Science Cafe New Hampshire is a grassroots effort to encourage informal but science-based discussion of issues important to New Hampshire. It was started in 2011 by two science fans, Dan Marcek and Sarah Eck, with no funding or sponsorship. Despite that drawback, crowds have been big and enthusiastic, and panelists have included tech corporation officials, academics from UNH and Dartmouth College, the state climatologist and the state director of public health, not to mention farmers, layers, journalists and alternative medicine practitioners.