About us
INTRODUCTION BY THE GROUP CO-ORGANISER, BOB
Café Science – Basingstoke is an independent, not‑for‑profit forum for curious minds. We bring together scientists, technologists, and interested members of the public to discuss the latest developments in science, technology, and climate change — in a relaxed, inclusive environment.
We welcome anyone with an interest in exploring big ideas — whether you're deeply knowledgeable or just curious. We hope you enjoy the talks and livestream events we publicise, and help us grow this community of science conversation.
ABOUT LOCAL IN-PERSON TALKS
We encourage our subscribers to attend in-person talks hosted by local science discussion groups that are within easy reach of Basingstoke. The groups we mostly publicise include Science in Reading, Henley Science Cafe, Romsey Science Cafe, Salisbury Science Cafe and Winchester Skeptics in the Pub.
The in-person events include a speaker plus a break with a follow-on Q&A discussion of the presentation topic. The speakers will often be researchers and experts in their field invited from local companies and academic centres and are specialists in the subjects under discussion.
IN-PERSON ADMISSION / DONATION FEES
You should be aware that groups running in-person talks will often request an admission fee or donation of up to £5 towards speakers and group expenses.
ONLINE LIVESTREAM TALKS
For those unable to attend the in-person talks, we also provide details of lectures and discussions delivered as on-line livestream talks that you can watch with your family, friends and neighbours. Why not make the most of this great social opportunity by inviting others to join you in a cafe or at home and then have your own discussion afterwards about the topic you watched. The livestream talks and discussions include those from The Royal Institution, The Royal Society, Gresham College and occasional University public lectures.
BOOKING LIVESTREAM EVENTS
Access and booking arrangements for online live stream talks are always handled by the talk organisers outside of this meetup site. Please ensure you take the time to read the booking instructions carefully.
GROUP ORGANISERS
Meetup requires an official group administrator, so Andrew C manages the Meetup account and related logistics. Bob Clifford continues to head up the event planning, coordination, and group leadership. Bob now works from Norwich and oversees the event calendar remotely, so while he may not attend many local meetups in person, he remains the primary contact via Meetup for all group queries and planning matters.
NOTIFICATIONS
Join this meetup group to receive email notifications via Meetup of any in-person and live stream science and technology talks, debates and lectures that we hear about.
Upcoming events
9
Salisbury Cafe Sci: "Smart Green Shipping"
Salisbury Rugby Football Club, Castle Road, Wiltshire, GBThis is an in-person talk hosted by Salisbury Science Cafe. Everyone from Basingstoke Science Cafe is more than welcome to attend and we look forward to seeing you!
The February talk will be given by Di Gilpin who will be talking about how her innovations in wind propulsion technologies are revolutionising global shipping with significant environmental benefits.
More details at the Salisbury Science Cafe web site below:
https://cafescientifiquesalisbury.org.uk/event/di-gilpin-smart-green-shipping/SUMMARY
From early mobile phones and Formula One to grand prix yacht racing, Smart Green Shipping (SGS) Founder & CEO Di Gilpin has spent her career demonstrating that “impossible” innovation becomes achievable when you commit to tackling the challenge. In this talk, she explores how the mindset that fueled her success in fast-paced industries can be applied to transforming global shipping — a sector often regarded as “hard-to-abate.”Di introduces FastRig, SGS’ lightweight, stowable wingsail, and its “Wind‑as‑a‑Service” circular business model, designed to cut fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions by up to 40% per year while delivering attractive investor returns. By combining cutting‑edge engineering, digital performance prediction tools and flexible leasing, the system turns regulatory and technical complexity into commercial advantage.
Backed by major partners — including the world’s second-largest shipping company Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, leading UK renewable energy supplier Drax, and a network of expertise across the UK and Scotland — SGS offers end-to-end solutions and innovative business models that enable whole-system collaboration across shipowners, cargo owners, financiers, insurers, lawyers, and scientists. This is how SGS transforms challenges into a thrilling race for competitive advantage.
ABOUT OUR TALKS
We thank you for your attendance at our talks and look forward to seeing you this evening.Our regular programme of Café Scientifique Salisbury events are free to attend and there is no need to book places. For special events, there may be a small charge and booking may be required but these are typically in addition to the usual programme of events. Keep up to date with all our activities via Twitter, Facebook or sign up to our mailing list. Feel free to contact us with any queries although you may find the answer you need in our Frequently Asked Questions.
There are collection tins at the venue and any donations are gratefully received but recommend a minimum of £3. We use these to help cover running costs and make modest contributions to speaker's expenses (only where necessary; speakers are not paid to give talks and, in most cases, they cover their own expenses too).
