Leon Lederman, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist and a long-time friend of the World Science Festival, died the morning of October 3. He was 96. Lederman was known for his charm and his sense of humor as well as his scholarship. He won the 1988 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work demonstrating there is more than one kind of neutrino. He served as the director of the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, overseeing the construction of the Tevatron, at the time the most powerful particle accelerator in the world. Lederman has been part of the World Science Festival since its founding in 2008, when we were honored to recognize him as our first Pioneer in Science. He will be greatly missed.

Video: Leon Lederman, WSF’s First “Pioneer in Science”

Video Clip: The Moth – The Singing Janitor, Leon Lederman

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“Really? Is that all?” Strickland, an associate professor at the University of Waterloo and an optics scientist who calls herself a “laser jock,” said at the Nobel press conference. “I thought there might have been more. Obviously we need to celebrate women physicists, because we’re out there.”

The Nobel Prize, awarded each year to scientists in physics, chemistry, and physiology or medicine, is considered the highest honor in science. But it’s also faced criticism, particularly in physics, for awarding the prize almost exclusively to men. While physics is a male-dominated field—in 2016, about 17 percent of physics doctoral degrees went to women, according to the American Institute of Physics—the Nobel’s rate of three women in 210 Laureates, about 1.5 percent, still falls far short.

When Rosalyn Yalow won the 1977 prize in physiology or medicine, she pointed to factors that prevent women from excelling in science and called for improvement.

“The failure of women to have reached positions of leadership has been due in large part to social and professional discrimination,” she said in a speech at the Nobel ceremony banquet. “The world cannot afford the loss of the talents of half its people if we are to solve the many problems which beset us.”

The first woman to win the physics prize was Marie Curie, perhaps the most famous female scientist in history, who won in 1903.

The first woman to win the physics prize was Marie Curie, perhaps the most famous female scientist in history, who won in 1903. (Curie is also the only woman to win twice, and the only person to win in two different fields). Sixty years later, Maria Goeppert-Mayer won for her work on the atomic nucleus. And now, after another 55 years, Strickland has joined the pack.

“It’s wonderful,” said Michal Lipson, an electrical engineer at Columbia University who studies nanophotonics. “I hope that this is just the beginning, that they will really consider women’s work. There are a lot of fantastic women that have done pioneering work and they should definitely be considered.”

In between are physicists who many say were overlooked. Vera Rubin, who first discovered evidence for the existence of dark matter in the 1970s, passed away in 2016 without the Nobel that many physicists say she deserved. (Nobels cannot be awarded posthumously.) San Lan Wu has been involved in not one, but three, major discoveries—the charm quark, the gluon, and the Higgs boson—and has not been recognized.

Jocelyn Bell Burnell discovered pulsars as a graduate student, but her (male) professor won the prize instead, due to long-standing tradition that excludes students from the prize. That informal policy is sometimes seen as another way the Nobels overlook important work done by women, who tend to leave the field younger than men. In fact, Strickland won for her first published paper, and the work became the basis for her doctoral thesis—which cited Goeppert-Mayer.

“I’m glad there were trailblazers like her and Marie Curie,” Strickland told the Nobel organization. “I think things have totally changed, so I think [the Prize] will come around and change.”

WOMEN IN SCIENCE VIDEO PLAYLIST:

Check out our PLAYLIST celebrating some of the incredible contributions of women in science HERE!

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Cambridge University physicist and bestselling author, Stephen Hawking, will be remembered not for what he couldn’t do, but for what he could. Despite battling Lou Gehrig’s Disease for the majority of his adult life, Hawking’s mind freely soared up and out of his wheelchair into the mysteries of the cosmos. Applying quantum theory to black holes, he forever changed our understanding of space and time and laid the groundwork for the long-sought unified theory of nature’s forces. His landmark 1988 book, A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes, has sold over ten million copies and catapulted him onto the world’s stage. The World Science Festival was proud to honor Stephen Hawking in 2010 at our annual gala, as well as host his wonderful daughter Lucy, seen here at the 2009 Festival, relating a personal story of her father’s discovery and how it intersected with her own childhood. We send her and the entire Hawking family strength and courage during this difficult time of mourning. We will miss you, Stephen. As will the universe.

