Here's a riddle for your next trivia night: what do exploding stars have in common with finding a parking spot? LSU physicist Manos Chatzopoulos has the answer, and he's sharing it over drinks at the Pastime.

The next LSU Science Café, "Supernovae to Smart Parking: Astrophysics Sparks Entrepreneurship," takes over the historic Pastime Restaurant at 252 South Blvd. on Tuesday, Nov. 17. Doors open at 5 p.m., the talk starts at 6, and things wrap up around 7. It's free and open to all ages, with registration through Eventbrite.

From the stars to the parking lot

Chatzopoulos is an associate professor of physics and astronomy at LSU. His research focuses on the life cycles of massive stars and the violent explosions, called supernovae, that end them.

His side road led to ParkZen, a smart parking technology company he launched and scaled. Using the same skills he relied on in the astrophysics lab, like programming, data modeling and the scientific method, he built an AI-driven system based on smart crowdsourcing that helps universities and cities manage their parking in real time without pricey hardware.

At Science Café, he'll walk through that journey, from writing code that models supernova explosions to pitching venture capitalists and navigating a startup acquisition. Anyone who has circled a packed lot near campus on game day will want to hear this one.

What Science Café is all about

The LSU Office of Research & Economic Development runs Science Café as a public outreach series, putting LSU faculty in a relaxed setting to talk about their work. LSU Curator of Fishes Prosanta Chakrabarty serves as host and emcee. Campus Federal Credit Union and WRKF 89.3 FM are partners.

Grab a seat early, order something cold and bring your questions. There's no exam at the end, just a better story to tell the next time you finally snag a parking spot.

Photo courtesy of LSU Office of Research & Economic Development.