PSW Science

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PSW Science is a leading science education organization in Washington, DC. Founded in 1871 as the P Election to membership is by the General Committee.

PSW grew out of meetings that were held Saturday afternoons in the middle of the Nineteenth century in the home of Joseph Henry, an early researcher in magnetism and the discoverer of electromagnetic self-induction. It was an association of individuals who were interested in science, but in Joseph Henry's words, would discuss “All subjects of interest to intelligent men.” Now, of course, the society includes women as well. From these informal meetings, PSW was founded on March 13, 1871. The aims of the Society are the promotion of science, the advancement of learning, and the free exchange of views among its members on scientific subjects. From 1878 to 1887 meetings were held in the library of the Surgeon's General Office in Ford's Theater (converted into Government office space some time after President Lincoln was assassinated there). Since March 26, 1887, the date of the 300th meeting of the Society, the regular meeting place has been the assembly hall of the Cosmos Club, now called the John Wesley Powell auditorium. Today, PSW continues the traditions set by Joseph Henry in 1871 and continues to discuss “all subjects of interest to intelligent men” and women. Membership in the Society is open to all persons who are interested in the aims of the Society. The application for membership is a simple form requesting professional and educational information.

10/09/2026

What can gravitational waves reveal about black holes?

Join tonight, for a lecture by Emanuele Berti, Simons Investigator at the Bloomberg Center for Physics and Astronomy and Professor in the William H. Miller III Department of Physics & Astronomy at Johns Hopkins University.

📅 Friday, October 9, 2026
🕗 8 PM
📍 Powell Auditorium, Cosmos Club
Live:

https://m.youtube.com/live/Q1fpkhM2xbE

A speaker reception with refreshments will follow the lecture.

Sponsored by PSW Science Member Robert DeLapp.

Join PSW Science® on October 9 at 8 PM as we welcome Emanuele Berti...

10/06/2026

Congratulations to Francis Halzen on being the 2026 Nobel Laureate in Physics!

Francis was the speaker at PSW’s 2,446th Meeting on November 4, 2022.

His talk was on work detecting and studying the properties of neutrinos - for which he has been awarded the Nobel Prize.

Here is a link to the video recording of his PSW lecture. (The lecture begins at 11 minutes 29 seconds in the video.)

The IceCube project at the South Pole melted 86 holes over 1.5 miles deep in the Antarctic icecap to construct an enormous astronomical observatory. The experiment recently discovered a flux of neutrinos from deep space with energies more than a million times those of neutrinos produced at accelerat...

09/29/2026

On September 11, 2026 at the 2,540th meeting of the Philosophical Society of Washington, Jonathan Arenberg of Northrop Grumman, presented a lecture titled “Heroic Engineering of the James Webb Space Telescope: Lessons Learned for Future Flagship Missions”. During the lecture, the speaker described many of the engineering challenges associated with this unprecedented mission. He showed images and videos of the construction, assembly, testing, and finally the launching of JWST. He described how many of the lessons learned on JWST could be applied to future missions, such as the “Habitable Worlds Observatory”. For more information, please visit the PSW website (pswscience.org) or the PSW Science YouTube channel.

PSW Science is a leading science education organization in Washington, DC, founded 1871 as the Philosophical Society of Washington

09/25/2026

🔔 Reminder: PSW Lecture Tonight at 8 PM

Join us tonight:

Digitization of the U.S. Healthcare System and Early Insights from the AI Era

🎙️ Julia Adler-Milstein
Professor of Medicine
Chief, Division of Clinical Informatics & Digital Transformation
University of California, San Francisco

📍 Cosmos Club
🕗 Tonight at 8 PM
▶️ Watch live: https://m.youtube.com/live/jhHpC9BkkYo

Sponsored by PSW Science Member Maria Zemankova.

Join PSW Science® on September 25 at 8 PM as we welcome Julia Adler...