Video Clip: My Father, Stephen Hawking

Video: A Tribute to Stephen Hawking

Video: Brian Greene Remembers Stephen Hawking

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For the first time, astronomers have observed a cosmic event using both gravitational waves and optical light, a major step forward in the new era of gravitational wave astronomy. Signals from the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) in the United States and the Advanced Virgo Interferometer in Italy pinpointed the location of two merging neutron stars in a galaxy 130 million light-years away. Astronomers then used some 70 ground- and space-based telescopes across all seven continents to study the collision in X-ray, ultraviolet, optical, infrared, and radio waves.

Neutron stars are among the densest objects in the universe, packing half a million times the mass of the Earth into an area the size of Manhattan. They sometimes occur in pairs, often resulting in an eventual collision. These mergers produce gamma ray bursts, electromagnetic radiation, and gravitational waves, ripples in the fabric of spacetime predicted by Einstein more than 100 years ago. “Already it is transforming our understanding of the universe with a fresh narrative of the physics of stars in their death throes,” France Cordova, director of the National Science Foundation, said at a press conference.

To Learn More About Gravitational Waves, Check Out The Following WSF Videos:

• Watch the Gravitational Waves Full Video HERE.
• Watch the Black Holes and Holographic Words Full Video HERE.
• Watch Brian Greene discuss gravitational waves on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert HERE.
• Watch On The Shoulders of Giants with Barry Barish Full Video HERE.
• Watch the WSU Master Class with Rai Weiss HERE.
• Watch the Astronomy’s New Messengers Full Video HERE.

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Congratulations to Dr. Rainer Weiss, Dr. Kip Thorne, and Dr. Barry Barish for winning the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics! The prize is awarded for their pioneering work that led to the detection of gravitational waves, ripples in the fabric of spacetime that were first predicted by Albert Einstein in his general theory of relativity in 1915. Drs. Weiss and Thorne co-founded the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory, or LIGO, two detectors in the United States run by a global collaboration of more than 1,000 scientists, which Dr. Barish directed for eight years. In September 2015, the detectors picked up a signal from a passing gravitational wave that had been hurtling through space for 1.3 billion years, the result of two black holes colliding in the distant universe. This groundbreaking accomplishment not only proved that the gravitational waves of Einstein’s conception are real, but that they can be used to study the universe, opening up a new window to the physics of the deep past.

We extend our congratulations to all of the members of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration, with special acknowledgment to its former spokesperson Gabriela González.

To Learn More About Gravitational Waves, Check Out The Following WSF Videos:

• Watch the Gravitational Waves Full Video HERE.
• Watch the Black Holes and Holographic Words Full Video HERE.
• Watch Brian Greene discuss gravitational waves on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert HERE.
• Watch On The Shoulders of Giants with Barry Barish Full Video HERE.
• Watch the WSU Master Class with Rai Weiss HERE.
• Watch the Astronomy’s New Messengers Full Video HERE.

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We are deeply saddened by the passing on August 8, of our dear friend and longtime colleague, Beth Howard. Beth was a spectacularly talented and dedicated producer at the World Science Festival for nearly a decade.  As Senior Creative Producer, she brought originality, leadership, vision, and excellence to everything she did. Her live event, film, and theatrical productions were memorable and many. We will treasure them for years to come. Perhaps our most enduring memories will be of Beth’s selflessness, humor, kindness, and resilience. While she was creating such magical projects, she was also battling cancer with enduring courage and grace.  It never stopped her from tackling big, visionary projects, and it never compromised her boundless commitment to her work, her colleagues, her friends, and her family. We are heartbroken at the loss of such a unique and special soul.

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Earlier this week, Chinese scientists made a big announcement: they had teleported a photon from Earth to an orbiting satellite called Micius, the first time any object has been teleported into space.

