Science Café Nijmegen

Tonight Science Café > THE SYSTEM SHIFT / NEW DIGITAL REALITY

AI systems, algorithms and online platforms increasingly shape what we see, trust and share — and with that, the realities we live in.

Tonight, Maarten de Rijke and Fernando Santos connect the dots between digital technologies, collective behaviour and the societal shifts now unfolding.

🎓 8 pm Maarten de Rijke (UvA, ICAI) and Fernando Santos (UvA)
🎶 7.30 pm Yandra - live 🇧🇷
📍 The Shamrock, Nijmegen
💸 Free entry | 🌐 English

Our final edition before the summer break - join us! 🍻

The System Shift through a far-reaching systemic transformation in how we communicate, organize, and make sense of the world. From generative AI such as ChatGPT and algorithmic recommendation systems to social media platforms and personalized feeds: digital technologies no longer merely mediate communication, they i...

tonight Science Café >
Dark Energy: Not so Constant? ( Achtertuin)
new observations challenge our picture of the universe ✨

This evening, at the restart of the spring, the Science Café returns to De Achtertuin with a special edition, bringing together Leiden cosmologists Guadalupe Cañas Herrera and Alessandra Silvestri to explore what new observations may be telling us about dark energy, gravity, and the universe itself.

🎓 8.30 pm Alessandra Silvestri (LEI) and Guadalupe Cañas Herrera (LEI)
🎶 8 pm Black Widow - live ⚡
📍 De Achtertuin (Vasim), De Kolk 14 Nijmegen
💸 free entry (no reservation)
🌐 English

Black Widow takes the nerding into another realm, weaving modular synths, live drums and trumpet into the evening.

Black Widow Live @ Birdcage Radio Black Widow;Pjotr Lasschuit (Modular Synthesizers, Trumpet)Diego ...

Tonight Science Café > Science and Truth (in Dutch) 🧠⚖️

Science is often described as the search for truth.
But is truth something science finds—or something it constructs through models?

Christoph Lüthy reflects on how scientific thinking has evolved across history.
Eric-Jan Wagenmakers discusses how probability and uncertainty shape what we take to be knowledge.

🎶 Live: Hannah Najia & Marius Holland

🗓 Tonight | 📍 The Shamrock
🎟 Free entry | Dutch language

👉 An evening about how science gets to “truth”—without ever holding it directly.

Tonight Science Café > From spikes to meaning – and back? 🧠⚡

How does the brain turn neural signals into thoughts, memories, or imagination — and can computers decode them?

Explore with:
✨ Fleur Zeldenrust (RU) – on neural coding and network dynamics
✨ Michael Tangermann (RU) – on decoding brain signals & brain–computer interfaces

with live jazz by Trio In Dubio 🎶

🗓 Tonight, 16 March 2026
🕢 Music 19:30 | Science 20:00–22:00
📍 The Shamrock, Smetiusstraat 17, Nijmegen
💬 Language: English | 🎟 Free entry (no reservation)

Can we read the brain — and what does that reveal about natural and artificial intelligence?
👉 Come find out, see you tonight!

Tonight Science Café > The Layers of Aging (in Dutch)

How does aging happen across biological scales?
On February 10, the Science Café dives into the science of aging — from molecules to the whole body! 👵🏻

With:
🔹 Liesbeth Veenhoff (ERIBA, UMCG) on the hallmarks of aging and aging on the molecular level
🔹 Victor Guryev (ERIBA, UMCG) on molecular networks and his
bioinformatics perspective
🔹 Marcel Olde Rikkert (Radboudumc) on the whole organism, a complex systems perspective and on how aging is studied and viewed


🎶 Live music by Croí — warm, atmospheric Irish folk
🍺 Enjoy a pint while discussing science!


🗓 Tonight, 10 February 2026
🕢 Music 19:30 | Science 20:00–22:00
📍 The Shamrock, Smetiusstraat 17, Nijmegen
💬 Language: Dutch | 🎟 Free entry, no reservation


See you tonight at the Science Café! ✨