Events open at 7.00pm for a 7.30pm start unless otherwise indicated.
Science in Reading: "AI Griefbots and Memorybots"
Zerodegrees Microbrewery & Restaurant Reading, 9 Bridge Street, Reading, GBBasingstoke Science Cafe members are invited to the Science in Reading event "AI Griefbots and Memorybots" delivered by Professor Dan Remenyi at Zero Degrees in Reading.
Science in Reading monthly meetups are held upstairs at Zero Degrees (9 Bridge St, Reading RG1 2LR) from 7pm with the talk starting at 7.30pm.
More information about this event and the organisers can be found at the following web address.
https://www.meetup.com/science-in-reading/events/313081553Please do come along, grab a beer/food at the downstairs bar (the mango beer and wood fired pizza are epic) and enjoy a relaxed evening of talks + networking + beers.
7:00pm Arrivals
7:30pm Welcome and Introductions
7:35pm AI Griefbots and Memorybots (Professor Dan Remenyi)
8:20pm Comfort Break
8:30pm Q&A
9:00pm Networking
9:30pm EndMore Information
AI Griefbots and Memorybots (Professor Dan Remenyi)
Join Professor Dan Remenyi for a compelling exploration into the revolutionary emergence of Griefbots and Memorybots. These specialized AI tools utilize personal datasets of words and memories to create comforting simulations for the bereaved and provide vital support for individuals living with cognitive impairment and dementia.
As this technology begins to shape how we approach the end of life, this session will address the significant ethical, emotional, and technical challenges involved in digitizing human legacy and commemoration. Discover how we can responsibly navigate this new frontier of AI-driven memory preservation.
Time: 7pm until late (talk starts at 7.30pm)
Venue: Downstairs @ Zero Degrees (Reading)If you would like to get involved and support your local Science community please get in touch – email: scienceinreading [at] gmail.com or twitter: Science in Reading (@Science_Reading)
Speaking slot availability can be found via the website.
We meet 1st Tuesday of the month. Format is gathering from 7.00pm with talks commencing at 7.30pm. Talks timings are completely flexible but generally 40-60mins + Q&A with a ~20mins break to encourage social networking.
SPEAKER
Prof Dan Remenyi specialises in research methodology. He was for more than a decade a Visiting Professor in Information Systems Management at the School of Systems and Data Studies at Trinity College, University of Dublin. He teaches Research Methodology and Sociology of Research. He has authored or co-authored more than 30 books and some 50 academically refereed papers. He is published in all 4 of the ‘A’ rated Journals in the United Kingdom in Information Systems Management. Some of his books have been translated into Chinese, Japanese and Romanian. He holds a B Soc Sc, an MBA and a PhD.Contact’s: email: scienceinreading [at] gmail.com or twitter: Science in Reading (@Science_Reading)
Look forward to seeing you there!
Royal Society - Clifford Paterson Lecture: Weighing molecules with light
The Royal Society, 6-9 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1Y 5AG, London, GBMeet world-leading researchers from universities and science institutions across the UK at the Royal Society’s public events of cutting-edge science. Tonight's lecture is "Weighing molecules with light" as the Royal Society Clifford Paterson Prize Lecture 2026 delivered by Professor Philipp Kukura FRS.
This livestream event is free to join and requires prior registration with the Royal Society at the web address below.
https://royalsociety.org/science-events-and-lectures/2026/02/clifford-paterson-prize-lecture/
SUMMARY
Professor Kukura will cover how the development and use of scales was critical to trade, the creation of money and thus the development of human society. Weight and mass are used somewhat interchangeably for day-to-day objects, but need to be differentiated as objects become smaller and smaller. Once we reach scales much smaller than the width of human hair, gravity is no longer the dominant force experienced by objects and can thus not be used to quantify objects by ‘weighing’ them. Instead, we need to measure their mass, which corresponds to the amount of matter in an object. Due to the difficulty of operating on the microscopic scale, only a very small number of methods have been developed to measure the mass of molecules over the past century. Professor Kukura will describe the development of mass photometry – a method that measures the mass of molecules and viruses by shining light at them, effectively ‘looking at them’. Professor Kukura will explain the principles of operation, and show how this technique is being used broadly in academia and industry to understand the basis of disease and aid in the development of next generation therapeutics.SPEAKER
Philipp Kukura was born in Czechoslovakia and educated in Germany, the UK, the US and Switzerland. His research focuses on the interaction of light with matter, with a particular emphasis on the development of new approaches to study biomolecules, and thereby their function and regulation. He has been part of the Chemistry faculty at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of Exeter College since 2011. In 2018 he co-founded Refeyn Ltd. With Justin Benesch, Daniel Cole and Gavin Young, which has commercialised mass photometry, and acted as CEO until 2021. He is currently Professor of Chemistry at the Kavli Institute for Nanoscience Discovery at the University of Oxford focussing on next generation light-based technologies for the life sciences.## Attending the event
- The event is free to join, please register via register via Eventbrite
- Live subtitles will be available in-person and virtually
### Attending online
- The lecture can be attended in person at the Royal Society
- Please note that as this is a free event, we anticipate that not everyone who reserves tickets will use them and we therefore make more tickets available than there are seats. You are highly unlikely to be refused entry but please be aware that admission is on a first-come, first-served basis and not guaranteed. Please arrive early to secure a seat
- This event is free to join. Pre-bookable tickets are available on Eventbrite
- Live subtitles will be available in-person and virtually
- Doors will open at 6pm
Find travel and accessibility information on our website. Please email us with any access requirements or questions.