But don’t start making plans for that teleportation travel agency just yet. While this is a major scientific and engineering feat, it relies on properties that are relatively easy to manipulate at the quantum scale but, for now, prohibitively complex in our macro world. Specifically, it relies on a phenomenon known as entanglement, in which two seemingly separate entities—say, a pair of photons—can become intimately intertwined. Any action performed on one particle has an instantaneous affect on the other, no matter the distance between them.

In quantum teleportation, physicists use an entangled link to map information from one particle onto its entangled partner, which effectively takes on the identity of the first. While this is done frequently on Earth, China’s accomplishment is the first time information has been sent via entanglement from Earth to space, marking a huge step toward the potential for quantum communication satellites and new forms of information security.

You can listen to Brian Greene discuss the topic further on NPR’s Morning Edition 

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May 30 through June 4, 2017: The 10th annual World Science Festival arrives in New York City

Join us for an exploration of groundbreaking discoveries, encounters with the trailblazing scientists and thinkers who are changing the world, and youth & family events that will inspire the next generation of leaders.

Perennial favorites return, including our main stage Big Ideas programs, the Flame Challenge, Cool Jobs, and free outdoor events that transport science from the lab to NYC’s parks and waterways. This year, we’ll also celebrate the achievements of Women in Science, and explore the impact of the award-winning teachers on the future of scientific discovery.

Save the Dates: Google Calendar

Subscribe to our newsletter and join us on Facebook and Twitter for ticketing updates.

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In a year that began with an inspiring reminder that human ingenuity, persistence, and collaboration makes it possible to do things like successfully detect gravitational waves, the past five days at the World Science Festival offered countless moments to celebrate and engage with where science is capable of taking us next.

These are the ‘aha moments’ that enlighten us, delight us, and make us endlessly curious about our world.

You could feel the excitement as those moments bubbled up during an opening night celebration of the life and work of Dr. Oliver Sacks, which featured a night full of stories and performances showcasing his indelible legacy.

You could hear it as compelling insights were shared on stages across New York City during The Big Ideas series, which brought some of science’s leading thinkers together for discussions about synthetic biology, gravitational waves, and dark matter.

You could see it on the faces of future scientists each time a volunteer at Street Science held up a human brain and explained something fascinating about how our brains work, then asked “Do you want to touch the brain?”

This moments of mind-blowing science happened thanks to incredible World Science Festival volunteers, partners, sponsors, members, participants, and attendees, both in-person and online.

Thanks, and we’ll see you next year!

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Five fascinating days of full science celebration culminate on Sunday with a variety of fun events tailored for the next generation of scientists. Street Science turns the Kimmel Center into a larger-than-life laboratory full of experiments and demonstrations primed for hands-on learning. (Due to the wet weather forecast, Street Science will now take place indoors.)

Cool Jobs will showcase just how fun a day job can be when you get to wake up every morning and think about how to build 3D homes on Mars. Then, Alan Alda will reveal the winners of the annual Flame Challenge, which tasks accomplished experts with answering a question in terms an 11-year old can understand. This year contestants wrestled with this question: What is sound?

The fun continues inside Grand Hall where a group of accomplished writers and directors take the stage for a conversation about creating engaging entertainment featuring fascinating scientific discoveries.

Here are four programs you won’t want to miss:

1. Street Science

Free and open to all ages, Washington Square Park and the Kimmel Center at NYU play host to dozens of science experiments including mini-helicopters, an insect petting zoo, air cannons, skateboards, and human-scale string art. Wet weather is in the forecast so don’t forget your umbrella. This event will take place rain or shine.

2. Cool Jobs

A NASA scientist prints 3D homes on Mars. An anthropologist solves mummy mysteries. An engineer tests new toys every day. What do these people have in common? A science job!

3. Flame Challenge: What is Sound?

Alan Alda has issued this year’s challenge to the world’s top scientists: What is sound? In an action-packed hour of interactive demonstrations, Alan and a team of communication experts invite the audience to explore what we hear, how we hear, and what that means for different species.

4. Epic Stories of Genius: Science on Stage and Screen

Join Alan Alda, Matt Brown, Alan Lightman, Peter Parnell, and Anna Ziegler for an exploration of how writers artistically and faithfully capture the stories of science and the scientists who’ve made the stories.

