Rainstorm Summer 2025 Course Catalog

From airplanes to rockets to submarines to super cars, humans have developed machines capable of withstanding the most demanding environments. Central to these applications are metallic alloys (hint: pure metals are almost always soft and weak).

How to we produce metals that perform well in extreme environments? How does mixing (alloying) metals affect their structure? How does the structure then affect the material's properties?

In this class, we will dive into the structure-property-processing relationships of metals and explore how we engineer some of the most interesting alloys on the planet!


Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
Prior exposure to calculus, chemistry, and physics is helpful, but not required.

Dragons, cyborgs, and mermaids, oh my!

Speculative fiction is the umbrella term for stories that take place in settings different from reality. Speculative fiction subgenres include: fantasy, science fiction, horror, superhero fiction, dystopia, apocalyptic, and more!

We will learn about the history of speculative fiction, different branches of the genre, and tips on how to craft your own speculative fiction stories and worlds! Whether you’re an aspiring fantasy author, avid science fiction reader, or a curious adventurer, all who are interested in exploring the wild, weird, and wonderful world of speculative fiction are welcome!


Class Style
Seminar

Ancient Greek culture is usually thought of as fairly isolated. In fact, this is not the case. Right from the start, Ancient Greek merchants, soldiers, and artists traveled all across the Mediterranean, and often further afield. In the years following Alexander the Great's conquest of much of the 'known world', Greek influence suddenly reaches across Egypt, Bactria, and even into parts of India. This little-documented and sadly understudied era in ancient history led to some of the most fascinating cultural exchanges, interactions, and developments, and provides a brand new perspective on how ancient people communicated with, and learned from, each other.


Class Style
Lecture

What did people in Ancient Greece & Rome find funny? This is a surprisingly difficult question to answer, given that our surviving literature and art frequently doesn't include how contemporary audiences reacted to it. Still, we can make a few educated guesses about which bits in ancient plays, poems, paintings, and real-life events were found humorous by the Greeks and the Romans.


Class Style
Lecture

Are you a programmer wanting to get into poetry? Or a poet wanting to get into programming? If so, this class is for you! We'll explore simple computation as a creative tool for poetry writing. No previous coding or poetry experience required.


Class Style
Activity

Prerequisites
For the sake of time, it would be helpful to create an account with p5.js before the workshop. The link to create an account is here: https://editor.p5js.org/signup

In this workshop, we'll brainstorm and write either an autobiographical or fictional monologue. We'll look at some examples of effective monologues (within black theatre) and explore how to incorporate their techniques into our own writing


Class Style
Activity

Dive into the vibrant world of media studies! And no its not just watching movies in class (it is sometimes). We'll explore how media shapes our lives, influences our thoughts, and connects us all. Whether you're a binge-watcher, a social media guru, or just curious about the impact of media, get ready to unravel the stories behind the screens and discover the powerful role media plays in shaping culture and society!


Class Style
Lecture

Join us to explore the pervasive challenge of algorithmic bias and injustice as we integrate new technologies such as GPS into education. This workshop provides practical strategies for cultivating global competencies, geospatial intelligence, and computational thinking skills while actively addressing misinformation. Through engaging media literacy activities, we'll critically examine alternative viewpoints on current events and global issues, empowering participants to combat algorithmic bias and champion social justice in their teaching practices.


Class Style
Discussion

Curious about what makes some aspects of Taiwan different from China even though this island is roughly 100 miles away? In this class, I will first go over Taiwan's history from its early days to the KMT to its current political situation. Then, I will discuss interesting aspects of Taiwanese culture from food to people to language (slang, accent, dialect) that are unique to this place and not found in Mainland China. Be prepared to be bombarded by lots of random fun facts!


Class Style
Lecture

This course will give an overview of the Amarna Period: a thirty year span at the end of the 18th Dynasty where Ancient Egyptian art, religion, and politics were rapidly transformed, only to be just as rapidly restored and all evidence erased.

Inhabiting this period are some of the most dynamic personalities of ancient Egypt, including the heretic pharaoh Akhenaten, the beautiful and mysterious Nefertiti, and, of course, the famous Tutankhamun.

