Waiters cart around ramen noodle cacio e pepe, foie gras bratwurst, spicy tuna rolls and drinks in tiki cups as customers relax to pumping rhythm and blues at the late night dining services at UNI in Back Bay.

When culinary creativity and scientific principle meet up for a drink, celebrity chef Alton Brown is not always the one responsible. Café ArtScience, the brainchild of Harvard University biomedical engineering...