INTERFACES Beyond the Lab: The people and profession of materials. Sir Harry Kroto Demonstrates the GooYouWiki-World at Café Scientifique Carol Trager-Cowan On the evening of Monday the 3rd of August 2009, the Victorian Bar of the Tron Theatre in Glasgow, Scotland, filled to bursting point to hear Nobel laureate Sir Harry Kroto talk on “Global Educational Outreach in the GooYouWiki-World.” Sir Harry was talking at a joint event between Glasgow’s Café Scientifique and the Royal Society of Chemistry. Sir Harry chose the title of his presentation to highlight the recent revolutionary impact of Google, YouTube, and Wikipedia on our ability to obtain information and therefore expand our knowledge and understanding of the world. Sir Harry sees the internet as a fan- tastic resource with which we can capture and make available to everyone the best and the most innovative teaching of the wonders of science. Café Scientifique events are usually held in informal venues such as cafés or bars “where, for the price of a cup of coffee or a glass of wine, anyone can come to explore Nobel laureate Harold Kroto holds children’s workshops on science. the latest ideas in science and technology” (http://www.cafescientifique.org/). They start with a short 20-minute presentation where (in general) no PowerPoint slides Governors since 2004; and he has provided Science, Engineering and Technology), are allowed—though an exception was evidence to policy bodies concerning the which “uses new technology to provide made for Sir Harry due to the subject mat- role and development of nanotechnology outstanding Science, Engineering and ter of his talk. Presentations are followed (e.g., “Nanoscience and Nano tech no logies: Technology (SET) teaching material. It is a by a break to allow both the speaker and Opportunities and Uncer tainties”). Elected highly flexible medium enabling a wide the audience to obtain refreshments. Once a Fellow of The Royal Society (1990) and to range of different educational approaches everyone’s glass or coffee cup is refilled, the National Academy of Sciences (2007), to be explored and it is particularly useful the evening continues with animated dis- Sir Harry now devotes a substantial for SET teachers who will find valuable cussion among the participants. amount of time to communicating science downloadable teaching resource material Topics discussed at Glasgow’s Café to children; he travels all over the world to created by the best science and technology Scientifique have included climate change; deliver his workshops to them. experts and educators. A key aim is to cat- stem cells; the search for new worlds; With a strong belief in the power of the alyze the creation of a global network of superbugs, the quest for flight; heart dis- internet, Sir Harry has put massive effort participating sites catering to the local and ease; and bird song. The organizers of into two global on-line initiatives, his topic global need for much improved SET edu- Glasgow’s Café Scientifique, Mandy at Café Scientifique. In 1994 he co-founded cation” (http://www.geoset.info/ and McLean and Vanessa Collingridge, active- the Vega Science Trust to create “a broad- also see http://geoset.fsu.edu/). ly encourage the audience to suggest cast platform for the science, technology, During the evening at Café Scientifique, future topics for discussion. engineering and mathematics (STEM) Sir Harry provided the audience with a Café Scientifique is a welcomed venue communities, so enabling them to com- number of innovative examples from Vega for Sir Harry who spends a considerable municate on all aspects of their fields of and GEOSET. For example, on the Vega amount of time contributing to numerous expertise using exciting Internet opportu- Web site he has brought together a wide activities of benefit to science and society nities.…The Trust aims to provide well- range of videos including interviews with in general. Now Francis Eppes Professor informed views on technical issues, and so eminent scientists, many of whom are of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Florida make science more accessible and under- Nobel laureates. The Web site also offers State University and Emeritus Professor at standable to the widest possible range of discussions of “Issues of Concern,” with the University of Sussex, Professor Sir target audiences” (http://www.vega.org. videos on climate change, malaria, and Harold Kroto was awarded the Nobel uk/). In 2007, together with colleagues at politics. In the “Reflections on Science” sec- Prize for Chemistry (together with Robert Florida State University, he founded tion (a collaboration with the U.K.’s Open Curl and Richard Smalley) in 1996 for the GEOSET (Global Educational Outreach for University), viewers may watch videos on discovery of a new form of carbon, the the physical properties of gases and how C60, Buckminsterfullerene. In the same x-rays cracked the structure of DNA. In year, he was knighted for his contributions collaboration with the British Broadcasting to chemistry. He served as president of the INTERFACES seeks articles featuring the Corporation, there are “Science Career Royal Society of Chemistry from 2002 to people and profession of materials. Videos” where young scientists talk about 2004; he has served on the board of the Send proposals to [email protected]. their work from environmental science to Scripps Institute Board of Scientific molecular gastronomy. 