Illinois Science Council (“ISC”) is an independent 501c3 organization that engages, educates, and entertains the public about science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) in our everyday lives. ISC serves as the adult complement to student-focused science efforts, and the science & tech counterpart to the region’s arts & culture offerings by raising STEM understanding and appreciation.

ISC explores a wide variety of topics with a fun, non-stuffy approach. We create engaging programs (aimed at adults and accessible to teens) such as: hands-on chemistry (Chemistry of… Beer, Chocolate, Whiskey, Coffee, Honey, etc.); panel discussions on science subjects in the news (Your Brain on Happiness, on Creativity, on Addiction, on Exercise, etc.); author talks (Lisa Randall, Mary Roach, Randall Munroe of XKCD); film screenings (“The Atom Smashers”), plus the Chicago Science Festival; and more.

Carl Sagan observed:

“We live in a society exquisitely dependent upon science and technology in which hardly anyone understands anything about science and technology.”

ISC is certainly working to change that.

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Featured Events

Here are upcoming and most recent ISC events. Or visit our main event calendar below for lots of science events happening citywide. Full Event Calendar
science cocktail party 2019

Science Cocktail Party 2019

D.I.R.T.T. Environmental Showroom, 325 N. Wells Street, 10th Floor, Chicago, IL 60654

Chemistry of Beer

Metropolitan Brewing Tap Room, 3057 N Rockwell St, Chicago, IL 60618
Beaker Cocktail with Syringe

Chemistry of The Cocktail

Koval Distillery, 5121 N Ravenswood Ave, Chicago, IL 60640

Science Unsealed

A blog about the science of everyday life...and some from out of this world. View More

COVID-19: Redefining Lung Disease

Leave a comment Ian Rochford

If you’ve been diagnosed with a rare disease or a condition your doctor is unfamiliar with, the idea that scientists are working night and day to help you isn’t always a comfort when you’re lying in a hospital bed. Biomedical research takes a lot of time and money, all the while thousands of patients and their families sit and hope. The unprecedented and rapidly evolving COVID-19 crisis has stressed this country’s medical system nearly to its breaking point, but medicine has reached the point where nothing is truly unfamiliar. Coronaviruses have been studied for decades, and how respiratory viruses damage our lungs is a field of study unto itself. It’s only a matter of applying the tools we already have to develop new treatments and vaccines to combat this new virus. 

Continue reading “COVID-19: Redefining Lung Disease”

Author(s)

  • Ian Rochford is finishing his PhD in Pharmacology at the University of Illinois at Chicago and plans on transitioning into medical writing and communication. When not doing science he is either working out or reading science fiction novels. You can find him on LinkedIn here: linkedin.com/in/ian-rochford-6a6334123.

Discover COVID Treatments with Your Own Computer

Leave a comment Ben Marcus

The World Community Grid is an effort to create the world’s largest public computing grid to tackle scientific research projects that benefit humanity. Juan Hindo leads IBM’s World Community Grid team, and she sat down with us to talk about this incredible project. Join us for Ms. Hindo’s talk on October 21st and read our interview with her below:

Continue reading “Discover COVID Treatments with Your Own Computer”

Author(s)

  • Ben Marcus is a public relations specialist at CG Life and a co-editor-in-chief of Science Unsealed. He received his Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of Chicago.

living with cystic fibrosis

Barely Able to Breathe: Living with Cystic Fibrosis

1 Comment Ben Marcus

In the summer of 2017, my brother Geoffrey landed in the Northwestern Hospital emergency room confused, with a high-grade fever, and so dizzy he couldn’t walk. He had a severe lung infection and he could barely breathe – a pulmonary function test revealed that his lung function had dropped to 23%.

Continue reading “Barely Able to Breathe: Living with Cystic Fibrosis”

Author(s)

  • Ben Marcus is a public relations specialist at CG Life and a co-editor-in-chief of Science Unsealed. He received his Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of Chicago.

Gallery

For a sense of our events and all the great people who make up our science-loving community, check out this gallery of photos from ISC events. View More