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Scientific wonder will sweep across New York City on Saturday as curious attendees gather at the World Science Festival to explore gravitational waves, count fish with biologists, and stare up at the stars underneath the Brooklyn Bridge.

Here are four programs you won’t want to miss:

1. The Great Fish Count

Strap on a pair of waders, cast a net and see what type of marine life you can find in the New York waterways—from Lemon Creek in Staten Island to the shores of Fort Washington Park.

2. Moral Math of Robots: Can Life and Death Decisions Be Coded?

Fernando Diaz, Colonel Linell Letendre, Gary Marcus, Matthias Scheutz, and Wendell Wallach take the stage to weigh the good with the bad when it comes to what kind of judgment calls we could assign robots to make in the future. Will a smartphone be able to make moral decisions? If yes, whose morals should it act on?

3. Gravitational Waves: A New Era in Astronomy Begins

On September 14th, 2015, a ripple in the fabric of space, created by the violent collision of two distant black holes over a billion years ago, washed across the Earth. As it did, two laser-based detectors, 50 years in the making – one in Louisiana and the other in Washington State – momentarily twitched, confirming a century-old prediction by Albert Einstein and marking the opening of a new era in astronomy. Join some of the very scientists responsible for this most anticipated discovery of our age and see how gravitational waves will be used to explore the universe like never before.

4. Saturday Night Lights: Stargazing in Brooklyn Bridge Park

Step up to a world-class telescope (or bring your own) for an outdoor party beneath the Brooklyn Bridge.

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Following a thrilling opening night celebration of the life and work of Dr. Oliver Sacks, nine scientists took home Kavli Prizes on Day 2 of the 2016 World Science Festival in recognition of their achievements in astrophysics, nanoscience and neuroscience.

The prizes, which awarded every other year by The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters and come with a cash award of $1 million each, honored the LIGO Scientific Collaboration’s successful detection of gravitational waves, pioneering efforts in atomic force microscopy, and for the discovery of mechanisms that allow experience and neural activity to remodel brain function.

In collaboration with the award-winning storytelling series The Moth, a sold-out crowd gathered at Lincoln Center for a night full of personal stories told by people who have dedicated their lives to scientific exploration. Sylvia Earle, who has spent a lifetime exploring the ocean and will share her thoughts on how we can live more sustainably tonight at the American Museum of Natural History, offered some insight into how it all began.

“I was knocked over by a wave when I was three, and the ocean caught my attention,” Earle said. “It has ever since.”

Day 2 also saw some of most challenging questions scientists wrestle with on a daily basis launch off the pages of prestigious academic journals and onto the stage as part of The Big Ideas series.

Inside the Lynch Theater at John Jay College, moderator John Hockenberry and a stage full of experts were shining the spotlight on dark matter — a subject jam-packed with thrilling questions about the basic building blocks of our universe.

Downtown at NYU’s Skirball Center, physicist Brian Greene, neuroscientist Miguel Nicolelis, and author Leon Wieseltier zeroed in on questions like this one: “When it comes to the evaluation of human experience—passion to prayer, consciousness to creativity—what can science explain, and what are the limits of its explanatory powers?”

New York City is abuzz with scientific exploration this week and that hum of curiosity echoes across the world during every World Science Festival. More than 30 partners are hosting their own events to watch and participate in conversations as part of World Science Festival Live. Thousands more are watching on Livestream and asking questions using #WSF16.

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Day 3 is packed chock-full of fascinating events for scientists at every level of expertise. The most advanced attendees will connect with leaders in their fields during World Science U for a Day. Future scientists from schools across New York City (and around the world, through the power of the internet) will join physicist Gabriela González of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration at Google’s New York headquarters for an inspiring conversation about what’s possible with a career in science.

Finally, WSF co-founder Brian Greene and a team of award-winning producers present “Light Falls”, the story of Albert Einstein’s electrifying journey toward one of the most beautiful ideas ever conceived—the General Theory of Relativity.

