Mathematics

About the Cafe Scientifique Series

The 25th of April, 2006, saw the successful launch of Café Scientifique Portsmouth, the Portsmouth contribution to the world-wide Café Scientifique movement. The opening event was held at Le Café Parisien on Lord Montgomery Way in Portsmouth.

The opening event formed part of the celebrations marking the bicentenary of the birth of famous engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel in Portsmouth.  The guest speaker for the evening was Paul Jowitt of the Scottish Institute of Sustainable Technology. The event was covered by the ExpressFM radio station, who will be broadcasting a feature about Café Scientifique Portsmouth on Thursday 27 April. The report was simulcast over the internet and later available as a podcast.

What happens at a typical Café Scientifique event?

Café Scientifique provides a forum in which the public can meet and discuss issues with Scientists in an informal atmosphere. The evenings take place in a cafe and begin with a short talk by an invited expert speaker, after which those present are encouraged to chat about the topic presented, culminating in a series of discussions with the speaker in which questions are fielded by a chairperson. Speakers are discouraged from using PowerPoint presentations, which would result in a lecture atmosphere, and instead are encouraged to engage the audience verbally. The aim is to provide a welcoming environment in which to explore the deeper issues surrounding scientific topics of current interest, and to meet working Scientists to share viewpoints.

The Café Scientifique Portsmouth Team

Café Scientifique Portsmouth is organised in a partnership between the University of Portsmouth, DSTL, and Portsmouth City Council, with the team consisting in:

  • Maricar Jagger (Public Relations)
  • Andrew Burbanks (Mathematics)
  • Dominic Fox (Civil Engineering)
  • Janine Gibson (DSTL)
  • Heather Todd (Portsmouth City Council)
  • 2006 - 2007: Mary Hillier (Brunel Project, Portsmouth City Council)

We would also like to thank Le Café Parisien and Blackwell Bookshop for their support.

Café Scientifique world-wide

Café Scientifique Portsmouth is part of the world-wide Café Scientifique movement, a grassroots initiative to encourage the public engagement with science issues. The movement was founded by Duncan Dallas who opened the first Café Scientifique evening in Leeds, inspired by the Parisian Café Philosophique.