Along the way we will learn more about how ancient history is uncovered and studied, and the tools historians use to make sense of the past.


Class Style
Lecture

When Roe vs. Wade was overturned in 2022, this decision sent shockwaves through The United States.

This basic introduction will attempt to take students through what reproductive justice is and how it relates to our lives and to everyone. We are all impacted by our access to reproductive healthcare and rights.

This course will also look at historical and contemporary legislation relating to the policing of women's bodies, pregnant people, marginalized communities, and pregnant people, and how Roe vs. Wade was only mean to be the beginning of the movement.

We will attempt to look at how a variety of topics ranging from intersectionality, to how constructs of racism, sexism, white supremacy, and more all work to control the bodies of marginalized communities.


Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
None! However, this course will deal with some big topics, with some possible trigger warnings, please be advised.

Are you an aspiring appreciator of poetry but feeling unsure where to start? This class will cover the basics of poetic analysis as we walk through the essential elements of the form along with developing an understanding of some common poetic devices. Although this class is intended for beginners, everybody is welcome regardless of familiarity!


Class Style
Seminar

Discover modern AI in two hours: see convolutional filters reveal hidden features, observe data structure emerge through dimensionality reduction, harness multilayer perceptrons for pattern interpretation, and learn how transformers predict the next word. A high level overview into core ML concepts!


Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
A laptop and an interest in AI/ML!

This class will dive into how LLMs
fundamentally change computing for the
coming years and what this means for the future. We'll talk about what the advent of LLMs (such as ChatGPT) means for computer science as a whole, what it means for education, and what it means for the world.

We'll also have a couple examples in colab of how LLMs currently tokenize their input, etc, so students can get a better feel for what's happening as a whole.


Class Style
Lecture

We're familiar with the set of real numbers and particular subsets of real numbers, such as open and closed intervals. What happens when we want to think about measuring the "size" of such sets? Turns out that if you accept the axiom of choice, a seemingly intuitive axiom of set theory, some weird and surprising stuff happens.


Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
Familiarity with proofs, countable and uncountable infinity, basic graph theory including coloring

What is shared between lexical distance maps -- which show the relationships between different languages -- and highway systems? Between power grids and neural networks? To a mathematician, all of these structures might look a little like graphs: collections of vertices connected by lines, or edges.

The world of graphs is vast and extensively studied; in this class, we'll take a panoramic view, zooming in to some interesting problems (especially concerning graph colorings!), some exciting applications, and even some open questions. You'll solve graph puzzles, brainstorm activities in small groups, and much, much more!


Class Style
Discussion

Prerequisites
The main mathematical prerequisite is Algebra I; some geometry might come in handy, but is not required.

We all know the internet is full of loads of unreliable information, and websites seem to change faster than the weather these days. Yet it still contains more information than you could ever remember, and more words than you can read in a lifetime (and some of them aren't even written by an AI). This class aims to show you the stuff you haven't seen yet. Join me as we explore everything from time-lapse satellite imagery to the complete works of Shakespeare, and answer questions ranging from "what is American cheese, actually?" to how to secure your life online.

Note: This is an updated version of a class offered during previous Rainstorms; you do not need to have attended the previous class, nor will this one repeat material. Check out one of those previous versions here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtQrPttZrHY


Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
All you need for this class are critical thinking and the ability to use a search engine. Also, as the description implies, some potentially alarming topics will be mentioned, including mass surveillance. I will give some warning when I will be talking about these subjects, but this is just a heads up.

In this course, we will explore recursive sequences, including the famous Fibonacci sequence:
$$f_i = f_{i-1} + f_{i-2}$$.

Such sequences appear throughout biology, finance, engineering, and mathematics.

But what exactly are recursive sequences, and how can we use them? These are the questions we will answer in this course.


Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
You should be familiar with sequences, and a bit cofortable with them.

Do you like to win? Would you betray someone for your own gain? If so, you should learn about game theory.

In this class, you will learn how to always make the right decision---according to game theory!

Now I ask the reader: will you take a chance on this experience or forever be left guessing?