Here are four events you won’t want to miss:

1. World Science U for a Day: Triumphs and Mysteries of Gravity

The popular online courses step offline and into the real world for a full day of immersive lectures from the foremost experts in gravitational physics and a cosmology.

2. Pioneers in Science

Great minds inspire greatness in others, which is why the Pioneers in Science program gives high school students from around the globe rare access to some of the world’s most renowned scientists. This year students share what’s sure to be an inspiring conversation with a physicist and the LIGO spokesperson, Gabriela González. This event is also available in Spanish.

3. Stewards of the Earth: Hope for Our Planet

The renowned explorer Sylvia Earle joins Shahid Naeem, Jennifer Newell, Carl Safina, and Lynette Wallworth at the American Museum of Natural History for a wide-ranging discussion about solutions to the rapidly declining biodiversity on our planet.

4. Light Falls: Space, Time, and an Obsession of Einstein

Described by The New York Times as a “cerebral spectacle with a theatrical twist,” Light Falls tells the dramatic story of Albert Einstein’s electrifying journey toward one of the most beautiful ideas ever conceived—the General Theory of Relativity.

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Day 2 of the World Science Festival features a full slate of programs that kicks off with the prestigious Kavli Prizes, which are awarded every other year to the top scientists studying astrophysics, nanoscience and neuroscience. Storytelling takes center stage during a sold-out performance of The Moth, featuring personal stories told by esteemed scientists.

The Big Ideas Series series begins on Thursday night with two in-depth conversations featuring some of science’s brightest minds. One dives deep into the nature of dark matter and another explores the big questions surrounding what can science explain about the human experience.

Here are four events you won’t want to miss:

1. Kavli Prize Announcement

The director of the National Science Foundation, France A. Córdova, keynotes the award ceremony, which presents the top honors in the fields of astrophysics, nanoscience, and neuroscience. 

2. Making Waves: The Moth at the World Science Festival

Esteemed scientists, writers, and innovators take the stage to share stories of their personal relationships with science. This event will be hosted by Adam Gopnik, staff writer for The New Yorker magazine. 

3. Shaking Up the Dark Universe: The Dark Horses of Dark Matter

Leading thinkers on dark matter — including Katherine Freese, Justin Khoury, and Stacy McGaugh— gather for a fascinating conversation about one of the least understood aspects of our universe. Come for the dark matter. Leave enlightened. 

4. To Unweave a Rainbow: Science and the Essence of Being Human

Physicist Brian Greene, neuroscientist Miguel Nicolelis, and author Leon Wieseltier sit down to explore how deep scientific analysis should go when it comes to studying the human experience. 

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With less than one week to go before the 2016 World Science Festival begins in New York City, co-founder and physicist Brian Greene joined Stephen Colbert on “The Late Show” on Wednesday night to debut a demonstration tailor-made to blow minds and officially set a new Guinness World Record.

The experiment is just one of dozens that are set to transform Washington Square Park during Street Science, a free day of science fun for children and families scheduled for Sunday, June 5th, 2016.

This year’s festival begins with an opening night celebration of the life and work of Dr. Oliver Sacks. Following in the World Science Festival tradition of bringing scientific wonder to the public in many different forms, a wide variety of programs are slated to satisfy every level of curiosity. A performance of “Light Falls” will bring Einstein’s greatest achievement to life on stage. Free events for families will fill New York City’s parks. Across the city, insightful conversations featuring brilliant minds will tackle some big questions, including dark matter, gravitational waves, and synthetic biology.

A panel of leading science authors will share their stories. The preeminent explorer, Sylvia Earle will offer her hopes for a more sustainable planet.

Twelve programs will also stream live online from June 1-5. Join the conversation with curious people at the festival and around the world with the hashtag #WSF16.

In February (2016), Brian Greene walked Stephen Colbert through the thrilling news that the LIGO team had finally detected gravitational waves:

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Brisbane has been buzzing this week with the thrill of scientific exploration. In addition to events about Albert Einstein and the spectacular, glowing creatures that swim in the darkest corners of the ocean, World Science Festival Brisbane brings the lab outside all weekend during Street Science!, a loud, messy, high-energy, delicious, interactive and unforgettable experience aimed at the entire family.

