Tribbles, Klingons, warp drive and other galactic mysteries

The 2026 Rose Monday lecture on "Star Trek" takes a scientific look at interesting and amusing topics relating to the Paramount Pictures franchise of the same name. We will be looking at the miraculous exponential tribble propagation, the secrets of the Klingon language, the philosophy behind Star Trek, the mysteries surrounding red uniforms and other aspects - including, of course, the question of how the Enter-prise's engines could actually work. So buckle up (unlike the crews in the series) and get ready for a journey at warp speed into the Star Trek universe.
It has been 60 years since the first Star Trek series about the Starship Enterprise first flickered across American screens. Since then, an incomparably huge global fan community has developed around the associated science fiction world, including many scientists in particular. But what is it that makes the now fifteen series and ten films so fascinating? Why do the adventures of Kirk, Spock, Picard, Sisko, Janeway, Archer, Pike and many others captivate an audience of millions?
There is this one thing: Star Trek provides a utopia, the idea of an ideal future in which there are no more wars, hunger or poverty on Earth, and a world in which racism and hatred are despised. Perhaps the growing interest in Enterprise and co. is precisely because we seem to be further away from this vision in reality today than we have been for a long time.
And why are so many scientists enthusiastic about Star Trek? The goal of discovering new things "that no one has ever seen before" is certainly part of the DNA of everyone involved in research. But there are even more reasons: The makers of Star Trek go to great lengths to give the elements of their series as sound a scientific background as possible, even if something has to be sacrificed every now and then for the sake of dramaturgy. In addition, a great deal of importance is attached to the logical continuity of the stories when writing scripts - otherwise there will be a hail of protesting fan mail.
But it's best to take a look for yourself at what there is to say on this topic next Rose Monday. All the relevant dates are listed next to it so that you can beam yourself into the lecture hall in good time.