March 27, Science Café – ‘Are We Alone in the Universe?’

By David Robinson

Celebrating its 5th year, this month’s Science Café will be held be at the Historic Arkansas Museum at 200 E. 3rd St., Little Rock, with a pre-event party at 6:30 p.m. All previous Science Café participants and attendees are encouraged to attend. The forum will be from 7:15 p.m.-9 p.m., and will return to its usual venue, the Vieux Carré Restaurant/Afterthought Bar, in April.

The Science Café is a relaxed opportunity for monthly exchanges with various experts. Admission is free, no reservations are needed, but seating is limited.

This month, panelists from Arkansas Tech University in Russellville, Hendrix College in Conway, and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, will lead the discussion. The moderator, Dorothy Graves, Ph.D., is a research assistant professor at the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute.

Following the Q&A discussion, a short clip from the NOVA program on the same topic will be shown.

Graves also will host the corresponding live call-in program, “Science Cafe Little Rock,” on National Public Radio-affiliate radio station KUAR FM89. The science talk show, featuring one speaker from the monthly panel of scientists and experts, is aired just prior (6:05-6:30 p.m.) to the live Science Café event. The March radio guest is Jeff Robertson, Ph.D., a physics professor at Arkansas Tech University.

Science Café forums are held the fourth Tuesday of the month except for July, August and December. Future topics include: To Market, To Market: Benefits of Local Produce; Alternate Energy, and Loneliness, Anxiety, & Depression, Oh My! Check out the website for information on monthly speakers and topics at www.sciencecafelr.com.

For more information on future Science Café events or to suggest topics/speakers, contact Science Café director Linda Williams, dean’s research liaison, UAMS College of Medicine, at 501-686-7418. To join the listserv and receive news on monthly speakers/events, send an email with “subscribe” in the subject field to sciencecafelr@gmail.com.

Science Café was created in partnership with UAMS, Arkansas Biosciences Institute, UALR College of Science and Mathematics, Southwestern Energy, Arkansas INBRE, Central Arkansas Section – American Chemical Society, UAMS Graduate School, KUAR-FM89, Vieux Carré/The Afterthought, and the Arkansas Academy of Sciences.

UAMS is the state’s only comprehensive academic health center, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Related Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a statewide network of regional centers; and seven institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, the Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, the Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy, the Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, the Psychiatric Research Institute, the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging and the Translational Research Institute. Named best Little Rock metropolitan area hospital by U.S. News & World Report, it is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has more than 2,800 students and 775 medical residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 10,000 employees, including about 1,000 physicians and other professionals who provide care to patients at UAMS, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the VA Medical Center and UAMS’ Area Health Education Centers throughout the state. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com.