The Science of Happiness at Cal Day

The latest research on happiness -- presented at Cal's community open house


  • Venue: 101 Morgan Hall, UC Berkeley
  • Date: April 18, 2015
  • Time: 11:00 AM
  • Price: FREE!

We all want to be happy, and there are countless ideas about what happiness is and how we can get some. But not many of these ideas are based on science.

At this talk, neuroscientist Emiliana Simon-Thomas will lead you through the latest research on happiness--and offer research-based practices for emotional well-being. 

About Cal Day: It's an open house for the greater Berkeley community! There is an event to inspire every mind at CalDay, our annual open house to welcome the community, prospective students, current students, kids and families. Search over 300 lectures, demonstrations, tours and performances across the Berkeley campus. Find your favorites and create your own CalDay itinerary, download it to your device and share it with your friends. No advance registration is required to attend Cal Day – just show up!

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    Emiliana Simon-Thomas

    Emiliana R. Simon-Thomas, Ph.D., is the science director of the Greater Good Science Center, where she oversees the GGSC’s Expanding Gratitude project. 

     

    She earned her doctorate in Cognition Brain and Behavior at UC Berkeley. Her dissertation used behavioral and neuroscience methods to examined how negative states like fear and aversion influence thinking and decision-making. During her postdoc, Emiliana transitioned to studying pro-social states like love of humanity, compassion, and awe. From there, she served as Associate Director/Senior Scientist at CCARE (the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education at Stanford University), focusing on how compassion benefits health, well-being, and psychosocial functioning. 

     

    Today, Emiliana’s work spotlights the science that connects health and happiness to social affiliation, caregiving, and collaborative relationships, as she continues to examine the potential for – as well as the benefits of – living a more meaningful life.