Drink in the latest discoveries at Pint of Science

A global festival bringing people with a thirst for knowledge together with scientists at the frontiers of discovery is back in Leeds for 2022.

Pint of Science, which brings innovative and exciting speakers to pubs, bars, cafes and other venues in cities around the world, is taking place in-person in Leeds for the first time since before the COVID-19 pandemic. 

This year’s event runs from Monday 9 to Wednesday 11 May, with colleagues from across the University covering topics ranging from artificial intelligence and the arts to consciousness, nutrition research and astrochemistry. 

The University has coordinated researchers to speak at venues across the city, including The Social, The Adelphi, Sheaf Street, Maths City, Hyde Park Book Club and Friends of Ham. Tickets are £5 per person, per event, and are now available from the Pint of Science Leeds website.  

We're delighted that Pint of Science is returning to pubs and venues around Leeds.

Attendees in Leeds will enjoy a variety of exciting talks as well as the opportunity to go head-to-head in the largest ever multi-city pub quiz, in association with interactive quiz company, Kwizzbit. Teams in each venue compete against others across the city and the rest of the UK as they tackle a series of science-themed questions to prove which city has the strongest trivia knowledge. 

Dr Amy Barker, Leeds Pint of Science organiser and project manager in Leeds’s Centre for Computational Imaging and Simulation Technologies in Biomedicine, said: “We're delighted that Pint of Science is returning to pubs and venues around Leeds after taking place online for the past two years during the pandemic.  

"Once again we're bringing our world-class researchers off campus and into the pub to talk about the thrilling discoveries taking place here at the University." 

Be inspired
Pint of Science founders Dr Praveen Paul and Dr Michael Motskin were UK research scientists in 2013 when they decided they could bring back the personal touch to science. From three cities back then to hundreds of cities this year, the festival continues to showcase the brilliant work happening on our doorsteps. Events provide a platform for researchers to share their stories, and audiences an opportunity to ask their questions about science to those directly behind it. 

Dr Paul said: “This is our tenth Pint of Science festival and it’s great to be back with in-person events, collaborating with such dedicated volunteers across the country who have been working hard to bring you a variety of topics.  

“The programme in each city is packed full of events, which will inspire, challenge and encourage us all to be curious. The only difficulty is choosing which of the brilliant events to go to!” 

Highlights 

Monday 9 May 

Taking the Pulse of Planet Earth at The Social, Merrion Street 

Our planet is vast, diverse and rapidly changing. Now more than ever we need innovative approaches to take the pulse of Planet Earth. But how do we keep track of what is going on in Earth's most remote and extreme environments? And how do we make sense of these measurements once we have them? In this event we explore the challenges and need for remote sensing of our environment. Dr Ruth Amey and Dr Jim McQuaid explain how we should really measure earthquake magnitude and behaviour as well as how the reflectivity of icesheets impacts our changing planet. 

AI & the Arts: How Tech Shapes the Creative at Sheaf Street 

Join Dr Leah Henrickson and Dr Benjamin Hall to explore how digital technologies shape and influence the arts and social sciences. This journey will take us through the very ethics of AI-generated content, how robots can create better stop-motion animation, and even how online meetings can change the oral traditions of Indian music-making! 

Tuesday 10 May 

Dark Matter: Understanding the gravity of the situation at Sheaf Street 

Dark Matter is an entirely unknown entity that makes up the majority of the Universe.  What is it?  What does it do? Dr Lucien Heurtier and Dr Francesca Chadha-Day will discuss what this mysterious dark matter actually is and how we know it exists. 

Coral Reefs, Carbon Capture, and the Climate Crisis at Hyde Park Book Club 

This evening is an opportunity to hear a fresh perspective on climate change directly from the scientists themselves on how our planet is affected by increasing temperatures and what can be done to protect it. Louise Anderson and Rose McCarthy will take you through the impacts of climate change on coral reeds and how they can be protected, and the innovative research into carbon capture and storage technologies to reduce atmospheric CO2. 

Wednesday 11 May 

The (We)evil That Men Do: Stopping Insectageddon at Hyde Park Book Club 

Join Dr Christopher Hassall and Dr Elizabeth Duncan to explore what we know (and what we don't know) about insect biodiversity in the natural world - from exploring new ways to track insect population using weather radars, to why current farming practices are so bad for bees.  

Flatpack Furniture and Surgery: How Robotics will change us at MathsCity, Trinity Shopping Centre 

How can robots build furniture and perform surgery? Maybe not all at once, but they certainly will soon! We will hear from seasoned robotics experts on how the latest technology will augment medicine, help in industry and allow robots to perform autonomous tasks. When properly designed, robots can help prevent life-threatening diseases, make surgery safer and, most importantly, make IKEA furniture-building a breeze! 

The full list of events is available on the Pint of Science Leeds website.

Further information 

For media enquiries, contact University of Leeds Press officer Lauren Ballinger via l.ballinger@leeds.ac.uk.