December 20, 2017
Let's Light It Up! Secret Science Club is on a Mission
You can help launch
science out of the darkness and into the light. Donate to SSC's end-of-year pledge drive and support Secret Science Club 2018.
In the wee hours before dawn on the longest
night of the year (14 hours, 44 minutes, 42 seconds in NYC), we were
reflecting on 2017 while preparing to launch Secret Science Club's 2018 season.
At this year's SSCs, we've gone on
an amazing ride from the farthest galaxies to the nanoscale - and
into the depths of the human mind. We've plumbed the deep structure of
the Earth and taken data-driven dives into the world of ants, viruses,
biomechanics, black holes, and the nature of time.
No matter the season, Secret Science Club remains a place where science steps
out into the night and shines.
You can help light it up in 2018!
SSC people, you are our rocket
fuel. From the energy you put into coming to our live science events to the
engaged listening and incredible questions, we are awed by you every
month. When we see you coming out - braving all weather - to hear a talk on
astrophysics, microbes, or ocean life, it inspires us to keep going and
do more.
Please join us in celebrating
science as a vital part of culture and public life and standing up
for science as SSC heads into the future.
To make a donation and
support Secret Science Club 2018, visit our secure pledge page. You can get
cool pledge prizes, too (T-shirts, totes, secret SSC swag, and more!).
For those of you who don't want pledge rewards, click here for faster check
out.
Thanks to all the brilliant
scientists who presented at SSC this year, the amazing people at the
Bell House, our talented friends at Symphony Space, our kind &
dedicated volunteers and advisors, and our wise partners at both the
Albert & Mary Lasker Foundation and EST/Sloan. And thanks to our
indomitable, wonderful, curious audience members.
Cheers to everyone for supporting SSC's mission!
Secret Science Club is a program of Science Live Productions, Inc, a 501(c)3
nonprofit organization, and your donations are tax deductible to the
full extent permitted by law.
For more information, contact secretscienceclub[at]gmail.com
December 2, 2017
SUNDAY, December 10, 8PM @ the Bell House, FREE! Secret Science Club presents OCEANS OF WONDER with Marine Biologist Ed DeLong
SINK INTO THE HOLIDAYS . . . Dissolve into the ocean’s vastness and explore
its multitudes of unsung, unseen life. Just a liter of water from the surface of the sea
contains 10 billion microbes and as
many as 20,000 species—all
invisible to the human eye and unknown to science until recent decades.
Marine
biologist Ed DeLong pioneered research on these "microscopic forests of the sea,"
unveiling new species with remarkable abilities
and elucidating their genomes. Despite their vanishingly small size, ocean microbes
are the engines of an enormous food
chain. They produce a significant portion of the world’s oxygen and are the largest
source of genetic diversity on Earth. Learning how microbes interact with ocean ecosystems—and each other—is leading to discoveries, not only about the nature of the planet, but also new ways of making fuels, treating
disease, and predicting the impacts of climate change.
A professor of oceanography at the University
of Hawaii Manoa, Ed DeLong
researches the ocean microbiome and
its metagenomics. He is the author of over 200 scientific papers, and his
fieldwork has taken him to Antarctica,
the Sargasso Sea, and the Drake
Passage. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Science, the
American Academy of Microbiology, the U. S. National Academy of Science, the
American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the European Molecular
Biology Association. Dr. DeLong is co-director of the Simons Collaboration on
Ocean Processes and Ecology (SCOPE) and president-elect of the International
Society for Microbial Ecology.
BEFORE & AFTER
--Try
our holiday cocktail of the night,
the Ebb & Flow
--Sink
into benthic grooves
--Stick
around for the free-floating Q&A!
This deep-diving holiday edition of
the Secret Science Club meets Sunday, December 10, 8PM @ the
Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in
Gowanus, Brooklyn. Subway: F or G to 4th Ave, R to 9th St.
Doors
open at 7:30PM. Please bring ID: 21+. No cover. Just bring your smart
self.
November 8, 2017
Secret Science Club presents ILLUSIONS OF MIND with Neuroscientists & Authors Susana Martinez-Conde & Stephen Macknik, Monday, November 20, 8PM @ the Bell House, FREE! (This month’s SSC is sponsored by our pal Gerry!)