Class Style
Lecture

Molecular imaging (MI) is an interdisciplinary science to image specific molecular targets in a living subject that are associated with cancer, which should allow earlier diagnosis and better management of oncology patients. In contrast to anatomical approaches, MI technology is ideally suited for pre-clinical and clinical imaging of cancer biology. Several imaging tools are available with high sensitivity and in a non-invasive manner. For example, with radiolabeled PET tracers, which are injected in non-pharmacological doses, three-dimensional images can be reconstructed by a computer to view the concentration and location(s) of the cancer cells. PET is one of the MI tools most useful in cancer imaging.


Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
Students should be tenth grade and above

There was a time in Earth’s history when we didn’t have oxygen! Today’s atmospheric composition consist of: N2 (78%), O2 (21%), Ar (>1%), and CO2 (0.040%). How did we get to the modern 21% of Oxygen in our atmosphere? Learn about the proposed mechanisms for how Earth obtained its oxygen through identifying and understanding the geological features that tell the story and isotope geochemistry!


Class Style
Lecture

Have you ever seen a taxidermy and wondered if it really used to be an animal? Or seen a brain in a glass jar and wondered why it's in all that liquid? And why do people even make and keep these things? In this class you will be learning about the wonderful world of biological collections, aka, how to preserve dead things.

We will discuss the history, methods, and ethics of preservation, as well as its importance to modern science. You will be taught by a collections scientist, who will have many neat examples of preserved specimen that they will show off live.

Afterwards you can try it out yourself! You will receive directions for 2 at-home biological preservation activities to preserve either a bug or an egg for many years to come.


Class Style
Lecture

No, this isn't a class necessarily about Mac DeMarco's hit 2019 song "Heart to Heart", but something a lot more important and relevant: understanding how love impacts the heart at the physiological level.

The truth is that the heart, while the most important organ in the body, is not immune to the effects of love, a feeling often described as visceral, impulsive, and sometimes unexplainable... but what if we could explain this feeling?

In this lecture/discussion-based class, we will first situate ourselves with the anatomy and physiology of the heart and the brain, and we will then explore how these two organs interact with each other as they undergo the trials and errors of love. Together, we'll dive into the science behind these emotional responses, including the common feeling of having "butterflies in my stomach" and why a breakup can feel like a real physical sensation.

This class will blend biology and the human lived experience as we uncover the delicate side to our hearts and emotions.


Class Style
Discussion

Prerequisites
At least an Introduction to Biology Course Recommended but not Required

(Adapted from the same class taught by Dr. Emily Quin at the University of Cambridge).

This course will focus on the application of psychology in the United States legal system, namely in situations like witness interviews, person identification, deception, and jury decision-making. This course requires no prerequisites, and is meant to give students a brief but fun and easy-to-understand introduction to the factors that influence how the law is carried out in this country.


Class Style
Lecture

Mental illness is a relevant topic, with almost a quarter of Americans suffering from a mental disorder. This course will act as a survey course of the biology and causes of various psychiatric disorders, as well as tips for dealing with a mental health crisis from a licensed crisis counselor. This is an open class for anyone with the interest. Note: If you took this course with Ajay Krishnan in a previous semester, it is advised to take a different course as much of the content overlaps. Trigger warning: upsetting materials related to mental illness may be discussed, student discretion is advised


Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
Na, but content warning this course will discuss mental health disorders

Much of research in fields like zoology, integrative biology, and animal science focuses on conservation (humans helping animals), with not as much working the other way (how animals help humans). This survey course helps to examine how animals are currently influencing research in human medicine and the importance of studying the natural world. From using venom as a morphine substitute to uncovering insomnia, the animal kingdom has pharmacological wonders for us to unpack. Note: If you took this course with Ajay Krishnan in a previous Berkeley Splash, it is advised to take a different course as much of the content overlaps.


Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
Some background in biology and chemistry may be helpful, but not at all necessary

What is quantum mechanics, and how can we use it to help our lives? This is an essential question for physicists in the 21st century and will be the central focus of this course. My goal is to introduce the main elements of quantum mechanics so that we can discuss one of the most talked about topics in science: quantum computing. We will learn what quantum computing is, how it is useful, and the kinds of questions physicists are thinking about right now.


