Café Scientifique Manchester
Cafe Scientifique is a place where, for the price of a cup of coffee or a glass of wine, anyone can come to explore the latest ideas in science and technology. Meetings take place in cafes, bars, restaurants and even theatres, but always outside a traditional academic context.
Cafe Scientifique is a forum for debating science issues, not a shop window for science. We are committed to promoting public engagement with science and to making science accountable.
When: The first Thursdays of each month, 6.30-8.30pm
Where: The Old Abbey Taphouse, Guidhall Close, Manchester M15 6SY
| Date | 7 February 2019 |
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| Title | Cafe Sci: "Feed Me!" - How plants tell us what they want. |
| Speaker | Dr Giles Johnson |
Date: Thursday 7 February Time: 6.30-8.30pm Place: The Old Abbey Taphouse, Guildhall Close, Manchester Science Park M15 6SY ***** Do you talk to your plants? Famously, Prince Charles does. But is there any point in doing so? In this talk, Giles Johnson, a plant biologist from the University of Manchester, will try to convince you that actually, yes, this is worth doing. But as all good conversationalists know, conversation is not about talking but about listening. If you learn the language of plants, they can tell you a lot about what they need. Increasingly this "listening" is being carried out on an industrial scale, by sensors mounted on tractors or even by satellites in space. And these technologies are being developed to address the greatest challenge facing humanity - how to feed 9 billion mouths without destroying the planet. This event is completely FREE for everyone, bring your friends! :D |
| Date | 7 March 2019 |
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| Title | Cafe Sci: The Human Voice |
| Speaker | Professor Trevor Cox |
Date: Thursday 7 March Time: 6.30-8.30pm Place: The Old Abbey Taphouse, Guildhall Close, Manchester Science Park M15 6SY ***** The Human Voice – Prof Trevor Cox (University of Salford) Talking and singing comes naturally to most of us so it is easy to overlook how truly remarkable the human voice is. Mixing biology, physics and psychology, Trevor Cox will explore the workings of the voice looking at accents and different singing styles. The human voice has always been in flux, but over the last hundred years or so, this has been accelerated by technology. What about the future? ‘Photoshop for voice’ has already been demonstrated, leading to a future with #FakeSpeech. Rich in sound examples, the talk will draw on Trevor’s latest popular science book, Now You’re Talking (Bodley Head 2018). Trevor Cox is professor of acoustic engineering at the University of Salford. He has regularly appeared on BBC Radio 4. As well as his latest book “Now You’re Talking: Human Conversation from the Neanderthals to Artificial Intelligence” he is also the author of “Sonic Wonderland: A Scientific Odyssey of Sound”. This event is completely FREE for everyone, bring your friends! |
Organisers: Bo Yao, Ayse Latif