http://www.worldsciencefestival.com The 2008 World Science Festival programs are described below. We were gratified by the overwhelming demand for these programs, and are pleased to report that every program sold out. Many of these programs will be made available online in the coming months. To receive information about the online programming, and the World Science Festival's year-round programs, please sign up here . daily 1 2008-03-05T22:13:54Z http://www.worldsciencefestival.com/2008-festival/events/all-events/pioneers-in-science Could robots someday be our friends? And what would you like to know about how the universe works? A select group of high school students interviewed Nobel Laureate physicist Leon Lederman and ground-breaking robotic engineer Cynthia Breazeal on a wide range of subjects in front of a live audience. No publisher naltman Signature Events Youth & Family Events 2008-09-25T19:51:38Z Event http://www.worldsciencefestival.com/2008-festival/events/all-events/towards-silence In this special presentation with the Rubin Museum of Art, neuroscientist V.S. Ramachandran explored the origin of human abilities while inventor and futurist, Ray Kurzweil presented his vision of the future dynamic between humans and technology. No publisher naltman Partner Events 2008-09-25T19:53:11Z Event http://www.worldsciencefestival.com/2008-festival/events/all-events/green-buildings The New York Academy of Sciences' discussion group program turned its attention to an investigation of the policy imperatives to establish metrics and measurements that will drive a new era sustainable design. No publisher mpoessel Partner Events 2008-09-25T19:54:28Z Event http://www.worldsciencefestival.com/2008-festival/events/all-events/parallel-lives Indie rock artist Mark Oliver Everett (“eels”) was joined by theoretical physicists Michio Kaku and Max Tegmark to explore his father’s astounding contribution to physics: a theory of parallel worlds. Presented in collaboration with the Paley Center for Media, the discussion followed the American premiere screening of Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives (to be broadcast this fall on NOVA). No publisher naltman Partner Events 2008-09-25T19:56:12Z Event http://www.worldsciencefestival.com/2008-festival/events/all-events/oxygen Who deserves the Nobel Prize for the discovery of the chemical element, oxygen? Three scientists — Lavoisier, Priestley, and Scheele — lay claim to the prize in this play, written by renowned chemists Carl Djerassi and Roald Hoffmann and presented in the form of a reading by Break A Leg Productions. No publisher naltman Partner Events 2008-09-25T19:57:06Z Event http://www.worldsciencefestival.com/2008-festival/events/all-events/bioart-in-the-age-of-terrorism Moderated by Carl Zimmer, this collaboration with Eyebeam Art & Technology Center was a provocative and timely exploration of controversial questions about the use of bio-materials as a medium for artistic expression. Featuring a panel that includes Steve Kurtz, the bio artist accused of illegally obtaining bio-medical materials for use in his work. No publisher mpoessel Partner Events 2008-09-25T19:58:36Z Event http://www.worldsciencefestival.com/2008-festival/events/all-events/you-and-your-irrational-brain In this special presentation of WNYC’s popular show Radio Lab, behavioral economist Dan Ariely, author of Predictably Irrational, joined science writer Jonah Lehrer and program hosts Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich to explore the often surprising factors which motivate and dictate human behavior. No publisher mpoessel Partner Events 2008-09-25T20:00:37Z Event http://www.worldsciencefestival.com/2008-festival/events/all-events/toil-and-trouble...-stories-of-experiments-gone Renowned researchers, writers, and artists, including Sam Shepard, Jim Gates, Nathan Englander, Lucy Hawking, and Michael Turner, took to the stage to tell uniquely personal stories about heroic failures, miscalculations and experiments — scientific and otherwise — gone wrong. Presented in partnership with New York's extraordinary storytelling collective, The Moth. No publisher naltman Partner Events 2008-09-25T20:02:20Z Event http://www.worldsciencefestival.com/2008-festival/events/all-events/einsteins-dreams Presented by Science & the Arts at The Graduate Center of the City University, this work was the stage adaptation of Alan Lightman's internationally acclaimed book, Einstein's Dreams. No publisher naltman Partner Events 2008-09-25T20:04:16Z Event http://www.worldsciencefestival.com/2008-festival/events/all-events/the-creating-brain Bill T. Jones, Michael York, Matthew Ritchie and Saul Griffith joined renowned neuroscientists to explore the brain’s creative impulses in a program that blended live performances and state-of-the-art brain imaging to shine a spotlight on the latest research informing our understanding of creativity and innovation. Moderator: John Hockenberry. No publisher naltman Signature Events 2008-09-25T20:05:53Z Event http://www.worldsciencefestival.com/2008-festival/events/all-events/cosmology Our audience joined Science Friday’s Ira Flatow in conversation with leading cosmologists Lawrence Krauss, Paul Steinhardt, and Lyman Page, and historian of science Helge Kragh as they discussed and debated new advances that are shaping our understanding of the cosmic order and our place within it. No publisher naltman Signature Events 2008-09-25T20:16:32Z Event http://www.worldsciencefestival.com/2008-festival/events/all-events/science-of-morality Philosophers Patricia Churchland and Daniel Dennett, neuroscientist Antonio Damasio and evolutionary biologist Marc Hauser discussed the science of right and wrong, and exploreed how our scientific understanding of morality may affect society, from shaping justice systems to deciding whether to engage in wars or assist others in economic and humanitarian struggles. Moderator: Jon Meacham. No publisher naltman Signature Events 2008-09-25T20:17:51Z Event http://www.worldsciencefestival.com/2008-festival/events/all-events/cool-jobs-in-science This multi-media event for curious minds of all ages invited our audience to meet scientists with some of the coolest jobs in the world — from crime scene investigator and space explorer to oceanographer and Disney Imagineer. No publisher naltman Signature Events Youth & Family Events 2008-09-25T20:19:21Z Event http://www.worldsciencefestival.com/2008-festival/events/all-events/the-bourne-identity Following a screening of The Bourne Identity, the film’s producer/director Doug Liman and psychiatrist/neuroscientist Giulio Tononi explored the science behind The Bourne Trilogy. Film scholar and producer/screenwriter James Schamus (Co-President of Focus Features) moderated. A special collaboration with MoMA. No publisher naltman Partner Events 2008-09-25T20:20:44Z Event http://www.worldsciencefestival.com/2008-festival/events/all-events/the-minds-eye In this special presentation with the Metropolitan Museum of Art, neurologist and best-selling author Oliver Sacks and NPR’s Robert Krulwich illuminated the often surprising relationship between vision and the brain. This wide-ranging discussion added a new chapter to Sacks’ ongoing exploration into the fascinating mysteries of the brain and human experience. No publisher naltman Signature Events 2008-09-25T20:22:27Z Event