Is your
mind playing tricks on you? Only all the time. False motion. Tricks of
perspective. Shifting colors. Such perceptual
hiccups (and the beguiling illusions
they inspire) are more than just trippy. They
offer a window into the inner workings of
our brains and their evolution.
So
what’s going on in our brains when our eyes deceive us?
In this synapse-stretching talk,
coinciding with the release of their new book, Champions of Illusion, brain scientists Susana Martinez-Conde and Stephen
Macknik explore the “cognitive
wonderland” of visual perception—where what we “see” is not always what it
seems.
Professors
at SUNY Downstate Medical Center, Susana
Martinez-Conde and Stephen Macknik
study the brain using illusions and
magic. They are the authors
of Sleights of Mind and write the
“Illusion Chasers” column for Scientific
American: Mind. Their scientific research has been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and
Wired, and on NPR and NOVA. They are
the founders of the Best Illusion of the Year Contest, which invites visual
scientists, artists, mathematicians, and magicians to create new, astonishing
illusions.
--Sample our cocktail of the night, the Sleight of Mind—conjured by the Bell House mixologists
--Groove to cunning
tunes and stick around for the
crafty Q&A
--Snag a
signed copy of Susan Martinez-Conde & Stephen Macknik’s magical new book, Champions
of Illusion: The Science Behind Mind-Boggling Images and Mystifying Brain
Puzzles
This eye-popping edition of the Secret Science Club meets Monday, November
20, 2017, 8pm @ the Bell House, 149
7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn. Subway: F or G to
4th Ave; R to 9th St.
Doors
open at 7:30 pm. Please bring ID: 21+. No cover. Just bring your smart self!
October 5, 2017
Wednesday, October 25, Secret Science Club & the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation present the "2017 Lasker Public Lecture" with Evolutionary Biologist & Virologist Paul Turner at the Bell House, FREE!
Viruses are
“mysterious quasi-living things.” Their powers are legendary and fearsome. One
ultra-tiny virus goes into a cell, takes it over, and thousands of replicas
come out. In the world’s worst pandemics, viruses have burned through human
populations, sickening and killing millions. Compared to other life-forms,
their ability to mutate and evolve is unsurpassed.
And yet… viruses
underpin all of life on Earth. They are the most diverse biological entities on
the planet. They’re also the most numerous. The truth is, while we may fear
them, we can’t live without them. As scientific research on viruses ramps up—particularly
on viruses that attack bacteria—it may turn out that someday a virus saves your
life.
At our
2017 Lasker Public Lecture, evolutionary biologist Paul Turner
explores the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to viruses. He asks:
--Are
viruses “alive”? Were they the first organisms on Earth?
--How, when,
and why do viruses jump to new species and what are the implications for human
health?
--Can
viruses be harnessed as cures for dangerous bacterial infections and other
diseases?
--What is
new research revealing about the nature of viruses and their genomes?
Paul Turner
is the Elihu Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Yale University’s
combined program in Biological and Biomedical Sciences and Yale’s acting Dean
of Science. The author of nearly 100 scientific papers, his research interests
include evolutionary biology, evolutionary medicine, experimental evolution,
infectious disease, microbiology, phage therapy, and virology.
Because
microorganisms allow experiments on the order of hundreds (or even thousands)
of generations, microbes provide a uniquely powerful system to study evolution
in action. Dr. Turner’s laboratory uses microorganisms (RNA viruses, DNA
viruses, bacteria) as model systems to address how viruses evolutionarily adapt,
how viruses interact with the cells of their host species, and how microbes can
be used to solve human problems.
Dr. Turner and
his research have been featured in the New
York Times, Independent, STAT, and Scientific American, and on iBiology and
Science Friday.
BEFORE & AFTER
-- Imbibe our cocktail of the night, the Strange Symptom
-- Groove to infectious beats
-- Stick around for the scintillating Q&A
-- Imbibe our cocktail of the night, the Strange Symptom
-- Groove to infectious beats
-- Stick around for the scintillating Q&A
This viral edition of the Secret Science Club, the 2017 Lasker Public Lecture in honor of Al Sommer, is sponsored by the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation. The Foundation works to foster the prevention and treatment of disease and disabilities by honoring excellence in basic and clinical science, educating the public, and advocating for support of medical research.