Here is the short list of events you won’t want to miss this weekend.

Dear Albert | Time: 2:00pm – 3:15pm
Where: Playhouse QPAC, Corner Melbourne St & Grey St, South Brisbane

Written by Alan Alda this World Science Festival production delves into Albert Einstein’s personal correspondence, tracing an intimate and unfamiliar line across his life and work.

Reality Since Einstein | Time: 8pm – 9:30pm
Where: Plaza Auditorium Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre, 133A Grey St, South Brisbane

Never has a scientist captured the world’s imagination like Albert Einstein. World-renowned leaders in theoretical physics, cosmology, black holes and unification will discuss Einstein’s ten-year odyssey and the ideas and discoveries that it has generated.

Street Science! | Time: 10am – 4pm, Saturday and Sunday
Where: Cultural Forecourt, Southbank Parklands, Melbourne Street Brisbane

Drop by Street Science! It will be loud, messy, high energy, delicious, interactive and…unforgettable. From drones, coding workshops and taxidermy exhibitions to science-adventure storytelling – Street Science! is for the whole family.

SALON: 1.5 Degrees of Separation | Time: 10am – 11:30am
Where: Queensland Museum & Sciencentre, South Brisbane

Join the conservation. Negative emissions, carbon capture, geoengineering and the future of coal are worthy considerations but what of the biodiversity impacts of simply containing a 1.5 degree temperature rise?

ARS Electronica Futurelab’s Shared Space Bots | Time: 10:30am – 5pm
Where: QUT Gardens Theatre Foyer, X Block, Brisbane

Come and witness research in action as the specially developed robots in Shared Space Bots are the protagonists of experiments in human-automobile interaction.

Biolumination | Time: 9:30am – 4pm
Where: Queensland Museum & Sciencentre, South Brisbane

Come and take a look! At the World Science Festival Brisbane they spell beautiful glowing artworks. For a fresh look at germs and bacteria!.

Drop by Street Science! It will be loud, messy, high-energy, delicious, interactive and…unforgettable. From drones, coding workshops and taxidermy exhibitions to science-adventure storytelling – Street Science! is for the whole family.

ALIEN LIFE: Will we know it when we find it? | Time: 12pm – 1:30pm
Where: Plaza Auditorium Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, 133A Grey St, South Brisbane

Are we alone in the universe? Learn how scientists across disciplines — astronomy, physics, chemistry and astrobiology — are combining their knowledge about life on Earth to reach a more comprehensive strategy for identifying life beyond.

The Moral Math of Robots | Time: 4pm – 5:30pm
Where: Plaza Auditorium, Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre, 133A Grey St, South Brisbane QLD 4101
We’ll tackle these and other questions as the leading cognitive scientists, roboticists, philosophers, and computer scientists take us inside the emerging field of robot morality.

Catching up with the Jetsons: Cities in 2050 | Time: 4pm – 5:30pm
Where: Griffith University Conservatorium Theatre, S01, 140 Grey St, South Brisbane Ever wondered what our cities will look like in the future? Come join a group of leading thinkers to explore the future of the city and take a peek at the world of your future self.

SALON: Make Way for Warbots | Time: 11am – 12:30pm
Where: Queensland Museum & Science Centre, South Brisbane

Join the conversation about killer robots! With development of warbots now underway, this Salon spotlights an important debate on the moral benefits and costs of these killer machines.

To Learn More About World Science Festival Brisbane visit www.worldsciencefestival.com.au

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Here are five events that shouldn’t be missed on Friday.

Dear Albert | Time: Session 1: 11:00am – 12:30pm / Session 2: 8pm – 9:30pm
Where: Playhouse QPAC, Corner Melbourne St & Grey St, South Brisbane

Written by Alan Alda, this World Science Festival production delves into Albert Einstein’s personal correspondence, tracing an intimate and unfamiliar line across his life and work. Physicist Brian Greene joins Alda on stage after the performance to discuss Einstein’s achievements.

