Family science days part of 2013 AAAS meeting in February at Copley Place
Sessions include talks on modernist cuisine, human responses to robots and the accelerating universe
Families with children, teachers, early-career scientists and all others with a curious mind are invited to come to events that are free and open to the public at the 2013 AAAS Annual Meeting, Feb. 14 through 18 in the Hynes Convention Center at Copley Place.
With cutting-edge, lay-friendly lectures on topics such as the robotics movement, modernist cuisine, the mechanisms of aging and the accelerating universe as well as hands-on science activities for children, the AAAS Annual Meeting promises something for people of all ages and interests. A summary of free events is provided below.
Registration for these free events is required on-site at the Hynes Convention Center, either outside Exhibit Hall B (for Family Science Days), or in Pre-Function Hall C (for the plenary lectures). Save time by registering in advance for Family Science Days at www.aaas.org.
FAMILY SCIENCE DAYS AND “MEET THE SCIENTISTS” SERIES
Saturday – Sunday, Feb. 16-17, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Hynes Convention Centre, Exhibit Hall B
(See www.aaas.org/meetings/fsd)
The meeting will engage the public with free Family Science Days, which will include Meet the Scientists events, hands-on activities and stage shows for families with children, teenagers and young adults. To attend, the public should plan to pick up a free badge at Exhibit Hall B using the Family Science Days entrance. Or, register in advance via the Web site above.
At the 2013 Family Science Days, youngsters will be able to excavate and date archaeological artifacts, paint with glowing bacteria and build a solar cell using blackberries. Visitors will also be invited to explore the nanotechnology in everyday objects, conduct hands-on weather experiments, race hydrogen cars, drive underwater robots and meet both live animals and cool scientists and engineers!
The 2013 stage shows will include a Science Magic! presentation by the Museum of Science as well as Meet the Scientists talks, including one on the human experience of space flight by NASA Astronaut Michael Barrett. In addition, Sheila Patek of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst will discuss the world’s fastest animals, and Jeremy DeSilva of Boston University will talk about fossils. Todd Coleman of the University of California at San Diego will describe electronic temporary tattoos that flex with your skin and wirelessly monitor your health.
PLENARY LECTURES
Thursday – Monday, Feb. 14-18
Hynes Convention Center, Ballroom BC
(See http://www.aaas.org/meetings)
The 2013 Annual Meeting will offer free plenary lectures by world-renowned speakers who will discuss important progress on pressing science, technology and policy issues, and share insights on future directions.
The meeting will open at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 14, with the AAAS President’s Address by William H. Press, a noted researcher in computer science, genomics, statistical methods, astrophysics and international security. He is the Warren J. and Viola M. Raymer Professor in Computer Science and Integrative Biology at the University of Texas at Austin. He also is a member of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. His current research focus is bioinformatics and whole-genome genetics.
At 5 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 15, plenary speaker Sherry Turkle of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) will discuss, “The Robotic Moment: What Do We Forget When We Talk to Machines?” Turkle, MIT’s Abby Mauzé Professor of the Social Studies of Science and Technology in the Program in Science, Technology, and Society, focuses on the psychology of human relationships with technology, especially in the realm of how people relate to computational objects. She is an expert on mobile technology, social networking and sociable robotics and a commentator on the social and psychological effects of technology.
“Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking” will be the focus of a plenary lecture at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 16, by Nathan Myhrvold. He is the Chief Executive Officer of Intellectual Ventures and retired chief strategist and chief technology officer for Microsoft Corporation. He has extensive experience linking research to product development and he holds hundreds of patents. As a postdoctoral fellow in applied mathematics and theoretical physics at Cambridge University, he worked with Stephen Hawking on research in cosmology, quantum field theory in curved space time, and quantum theories of gravitation.
Robert Kirshner, the Clowes Professor of Science at Harvard University will talk about “The Beauty of the Accelerating University” at 5 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 17. Kirshner is an astrophysicist studying the physics of supernovae and observational cosmology, and a member of the High-z Supernova Search Team that used observations of extragalactic supernovae to discover the accelerating universe, which implied the existence of dark energy. Dr. Kirshner’s graduate students Brian Schmidt and Adam Riess shared the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics with Saul Perlmutter for the discovery of cosmic acceleration.
