VILLAIN SCIENCENIGHT OF TOTAL DESTRUCTION - April 4, 2012
From Deep Impact to 2012, who doesn't like a great disaster film?
The Science & Entertainment Exchange spent a night telling you all the ways we love to cause mass chaos. Leading experts explored death from above - asteroids, supernovae, black holes, aliens, and even our friendly sun - and death from below - earthquakes and tsunamis - just to get started. We messed with your mind looking at the latest neuroweapons, from implantable chips to exotic drugs and targeted microbes that deliver death by invading the brain. We showcased all of the hottest ways to wreak havoc on your body. And, after we destroy Earth, we needed to save it! Geographic information system (GIS) is revolutionizing disaster response. Read the recap.
When: April 4, 2012
When: The Directors Guild of America
Presented by: The Science & Entertainment Exchange
Moderator:
Jon Spaihts has worked full times as a screenwriter since 2005. He wrote the alien invasion thriller The Darkest Hour and Ridley Scott's upocming project Prometheus. His unproduced but celebrated script Passengers continues to circulate widely thanks to its insights into the relataivity of time, space, and love.
Panelists:
Patrick Dolan is a Technology Evangelist at Esri, a privately held company that develops GIS, which enables organizations to create responsible and sustainable solutions to problems at local and global scales. Dolan is responsible for establishing and managing the executive briefing technology program. He has 20 years of experience applying GIS technology to solving business problems.
James Giordano, PhD, is Director of the Center for Neurotechnology Studies of the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies in Arlington, VA; Professor of Neuroscience and Ethics in the Department of Electrical and Computational Engineering at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM; and Fulbright Professor of Neurotechnology and Neuroethics at the Human Science Center of Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich, Germany. He advises a number of national and international agencies on technical, ethical, and social issues that arise from the use and potential misuse of neuroscientific information and tools.
Tom Jordan, PhD, is the Director of the Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC) and the W.M. Keck Professor of Earth Sciences at the University of Southern California, where SCEC is headquartered. He is responsible for all aspects of SCEC's program, which currently involves more than 600 scientists at more than 60 universities and research institutions. He is a member of the California Earthquake Prediction Evaluation Council and the Governing Board of the National Research Council.
Philip Plait, PhD, is an astronomer, author, and host of Discovery Channel's Phil Plait's Bad Universe. His latest book, Death from the Skies! is all about the science of cosmic catastrophes, from asteroid impacts to supernovae to the end of the universe itself. He also writes the award-winning Bad Astronomy Blog for Discover Magazine, one of the most popular science blogs on Earth.
Flatliners - October 19, 2011
Legendary filmmaker Joel Schumacher presented his classic feature Flatliners, which explores the realm of the afterlife through the story of medical students whose experiments with near death experiences go awry. A panel discussion exploring the scientific theories addressed in the film and the science of death followed the screening.
When: October 19, 2011
Where: The Graduate Center, CUNY
Presented by: The Science & Entertainment Exchange and the Imagine Science Film Festival
Moderator:
Jad Abumrad is the host of RadioLab and a 2011recipient of a MacArthur award for his innovative work in radio.
Panelists:
Joel Schumacher is a renowned filmmaker whose credits include Flatliners, St.Elmo's Fire, and The Lost Boys.
Benjamin Abella, MD is the Director for Clinical Research at the Center for Resuscitation Science at the University of Pennsylvannia.
Christian Macedonia, MD is a U.S. Army surgeon who has taught survival skills to special operating forces.
Bioterrorism: Science & security - October 4, 2011
Bioterrorism and disease epidemics make for great movies… but how real is the threat? Speakers from the FBI and CDC, and an expert on biological threats let the audience in on the answer: the threat is very real and America needs to be prepared. Attendees also learned what is happening behind the scenes in both law enforcement and science to safeguard the public against potential attacks.
When: October 4, 2011
Where: Directors Guild of America
Presented by: The Science & Entertainment Exchange and the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Moderator:
Jonathan King is the Executive Vice President of Participant Media, an independent financing and production company dedicated to using film to inspire and compel positive social change. He supervises the development and production of the company's slate of narrative feature films. Current releases include The Help, Circumstance and Contagion.
Panelists:
Vahid Majidi, Ph.D., is the Assistant Director of the FBI's Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Directorate. Dr. Majidi's experience includes his service at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, where he led the Chemistry Division, directing critical programs in areas such as nuclear weapons-related, non/counter-proliferation, homeland security, isotope science, applied energy, and nanoscale science and engineering.
Stephen Papagiotas, MPH, is a Public Health Advisor/Emergency Coordinator with the Division of Preparedness and Emerging Infections at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. His work focuses on preparedness and response activities for infectious disease outbreaks and other public health emergencies.
David A. Relman, MD, is the Thomas and Joan Merigan Professor of Medicine and Microbiology at Stanford University. He studies the role of previously-unrecognized microbes in health and disease, and advises various U.S. government agencies on present and future biological threats. He currently serves on the National Research Council's (NRC's) Forum on Microbial Threats, and has served on numerous NRC bioterrorism and infectious disease committees.
