Big Ideas: Science

Marcus Chown of New Scientist Magazine on his Top 10 Bonkers Things About the Universe

A panel on Investing in Efficiency examines ways to manage energy demand and advance

technological ideas that may improve efficiency at every stage of the energy system. Featured panelists are Linda Nazar, Jillian Buriak, Alan Aspuru-Guzik and Cathy Foley. The Equinox Summit was held at the Perimeter Institute in Waterloo, Ontario, from June 5 - 9, 2011.

A panel on Building Capacity for the Future examines today's emerging technologies as well as the challenges associated with meeting global demand as we move toward an increasingly electrified energy system. Speakers include Jay Apt, Yacine Kadi, Craig Dunn, and Greg Naterer. The Equinox Summit was held at the Perimeter Institute in Waterloo, Ontario, from June 5 - 9, 2011.

Renate Loll from Utrecht University's Institute for Theoretical Physics delivers a lecture on Searching for the Quantum Origins of Space and Time. The lecture was recorded at the Perimeter Institute in Waterloo, Ontario, on May 5, 2010.

This kick-off session to the Equinox Summit features animated videos and a panel discussion on the themes of electricity generation, distribution, and storage. The energy experts discuss some of the technological challenges and implementation hurdles to be overcome if we are to meet our future electricity needs. The Equinox Summit: Energy 2030 was held at the Perimeter Institute in Waterloo, Ontario, from June 5 - 9, 2011.

Author and distinguished professor, Vaclav Smil, is interviewed by Andrew Revkin about the future of the planet. This discussion was part of the Q2C Festival in 2009.

Cory Doctorow answers questions following his lecture, Why it's a Bad Idea to Regulate Computers the Way We Regulate Radios, Guns, Uranium and Other Special-Purpose Tools

Professor Neil Turok, Chair of Mathematical Physics at Cambridge University, presents his lecture "What Banged?" which examines the possible causes of The Big Bang, the initial singularity that created our universe.

H. JAY MELOSH: What killed the dinosaurs? And is humanity headed for a similar fate? These questions are addressed by H. Jay Melosh, a Professor of Theoretical Geophysics at the University of Arizona, in this lecture entitled, "Death of the Dinos: Giant Impacts and Biological Crises". With the help of sophisticated computer simulations Melosh presents his "hot" new theory on the KT extinction that wiped out the dinosaurs some 65 million years ago.

University of Toronto Zoology researcher Susannah Varmuza who discusses the evolving field of Epigenetics and what research into such things as mouse coat colour is telling scientists about the age-old "nature versus nurture" debate.