March 12, 2004

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Palo Alto Online

A cup of joe -- with a shot of science

by Jocelyn Dong

Shots of java are an expected pick me up at Harmony Bakery, located along California Avenue. But Tuesday night, other things were stimulating -- namely, conversation.

A standing-room-only crowd of 60 gathered that night to launch Café Scientifique, which invites science experts to discuss topics involving their expertise -- in language the average Joe can understand. This past week, the speaker was Doug Osheroff, a 1996 Nobel laureate and chair of the physics department at Stanford University. His topic: The Columbia shuttle disaster and the future of space exploration. Osheroff served on the board investigating the shuttle failure.

In a discussion that ranged from the cause of the accident to the value of human space exploration, the all-ages audience chimed in with questions and arguments. The scene played out exactly as Roger Whiting -- who brought the idea to the community -- envisioned after attending a Café Scientifique event last summer in Scotland.

"It seemed such an informative and fun event. I thought, 'This would go down well in the Bay Area,'" said Whiting, the president of Roxro Phrama in Menlo Park. "What was interesting was it brought current and potentially controversial issues from science to the public to ask questions. It makes science fun and accountable."

The Café Scientifique concept originated in Britain about six years ago. Modeled after France's Café Philosophique movement of the early 1990s, now more than 20 Cafes Scientifique have sprung up around the globe.

Although the event seems like a grass-roots effort, it requires financial sponsors and even an advisory board to launch. Whiting teamed up with former co-worker Nancy Peterson of Roche and Catherine Martineau of Martineau & Associates to gather an advisory board of eight well-connected individuals to identify hot issues and compelling speakers.

Future topics may include stem-cell research, farm-raised versus wild fish, digital implants in humans, and even the cosmetic uses of Botox. Next month, the café will look at the science of predicting earthquakes.

The café's format includes about a half-hour of presentation and 45 minutes of questions and answers. Wendy Levine, a biotechnology professional who attended the Tuesday event, observed that audience members had more time to ask questions than at professional scientific presentations.

Amid an atmosphere that was enormously civil, a few women provided some of the evening's liveliest moments by countering Osheroff's criticism of possible colonization programs on Mars. When Osheroff said astronauts would have to live underground due to solar radiation, one woman asserted some might want to go to Mars -- and stay there for good.

"I believe there are those people, but NASA doesn't want to send them," Osheroff replied to the crowd's laughter.

Aside from a plethora of book-discussion groups in Palo Alto, the convening of strangers for the purpose of intellectual discussion -- without an agenda -- is fairly unique, a fact recognized by some who attended.

Palo Alto resident Ruth Robertson liked the opportunity Café Scientifique provided to engage her neighbors in topics more substantial than the weather.

"I like the idea of a café society," said Robertson, who plans on coming to the next event as well.

A similar group, called the Conversation Café, meets weekly to discuss topics with a social-justice slant. They do not bring in guest speakers, but allow members to propose topics. That group convenes in the courtyard of Border's Books & Music on University Avenue every Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. The next Café Scientifique is April 13. Information can be found on the Web at www.cafescipa.org. Assistant Editor Jocelyn Dong can be reached at jdong@paweekly.com.

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