James W. Peaco III, Special Agent, is the Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Coordinator for the FBI Los Angeles Field Division. He has been with the FBI since 1998 and has worked in the Violent Crime and WMD Programs. As a collateral duty, Special Agent Peaco is a member of the FBI LA SWAT team. Prior to the FBI, SA Peaco graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and served as an infantry officer in the U.S. Marine Corps.
Science on the hollywood screen - August 28, 2011
Some of television's most popular medical, crime, science and science fiction shows today ask scientists to lend a hand in helping TV accurately portray science. Producers and writers from CSI, Breaking Bad, CSI: New York, Buffy, Battlestar and Torchwood spoke at a special President Event on why they strive for accuracy and how scientists can help.
When: August 28, 2011
Where: American Chemical Society Annual Meeting, Denver, CO
Presented by: The Science & Entertainment Exchange and the American Chemical Society
Panelists:
Aaron Thomas is a writer and producer for CSI: New York.
Corrine Marrinan is a writer and producer for CSI.
Jane Espenson is a writer and producer for a variety of television shows, including Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Battlestar: Galactica.
Donna J. Nelson, Ph.D., is a professor of chemistry at the University of Oklahoma.
Ann Merchant is the Deputy Executive Director of the Office of Communications at The National Academies.
Engineering Our Future - June 9, 2011
Our world is changing rapidly, thanks in large part to engineers. This special “engineering sampler” explored the ways in which new systems are being built with synthetic biology, the revolution in human–robot interactions that take place with socially assistive robots, and the worlds beyond our world through space exploration. Read the recap. Watch videos of presentations by Jon Spaights, Frances Arnold, Maja Mataric, and Randii Wessen, plus the Q&A session.
When: June 9, 2011
Where: Directors Guild of America
Presented by: The Science & Entertainment Exchange and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers-USA (IEEE-USA)
Panelists:
Frances Arnold, Ph.D., is the Dickinson Professor of Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering, and Biochemistry at the California Institute of Technology, where she creates new biological molecules and organisms by forcing their evolution in the laboratory. An elected member of all three U.S. national academies (Science, Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine), she recently accepted the National Academy of Engineering’s 2011 Charles Stark Draper Prize.
Maja Mataric, Ph.D., is professor of Computer Science, Neuroscience, and Pediatrics at the University of Southern California. She is Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and IEEE, and a recipient of the Presidential Mentoring Award. Her research develops socially assistive robots that provide personalized human–machine interaction for coaching and motivation to users with autism, stroke, Alzheimer’s, and others.
Randii R. Wessen, Ph.D., is the Deputy Manager of the Project Formulation Office at Caltech’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. For 27 years, he has worked on multiple spacecraft, including the search for Earth-like planets around other stars. He is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and the British Interplanetary Society.
Moderator:
Jon Spaihts has worked full-time as a screenwriter since 2005. He wrote the alien invasion thriller The Darkest Hour and Ridley Scott’s upcoming project Prometheus. His unproduced but celebrated script Passengers continues to circulate widely thanks to its insights into the relativity of time, space, and love.
Hollywood Chemistry - ACS - March 27, 2011
Do television shows like House, Breaking Bad, and The Zula Patrol — major sources of information about science and technology for millions of people — try to get it right? Or do they play fast and loose with the facts, images, and nuances that forge public perceptions about science and help shape young people’s career decisions? Producers for television shows and films and science advisers provide the answers in a special Presidential Event. Read the recap. Watch video of the panel.
When: March 27, 2011
Where: American Chemical Society Annual Meeting
Presented by: The Science & Entertainment Exchange and the American Chemical Society
Panelists:
Moira Walley-Beckett is a writer for the critically-acclaimed AMC drama series Breaking Bad.
Kath Lingenfelter is a writer and co-producer for the Fox medical drama House, M.D.
Jaime Paglia is writer and executive producer with the Syfy science-fiction series Eureka.
Kevin Grazier, Ph.D., is a planetary scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He has advised The Zula Patrol, Battlestar Galactica, and Eureka.
Donna J. Nelson, Ph.D., is a professor of chemistry at the University of Oklahoma.
Sidney Perkowitz, Ph.D., is a professor of physics at Emory University.
Mark A. Griep, Ph.D., is a professor of chemistry at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
The Science of Cyborgs - March 2, 2011
Cyborg beetles, robotic fish, restoring sight to the blind, and why films love to make technology the "bad guy" were the topics at hand during The Exchange's The Science of Cyborgs event, a fun and illuminating journey into the world of cyborgs and transhumanism. Presentations featured the cutting-edge, real-life science of cyborgs and transhumanism. Attendees learned all about beetles that are remote-controlled by a hacked Wii remote, a blind woman playing basketball with the aid of an artificial retina, and a robotic fish meant to inspire new underwater vehicle designs, and were treated to a brief presentation on the exploration of technology in film. Read the recap.
