CHAMPAIGN, IL (Chambana Today) – The global Pint of Science festival launches in Champaign-Urbana this May.

The festival is open to the local community, including science enthusiasts and curious minds. Participants can grab a drink and dive into the groundbreaking research at the Pint of Science Festival presented by researchers from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The festival takes place from May 19 to 20. Each evening starts at 7:00 p.m. at the Cowboy Monkey and Gallery Art Bar, with more information below. UIUC researchers will bring their science to life in casual, engaging talks.

The festival is part of a global initiative that spans over 25 coutnries and 500 locations. This year’s CU edition will feature talks covering a wide range of topics — from black holes and baseball physics to turning plastic into jet fuel and bioengineering better beer ingredients.

COWBOY MONKEY

Monday, May 19 – “Atoms to Galaxy”

  • Prof. Alan Nathan: “Revisiting Mickey Mantle’s 565-ft Home Run: A Case Study in Forensic Physics”

  • Dr. Hong Lu: “Converting Plastic Waste into Jet Fuel Additives”

  • Prof. Charles Gammie: “A Portrait of a Black Hole”

Tuesday, May 20 – “Planet Earth”

  • Anya Knecht: “Engineering Survival”

  • Dr. Victoria Farrah: Insights into our brains and bodies—from birds?

  • Farah Bemi: Preventing Water Pollution on Land and Onshores

GALLERY ART BAR

Monday, May 19 – “Atoms to Galaxy”

  • Prof. Nico Yunes: “Physics Through Black Hole”

  • Kort Beck: “The Fundamental Ingredients of Our Universe”

  • Brittany Karki: “Devil’s Loop Photonic Compressor”

Tuesday, May 20 – “Planet Earth”

  • Assistant Prof. Rose Marks: “A Long Wait Between Drinks” (Resurrection Plants)

  • Prof. Stephen Moose: “BeerCorn: A ‘Pint of Science’ More than a Century in the Making”

  • John Scott: “A Pint of Plastic? No Thanks”

Admission is $2 and can be reserved at pintofscience.us/events/urbana-champaign. Seating is first-come, first-served.