 18:00 - 20:00 | Theodore Roosevelt Island, Washington, DC
NOTE: DCSWA is posting the announcement of this science-themed event as a courtesy. DCSWA is not responsible for the content of the event.
On Thursday, July 18, 2024 from 6:00 pm – 8:00 p.m. EDT, Nature Forward (https://natureforward.org/) invites you to join naturalist Rita Peralta for an adventure at Theodore Roosevelt Island, where she will introduce you to Foldscopes and explore the microbes in the soil and water that populate the world as we know it. Expect a mixture of paved and natural surface trails; depending on rainfall, some muddy and puddly terrain may be possible.
Nature Forward Members: $33; nonmembers $46
For more information and to register, go to https://natureforward.org/events-calendar/

Tour of National Air and Space Museum's Udvar-Hazy Center
2024-07-13 14:00 - 15:30 | Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, 14390 Air and Space Museum Pkwy, Chantilly, Virginia, 20151
Take to the skies and explore outer space with your fellow DCSWA members during a guided tour of the National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center (14390 Air and Space Museum Pkwy, Chantilly, VA 20151) on Saturday, July 13th, starting at 2:00 p.m. EDT.
The center displays thousands of aviation and space artifacts, including the Space Shuttle Discovery, the Gemini 4 spacecraft (from which astronaut Ed White took the first U.S. spacewalk), the Gossamer Albatross (the first man-powered aircraft to fly across the English Channel), an SR-71 Blackbird (the fastest airbreathing manned aircraft), and a Concorde supersonic airliner.
We’ll also be able to watch any ongoing restoration and preservation work going on in the Mary Baker Engen Restoration Hangar from the glassed-in mezzanine viewing area.
The tour is limited to the first 30 DCSWA members and guests (limit of 1 per member) who register by 11:59 p.m. EDT on July 11. There is no fee for the tour; however, parking is $15 per car.

To register, go to https://dcswa.wildapricot.org/event-5746263

For more information on the Udvar-Hazy Center, go to https://airandspace.si.edu/visit/udvar-hazy-center.

Film Viewing: "Listen to the Universe"
2024-06-21 16:00 - 17:30 | Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Independence Ave SW and 7th St SW, Washington, DC, 20560
To honor the 25th anniversary of the Chandra X-ray Observatory’s mission, NASA senior communications specialist and DCSWA Board member Liz Landau will present her new film, “Listen to the Universe” at a special showing on Friday, June 21, from 4:00 – 5:30 p.m. EDT at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Independence Ave. SW and 7th St SW, Washington, D.C. (a 4-minute walk from L’Enfant Plaza metro station).
The 27-minute film takes viewers behind the scenes with the team that creates “sonifications,” translations of Chandra’s data into sound, and shows how meaningful they are to people who are blind or have low vision. Liz and Chandra astronomer Dr. Kimberly Arcand will answer questions after the showing.
There is no fee for the viewing, but registration is strongly recommended for a ticket to ensure your seat.
More information at https://hirshhorn.si.edu/event/film-listen-to-the-universe/
