The internationally acclaimed Pint of Science festival is set to make its return to Portsmouth in May.
This unique international event brings cutting-edge science to local pubs, offering the public an opportunity to engage with researchers in a relaxed setting.
Founded eight years ago by two UK researchers, the festival aims to make science accessible and engaging for everyone. Attendees can look forward to a diverse line-up of talks and live experiments, covering topics from space exploration to environmental science.
Thousands of experts will host events over two days next month in 27 countries around the world, including 42 towns and cities across the UK.
In Portsmouth, events will be held at The Barley Mow on Castle Road and Chimes Restaurant on Winston Churchill Avenue on Monday 19, Tuesday 20 and Wednesday 21 May.
The speakers will cover a wide range of topics including efforts to clean up our oceans, the sights and sounds of space, how technology can solve and hinder crime, policing our prisons, and war.
The talks begin at 7pm. Tickets are available from the Pint of Science website , with each evening costing just £5.
Dr Anthony Butcher , Programme Lead (Geosciences) at the University of Portsmouth and Pint of Science co-organiser, said: ""Portsmouth has a proud tradition of civic engagement, and Pint of Science reflects that spirit by bringing world-class research into the heart of our community. By turning local pubs into spaces for discovery, we're not only making science accessible, we're sparking conversations that connect people, ideas, and curiosity. This is about breaking down barriers and showing that science is for everyone."
Following each talk there will also be an opportunity for the guests to ask questions about the research and participate in activities such as quizzes.
Pint of Science is a non-profit organisation organised by a grassroots community of thousands of volunteers from science, research and academia.
The mission is to provide a space for researchers and members of the public alike to come together, be curious, and chat about research in a relaxed environment outside of laboratories or lecture theatres.
Talks include:
The Barley Mow
Tuesday 20 May: Cleaning up water and understanding the oceans
- Invisible Environmental Heroes: Microbes That Eat Toxic Pollutants, by Dr Kenneth Wasmund, Lecturer in Environmental Microbiology
- Coccolithophores - tiny but mighty algae, by Dr Mariem Saavedra-Pellitero, Senior Lecturer in Micropalaeontology, University of Portsmouth, and Meriam Chouar, PhD Researcher in Micropalaeontology, University of Portsmouth
- Sclerochronology and the ocean timekeepers, by Dr Alejandro Roman Gonzalez, Lecturer in Marine Ecology
Wednesday 21 May: The sights and sounds of space
- The Sounds of Spacetime, by Professor Tessa Baker, Professor of Cosmology
- The James Webb Space Telescope: Peering Back in Time, by Sophie Newman, PhD student in Astrophysics
- Cosmic telescopes. Looking at the Universe through gravitational lenses, by Dr Giovanni Granata, Research Fellow in Strong Gravitational Lensing
Chimes Restaurant
Monday 19 May: An Abuse of Technology?
- Love or Butcher? Unmasking the Pig Butchering Romance Scam, by Dr Bing Han, Lecturer in Economic Crime
- Pyramid Schemes and Investment Scams, by Dr Branislav Hock, Associate Professor in Economic Crime and Compliance
- How technology can solve and hinder crime, by Dr Richard John, Subject Area Lead for Policing
Tuesday 20 May: Policing our Prisons
- VR: the lecture theatre for police education?, by David Knowles,PhD Researcher & Lecturer in Policing
- Prison is a disaster for women: Here's what could work instead, by Dr April Smith Senior Lecturer in Criminology and Psychology
- Squalor: why are prisons in this state and how can we change them?, by Professor Francis Pakes, Professor of Criminology
Wednesday 21 May: War, Vigilantes, and the Fallen
- Post-War Police Cooperation: Is it even possible?, by Dina Kapardis-Georgiou, Lecturer of Law and Criminal Justice
- Traversing Criminal Justice: Policing, Public Protection and Paedophile Hunters, by Dr Andy Williams, Principal Lecturer in Criminology & Criminal Justice
- Searching for the fallen: application of archaeological methods to the recovery and repatriation of those killed in action, by Dr Deborah Ryder,Lecturer in Forensic Studies, and Michelle Iisalo, Lecturer in Forensic Studies
