Volunteers Sought for Whale Count

With the annual gray whale migration to lagoons in Baja California expected to begin soon, volunteer observers are being sought for the gray whale census.

The census, begun in 1979, is a shore-based project directed by the American Cetacean Society/Los Angeles using data collected by trained observers from Cabrillo Whalewatch, the cetacean society and volunteers.

The project tracks population levels, migratory patterns, behavior and human impact on gray whales. The primary observation station is at the Point Vicente Interpretive Center.

Volunteers, who must bring binoculars, will be trained Saturday and Sunday, beginning at 10 a.m., at the center. Lookouts will be conducted from December through March. Call Alisa Schulman, gray whale census director, at (310) 519-8963.

PHYSICS

* “Energy From Nuclear Fusion: Status and Prospects” will be discussed by Roy Gould, Simon Ramo professor of engineering at Caltech, as part of the Earnest C. Watson Caltech Lecture series Wednesday at 8 p.m. in Beckman Auditorium on campus. Call (818) 395-4652 or (800) 423-8849.

ASTRONOMY

* With the space shuttle Endeavour scheduled to fly a mission to fix the Hubble Space Telescope beginning Wednesday, the Santa Monica College astronomy program will highlight the event in “The Rescue of Hubble” on Friday, then Dec. 10 and 17 at 8 p.m. in Room 105 of the Business Building. Call (310) 452-9396.

GENETICS

* Internationally recognized geneticist David Suzuki will discuss the potential of genetic research and related ethical questions in “The Secret of Life: Redesigning the Living World,” Sunday at 2 p.m. in the Jean Delacour Auditorium of the county Natural History Museum. Call (213) 744-3534.

SCIENCE POLICY

* Paul Churchland, a philosophy professor at UC San Diego, will discuss “Recent Work on Consciousness: Philosophical, Theoretical and Empirical” at the Caltech seminar on science, ethics and public policy on Friday at 4 p.m. in the Judy Library. Call (818) 395-4652.

* Sightless vision, predictions of the future and psychic powers will be explored in “The Psychology of the Psychic and the Believer,” a lecture sponsored by the Skeptics Society on Sunday at 2 p.m. in Baxter Lecture Hall on the Caltech campus. Call (818) 794-3119.