What better way to learn about science and meet great scientists than by attending the World Science Festival 2009?
This year’s event will be in New York City from June 10-14 and features actors, artists, musicians and Nobel laureates.
The festival’s mission is “to cultivate and sustain a general public informed by the content of science, inspired by its wonder, convinced of its value, and prepared to engage with its implications for the future.”
“Making the esoteric understandable and the familiar fascinating”
Some highlights:
Carbon Conundrum - Beyond what atmospheric level of CO2 will the earth fail to support life as we know it? Preeminent climate scientist James Hansen joins a panel of distinguished experts probing the science and policy behind one of the most urgent debates of our times.
Notes & Neurons - is our response to music hard-wired or culturally determined? Is the reaction to rhythm and melody universal or influenced by environment? Scientist Daniel Levitin and musician Bobby McFerrin take to the stage with live musical performances and cross cultural demonstrations to illustrate music’s note-worthy interaction with the brain and our emotions.
Infinite Worlds - the multiverse hypothesis, suggesting that our universe is but one of perhaps infinitely many, speaks to the very nature of reality. Join physicist Brian Greene, Nobel Laureate David Gross, cosmologist Andrei Linde, and philosopher Nick Bostrom as they discuss and debate this controversial implication of forefront research and explore its potential for redefining the cosmic order. Featuring an original musical interlude, inspired by parallel worlds, by DJ Spooky.
Cool Jobs - Discover the multifaceted world of science careers beyond test tubes and white coats. This multi-media event invites our audience to meet scientists with some of the coolest jobs out there. They’ll take you on a journey from remote caves to the site of hidden artistic treasures, and open your eyes to a whole world of science outside the lab.
Matter: Stories of Atoms and Eves - Nobel prize-winning scientists, renowned writers and esteemed artists tell on-stage stories about their personal relationship with science. Each story must be true and told without notes in ten minutes. The result is a poignant, hilarious, and always unpredictable evening of storytelling and science.
What’s not to love?
Why would a promising young scientist leave the lab to spend a year working for the United States government? Daniel Gorelick is here at the State Department trying to figure that out.