NEWTON’S CHICKEN. SCIENCE IN THE KITCHEN
Massimiano Bucchi, Università di Trento
Why has science forcefully entered the kitchen from a certain moment in history?
Why do scientists often use images and metaphors drawn from gastronomy?
What is the common thread that connects scientific experiments to mouth watering recipes?
What has futurist cooking got in common with molecular gastronomy?
Experiments with coffee, controversies over beer and chocolate recipes guarded as if they were secret patents are the ingredients of this original, surprising account of the intersections between gastronomy and research, between laboratories and kitchens.
“A clever and amusing book”, Il Corriere della Sera.
“A rich meal with delicious ingredients … several succulent anecdotes… an articulate essay, just like a menu, that interrogates science on the kitchen counter”, Il Sole 24 Ore.
“170 pages that read fast”, La Repubblica.
“A treasure of curiosities”, Panorama.
“A book suitable for all palates”, Le Scienze.
Francesco Botti, author and writer, reads a fragment of “Il Pollo di Newton” (audio – mp3).
‘Il Pollo di Newton’ also in Facebook and Twitter.
Massimiano Bucchi is Professor of Science and Technology in Society and of Science and Technology Communication at the University of Trento, Italy and has been visiting professor in several academic and research institutions in Asia, Europe and North America.
He is the author of several books, published in English, Italian, Korean, Finnish, Chinese and Portuguese, including Science in society (London and New York, Routledge, 2004), Handbook of Public Communication of Science and Technology (with B. Trench, London and New York, Routledge, 2008, new ed. 2014), Beyond Technocracy. Citizens, Politics, Technoscience (New York, Springer, 2009) and essays in journals such as Nature, Science and Public Understanding of Science.
He has received several recognitions for his work, including the Mullins Prize awarded by the Society for Social Studies of Science (1997) and the Merck-Serono special jury award for science books (2007).
He has served as advisor and evaluator for several research and policy bodies, including the US National Science Foundation, the Royal Society, and the European Commission, and has chaired (with B. Trench) the programme of the XIIth world conference of Public Communication of Science and Technology (2012).
He regularly contributes to newspapers and TV programmes about science and technology.
His most recent book is Il Pollo di Newton. La scienza in cucina (Newton’s Chicken. Science in the Kitchen), 2013.