Class Style
Lecture

Ever wonder why astronauts age slower than us? Or how moving close to the speed of light might let you “time travel” into the future? In this class, we’ll explore Einstein’s theory of special relativity, spacetime, and time dilation — all explained in a way that actually makes sense (no PhD required). We’ll debunk sci-fi myths, do mind-bending thought experiments, and answer the question: Is time travel real?
Bring your brain and buckle up — we’re warping space and time.


Class Style
Lecture

We will dive into a fascinating but sometimes overlooked group of plants: the hornworts. As well as their unique shape, featuring a long 'horn' containing their spores, hornworts have a special way of doing photosynthesis. We will learn how photosynthesis can be done in different ways and how some plants, like hornworts can do it better than others! Finally, we will learn how to recognize these hard-to-spot plants in the wild.


Class Style
Seminar

Most people have taken small-molecule drugs at some point in their lives, whether that’s Advil (ibuprofen) for a headache or Benadryl (diphenhydramine) for allergic reactions. But how are these molecules created, and how do they make you feel better? Why is it that Benadryl makes you sleepy, and Advil shouldn’t be taken on an empty stomach?
This course will give you the tools you need to answer these questions and prepare you to tackle organic chemistry head-on. You’ll learn to interpret chemical structures, recognize and manipulate key functional groups, and draw reaction mechanisms. Connections will be made to pharmacologically relevant compounds like antibiotics and anti-inflammatory drugs. We’ll focus on building a general intuition about structure and reactivity (rather than jumping right into the granular details) so don’t worry at all if this is your first time encountering organic chemistry!
Hope to see you there :)


Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
High-school level biology and chemistry will be helpful!

Chocolate - Food of the Gods.
a fun expiration of chocolate through history, biology, biochemistry, Aztecs, to the present.. some trivial connections.


Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
none for 8-12th grade students

Imagine a material that behaves like an indestructible donut—twist it, bend it, but its unique properties remain unchanged due to its hidden "topological" nature. In this lecture, we will explore how electrons can organize themselves to dance in loops and knots, creating exotic new states of matter that defy everyday intuition. We will reveal the secrets of topological matter and discover how they might reshape the future of quantum computing and sensing.


Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
Basic knowledge of quantum mechanics and linear algebra preferred, but not required.

This course will explore ways to develop methodological approaches to understanding race and other markers of difference that blend empirical methods with critical theoretical traditions, e.g. critical race theory, feminist theory, disability theory, queer theory, etc. Emphasis will be placed on understanding the practical implications of the tension between humanist theory, anti-humanist thought, and research methods in the health and housing sciences.


Class Style
Seminar

Prerequisites
N/A

Scientists have an innate curiosity to push the boundaries of their knowledge of the universe. What else would have led them to discover particles smaller than atoms, like protons and electrons? But why stop there? What if there were even smaller particles and what if these could help explain the great mysteries of the cosmos from the Big Bang to the present day? Well, that’s exactly what the field of particle physics studies.

Welcome to the wacky world of subatomic quantum particles that is the subject of a vibrant area of physics research. This seminar seeks to introduce and illuminate exactly what particle physics is and how understanding its secrets can unlock the answers to many important questions in modern science. An extension into the interdisciplinary nature of particle physics will also be discussed including how high school students can start to be involved in meaningful research in this field.


Class Style
Seminar

Prerequisites
Curiosity and an open mind!

A fun exploration of familiar toys
Rubik's Cube, SLINKY, Frisbee, BARBIE, Yo-Yo, MONOPOLY, Lincoln Logs, etc.

Handouts vial E-mail include how to access the US Patent from the Internet


Class Style
Lecture

Prerequisites
none

Centuries old and yet widely misunderstood, tarot cards can provide opportunities for reflection and personal growth. They can be used with other practices like journaling and meditation to provide insights and "aha" moments on life's daily situations that make us stuck.

