Craft beer & some conversations with researchers on AI, evolution, outer space

Pune: Scientists discussing Mars missions over craft beer... that is exactly what Pune will witness from Monday as the three-day global festival Pint of Science India returns to the city.

Dorf Brewhouse in Baner and Quench Bar and Eatery will turn into informal science hubs from May 18 to 20. Researchers will speak directly with the public about their work, far away from intimidating lecture halls and academic jargon.

Pint of Science was founded in 2012 by scientists Praveen Paul and Michael Motskin of Imperial College, London. It is a non profit initiative built on a simple but powerful idea that science should not remain confined to laboratories, journals or academic conferences. The festival is organised largely by volunteer postgraduate researchers, postdoctoral fellows, lecturers and public engagement professionals. It creates informal spaces where scientists can speak directly with the public about their work in ways that are engaging, accessible and far less intimidating than traditional academic settings.

What began in the UK has grown into a global movement spanning over 500 cities across 27 countries. India joined the festival last year with editions in Pune, Bengaluru and New Delhi that drew packed audiences and widespread attention. This year, the festival has expanded to five Indian cities with 44 speakers across seven venues, including debut editions in Mumbai and Guwahati.

Professor at IUCAA and director of Pint of Science India Debarati Chatterjee said the festival is helping Indian research reach wider audiences. “It is opening the doors for visibility of Indian research and innovation on a global platform for the first time. It also highlights the role of women in science in the country, showcases career opportunities in diverse disciplines beyond the few popular ones and provides the scope for direct interaction through conversations between citizens, scientists, students and entrepreneurs to explore potential collaborations,” she said.

The Pune edition opens with a session titled From Red Spices to the Red Planet, where Anjali Kulkarni and Sneha Rode from SPPU will connect food chemistry, immunity and nutrition with planetary science and space exploration. Another session on Deep Tech from Space to Streaming Videos will feature discussions by researchers and technologists on how space science, AI, data systems and video streaming technologies intersect in everyday life.

Tuesday’s sessions take a more creative turn with Science Meets Art! hosted by artist and software professional Yogendra Joshi who will share how scientific principles influence artistic expression, pigments and materials. Another session, Follow the Light by Suryarao Bethapudi from NCRA, will explore optics, visual perception and the science behind how humans interpret light and colour.

The closing day shifts focus to life itself. A session on Life on Earth and Beyond by Sneha Pandit, postdoctoral fellow at IUCAA, will examine astrobiology, habitability and the search for extraterrestrial life, while a session on Nature and Nurture by integrative ecologist and global change biologist Mihir Joshi from IISc in Bengaluru, Vaishnavee Kulkarni, STEM educator and researcher at IISER Pune, and others, will delve into evolution, genetics and human behaviour.