Cool research, fun games, and drinks: The Pint of Science festival concludes

The Umeå Postdoc Society organised the Pint of Science festival from May 22nd to 24th.

One of the speakers, Pallabi Sengupta, used hand-crafted models to explain DNA structures! Picture credit: souviksarkarphotography.com

Each day of the festival was a fun-filled evening at Elektra, a bar in the city centre. Three researchers mesmerised the audience with their research every evening.

Monday, May 22nd

Maarten Jensen – “Social Simulation”
Kasturika Shankar – “The viral presentation”
Kalle Grill – “Moral philosophy of Procreation”

Hosted by Krishna Batthiprolu

Tuesday, May 23rd

Maria Podkorytova – “Global inside: advanced producer service companies, regions, and globalization”
Stefan Jansson – “Genetically Modified Plant Foods”
Nils Franzen – “The Openness of the Future”

Hosted by Kerstin Seier and Olivia Carlund

Wednesday, May 24th

Pallabi Sengupta – “From A to Z and Everything in Between: the wacky and wonderful world of DNA structures”
Lucas Demaret – “Searching for life on Mars using Raman Spectroscopy”
Francisco Gil Muñoz – “How I ended up in a newspaper for destroying museum samples. The story of a tree necromancer”

Hosted by Atin Sharma and Sophie Tronnet

The thought-provoking presentations covered a wide array of topics ranging from the science behind exploring life on Mars, GMO foods, Viruses, and DNA structures, to philosophical thought experiments like the environmental impact of procreation.

Francisco Gil Muñoz with his amazing research on the extraction of DNA from dead wood. Picture credits: souviksarkarphotography.com

The speakers were from different departments of Umeå University with a great mix of PhD students, PostDocs, and Professors.

Some presentations and activities really had the audience on their toes! Picture credits: souviksarkarphotography.com

They expressed their gratitude towards a supportive crowd that indulged them in excellent discussions and the audience was pleased to discuss research in a friendly setting.

Members from the audience participating in the paper plane flying competition! Picture credits: souviksarkarphotography.com

Besides the discussions, there were fun group activities like trivia, quizzes, and a paper plane competition, which added to the overall fun experience.

The audience participated in activities and there were surprise rewards for the winners! The bright smiles sum up the audience’s response to Pint of Science Umeå 23!! Picture credits: souviksarkarphotography.com

This was the second time the Umeå Postdoc Society got an opportunity to host this festival after a three-year hiatus following the pandemic.

The organising team received positive feedback with many asking for more of such events in a regular fashion. So, hold on to your hats, there may be more such festivals on the cards!