Where: Directors Guild of America
Presented By: The Science & Entertainment Exchange
Panelists:
Jonathan Mostow is a director, writer, and producer whose interest in human/machine interfaces has led him to helm blockbuster films like Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines and Surrogates.
Mark Humayun, M.D., Ph.D., is the Cornelius J. Pings Chair in Biomedical Sciences at the Doheny Eye Institute at University of Southern California. His research focuses on the Biomimetic Microelectronic System to treat blindness. He is a member of both the National Academy of Engineering and the Institute of Medicine.
Malcolm MacIver, Ph.D., is a professor of bioengineering at Northwestern University. He studies live animal behavior and neurobiology, and translates what he finds into bio-inspired robots and technology. This work recently resulted in an award from President Obama. He also makes science-inspired interactive art and was the science advisor for the television series Caprica and the film Tron: Legacy. He blogs on artificial intelligence and robotics for Discover Magazine’s Science Not Fiction.
Michel Maharbiz, Ph.D., is an associate professor with the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of California, Berkeley. Michel has been a GE Scholar and an Intel IMAP Fellow. His group is also known for developing the world’s first remotely radio-controlled cyborg beetles. This was named one of the top 10 emerging technologies of 2009 by MIT’s Technology Review and was in Time magazine’s Top 50 Inventions of 2009.
Moderators:
Chuck Bryant and Josh Clark - Since 2008, Josh and Chuck have faithfully released two podcasts a week on everything from zombies to moonshine to the Large Hadron Collider. Their program is downloaded more than a million times every week and they consistently rank in the top five on iTunes’ Top Ten Podcasts. In addition to creating the podcast, Chuck and Josh are both senior writers and bloggers for HowStuffWorks.com.
Summit on Science, Entertainment, and Education
On February 4, 2011, a carefully selected group of individuals met in Los Angeles to help us discover how film, television programming, video games, and other entertainment media can be systematically adopted to enhance student learning at the middle school and high school level. The day's program represented a balanced mix of listening, learning, and contributing. We heard from dreamers and doers (which is not to suggest that the two are mutually exclusive) and together we brainstormed ways for improving and deepening science learning using entertainment media. Read the recap.
When: February 4, 2011
Where: Paley Center for Media
Presented by: The Science & Entertainment Exchange and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
Summit Agenda/Speakers
Session Videos
Collaboration Website
The Science of Tron - December 20, 2010
If you were uploaded into a computer, would you be the same person? Caltech physicist Sean Carroll asked this mind-bending question at The Exchange’s latest event, "The Science of TRON," at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles on December 20 featuring special guests. Panelists entertained a packed theater with insights on the science of TRON: Legacy, the technology behind the making of the film and how science makes for better movies. The panel discussion was followed by a TRON-inspired laser show and a 3-D screening of TRON: Legacy. Read the recap. Listen to the audio.
When: December 20, 2010
Where: El Capitan Theatre
Presented by: The Science & Entertainment Exchange
Panelists:
Joe Kosinski is the director of TRON: Legacy.
Sean Carroll is a physicist at Caltech and TRON: Legacy science advisor for The Exchange.
John Dick is a retired JPL physicist and TRON: Legacy science advisor for The Exchange.
Moderator:
Sean Bailey is the president of production at Walt Disney Studios and TRON: Legacy producer.
THE SCIENCE OF IRON MAN 2 - OCTOBER 13, 2010
To mark the release of the DVD/Blu Ray of Iron Man 2, The Exchange held a panel discussion with Caltech – focusing on “The Science of Iron Man.” Read the recap.
Where: Beckman Auditorium at Caltech
Presented By: Caltech Media Relations and The Science & Entertainment Exchange
Panelists:
Jeremy Latcham is senior vice president, production and development, at Marvel Studios, and is a co-producer of Iron Man 2.
Shane Mahan is co-founder of Legacy Effects and was the Physical Suit Effects Supervisor on Iron Man and Iron Man 2. He is currently working on Thor and Cowboys and Aliens.
Ryan Meinerding is the conceptual illustrator for Iron Man 2. As an illustrator, Ryan Meinerding was one of the main creative forces behind all six of Tony Stark's Iron Man armors. He was also instrumental in designing Captain America's costume for the upcoming film and is currently the Visual Development Supervisor on Marvel Studio's The Avengers.
Andreas Krause is an assistant professor of computer science, and part of Caltech's Computation and Neural Systems faculty. His research focuses on machine learning and sensor networks, with applications in earthquake and traffic monitoring, and robotic exploration of ecosystems.
Mark Wise is the John A. McCone Professor of High Energy Physics at Caltech, specializing in theoretical particle physics and cosmology. He served as science consultant for Iron Man 2.
Moderator:
Geoff Boucher covers pop culture for the Los Angeles Times and he is the writer and editor of the Hero Complex, which celebrates and reports on sci-fi, fantasy, horror, and comics.
