A new festival coming to Coventry this month is bringing scientists into the local pub.

Pint of Science will take place on 14-16 May and will see more than 30 experts from the University of Warwick and Coventry University talking about their research in pubs and venues around the city.

Some of the topics they will be covering include the science of rollercoasters; how to hide a panda and what time of day you should take paracetamol. The scientists will also cover the behaviour of the sun, ice, diamonds, batteries, healthcare, measuring natural disasters, our hearts, brains and emotions, the life of a fly, the potential destruction of the universe and much more.

It is the first time Pint of Science has been held in Coventry which joins nearly 300 cities around the world taking part in this global festival.

Alison Phillips, engagement co-ordinator from the University of Warwick, said: “If you always end up thinking about the mysteries of the universe while enjoying your pint, or chatting about future-tech over a gin and tonic, then Pint of Science is for you. Come along and listen to scientists talk about topics like finding the perfect sunscreen, understanding why England always loses at penalties or how sleep affects your body. You don’t have to be an expert – just have an enquiring mind.”

Professor Richard Dashwood, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) at Coventry University said: “Pint of Science is an exciting opportunity for academics from Warwick and Coventry to tell their research story direct to a Coventry audience. There is some really fascinating and important work going on at both universities which will have an impact on people’s lives. It’s great to let the general public to hear about developments straight from the scientists.”

Researchers from the Universities of Warwick and Coventry will appearing at the Twisted Barrel, Drapers Bar, The Phoenix and Shopfront Theatre between 14 and 16 May.

Tickets are £4 in advance. For full event listings and tickets visit: pintofscience.co.uk/events/coventry

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Notes to editors:

Included in the talks in Coventry this year are:

Twisted Barrel, 14 May: Bad Bugs, No Drugs: Microbiologist, Professor Chris Dowson, talks about the potential medical time-bomb of antibiotic resistance. Antibiotics have been the greatest medical discovery of the 20th century, underpinning most of modern medical practice. But their overuse – and misuse – in human medicine and in agriculture, has led to a growing number of bacteria that are now resistant to these ‘wonder drugs’. Exacerbating this, most pharmaceutical companies are no longer interested in discovering new effective replacements. Chris will discuss how we have got to this point, and what might we have left for our children, old age and subsequent generations.

Twisted Barrel, 14 May: Why England always loses at penalties: Professor Michael Duncan discusses England’s Achilles heel – penalties. The England national football team have the worst penalty shoot-out record of any major football nation. Despite elite level footballers practising for many thousands of hours the question remains why, at major competitions, they fail to successfully perform a movement that they accomplish every day in training. Mike will explore why sports performers, including footballers, fail or choke when normally they should perform optimally.

Shop Front Theatre, 15 May: Future spies: man or machine? Professor Richard Aldrich talks about the changing world of secret intelligence. He’ll examine the impact of technology and globalization upon security and surveillance activities, exploring the likely future pathways over the next ten years. With the prevalence of the internet, social media and platform capitalism, he asks, will the next James Bond be a machine?

Drapers, 16 May: What to do when the Sun throws a temper tantrum: Tishtrya Mehta talks about the thing we haven’t seen much of so far this year – the sun! Though it is often seen to be calm and shining on a (rare) British summer's day, the Sun is actually firing cosmic ammunition into space with beautiful, and potentially devastating, effects. She'll explore what is causing this phenomena, how it can affect us, and what can we do to prepare ourselves.

All the talks are listed on the website: pintofscience.co.uk/events/Coventry

Tickets are £4 with proceeds going to Pint of Science, a non-profit organisation which provides materials and administrative support for the festival.

Pint of Science

Pint of Science is a non-profit organisation coordinated by a small central team who work alongside volunteers predominantly based within the various participating universities. A bit of background on the team can be found here - http://pintofscience.co.uk/team/

The 2018 programme will see UK talks held in: Bath, Birmingham, Bournemouth, Bristol, Cambridge Cardiff, Durham, Edinburgh, Exeter, Glasgow, Guildford, Hull, Kent, Leeds, Liverpool, London Manchester, Middlesbrough, Newcastle, Norwich, Nottingham, Oxford, Portsmouth, Sheffield, Southampton and York; and new for 2018 – Coventry, Colchester, Sunderland, Swansea, Stirling and Reading. Whilst every science evening during the festival is unique, each will include at least two experts presenting their research.

Imperial College London awarded Pint of Science the "President's Inspirational Partner Award for Excellence in Societal Engagement" in June 2017 and Pint of Science was awarded Points of Light by the UK Prime Minister in November 2015.

Hindawi have generously supported Pint of Science 2018, for more information on our partners please visit our website https://pintofscience.co.uk/partners/

4 May 2018

For press information, contact:
Andrea Cullis
Media relations manager
University of Warwick
E: a dot cullis at warwick dot ac dot uk
DD: 02476 528050
M: 07825 314874