Last year, QUEST visited the largest laser beam in world: The National Ignition Facility in Livermore. The goal is to create fusion energy, a potentially clean & sustainable source of energy. After $3.5 billion and a decade of work, that facility is now ready to fire up. Experiments are expected to begin in April as the laser continues to "warm up". The fusion experiment will most likely not happen until 2010, when the laser has achieved enough power.

In celebration of the operational launch of the NIF, engineers & scientists from the facility are presenting a series of talks and discussions geared for the general public.

Monday 4/20

Ed Moses, Principal Associate Director, NIF at Down to a Science in San Francisco

Tuesday 5/12

Ed Moses, Principal Associate Director, NIF at Café Scientifique Silicon Valley

Thursday 6/4

Richard Boyd, Science Director, NIF at Science Buzz Café in Sebastopol

Tuesday 6/9

Jeffery F. Latkowski, Chief Engineer for the Laser Inertial Fusion-Fission Energy (LIFE) program at Ask a Scientist in San Francisco

Photo Credit: Ask A ScientistI usually write about upcoming science events, but this time I'm flipping the script.

Let me tell you about my experience at last night's Ask a Scientist: How Computers Look at Art last night (December 3rd) at the Axis Café in San Francisco. Full disclosure - I run a science café, so consider me a fan. However, I was determined to just be one of the crowd last night.

KQED QUEST has covered science cafés before, including a history of the movement. On to my story… I arrived at Axis Café about 630 PM to an almost full house (~50 people). After ordering some food and a glass of wine at the bar, I hunkered down in a cozy chair. I people watched the youngish good looking crowd for a few minutes before overhearing a conversation in front of me. A couple of women mentioned it was there first time at a science café. To both, the format sounded cool, but both they couldn't convince friends to join them. We talked for a few minutes; mainly they said most were scared off because this seemed like a science class, definitely not for the average person. No matter how you frame it, science in café still sounds like a lecture to most. What followed was hardly a lecture.

David Stork grabbed a mic and launched into a discussion on the Vermeer painting "The Girl With the Pearl Earring." His research uses computer modeling to analyze light and shadows on paintings. After skipping the math, he showed the painting nearly perfectly displayed shadows if from one light source. This confirmed what many art historians wondered, there was a model for that famous painting who sat in Vermeer's studio. The speaker was definitely moving along pretty fast, but luckily there were lots of questions to slow him down.

Professor Stork continued on, showing how this technique could also identify fakes (i.e. the cover from a Star Magazine with Brad & Angelina). Most famously, this new technique has called into question the Hockney-Falco thesis on how renaissance artists drew their subjects (using a lens of sorts).

What's amazing is that I knew nothing, nada, zip, zilch about art history and computer modeling prior to 7 PM last night. I still don't know much, but enough to talk about it with my wife and friends. That's the brilliant thing about these informal science events, the information sticks with you. It was definitely a fun way to spend a couple hours on a Wednesday night. Maybe there's a new adage out there: Science + Conversation = Fun. A glass of wine doesn't hurt that equation either.

Over a weekend in June, Boston will host a very provocative conference. The first annual US Science Café hosted by NOVA scienceNOW will bring together producers of Science Cafés for the first time in the United States to network and share best practices.

But what is a Science Café? It is a simple and compelling concept with an international history. A group of people interested in science meet monthly in a café setting to listen to a speaker for 20 minutes and then ask questions and launch into a discussion about the topic at hand. Across San Francisco, and the greater nation, Science Cafes are bringing science to the masses over a glass of wine or a piping latte.

For example, a local café called Ask a Scientist is presenting topics ranging from Ancient American Astronomy to How Computers Look at Art. Ask a Scientist, along with a great number of San Francisco Science Cafés, are also now in close communication. A San Francisco umbrella organization was set up to keep café producers appraised of interesting topics and available speakers. The conference is working on the umbrellas concept by bringing together a large community of producers to network and sharing ideas. Its aim is to create solid support to these independent cafes in order to keep the momentum going.

Although this is the first conference in the United States, Science Cafes have a longer, international history. Café philosophique was the first inkling of a science café. It was a grassroots forum for philosophical discussion, founded by philosopher Marc Sautet in Paris, France in the 1990's.

This concept was applied to café scientifique in 1998. Duncan Dallas, café founder, got the idea for the scientific forum from reading the obituary of Marc Suatet. He set up his first meeting in a wine bar in Leeds, England. Café scientifiques started popping up all over England and they were able to secure funding from the Welcome Trust because of their success. Now café scientifique is a recognized international movement linking those interested with cafes not only in England but through the rest of the world. Café scientifique provides seed funding to cafes in England and also provides resources and expertise to make forums successful in other countries.

Café scientifique has already led two conferences to bring producers together from around the world and Duncan Dallas has spoken at numerous conferences in the United States as well. Science Cafes are the American version of this movement and are closely tied to café scientifique. They have been a wonderful forum to inspire the public to think more about science in their daily lives. In much the same way as in England, individuals are starting these cafes on their own and then finding a huge network and support system to pool from. The conference in Boston is just one step towards informal science in the United States becoming part of a larger movement.

If you are interested in cafes and discussions near you, check out one of the many cafes in the area. A list of prominent Science Cafes in the San Francisco Bay Area and their website are listed below:

Ask a Scientist

Café Scientifique Silicon Valley

Down to a Science

East Bay Science Café

Science Buzz Café

To find a café outside of San Francisco – search café scientifique.

Cat Aboudara is the Special Projects Manager at California Academy of Sciences and works in the public programs division. The Academy is a wonderful fit for her because of her curiosity about the natural world and her experience in working with native California wildlife.