Turtle Hatching | Time: 9:30am – 4pm
Where: Queensland Museum & Sciencentre, South Brisbane

This is by far the cutest event that will take place in Brisbane this week. Baby sea turtles will poke through their shells and begin life at the Queensland Museum. Researchers will be on hand to fit them with transmitters, which allow them to track the sea turtles’ movements and gain key insights.

To Infinity and Beyond: The accelerating Universe | Time: 11:30am – 1pm
Where: Plaza Auditorium Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre, 133A Grey St, South Brisbane

Today’s top astrophysicists describe their search for clues to cosmology’s most exciting puzzle: dark energy.

Salon: Alzheimer’s: Don’t forget your Genes | Time: 1pm – 2:30pm
Where: Queensland Museum & Sciencentre, South Brisbane

In a small setting, experts dive deeper into the science of cognitive function and the age-related disease of Alzheimer’s.

Great Moments in Science with Dr Karl | Time: 5pm – 6pm
Where: Plaza Auditorium Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre, 133A Grey Street South Brisbane

Australian science legend Dr. Karl leads an audience on a whirlwind tour of scientific explanations and bizarre facts.

To Learn More About World Science Festival Brisbane visit www.worldsciencefestival.com.au

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To avoid being outdone by thrilling theories about the nature of our universe, spider enthusiasts — oh, they are out there — welcomed the newest species to walk on eight legs. Please join us in welcoming Dolomedes briangreenei to the official record. Queensland Museum arachnologist Dr Robert Raven discovered the water spider recently and he named it for physicist Brian Greene. That’s Australian hospitality right there. Cheers!

Here are five events that shouldn’t be missed on Thursday.

Dawn of the Human Age | Time: 8pm – 9:30pm
Where: Plaza Auditorium, Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre, 133A Grey Street, South Brisbane

Climatologists, biologists, oceanographers and policy experts gather to explore evidence for what’s being called the Anthropocene – the first period of history that many scientists point to as being unique for the way humans are influencing their environment, raising both fascinating and worry-worthy questions about the future of our planet.

Light Falls: Space, Time and an Obsession of Einstein | Time: 8pm – 9:30pm
Where: Playhouse QPAC, Corner Melbourne St and Grey St, South Brisbane

Direct from New York, physicist Brian Greene and an ensemble cast trace Albert Einstein’s electrifying journey toward one of the most beautiful ideas ever conceived — the General Theory of Relativity.

Cosmic Nomad | Time: 8:30pm – 9:20pm
Where: Festival Lab, Cultural Forecourt, Melbourne Street, South Brisbane

Comedian Josh Richards is the “Cosmic Nomad” and he has the one-way ticket to Mars to prove it. Richards uses his uniquely warped blend of science, comedy and storytelling to answer the big questions for our species.

Discovering the Deep | Time: 6pm – 7:30pm
Where: GOMA

Navigate deep below the surface of the ocean aboard submarines, go cave diving, and enjoy the rare songs blue whales sing during this spectacular program that only feels like it takes place out of this world. A presentation will be followed by a Q&A session.

On a Wing | Time: 9:30am – 4:00pm
Where: Queensland Museum, Corner Melbourne St and Grey St, South Brisbane

Come for the paintings by Emma Lindsay, featuring extinct Australian bird species that are held in the natural history museums around the world. Stay for the taxidermy demonstrations!

To Learn More About World Science Festival Brisbane visit www.worldsciencefestival.com.au

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More than a hundred scientists from nine countries have gathered in Brisbane, Australia, for the first annual World Science Festival Brisbane (2016). Thousands of people have their tickets within arm’s reach. You can feel the buzz in Brisbane’s South Bank neighborhood. Between now and Sunday, more than one hundred events will take place that explore the excitement of scientific discovery across the city and throughout Queensland.

Here are four events to keep an eye out for on Day 1.

Light Falls: Space, Time and an Obsession of Einstein | Time: 8pm – 9:30pm
Where: Playhouse QPAC, Corner Melbourne St and Grey St, South Brisbane

Direct from New York, physicist Brian Greene and an ensemble cast trace Albert Einstein’s electrifying journey toward one of the most beautiful ideas ever conceived — the General Theory of Relativity.