The Secret Science Club featuring Paul
Turner meets Wednesday, October 25, 8 pm
@ the Bell House, 149 7th St.
(between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn.
Subway: F or G to 4th Ave,
R to 9th St.
Doors open at 7:30 pm. Please bring
ID: 21+. No cover. Just bring your smart self.
October 4, 2017
Secret Science Club North presents Astronaut & Best-selling Author Mike Massimino, Monday, October 23, 8PM @ Symphony Space
Monday, October 23, 8PM, Secret Science Club North presents Astronaut & Spaceman Author Mike Massimino @ Symphony Space (Shh... use code SECRET15 to get $15 tickets.)
Blast into the
stratosphere with astronaut and
best-selling author Mike Massimino. Ever wonder what it would be like to
travel 17,500 mph? How would it feel to spacewalk
and see Earth 350 miles below? Find out as Astro
Mike takes us on a wild ride through outer
space, microgravity, astronaut dining, and the future of space travel!
Mike Massimino shot
into orbit on two NASA shuttle missions
on which he spent over 30 hours spacewalking, did repairs on the Hubble Space Telescope, and became the first human to tweet from space. Now a
professor of mechanical engineering at Columbia University and a public
advocate for space exploration and education, he hosts the Science Channel
series The Planets, has a recurring
role as himself on The Big Bang Theory, and regularly appears on StarTalk,
CNN, and NOVA. “Spaceman: An Astronaut’s Unlikely Journey to Unlock the Secrets of the
Universe” is his first book.
“Every generation of astronauts needs a storyteller—a person with wit, humor, and passion who has lived our collective dreams of space exploration and returned to tell us all about it. Mike Massimino is that person. He's that astronaut.”—Neil deGrasse Tyson
Before & After
--Prepare for
launch with cosmic cocktails at our Space Station bar
--Sway to starry-eyed
tunes
--Take our
NASA-inspired quiz for a chance to win out-of-this-world prizes
--Stick around
for the Q&A and snag a signed copy of Mike Massimino’s awe-inspiring book, Spaceman
Get $15
tickets for Mike
Massimino here
with code SECRET15 and enter the code at checkout. You can also use the
code at the Symphony Space box office (call 212.864.5400 or visit in person).
This special
edition of Secret Science Club North
meets Monday, October 23, 8PM @ Symphony
Space, 2537 Broadway @ 95th St in Manhattan. Subway: 1, 2, or 3 to
96th Street. Doors open at 7:30pm. This is an all-ages event.
September 7, 2017
MONDAY, September 18, 8PM @ the Bell House, FREE! Secret Science Club presents BLACK HOLES with Physicists & Authors Steven Gubser & Frans Pretorius
With every new
discovery, black holes get more bizarre and fascinating. They spin at mind-blowing speeds. They collide,
setting off massive shock waves. They devour light and matter, and drool jets
of ionized gas. They sit at the center of almost every galaxy, and they may
even be responsible for the evolution of
galaxies themselves.
Scientists
estimate the Milky Way is home to 100 million black holes, ranging from
relatively small collapsed stars to supermassive
black holes that can distort space-time
with their rotation. The announcement of the epic and long-sought-for detection of gravitational waves last year was accompanied by the discovery of stellar
black holes more than 20 times the mass of the Sun.
In this intergalactic
talk, coinciding with the release of their new book, The Little Book of Black Holes, physicists Steven Scott Gubser and Frans Pretorius explore the far-out science of black holes—from Einstein’s theory of relativity, singularities
& event horizons to gravitational waves, wormholes & beyond!
Before & After
--Try
our irresistible cocktail of the night, the Event Horizon
--Sway
to groovitational tunes and stick around for the supermassive Q&A
--Grab
a signed copy of Steve Gubser & Frans Pretorius’s new book, THE
LITTLE BOOK OF BLACK HOLES
Steven Scott Gubser is professor of physics at Princeton
University. He researches string theory, black holes, heavy ion collisions, condensed
matter theory, and cosmology. The author of over 125 research papers in
theoretical physics and The Little Book
of String Theory, he was the recipient of the 2017 Simons Investigator in Physics
Award.