09/14/2026

PSW Lecture | Minutes

On June 26, 2026 at the 2,538th meeting of the Philosophical Society of Washington, Douglas Wallace of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania, presented a lecture titled “Mitochondria and Their Roles in Health and Disease”. During the lecture, the speaker described mitochondria as the “powerhouse” of cells. He described the role mitochondria play in a variety of disease conditions. He discussed the potential to reduce both the cause and symptoms of disease using mitochondrial therapies. For more information, please visit the PSW website (pswscience.org) or the PSW Science YouTube channel.

PSW Science is a leading science education organization in Washington, DC, founded 1871 as the Philosophical Society of Washington

09/11/2026

Tonight at PSW Science

One mirror. 18 segments. 1 million miles from Earth.

How do you build a telescope that must fold into a rocket, unfold in space, and work flawlessly in the coldest reaches of the Solar System?

Tonight, Jonathan W. Arenberg, Northrop Grumman Fellow and a key engineer behind the James Webb Space Telescope, takes us behind the engineering of Webb—from its revolutionary architecture and cryogenic systems to its deployable mirror, testing, and the challenges overcome over decades.

🔭 Early images. Breakthrough science. Engineering lessons for the next generation of flagship missions.

📅 Today, September 11
⏰ 8:00 PM
📍 The Cosmos Club, Washington, DC

09/02/2026

One mirror. 18 segments. 1 million miles from Earth.

How do you build a telescope that must fold itself into a rocket, unfold in space, and work flawlessly in the coldest reaches of the Solar System?

For the first lecture of the Fall 2026, at PSW Science, Jonathan W. Arenberg, Northrop Grumman Fellow and a key engineer behind the James Webb Space Telescope, takes us behind the engineering of Webb, from its revolutionary architecture and cryogenic systems to its deployable mirror, testing, and the challenges overcome over decades.

🔭 Early images. Breakthrough science. Engineering lessons for the next generation of flagship missions.

📅 September 11
⏰ 8:00 PM
📍 The Cosmos Club, Washington, DC

06/26/2026

🧬 What if the key to understanding Alzheimer’s, diabetes, cancer, and aging lies within the tiny powerhouses of our cells?

Join us tonight for a thought-provoking PSW Science lecture with Dr. Douglas Wallace:

Mitochondria and Their Roles in Health and Disease

Discover how mitochondrial biology is reshaping our understanding of human health and some of the world’s most complex diseases.

🕗 :8:00 PM
📍:John Wesley Powell Auditorium
💻 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCG_b1V7N5c

Join PSW Science® on June 26 at 8 PM as we welcome Douglas Wallace,...

06/20/2026

What if the key to understanding Alzheimer's, diabetes, depression, cancer, and even aging isn't just in our genes—but in how our cells generate energy?

Join pioneering mitochondrial geneticist Douglas C. Wallace for a fascinating exploration of how mitochondria the powerhouses of our cells may transform our understanding of health and disease.

Discover how mitochondrial DNA, inherited exclusively from our mothers, influences everything from brain function and metabolism to aging and disease.

Sponsored by PSW Science Members Larry Millstein & Robin Taylor.

06/11/2026

PSW Lecture Tonight | 8 PM ET

Thought Emerges from Neural Dynamics: How Science is Unraveling the Nature of Cognition and Consciousness

Join us tonight as Earl K. Miller explores how thought and consciousness may emerge from the dynamic activity of the brain. Drawing on decades of pioneering research, Dr. Miller will discuss how neural oscillations (“brain waves”) may help organize cognition, executive control, and conscious experience.

📍 Philosophical Society of Washington
🕗 8:00 PM ET

🎥 Watch Live: https://www.youtube.com/live/HL7DSZngiLc?is=XHwFKU0CRks0PnzM

Sponsored by PSW Science Member Tim Thomas.

Join PSW Science® on THURSDAY June 11 at 8 PM as we welcome Earl Miller, Picower Professor of Neuroscience.During the question and answer period, in-person a...

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