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The Fleet Science Center’s first-Monday series pairs Sharp Minds lectures with Heikoff Giant Dome Theater documentaries. November’s talk considers brain-inspired computing; December’s follows the transport systems inside neurons.
All times are local to the venue · America/Los Angeles
One talk looks to the brain as a possible model for more energy-efficient AI chips; the next examines how materials move through neurons. That shift—from borrowing the brain’s architecture to studying its cells—gives the Fleet Science Center’s November and December Senior Mondays a useful scientific thread.
On Nov. 2, UC San Diego bioengineering PhD candidate Vikrant Jaltare presents “How your brain could help solve AI’s energy crisis: a gentle introduction to neuromorphic computing.” The talk starts with an infrastructure question: as chatbot use scales up, data centers need more energy, and some chip power goes to moving information around rather than computing with it.
Neuromorphic computing takes inspiration from the brain’s architecture to design more energy-efficient chips. Jaltare’s research develops and benchmarks brain-inspired machine-learning accelerators and algorithms. He plans to connect that work with practical ways to assess the energy efficiency of new technologies and encourage wider use of more efficient options.
Further reading: Sharp Minds | Fleet Science Center ↗
The Dec. 7 lecture, “Life is a Highway,” shifts the scale from computing systems to a neuron’s internal transport. Amanda Wacker, a postdoctoral researcher at the Salk Institute of Biological Studies in La Jolla, studies how aging and disease affect neuronal processes.
Wacker’s research uses patient skin cells converted directly into neurons. Her talk introduces the materials that must move through a neuron, the cellular machinery that carries them, and the routes they follow. That focus makes the lecture’s highway metaphor more than a title: it points to the movement researchers study when examining how aging and disease affect neurons.
Further reading: Sharp Minds | Fleet Science Center ↗
For Nov. 2, the Senior Mondays listing names We, the Marines at noon. The Fleet describes the documentary as following the experience of joining and serving in the U.S. Marine Corps; it is narrated by former Marine and actor Gene Hackman. The Sharp Minds lecture is scheduled for 10:30–11:30 a.m., leaving a half-hour before the listed film start.
The Dec. 7 documentary title is inconsistent across Fleet listings: the Senior Mondays page says Arctica, while the dated Sharp Minds entry says Antarctica. A separate Fleet page for Antarctica does not establish which title is intended for that date. If the film is part of your plan, check with the Fleet before going.
The Senior Mondays page also lists later films: National Parks Adventure on Jan. 4; Grand Canyon Adventure on Feb. 1; Born to Be Wild on Mar. 1; Superpower Dogs on Apr. 5; A Beautiful Planet on May 3; and Born to Be Wild again on June 7. Those entries name films, not later lecture topics.
Further reading: Senior Mondays | Fleet Science Center ↗ · Sharp Minds | Fleet Science Center ↗ · We, The Marines | Fleet Science Center ↗ · Antarctica | Fleet Science Center ↗
The Fleet Science Center is at the east end of Balboa Park’s El Prado pathway, next to Bea Evenson Fountain. The park also has 14 other museums, performing arts venues, gardens and the San Diego Zoo, so visitors can build a wider park day around the program. The confirmed Senior Mondays activities are the lecture and Dome documentary.
Further reading: Locations & Directions | Fleet Science Center ↗ · Senior Mondays | Fleet Science Center ↗
The dated November lecture and noon documentary have matching listings. The December lecture is scheduled, but the film title differs between the Senior Mondays and Sharp Minds pages.
Senior Mondays is listed for the first Monday of each month. The dated Sharp Minds lectures are Nov. 2 and Dec. 7, 2026, both from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.
The Nov. 2 We, the Marines screening is listed for noon. The December listings do not give a separate film start time; the Sharp Minds page describes a noon documentary as part of the series. No overall closing time is stated.
Senior Mondays | Fleet Science Center ↗ · Sharp Minds | Fleet Science Center ↗ · We, The Marines | Fleet Science Center ↗
Senior Mondays lists $10 discounted admission for the lecture-and-Dome-show program; tickets are sold only at the ticket counter on the event day. Separately, Sharp Minds says the lecture is free with general admission or a Senior Monday ticket.
The event is not included with the Annual Explorer Pass and cannot be combined with coupons or other discounts. Fleet members also have free access to the Sharp Minds lecture; the listings do not clarify whether that member benefit includes the documentary.
Senior Mondays | Fleet Science Center ↗ · Sharp Minds | Fleet Science Center ↗
The Senior Mondays listing does not specify an age requirement or other eligibility rule.
The event address is 1875 El Prado, San Diego, CA 92101. The lectures and Dome program are associated with the Heikoff Giant Dome Theater.
Senior Mondays | Fleet Science Center ↗ · Locations & Directions | Fleet Science Center ↗ · Sharp Minds | Fleet Science Center ↗
The event is inside the Fleet Science Center at 1875 El Prado, in the Heikoff Giant Dome Theater. The Fleet lot is on the building’s south side, a short distance from the entrance, and is reached from Space Theater Way off Park Boulevard; additional lots are located throughout Balboa Park.
The City of San Diego manages Balboa Park parking. The Fleet says parking throughout the Cultural District is paid from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.; payment is made at park kiosks or through the ParkSmarter app. The Fleet’s directions page says the city does not offer free parking for members of cultural institutions in the park.
Locations & Directions | Fleet Science Center ↗ · Senior Mondays | Fleet Science Center ↗
MTS Route 7 and Rapid 215 stop along Park Boulevard within a short walk of the Fleet. The Fleet recommends reaching the nearest Park stop 15 to 20 minutes before the event or film to allow time to walk to the building. Rapid 215 connects downtown with Amtrak and COASTER at Santa Fe Depot; MTS routes to Balboa Park connect with trolley and other bus and Rapid routes.
Routes 3 and 120 serve 4th and 5th avenues on the park’s west side. The Fleet’s directions are to get off near Laurel Street and walk east on Laurel, past 6th Avenue and over Cabrillo Bridge; continue past Plaza de Panama toward the large fountain, with the Fleet on the right.
No advance purchase is listed; tickets are sold only at the ticket counter on the event day.
The Fleet confirms free access for members to the Sharp Minds lecture, but its listings do not say whether that benefit includes the film.
Senior Mondays | Fleet Science Center ↗ · Sharp Minds | Fleet Science Center ↗
The Senior Mondays listing does not state an age requirement or eligibility rule.
The Senior Mondays page says Arctica; the dated Sharp Minds listing says Antarctica. Check with the Fleet if the screening is part of your plan.
Senior Mondays | Fleet Science Center ↗ · Sharp Minds | Fleet Science Center ↗
1875 El Prado, San Diego, CA 92101
Map search by venue and address. Check the organiser’s entrance details before travelling.
Images from the linked sources. Each caption identifies the context of the image.
Event, planning and background information checked 2026-11-01 against the linked sources.