In this workshop, we'll take a practical approach to the practice of tarot cards by discussing the limitations of the practice, methods for finding insights, and alternatives to tarot cards that deliver similarly helpful results.


Class Style
Seminar

Prerequisites
None

What is college even for? Should I go?? How do I even apply or know which college to choose???

If you've ever had these questions or worries, fear no more. In this class we'll have an open discussion about college - what's it for, is it worth it, and how to help you choose where to go and get started.

Note that we will NOT be reading over people's specific supplements or essays. This will serve as a general discussion and I will provide some insights and tips that I and others have used when it comes to applying for college. My advice is general and not specific to one-college, however I am happy to provide specific information on my personal college experience at Northeastern University.


Class Style
Discussion

Legal communication is everywhere, but it might as well be nowhere for how often we notice it. How many of us take the time to pore over the 'terms and conditions' tab or ponder before accepting cookies on the Internet? Do we even know the strengths and weaknesses of the legal documents that built our nation?

In this course, we will examine the role language plays as the backbone of constitutional, contract, and intellectual property law, diving into opinions from landmark court cases and the letter of the law. The classroom will be an active forum for discussion, debate, and even disagreement -- embracing the uncertainty and ambiguity inherent to language and, in turn, the great power it can give to those who know how to wield it.


Class Style
Seminar

Prerequisites
Middle school level understanding of history

For many of us, the Thanksgiving dinner table has become a debate pulpit, Facebook pages a battleground, and text group chats a minefield. At the end of the day, no matter how strong your arguments are or how earnest your conviction is, the other side just doesn't change their mind. And neither do you.

Why are we like this -- always so ready to go to bat for our ideas, convinced we're the good guys? And, more importantly, why can't we actually convince anyone else?

In this course, we explore the psychology behind moral and political identity, uncovering why political polarization has become more intense now than ever. As we peruse a wealth of cutting edge scientific research, we will trace the values underlying our beliefs and reasoning, perhaps realizing that civil discourse and common ground is much closer than we think.


Class Style
Seminar

Prerequisites
Basic understanding of how to interpret scientific findings

Join members of the Phoenix Farms NFP team to explore the fascinating world of urban beekeeping and the vital role of food forests in fostering sustainable ecosystems. This class will delve into the basics of beekeeping, the importance of pollinators for our food systems and environment, and how individuals can contribute to creating pollinator-friendly spaces, even in urban settings. We'll share our passion for sustainable agriculture, conservation, and community building through hands-on insights and engaging discussions.


Class Style
Seminar

Friendship is the fabric of our lives. The secret to living a happy, healthy, and academically successful life as a student is to have fulfilling friendships. Friendship is so vital for well-being that researchers have discovered that feeling lonely is as harmful for one's health as smoking 15 cigarettes per day! Yet, we are never taught how to cultivate healthy friendships. In this workshop, we will integrate concepts from psychology, public health, and human-centered design to learn how we can realistically build better friendships in our own lives. You will learn specific strategies for making new friends, deepening your existing friendships, and overcoming conflicts together—because when our friendships thrive, we thrive.


Class Style
Activity

We know the technical changes needed for a relatively safe climate future: reduce greenhouse gas pollution to net zero by 2050, and reduce CO2 in the air below 350 ppm by 2100. The cheapest, fairest, and most comprehensive solution is to address the market's failure to account for the costs of pollution in the price of things with a cash-back carbon fee on fossil fuels. The fee makes it powerful, the cash-back makes it fair, and an associated border adjustment will push it around the world. Congress can move us halfway to achieving our 1.5˚C warming limit goal and make the remaining work easier with one beneficial piece of legislation.

This will fundamentally change the US economy, so there is strong resistance from those who profit from the status quo of using fossil fuels. Is it possible to break the logjam and save ourselves? Can any of us do anything to help address the most significant crisis human civilization has ever faced? Yes, together we can!

We can take effective action in this pivotal moment in history, just as people in past generations achieved women's suffrage, civil rights, and the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts through collective action movements. Ordinary people working together to create political will for change is our last, best hope to avoid a climate catastrophe. Your part in creating the political will for a livable world begins here!


Class Style
Lecture