Videos of presentations from the Armidale chapter of Pint of Science have been posted on YouTube.

An inspired combination of science and beer (or any drink of choice), Pint of Science sets scientists in a local pub talking about their work to whoever is interested.

Armidale’s three PoS nights at the Wicklow Hotel were strongly attended, with around 60 people in the audience for two of them.

Organised by UNE PhD candidate Dane Lyddiard, the series started with the University of Sydney’s Dr Elizabeth New talking about the development of fluorescent probes for research, complemented by presentations from research students. The following night UNE’s Dr Gal Winter and Dr Rob Hart spoke around the theme of “We Love Your Guts!”, delivering fresh perspectives on gut microbes and appetites, again backed with research student presentations. NSW DPI’s Dr Guy Ballard, a close associate of UNE, wrapped the events with a talk on his work with invasive species.

Pint of Science started in London in 2012 when two research scientists at Imperial College London, Dr Michael Motskin and Dr Praveen Paul, started and organised an event called ‘Meet the Researchers’. It brought people affected by Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, motor neurone disease and multiple sclerosis into their labs to show them the kind of research they do. It was inspirational for both visitors and researchers.

They thought if people want to come into labs to meet scientists, why not bring the scientists out to the people? And so Pint of Science was born. In May 2013 they held the first Pint of Science festival in just three cities. It quickly took off around the world and is now in over 150 cities.