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Physics Girl - The collision of science and art

Physics Girl

Talk details

  • Date: 19 October
  • Time: 2:00 p.m.– 4:30 p.m.
  • Location: Wharton Center for Performing Arts
  • Tickets: Free tickets are required for entry
  • Livestream: The event will also be livestreamed in the FRIB auditorium, in conjunction with the MSU SciComm science-art exhibition outside the FRIB auditorium. No tickets required for livestream and art-exhibition.

Talk abstract

As part of the FRIB Saturday Morning Physics series, the MSU Science Communication organization (MSU SciComm) in partnership with FRIB presents its first live science-art show featuring Physics Girl. The show will be at the Wharton Center for Performing Arts. Free tickets are required for entry. The show will also be livestreamed inside the FRIB auditorium, in conjunction with the MSU SciComm science-art exhibition outside the FRIB auditorium. Other SciComm events are planned, including an FRIB virtual tour on the dome of Abrams Planetarium, and a “Beat the Scientist” event at The Grid Arcade and Bar.

Presenter

Physics Girl, Dianna Cowern

Dianna Cowern is the creator and host of the viral and PBS-sponsored “Physics Girl” web series with over 1.3 million subscribers, which is a resource for fun physics videos and other materials about physics and topics related to physics. Her videos total over 80 million views.  Her show has featured well-known figures, including Rodney Mullen, Bill Nye, and Anne Wojcicki—founder of 23andMe. In 2019, Dianna was named to the Forbes “30 Under 30” list.

Cowern researched dark matter with Professor Jocelyn Monroe as an undergraduate at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and low-metallicity stars with Professor Anna Frebel as a post-baccalaureate research fellow at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, before bringing her happy intern pants to General Electric, where she worked as a software engineer designing mobile apps.

Cowern is sought-after as a science communication expert, as well as an in-demand speaker, talking about the future of education and how to better relate to students using various medias. Cowern says, “I just love that physics can explain the world, and the weird intricacies of it, and the weird quirks of our universe.” Some of the biggest CEOs and leaders on the planet are fans of Cowern because their children are hooked on her educational YouTube Channel. She has been featured in Forbes, Science Magazine, Popular Science, Washington Post, U.S. News & World Report, Space.com, NBC, Vogue, HuffPost, Nerdist, and many more.