Speaker
Prof.
Kevin Pitts
(University of Illinois)
Description
Elizabeth Clements
Angels & Demons: The real story behind the lecture nights
On May 15, Sony Pictures released Angels & Demons, a major motion picture based on Dan Brown’s best–selling novel. Starring Tom Hanks and directed by Ron Howard, the film focuses on an apparent plot to destroy the Vatican using antimatter made at the Large Hadron Collider and stolen from CERN. Through a series of public lectures, scientists used this opportunity to tell the world about the real science of antimatter, the Large Hadron Collider and the excitement of particle physics research. In the months of May and June, more than 60 lectures took place at universities, laboratories and other venues in the U.S., Canada and Europe. Nearly 5,000 people attended the lectures in the U.S. and Canada alone. My talk will go behind the scenes and outline how the Fermilab Office of Communication and the CERN Press Office organized the lecture nights. I will highlight lessons learned and how we can use the Angels & Demons lecture nights as an example to plan future successful public outreach activities.
Primary author
Prof.
Kevin Pitts
(University of Illinois)