000 MRS BULLETIN • VOLUME 34 • DECEMBER 2009 • www.mrs.org/bulletin INTERFACES The Vega Web site also has videos and impact of the extremes of religion on downloadable presentations on simple today’s society. He sees the present level yet inventive activities such as putting of ignorance about science, engineering, together a Bucky world map where, in and technology as a recipe for disaster. the process, the children learn the names Sir Harry will hopefully be encouraged of the continents of the world. by initiatives such as Café Scientifique, a Sir Harry was also enthusiastic about movement originally inspired by the the use of the video and the internet for French Cafés Philosophiques. Duncan the assessment of students. He gave as an Dallas, an independent TV producer, example the presentation produced by held Britain’s first Café Scientifique in Jennifer Goldsby on “recent research Leeds in 1998. Hundreds of such cafés detailing the effects of inbreeding on ani- now run all over the world. Science is mal populations and its impact on domes- discussed in a friendly, informal and tic animals” (http://geoset.fsu.edu/ open environment in Argentina, ugradprojects.html). Jennifer submitted Australia, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Belgium, her presentation for partial assessment for Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Croatia, a class on ecology. Sir Harry was Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, impressed by the quality of the work pro- Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Iran, duced by the students and he also found A hands-on activity devised by Sir Harry Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya Latvia, watching the videos to be a much more provides lessons about world geogra- Lithuania, Mexico, Macedonia, The phy in parallel with buckyballs! Netherlands, Portugal, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Spain, South GooYouWiki-World Online Key Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Café Scientifique Turkey, Uganda, the United Kingdom, www.cafescientifique.org enjoyable experience than marking exam and the United States. scripts. Sir Harry predicts that in the There is also a Café Sci movement in Glasgow’s Café Scientifique future such presentations will form on-line schools. A similar format is followed but, www.cafescientifique.org/glasgow.htm CVs for students. in this case, school pupils engage with Unfortunately there was only time for scientists during their lunch break or Café Sci movement in schools Sir Harry to illustrate a small sample of after school in the informal environment www.juniorcafesci.org.uk the breadth of material made available by of their school library or cafeteria. Topics Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) the Vega Science Trust and GEOSET. Sir debated have included, “Will men ever www.rsc.org Harry spent the majority of his presenta- have babies?” to “Do boys and girls have tion justifying the need for high quality the same IQ?” to “Are genetically modi- Vega Science Trust science resources to combat the zeal with fied crops doing more harm than good?” www.vega.org.uk which creationist philosophies, for exam- The school pupils provide their invited Global Educational Outreach for ple, are expounded. Sir Harry passionately speakers with a considerable challenge, Science, Engineering and made the case for global science educa- demanding answers to probing, insight- Technology (GEOSET) tion based on scientific evidence. He ful questions, which bodes well for the www.geoset.info abhors the creationist museums which future of the inquiring mind and of the geoset.fsu.edu claim, for example, that dinosaurs appreciation of evidence-based science. roamed the earth together with man and Let’s hope such activities will give Sir “Nanoscience and Nanotechnologies: maintain that dinosaurs no longer exist Harry hope for the future. Opportunities and Uncertainties” because they died in Noah’s flood; he is www.nanotec.org.uk/report/ horrified that these museums are running Carol Trager-Cowan is a Reader in the Nano%20report%202004%20fin.pdf. children’s education programs. Sir Harry Department of Physics at Strathclyde is evangelical with regard to the negative University, Glasgow, UK. MRS BULLETIN • VOLUME 34 • DECEMBER 2009 • www.mrs.org/bulletin 000.