Science on Screen 2023

The Lindsay Theater and Cultural Center is honored to be one of only 40 art house cinemas nationwide selected to tailor Science on Screen®, a STEM-based speaker-and-film series, to Western Pennsylvania and the tri-state area. Science on Screen is an initiative of the Coolidge Corner Theatre, in partnership with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

As the Coolidge Corner Theatre explains, “Each film is used as a jumping off point for the speaker to reveal current scientific research or technological advances, providing the perfect combination of entertainment and enlightenment—even for the most science-phobic culture vulture!”

At The Lindsay Theater, speakers and panels will give 15- to 20-minute presentations and take questions from the audience, providing opportunities for personal exchanges between our patrons and leading experts of Pittsburgh and beyond.

After Yang

June 15, 2023 @ 7:30 pm

After Yang Poster with Colin Farrell

When his young daughter’s beloved companion — an android named Yang — malfunctions, Jake (Colin Farrell) searches for a way to repair him. In the process, Jake discovers the life that has been passing in front of him, reconnecting with his wife (Jodie Turner-Smith) and daughter across a distance he didn’t know was there.

Headshot of Amanda Holland Minkley

As a program in our Science on Screen® series, Dr. Amanda Holland-Minkley, Professor of Computing and Information Studies at Washington & Jefferson College, will give a brief presentation about the rapid modern advances in AI technology and how we might approach the task of coexisting and collaborating with AI in the workplace and in our lives. *

Dr. Amanda Holland-Minkley specializes in artificial intelligence and interdisciplinary computing education research. She teaches courses in programming, game development, security, artificial intelligence, and other computer science topics. Her recent research collaborations with students have included using machine learning techniques to understand the economic impact of security breaches on a company and to analyze the emotional content of tweets. Dr. Holland-Minkley’s current interests include analysis of interfaces and artifacts through the use of eye tracking technology and research into effective pedagogy for undergraduate computing education.

Science on Screen® is an initiative of the Coolidge Corner Theatre, with major support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

418 Walnut Street
Sewickley, Pennsylvania 15143 United States
4122598542
View Venue Website

Titanic

April 13, 2023 @ 7:30 pm

Two main characters of the movie titanic standing on the bow of the ship at sunrise.

James Cameron’s Titanic is an epic, action-packed romance set against the ill-fated maiden voyage of the R.M.S. Titanic; the pride and joy of the White Star Line and, at the time, the largest moving object ever built. The “ship of dreams” ultimately carried over 1,500 people to their death in the ice cold waters of the North Atlantic in the early hours of April 15, 1912. The film won of 11 Oscars and still provokes debate 25 years after its release.

The powerful draw of Titanic relates to “more emotional, less commercial reasons,” according to the New York Times. “Titanic tells a story that is perceived to be true; it is a tragic love story of operatic dimension because the denouement is known; it demonstrates the terrifying and mystical power of nature, and it has in Leonardo DiCaprio a fated working-class hero with whom teenage girls fall in love.”

Brian Gleeson, Ph.D.

Speaker: Dr. Brian Gleeson, the Harry S. Tack Chaired Professor of Materials Science and Chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science at the University of Pittsburgh, specializes in physical metallurgy and the impact of temperature on metallic alloys and coatings. Before the screening, Dr. Brian Gleeson will share how steel materials have advanced since the brittle steel that fails at low temperatures was used to build the luxury ocean liner that sunk in iceberg-strewn waters.

Titanic was a box office gamble at the time due to its tumultuous production and lack of recognizable actors (DiCaprio and Winslet weren’t A-listers yet), but it ended up being a monumental success, scoring high praise from critics and becoming the highest-grossing film of all time until 2010, when the original Avatar (also directed by Cameron) took its place,” says Collider, reporting on the film’s 25th anniversary re-release. Initially, Collider called this epic “the most important disaster movie ever made.”

“This movie behemoth still has the power to shake us rigid and touch the soul.” Times (UK)

“Cameron is a genius at instilling narrative dread and designing a hokum-drenched fairy tale of a certain size.” Chicago Tribune

“Titanic is big, bold, touchingly uncynical filmmaking.” Newsweek.

418 Walnut Street
Sewickley, Pennsylvania 15143 United States
4122598542
View Venue Website

Woman In Motion

March 28, 2023 @ 7:30 pm

Woman In Motion poster with woman and rocket in frame

The Lindsay Theater and Cultural Center launches its 2023 three-part Science on Screen film/speaker series with Astrobotic, the CMU spin-off that’s building lunar landers on Pittsburgh’s North Side, and its affiliated Moonshot Museum, the only space museum in Pennsylvania.

The event recognizes March 28 as National Day of Science on Screen. Importantly, it also demonstrates that not only does science impact the cultural landscape, but culture can significantly impact the world of science.

When the high profile National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was struggling to recruit team members and earn public support in 1977, Nichelle Nichols, the late Star Trek actress (Lt. Uhura), began an initiative that diversified the agency, recruiting more than 8,000 Black, Asian and Latinx men—and women.

Speakers: Elena Petrak, senior quality assurance engineer at Astrobotic, the Pittsburgh-based lunar lander builder, who also promotes STEM careers with children through young adults. At 7 p.m., before the screening, Petrak will give the brief presentation Now Launching: Engineering, Lunar Landers and Alternative Pathways to STEM Careers. She also will be available to answer questions after the film.

Lauren Shalek, manager of operations and visitor services, and Mike Hennessy, manager of programs and learning, at the Moonshot Museum, will share information about Pennsylvania’s first space museum, which encourages the next generation of space engineers with views of behind-the-scenes assembly action.

Shalek and Hennessy will welcome people at their information table in the Theater’s lobby– where attendees have the opportunity to write a message that will be carried to the moon.

“Nichols is credited with opening the eyes of NASA to the idea that ‘the right stuff’ was not the exclusive purview of white male test pilots, while helping to convince women and minorities of the same thing,” says the Wall Street Journal.

“And overnight—in mere months—the culture changed,” remarks Roger Moore’s Movie Nation. The “eye-opening and inspiring film…underscores Nichols’ undeniable contribution to broadening NASA’s horizons and drumming up interest in STEM education among minority students all over America with her work. Years of involvement—visits, public service announcements, talk show appearances on the agency’s behalf—cemented her legacy.”

418 Walnut Street
Sewickley, Pennsylvania 15143 United States
4122598542
View Venue Website