World Science Summit

Preceding the public events was the invitation-only World Science Summit on May 28, 2008; New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg opened the Festival. At the summit, an invited audience interacted with eminent scientists in several panel discussions. Participants included Nina Fedoroff (Science and Technology Advisor to U. S. Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice), biologist David Baltimore and cancer researcher Harold Varmus.^[9]

As part of the summit, the winners of the first Kavli Prizes were announced in a simulcast linking New York City and Oslo. The first Kavli Prize for astrophysics was awarded to Maarten Schmidt and Donald Lynden-Bell for their pioneering work on quasars. Louis E. Brus and Sumio Iijima shared the nanoscience prize for their contributions to the science of quantum dots and carbon nanotubes, respectively. Pasko Rakic, Thomas Jessell and Sten Grillner were awarded the neuroscience prize for their research into how neuronal networks develop and communicate.^[10]

Festival events

Panel discussion on "What it Means to Be Human" at the 2008 World Science Festival

Events covered a wide variety of scientific topics, and combined talks, demonstrations, video presentations and panel discussions. A number of events addressed "big questions". For example, a roster of scientists including physicist William Phillips, philosopher Patricia Churchland, neuroscientist Antonio Damasio, philosopher Daniel Dennett, cognitive scientist Marvin Minsky, and cancer researcher Harold Varmus, debated "What It Means to Be Human" in a panel discussion moderated by Charlie Rose. A recurring theme was the wider implications of scientific results, as exemplified by a discussion on the promises and consequences of personal genomics involving biochemist Paul Nurse, sociologist Nikolas Rose, and human genome project leader Francis Collins. A number of events explored the interface between science and the arts; for instance, a panel including psychologist Nancy C. Andreasen, choreographer and dancer Bill T. Jones, and actor and writer Michael York focused on the scientific study of creativity. Other audiences saw physicists Lawrence Krauss and radio host Ira Flatow presenting modern cosmology, paleontologist Richard Leakey exploring the sixth extinction, soundscape ecologist Bernie Krause reflecting on the loss of biophony, and chemist F. Sherwood Rowland and Rensselaer Polytechnic president Shirley Ann Jackson discussing new ways of satisfying humanity's energy needs. A number of events were co-productions with the festival's partners, such as a discussion between Robert Krulwich and neurologist and author Oliver Sacks on perception, held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and musician Mark Oliver Everett's exploration of the scientific legacy of his father, Hugh Everett, at the Museum of Modern Art.^[11]

The festival's cultural program ranged from a string theory-themed dance performance choreographed by Karole Armitage to a storytelling event in cooperation with The Moth, which featured journalist and writer Lucy Hawking, physicist Jim Gates and writer Sam Shepard, among others. Alan Alda revisited his role as Richard Feynman in Peter Parnell's play QED in a staged reading at Columbia University's Miller Theatre, and the choir of the Abyssinian Baptist Church joined Oliver Sacks in an exploration of music and science. The festival also saw the première of Dear Albert, a reading for the stage written by Alda based on the letters of Albert Einstein, and starring Anthony LaPaglia as Einstein.^[12]

Events for a younger audience included an examination of the science of sports (with sports scientist Tom Crawford, neuroscientist David Eagleman, and athletes such as Brevin Knight, Lisa Willis and Leilani Mitchell). For the festival's first event, New York City high-school students interviewed robotics expert Cynthia Breazeal and physicist Leon Lederman on-stage, moderated by MTV's SuChin Pak. Another event was presented by the Disney Imagineers, who explored the science of special effects and amusement park technology, from roller coasters and fireworks to motion capture and artificial fog.^[13]

Street Fair

"Mathemagician" Arthur T. Benjamin squaring a five-digit number in his head at the WSF Street Fair

The WSF Street Fair took place in and around Washington Square Park, on the New York University campus, on Saturday, May 30, 2008. Although it was interrupted by a thunderstorm, the street fair was attended by 100,000 people, according to estimates from the New York Police Department.^[14]

Stage events at the street fair included live performances by the "Mathemagician" Arthur T. Benjamin, "science rapper" Zach Powers of PCR RAP fame,^[15] and a band called "The Mathematicians", science demonstrations by teams from institutions such as the Liberty Science Center and the Franklin Institute, and presentations by journalist and author Lucy Hawking and visual artist Scott Draves, among others. The street fair featured appearances by Disney's animatronic dinosaur Lucky, by characters from science- and education-related TV shows such as Cyberchase, It's a Big Big World, Clifford the Big Red Dog and Zula Patrol, as well as demonstrations by teams participating in the New York–New Jersey FIRST Robotics Competition, and hands-on activities such as owl pellet dissections and miniature rocket launches. Also present were a movable museum from the American Museum of Natural History and the Magic School Bus.^[16]

Reception

Festival coverage leading up to the 2008 festival, which included articles in major newspapers and appearances by Alda and Greene on national shows such as Regis and Kelly and The Colbert Report, mostly focused on introducing the festival's concept, organizers and events, and on the promise of bringing an event of this type to New York.^[17] Aside from mention of small organizational glitches, coverage of festival events was generally positive. Both Good Morning America and Science News focused on the potential of the festival to inspire the next generation of scientists and "make geek chic".^[18] The New York Post described the festival's role in New York's cultural landscape as the geek counterpart of Fashion Week and the Tony Awards,^[19] while the Science Channel's coverage characterized the festival as "wonderfully inspiring and informative".^[20] The New York Times noted that Greene and Day appeared to have succeeded in creating "a new cultural institution";^[21] further Times articles declared the festival a critical and a box office success.^[22]

Online coverage typically focused on specific festival events. Notably, Science, Wired, The Science Channel and USA Today provided same-day or next-day accounts of events including "What It Means to Be Human", "Ramachandran/Kurzweil: Humanity Now/Humanity Next", "Future Cities", as well as the two events featuring Oliver Sacks.^[23]