- You can take part in the live Q&A via Slido
- This event will be recorded (including the live Q&A) and the recording will be available on YouTube soon after the event
For all enquiries, please contact awards@royalsociety.org.
1 attendee
Royal Society - Michael Faraday Lecture: This is not the AI we were promised
The Royal Society, 6-9 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1Y 5AG, London, GBMeet world-leading researchers from universities and science institutions across the UK at the Royal Society’s public events of cutting-edge science. Tonight's lecture is "This is not the AI we were promised" as the Royal Society Michael Faraday Prize Lecture 2026 delivered by Professor Michael John Wooldridge.
This livestream event is free to join and requires prior registration with the Royal Society at the web address below.
https://royalsociety.org/science-events-and-lectures/2026/02/faraday-prize-lecture/
SUMMARY
Contemporary AI systems like ChatGPT are remarkable. They appear to be confident, articulate experts that can turn their hand to anything we might care to ask them about. It is easy to be dazzled and to conclude that the long-held dream of truly intelligent machines is no longer a dream but a practical reality. Yet these new AI behemoths present a conundrum. While on the one hand, they truly are remarkable, they manifestly fail many of the most basic tests of rational intelligence. For one thing, they simply don't know, and can't tell, what is true and what isn't. They are hopelessly inconsistent; they have no sense of their limits of their knowledge or abilities; they are comically suggestible; and they are easily steered to flights of surrealistic fantasy. AI researchers are busy inventing a completely new field of experimental AI to try to get to grips with these bizarre new artefacts. This is all the more surprising because it is so far removed from popular expectations of what AI would be like: remorselessly logical. So what are we to make of it all? How should we think about the new AI?In his talk, Professor Michael John Wooldridge will look at how the new AI works and why, as a consequence, it exhibits these weird, frustrating, fascinating behaviours. He will show just how far the new AI is from classical expectations and talk about the next frontiers for AI - and how far we are from the dream.
SPEAKER
Michael Wooldridge is the Ashall Professor of the Foundations of Artificial Intelligence at the University of Oxford. He has been an AI researcher for more than 30 years and is one of the founders of the field of multi-agent systems. He is a Fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), the Association for the Advancement of AI (AAAI) and is currently co-editor in chief of “Artificial Intelligence” journal. He has received the Lovelace medal from the British Computer Society (2020), the Patrick Henry Winston Outstanding Educator Award from the Association for Advancement of AI (2021), and the Distinguished Service Award from the European Association for AI (2023). In 2023 he was appointed specialist advisor to the House of Lords inquiry on Large Language Models. He has published two popular science introductions to AI: the Ladybird Expert Guide to AI (2018), and The Road to Conscious Machines (2020). He presented the 2023 Royal Institution Christmas Lectures, broadcast by BBC TV over December 2023, in the 198th year of the series.## Attending the event
- The event is free to join, please register via register via Eventbrite
- Live subtitles will be available in-person and virtually
### Attending online
- The lecture can be attended in person at the Royal Society
- Please note that as this is a free event, we anticipate that not everyone who reserves tickets will use them and we therefore make more tickets available than there are seats. You are highly unlikely to be refused entry but please be aware that admission is on a first-come, first-served basis and not guaranteed. Please arrive early to secure a seat
- This event is free to join. Pre-bookable tickets are available on Eventbrite
- Live subtitles will be available in-person and virtually
- Doors will open at 6pm
Find travel and accessibility information on our website. Please email us with any access requirements or questions.
- You can take part in the live Q&A via Slido
- This event will be recorded (including the live Q&A) and the recording will be available on YouTube soon after the event
For all enquiries, please contact awards@royalsociety.org.
1 attendee
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