Frans Pretorius is professor of physics at Princeton
University. He researches Einstein's theory of general relativity, gravitational
wave emission from binary compact object mergers, higher dimensional black
holes, and the nature of singularities. The author of over 70 research papers,
he was the recipient of the 2017 New Horizons in Physics Prize.
This out-of-this-world
edition of the Secret Science Club
meets Monday, September 18, 2017, 8pm @ the Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn. Subway: F or G to 4th Ave; R to 9th St.
Doors open at 7:30 pm. Please bring ID:
21+. No cover. Just bring your smart self!
Photo Credit (black hole): NASA/CXC/M.Weiss
Photo Credit (black hole): NASA/CXC/M.Weiss
August 10, 2017
MONDAY, August 14, 8PM @ the Bell House, FREE! Secret Science Club presents Biologist Brooke Flammang
Sharks, Robots, Lasers, Locomotion
in the Ocean!
Secret Science Club presents
biologist, comparative physiologist, and biomechanics expert Brooke Flammang of
the Fluid Locomotion Lab.
MONDAY, August 14, 8PM @ the Bell House, FREE!
How do fish sense the fluid dynamics of the ocean around them? Why
do fish have different shapes? Explore mysteries of walking cave fish, propulsive
shark tails, and why the hitchhiking remora fish sucks (or doesn’t).
Before & After
--Try
our cocktail of the night, the Fin & Tonic
--C’mon and swim to undersea grooves
--Stick
around for the salty Q&A!
Brooke Flammang is a professor of
biological sciences and director of the Fluid Locomotion Lab at the New Jersey
Institute of Technology. She researches functional morphology, comparative
biomechanics, fluid dynamics, bioinspired robots, and cool fish stuff. She has
been a featured scientist on the BBC and Discovery Channel and in Wired, Scientific American, Gizmodo and
the New York Times.
This
fin-tastic edition of the Secret
Science Club meets Monday, August 14, 8PM @ the Bell House, 149
7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn.
Subway: F or G to 4th Ave,
R to 9th St.
Doors
open at 7:30PM. Please bring ID: 21+. No cover. Just bring your smart
self.
July 9, 2017
MONDAY, July 17, 8PM @ the Bell House, FREE! Secret Science Club presents Geologist & Geophysicist Maureen Long
Are
you standing on solid ground? Beneath the surface, our planet pulses
with heat and motion. Processes deep in Earth’s interior shape everything from
the magnetic field and plate tectonics to earthquakes and volcanoes. Yet, much
of what lies below remains a mystery. At the next Secret Science Club, prepare to
go deeper than ever before with Maureen Long as she takes us from
the lithosphere to the core-mantle boundary.
Geophysicist Maureen Long uses recordings of earthquakes from all over the world to study
the deep structure of the Earth, how Earth’s mantle is like a lava lamp,
and how plate tectonics shape the geology of our planet. A professor of geology
and geophysics at Yale University and an observational seismologist, she has
conducted fieldwork in the Peruvian Andes, the High Lava Plains of Oregon, the
Appalachians of West Virginia, and on the Research Vessel Endeavor in the Atlantic Ocean. The author of over 60 scientific
papers and winner of the Macelwane Medal from the American Geophysical Union, she
also works with Earthscope—a program of the National Science Foundation that
has deployed thousands of geophysical instruments to study the deep structure of
the North American continent and the causes of earthquakes and volcanic
eruptions. Dr. Long has been a featured scientist on NPR and CBS News, and
frequently speaks about seismology, plate tectonics, and natural disasters to the
public.
--Try
our cocktail of the night, the Seismic Wave… We’ll put some temblor in
your tumbler
--Shake,
rattle, and roll to tunes from Earth’s basement tapes
--Stick
around for earthshaking Q&A!
This
molten edition of the Secret Science Club meets Monday, July
17, 8PM @ the Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd
aves) in Gowanus, Brooklyn. Subway: F
or G to 4th Ave,
R to 9th St.
Doors
open at 7:30PM. Please bring ID: 21+
No cover. Just bring your smart
self.
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