Kicking off the 2024 edition of “Caffè Scienza”
The “Caffè Scienza” public engagement initiative is back, designed and organised by Prof. Marcello Pinti of Unimore's Department of Life Sciences in collaboration with the Fondazione Marco Biagi: 10 meetings to explore topical scientific issues treated with academic rigour but in an informal context.
The new edition of the initiative will also be hosted by Modena's Caffè Concerto, in the evocative setting of Piazza Grande, with meetings to be held on Tuesday evenings (7-8.30 pm), from 24 September, in which the public will be able to discuss a wide range of scientific topics with experts.
“A Science Café is an informal meeting place where experts on scientific topics and citizens can talk freely about topical issues,” explains Prof. Marcello Pinti, organiser of the event and lecturer at Unimore. “The aim is to bring science closer to the non-expert public, making it accessible and comprehensible but without sacrificing rigour and in-depth content. We want to stimulate curiosity and critical thinking, creating an environment in which the listener can feel part of the scientific debate.”
“The collaboration between the Fondazione Marco Biagi and Unimore in the realisation of this project represents an important shared commitment to promoting scientific culture,” says Carlotta Serra, Director of the Foundation. “Since 2020, we have been working together with the scientific coordinator to offer the public an opportunity for in-depth study and dialogue, keeping alive the link between university and society.
This year's programme, which ends on 3 December, is particularly rich and multidisciplinary, with topics ranging from bioethics in sport to forensic science, from the speed of thought to the representation of science in film.
The initiative will kick off on 24 September with a talk by Silvia Camporesi, Professor of Sports Integrity and Ethics at KU Leuven University, who will address the issue of unfair advantage in sport, discussing the impact of testosterone, assistive technologies and genetic modification.
On 1 October, Michele Giugliano, professor at the Dept. of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neuroscience Sciences at Unimore, will lead a fascinating journey into the human brain, exploring the speed of thought and its implications for our understanding of the mind. The cycle will continue on 8 October with Roy Menarini, professor at the Department of Arts of the University of Bologna, who will discuss the representation of science and the figure of the scientist in the cinema, combining scientific research and film culture in a dialogue between two apparently distant worlds.
On 15 October, Marco Rocca of Miltenyi Biotec will lead the audience to reflect on the future of food with a focus on synthetic meat, addressing issues that weave together ethical, environmental and technological issues. It continues the following week with Devis Bellucci, a researcher at Unimore's “Enzo Ferrari” Department of Engineering, who, on 22 October, will analyse historical scientific errors, such as that of the Titanic, to show how wrong predictions can lead to catastrophes.
On 29 October, Gabriele Sansalone professor at Unimore's Department of Life Sciences will illustrate the history and extinction of the Neanderthals, offering a fascinating look at our closest ‘cousins’ and what we can learn from their fate. In November, Agnese Collino of the Fondazione Umberto Veronesi (5 November) and Nicola Franchi, professor at Unimore's Department of Life Sciences (12 November) will respectively explore the history of poliomyelitis and the complex topic of the sexual development of the brain, with approaches that interweave history, medicine and neuroscience.
The last two meetings of the series will be dedicated to applied science: on 26 November, Assunta Florenzano, professor at Unimore's Department of Life Sciences, will illustrate how botany, palynology and forensic mycology can become fundamental tools in criminal investigations, while on 3 December, Vittoria Brambilla, professor at the Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences - Production, Territory, Agroenergy at the University of Milan, will present “Ris8timo”, the first rice developed using assisted evolution techniques (TEA).
The Scientific Committee of the initiative is composed of Professor Lara Gibellini (Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences of the Mother, Children, and Adults), Professor Ulpiana Kocollari (Department of Economics Marco Biagi), Professor Mauro Mandrioli (Department of Life Sciences), Professor Milena Nasi (Department of Surgery, Medicine, Dentistry and Morphological Sciences) and Professor Gianfrancesco Zanetti (Department of Law).
The full programme of Caffè Scienza 2024 is available on the dedicated website www.caffescienza.unimore.it/ .
Categorie: Notizie_eng
Articolo pubblicato da: Ufficio Stampa Unimore - ufficiostampa@unimore.it