September 26, 2017

Northwestern Robert H. Lurie Medical Research Center, Baldwin Auditorium
303 E Superior St, Chicago, IL, USA

Our understanding of how to treat mental illnesses, and what can contribute to developing mental health problems, is constantly evolving. On September 26th, 2017 we will look at some of the current factors at play in the world today — from the role social media plays in our lives, especially the lives of children and teenagers, to identifying those among us most vulnerable or at-risk of developing mental health issues. Read more…

Chicago’s Potemkin Village: Why Chicago’s innovation economy has failed, and how we can grow an innovation economy built around invention, technology transfer, and entrepreneurship

Since 2012, Chicago has built an estimated 1.5 million square feet of coworking spaces, and about 80 or 90 incubators and accelerators. Read more…

September 6, 2017
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Center
400 South State Street, Chicago, IL, United States

Fermilab celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2017. What does the future hold for this world-renowned laboratory in Chicago’s western suburbs—and for physics itself?

Read more…

August 25, 2017
6:00 pm – 8:30 pm

Chicago Maritime Museum
1200 West 35th Street, Chicago, IL, United States

Most of us have been to natural history museums–toured the exhibits, pored over collections of bugs and bones–but who decides what goes on display? How did it all end up there? And what exactly does a curator do?

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August 21, 2017

Southern Illinois, and across the US

All of North America will enjoy a total eclipse of the sun on August 21, 2017. Those in the path of totality, where the moon completely covers the face of the sun and only the corona is visible, will experience a total solar eclipse–temperatures will suddenly drop, and wildlife will go eerily silent. This path of totality will stretch from Salem, Oregon to Charleston, South Carolina. The last time the Lower 48 experienced a total solar eclipse was 1979; the next one traveling coast to coast won’t be until 2045. Read more…

The discovery that a microorganism produced penicillin in 1928 ushered in an unprecedented global effort to mine for new antibiotics from the environment, in particular from microorganisms that live in soil. It remains one of the most impactful scientific discoveries in our species’ history, as it resulted in nearly doubling our life span. Read more…