Lectures on Tap - "Dark Matter: The Unsolvable Mystery"

Join us for a captivating evening with Dr. Joseph Howlett, a particle physicist turned science journalist, as he shares his firsthand experiences from the quest to unlock the secrets of dark matter. Just five years ago, Dr. Howlett was working deep underground in a cavern beneath the Gran Sasso mountain in Italy, where he helped assemble one of the world’s largest dark matter detectors. In this enlightening lecture, he will candidly discuss the ambitious global efforts to discover the elusive substance that constitutes 85% of the universe, and the unexpected challenges, dead ends, and surprises researchers encounter along the way. Dr. Howlett will also explore how these monumental experiments are reshaping our understanding of science itself—even when they don’t deliver the results we expect. Dr. Joseph Howlett is a Senior Reporter at Scientific American. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, the BBC, the San Francisco Chronicle, and many other outlets. Before becoming a journalist, he spent a decade as a particle physicist at Columbia and Stanford Universities, searching for answers to the universe’s biggest mysteries. Get a drink, connect, and learn at Lectures on Tap! 🙌 Agenda 6:30 PM – Doors open: find a seat (open seating!), order food & drinks, and expect a bar line—arriving early is key. 6:55 PM – Host introduction 7:00 PM – Lecture begins 7:45 PM – Audience Q&A 8:00 PM – Have 1:1 time with the speaker, mingle with fellow guests, and order another round 8:30 PM – Wrap up.