NEWS RELEASE

Quantum to Cosmos Festival is Online and Around the World

Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, September 16, 2009 – With only one month to go until launch, Perimeter Institute’s Quantum to Cosmos Festival is gaining interest – on-site, online and on TVO.

Engaging content is available to preview right now at q2cfestival.com, including clips of:

• ‘The Quantum Tamers’, a new documentary premiering at the Festival and on TVO, that features Stephen Hawking and reveals how a coming technological revolution may change your world.
• ‘Alice & Bob in Wonderland’, a new series of animated chalk drawings that shares simple questions leading to profound insights.

The free, highly accessible content is available online to everyone, and registered members can log in to start discussions, offer comments, and exchange emails. Guests are joining the virtual community from Canada, China, India, Germany, Hong Kong and the United States.

Come October 15-25, the q2cfestival.com website will rapidly expand as the actual lectures and panel discussions are shared online from Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Among the 60+ cutting-edge scientists, writers, and thinkers converging at this festival are:

• Natalie Angier (New York Times)
• Peter Diamandis (X Prize Foundation)
• Cory Doctorow (Author, Activist and Blogger)
• Michael Griffin (formerly of NASA)
• Jaron Lanier (Virtual Reality pioneer)
• Chris Hadfield (Astronaut)
• Kári Stefánsson (deCODE Genetics)
• David Cory (MIT)

Online visitors can watch these lectures and panel discussions as they happen through live video-streaming, or on demand at any time – all through q2cfestival.com.

Television audiences can turn to TVO, Ontario’s public educational media organization, and special editions of The Agenda with Steve Paikin, live from Waterloo.

On-site visitors can delve deeper into science with hands-on experiments in the 6000 square foot Physica Phantastica Exhibit, by viewing the Q2C Sci-fi Film Festival, informally chatting with guest speakers at the Science in the Pub sessions, and soaking up the atmosphere at a variety of cultural events. Free tickets are still available for in-person visits (Cultural Events available at a nominal charge).

Media contact: Angela Robinson, arobinson[at]perimeterinstitute[dot]ca, 519-569-7600 ext. 5051

About the Quantum to Cosmos Festival

Perimeter Institute celebrates its 10th anniversary and contributes to Canada’s National Science & Technology week this October. Quantum to Cosmos: Ideas for the Future (Q2C) will take a global audience from the strange world of subatomic particles to the outer frontiers of the universe. Q2C will transcend traditional festivals by streaming events live and on demand, offering additional multimedia content online, and providing special opportunities for students and teachers. TVO, Ontario’s public educational media organization, is the Presenting Media Partner for the Q2C Festival. The Q2C Festival is produced for Perimeter Institute by Title Entertainment Inc.

Perimeter Institute makes every effort to ensure the scheduled programming, however, there may be occasions when content is subject to change without notice. The appearance of specific guests, artists, or attractions is not guaranteed. Perimeter Institute reserves the right to make substitutions and reschedule events if necessary.

About Perimeter Institute

Canada's Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics is an independent, non-profit, scientific research and educational outreach organization where international scientists cluster to push the limits of our understanding of physical laws and develop new ideas about the very essence of space, time, matter and information. The centre provides a multi-disciplinary environment to foster scientific collaboration in research areas of cosmology, particle physics, quantum foundations, quantum gravity, quantum information, superstring theory, and related disciplines. PI also provides a wide array of award winning outreach resources and public lectures for students, teachers and the general public to share the joy of research, discovery and innovation. In partnership with the Governments of Ontario and Canada, PI continues to be a successful example of private and public collaboration in science research and education.