Dinosaurs & Prehistory in Virtual Reality | Time: 10am – 5pm
Where: Queensland Museum & Sciencentre, South Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

This state-of-the art virtual reality experience is one of the most scientifically accurate interactive 3D models ever created. Dinosaur enthusiasts with lots of hometown pride should keep an eye out for Australian dinosaurs and other prehistoric life.

FameLab | Time: 5:30pm – 9:30pm
Where: Queensland Museum, Cnr Melbourne & Grey streets, South Brisbane

Scientists battle it out in this science communication competition for the chance to compete in the FameLab National final. Each scientist will have just three minutes to present a scientific concept to a panel of judges. No PowerPoint presentations or jargon allowed.

The Matrix – Film Festival Mind Vs Machine: What makes us Human? | Time: 8pm – 10pm
Where: Cinema A, GOMA, Stanley Place, South Brisbane

The Matrix is futuristic science at its best. Join us for a trip back to 1999 to re-appreciate this rich subgenre of science fiction cinema that explores the explores the relationship of humans and artificial intelligence.

To Learn More About World Science Festival Brisbane visit www.worldsciencefestival.com.au

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On this afternoon in early March (2016), ten high school students from Bard High School in Queens have been invited inside NYU’s Environmental Fluid Dynamics Lab as part of World Science Academy, a new education program from the World Science Foundation that offers high school students and teachers in New York City the opportunity to visit with dozens of leading scientists inside their labs.

Voytenko is a postdoctoral fellow at NYU’s Center for Atmosphere Ocean Science, a research program where mathematicians like Voytenko’s adviser, David Holland, use math to study climate change. Voytenko keeps a close eye on how fast ice is melting on one particular glacier in Greenland. The lab is full of video cameras and other high tech machines.

As the students settle in for their second lab tour of the day, Denise Holland, a field and logistics coordinator, welcomes them to the lab. Voytenko loads an image of Earth on a large monitor.

“What shape is the Earth?” he asks.

“Egg-shaped,” answers one student.

“Pear-shaped” says another.

The guesses keep coming: “Round.” “A sphere.” Then, with some time to think, one last guess from a student in the back: “It’s always changing.”

“Nearly 200 students, principals and teachers will visit more than 30 academic labs this spring, including Columbia University, CUNY’s Advanced Science Research Center, New York University and NYU Tandon School of Engineering.”

To answer that question, Voytenko invites the group to gather around a tall metal box mounted to a motor. Imagine a crate without the sides. A thin transparent rectangle full of red liquid sits directly in the center. Video cameras are mounted high and low. There’s even a Halloween decoration hanging above the box. Students have the experiment surrounded. With the flip of a switch, the contraption begins to spin, simulating the Earth’s rotation. As the box picks up speed, students watch as the liquid dips in the middle and collects at the edges.

“The Earth is almost a sphere, but just not,” Voytenko tells his attentive audience. It’s slightly flatter at the equator as a result of its orbit.

The conversation turns to Voytenko’s summer plans. He is going to Greenland to resume his field work. A student named Zoe asks him “Why Greenland?”

Voytenko tells her about the ice sheet that covers Greenland. As the planet warms, there are lots of changes going on there, he says. He’s watched icebergs the size of the island of Manhattan break off of glaciers, a process known as calving. Greenland is also a good testing ground for more difficult research trips to Antarctica.

The tour of cool science gadgets wraps up in a windowless room down the hall. It’s full of the boxes and bags full of equipment that NYU’s team will take to Greenland in a few months. One radar measures the speed of ice, which reminds Voytenko of what qualifies as an alarm clock in Greenland: a calving event can sound like you’re being woken up by a jet engine.

Scientists like Voytenko have a front row seat to a changing planet. For one afternoon, a small group of high school students from Queens got a chance to sample the view.

To learn more about future opportunities to visit participating labs and scientists, write to education@worldsciencefestival.com.

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