Street corner, river front science

6-Jun-10 – In the early 1960s, along with two other scientists, Dr. Leon M. Lederman (left) discovered an atomic particle called the muon neutrino. It led to a career at Fermilab in Batavia, Illinois, the 1988 Nobel Prize for physics, and uniquely qualified him to dispense advice on science on Michigan Avenue Sunday afternoon.

For two hours, “Street Corner Science” gave passers-by outside the Wrigley Building the opportunity to “Ask a Nobel Laureate” any question about science, technology, or the natural world.

More than 100 people lined up to ask Dr. Lederman a question. Topics ranged from questions about “dark matter,” a mysterious component of the universe, to who would win the Stanley Cup. One lucky eighth grader got advice on a Science Fair project.

Monsour Eslani, a professor of electrical engineering and mathematics at UIC who lives nearby the Wrigley Building, was last in line but did not have a specific question. “I feel this is my neighborhood and when somebody like him comes here, I just want to say hello.”

The event was organized by Chicago Council on Science and Technology, a non-profit group that, according to its web site, “seeks to be the preeminent regional consortium for science and technology-related education and policy.”

 Web site: Chicago Council on Science and Technology