Scroll down the page to see the upcoming Learning in Retirement (LIR) course offerings. When you find a class you would like to attend, click on the Events Calendar button, find the session on the calendar, and click on it to start the registration process.
We look forward to seeing you at an LIR soon!
Organized by Paul Licht, Professor Emeritus Integrative Biology
The tortoise is on a new race for its life
Tim Gregory, Research Associate, UC Botanical Gardens at Berkeley
Tuesday, October 20, 2020, 2 pm via Zoom
Registration Online
Turtles and tortoises are neck-and-neck with primates as the most endangered vertebrate group. Approximately 2/3 of turtle species are threatened with extinction. The presentation will introduce you to these charming creatures and the threats to their continued existence. Then it will describe the Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA) an organization that functions globally, directly, in partnership with other conservation organizations, and always in close collaboration with local researchers and communities. The result has been protection, performance of critical research, enhancement of populations, training and support of the next generation of turtle biologists in less developed countries, and ultimately the reestablishment of species that were extinct in the wild. These results will be exemplified by stories from some of our almost uniformly successful field programs.
Stability or Collapse of Bird and Mammal Communities over
the past Century in California’s Most Transformed Landscapes
Steven R. Beissinger, Professor of Ecology & Conservation Biology, and Miller Research Professor (2020-2021)
Tuesday, October 27, 2020 2 pm via Zoom
Registration Online
Linking California’s highly variable climates, land-uses, and levels of change over the past century with historical resurveys – where biodiversity surveys from the past are resampled – provides important opportunities to understand the influence of 20th century environmental change on biodiversity. Professor Beissinger will report on a study to resurvey locations throughout California that CAL Professor Joseph Grinnell and colleagues in the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology originally surveyed for birds and mammals in the early 20th century. He will focus on changes to communities from recent research in California’s most transformed landscapes: (1) the Mojave Desert where climate change has made an extreme environment hotter and drier; and (2) Los Angeles and the Central Valley, where urbanization and agriculture have transformed land-use over the past century.
Organized by Donald Mastronarde, Professor of the Graduate School, 
Emeritus Melpomene Distinguished Professor of Classical Languages and Literature
Law, Justice and the Election
Christopher Kutz, C. William Maxeiner Distinguished Professor of Law
Tuesday, November 10, 2020 2 pm via Zoom
Online Registration
Reactions to the recent election from the perspective of moral, political and legal philosophy.
Town Hall Discussion, with Paul PIerson, John Gross Endowed Chair, Professor Political Science, and Robert Van Houweling, Associate Professor of Political Science.
Tuesday, November 17, 2020 2 pm via Zoom
Online Registration
Organized by Donald Mastronarde, Professor of the Graduate School, Emeritus Melpomene Distinguished Professor of Classical Languages and Literature
Vision Science is one of those areas where basic research and translational science (the application of the newest discoveries to clinical practice or other real-world applications) go hand in hand. This series highlights a number of fascinating topics pursued in Berkeley’s School of Optometry and Vision Science Program.
The Potential to Improve Vision with Augmented Reality
Emily Cooper, Assistant Professor in School of Optometry; affiliated with Vision Science Program and Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute
Tuesday, December 8, 2pm via Zoom
Registration online
Today, an estimated 6 million adults in the United States have a visual impairment. The vast majority of these people are not completely blind: they have functional residual vision that they use in their daily life. Can emerging augmented reality technologies be used to provide visual assistance to people with vision loss? Professor Cooper will present work assessing several augmented reality paradigms aimed at assisting key visual functions, such as recognizing objects and navigating buildings.