About us
Everyone is curious about how the universe works, from astronomy and cosmology down to the smallest building blocks of nature. This is a social group where we'll talk about what's going on in current research, and what it means to the average person.
It's not a free graduate school or a place for amateur theoreticians to promote their ideas. So all you need is curiosity about the world we live in.
Physics has both technological and philosophical applications. We'll consider both. We'll do some of our own experiments in "fluid flow" at local bars monthly. Also we'll have physics slide shows in the library meeting rooms, followed by discussions at nearby restaurants.
Upcoming events
6
FYI - Arduino Day 2026 - 27 & 28 Mar. - Hybrid - Austin TX
Diogenes Makerspace, 13800 Dragline Dr, Austin, TX, USMore specifics will be added as the event date approaches.
Current Arduino details available at -- https://days.arduino.cc/about
Austin, TX specific activities are open to all makes and models of single board computers.
Please let us know if you have a presentation or activity that you would like to present.
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Release: 1 Mar. (Sun)
Arduino Days 2026
https://days.arduino.cc/about
March 27 & 28Diogenes
Arduino Days 2026
March 27, 28, & 29
10a - 4p CSTMarch 27 (Fri):
10a - 4p - Arduino is expected to have livestream most of the day (Waiting on their schedule release)
12p - 4p - Group Arduino Automaton/Robotics Project (Day 1/3)
As a group, participants will choose their specific mechanism to build and test.Suggestions, but the group can pick their own.
- Karakuri Ningo (からくり人形)
Karakuri Puppet -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karakuri_puppet
Japan's Only Karakuri Doll Master. 300 Years of Exquisite Mechanical Art. -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XU-kqpkZWjc
- Automated & Tracking Nerf Compatible Weapon
- da Vinci MechanismMarch 28 (Sat):
10a - 12p - HABEX Monthly Update - "Arduino & LoRaWAN" - Seeeduino LoRaWAN (J. Choate) - Hands-on pair/group.
- The first hour will be a presentation of the HABEX2 project and the hardware.
- The second hour 2 will be a hands on familiarization with the SEEEDuino LoRaWAN board. I have 3x boards. You'll need a computer to program them. Intend to do blink and GPS.
https://wiki.seeedstudio.com/Seeeduino_LoRAWAN/12p - 4p - Group Arduino Automaton/Robotics Project (Day 2/3)
March 29 (Sun):
10a - 12p - Wanna get Weird? Plan 9 on Raspberry Pi (J. Choate) - Hands-on as you will need a Raspberry Pi, SD Card, & Computer
Plan 9 Installation on Raspberry Pi 3 -- https://web.archive.org/web/20200111162735/http://ssz.com/Projects/RPi_Plan9_Install.html
Plan 9 available -- https://forums.raspberrypi.com/viewtopic.php?t=24480
Plan 9 operating system for the Raspberry Pi – demonstration by Richard Miller -- https://raspi.tv/2012/plan-9-operating-system-for-the-raspberry-pi-demonstration-by-richard-miller
9Front -- https://9front.org/12p - 4p - Group Arduino Automaton/Robotics Project (Day 3/3)
Unscheduled (at this time):
The Linux Build System - A High Level Introduction (J. Choate) - 1 (possibly 2) hrs. - Presentation w/ discussion.
To Do:
ESP32 (We have several ESP32s and ESP32 WROOM boards available) - Volunteer?
BeagleV-Fire (Has an SOC FPGA) - I have one board and have done a couple of projects with it, very beginner. The toolchain for this is mostly provided by Beagle online (though I do have the toolchain installed locally as well). - Volunteer?
Arduino Uno Q - I have one board and hope to have at least got blink done by the target date. - Volunteer?
3 attendees
ESI UT Austin - The Story of Our Cosmic Home - In Person
Beauford H. Jester Center, 201 E 21st St, Austin, TX, USYou do NOT need to sign up for this event. It is a placeholder only.
You DO need to visit this page to register -- https://www.esi.utexas.edu/talk/the-story-of-our-cosmic-home/
The ESI Hot Science Cool Talks series is an extremely popular event and you should register ASAP (Registration is usually open three weeks before the event date). These events fill up almost immediately when registration opens. It does help to be on the ESI mailing list (very low traffic).
Environmental Science Institute - Jackson School of Geosciences:
Hot Science Cool Talk -- https://www.esi.utexas.edu/community-engagement/hot-science-cool-talks/ (Bookmarking this page is a good idea. Mailing list subscription information is to the right.)
Hot Science Cool Talks Archive -- https://www.esi.utexas.edu/community-engagement/hot-science-cool-talks/archives/
ESI has this to say...
Arrive early and explore Cool Activities from 5:30 - 6:40! Local organizations will share exciting hands-on activities related to the talk! List of activities coming soon!
What secrets are hiding in the stars above us, and what can they tell us about our galaxy? In the next Hot Science – Cool Talks, astronomer Dr. Keith Hawkins takes us on a galactic journey through the Milky Way. Using stellar light and chemical fingerprints, Dr. Hawkins’ research reveals previously hidden regions of the Milky Way’s spiral arms, reshaping how we understand our home galaxy. This event will make you see the night sky in a whole new light.
Dr. Keith Hawkins is an Associate Professor of Astronomy at The University of Texas at Austin. His research focuses on “Galactic Archaeology”, which is an approach to uncovering the Milky Way’s formation, evolution, and structure by studying the chemistry and motions of its stars. He is the director of the After Sloan-V project in Astronomy, and a member of large Astronomical Centers for Artificial Intelligence, Planetary habitability, and Astrophysical Plasma Properties. Before joining UT, Keith was a Simons Junior Research Fellow at Columbia University. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge as a Marshall Scholar and completed his B.S. in Astrophysics at Ohio University.
Austin Physics for Fun has this to say...
Here is where we will be meeting prior to the presentation -- https://www.google.com/maps/place/30%C2%B017'21.0%22N+97%C2%B044'08.8%22W/@30.2891568,-97.7357906,55m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m4!3m3!8m2!3d30.289172!4d-97.735764
The presentation location for this event is the Jester auditorium.
Campus Map -- https://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/sa/find-a-space-indoor-details.php?listing=263
Jester Center -- https://utdirect.utexas.edu/apps/campus/buildings/information/nlogon/maps/utm/jes/
Please be there no later than 6:15pm CST.
ESI wants to seat everyone by 6:50pm CST. There may be pre-event activities so the crowd can be expected to be large and have many young ones full of enthusiasm :) We'll walk across the street to Welch Hall and go through registration and seating. Don't forget to turn all audible alerts on your phone OFF please.
I'll be wearing a black cap with the "Hi How Are You?" frog on it -- https://thedailytexan.com/2017/08/04/jeremiah-the-innocent-deserves-more-recognition/
UT Austin Parking & Transportation -- https://parking.utexas.edu/
If anyone is interested in socializing after the presentation we can go to the Drag and pick a place :)
1 attendee
Past events
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