Daresbury Laboratory welcomes the world to Talking Science

Solar weather, illusions in the desert, polar climate change and 21st century engineering - it's all covered in 'Talking Science'

People from across the UK can now keep up to date with the latest exciting developments in science and find out how it affects their everyday lives. The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) has announced its new annual programme of free public lectures at Daresbury Laboratory near Warrington, and now you don’t have to be a local to benefit as each lecture will be webcast live and published online.

Whether you’d like to understand why a mirage can appear in the desert, how the Sun could provide us with clean energy, how astronomers can ‘read’ art to tell us more about history, or whether biology can be engineered, you’ll find an entertaining and interactive talk that will capture your imagination.

The new season of public lectures launches on Friday 24 September with a talk about the engineering involved in building some of the most complicated machines ever built, such as the Large Hadron Collider at CERN and Daresbury Laboratory’s own ALICE (Accelerators and Lasers In Combined Experiments) and EMMA (Electron Machine with Many Applications) particle accelerators. Bookings for this lecture will open on Wednesday 1 September.

Other lectures in the coming months will explore the science behind how scientists are trying to unravel the mysteries of the universe; how we interpret the visual world around us; how space weather affects our day-to-day lives; how synthetic biology could mean cheaper and faster drugs and cleaner fuels; what climate change means to the polar regions; and how astronomers can pinpoint the exact moment that the Romans invaded Britain from closely examining a painting.

Tony Buckley, STFC’s Head of Science in Society at Daresbury Laboratory, said: "Everything around us has been touched by science but we don’t always get the chance to understand how and why this is. The Daresbury Laboratory ‘Talking Science’ lecture programme gives everyone a chance to hear from the experts, get to grips with the latest developments in science and technology and have their questions answered. You don’t need to be a scientist to attend, everyone is invited."

Demand for tickets at Daresbury’s lectures has always exceeded supply, with lectures normally fully booked up within a day or two.  For the first time, each lecture will now be webcast live and archived on STFC’s website.  Tony Buckley added: “I’m really pleased we’re doing this.  It’s tremendous that there’s such a great interest in science locally that the Talking Science lectures are always fully booked, but it has meant that many who wanted to come were disappointed.  They’ll now be accessible to everyone, wherever they are.”

The full programme of lectures is available. Tickets for STFC Daresbury Laboratory's popular 'Talking Science' lectures are free. Booking for each lecture opens approximately four weeks prior to the event. Tickets must be booked in advance and run out fast. To book tickets please contact Science in Society on 01925 603040 or by emailing STFC Talking Science.

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Notes to editors

Contacts

• Wendy Taylor
  STFC Press Officer
  Daresbury Laboratory
  Tel: +44 (0)1925 603 232
  
  
• Tony Buckley
  Head of Communications and Science in Society
  Daresbury Laboratory
  Tel: +44 (0)1925 603272

Further information

The 2010/11 lecture programme at Daresbury Laboratory is outlined below. Admission to all lectures is free, lectures start at 7pm and that bookings for each session open four weeks before the event.

• 24 September 2010
  The engineering challenges involved in building a particle accelerator
  Norbert Collomb
  Age 12+
  
  Particle accelerators are some of the most complex machines ever built and enable scientists to study the structure of matter and forces of nature. Designing and building machines to control sub-atomic particles operating at almost the speed of light poses a huge challenge for engineers. The lecture will look at the whole process of design and construction, from the first blank sheet to a finished machine.
  
  
• 22 October 2010
  Powering the Future – The Physics of Fusion
  Dr Melanie Windridge
  Age 12+
  
  Find out how the reaction that powers the Sun could provide a clean energy source for the future. This exciting, interactive talk builds on everyday physics to explain groundbreaking research.
  
  
• 26 November 2010
  Visual illusions: indicators of success or failure of your visual system?
  Dr Peter Thompson
  Age 16+
  
  We don’t always see the world the way it really is. Some misperceptions - a stick appearing bent where it enters water or a mirage in the desert - can be simply explained by the physics of the light reaching the eye. This talk, illustrated with many examples and demonstrations, will show that visual misperceptions reveal just how successful we are at interpreting the visual world nearly all the time. However some of these misperceptions occur in the real world, not just in the laboratory, and have real consequences that we should be aware of.
  
  
• 10 December 2010
  Exploring the Universe
  Dr Andy Newsam
  Age 12+
  
  The Universe is a dynamic, ever-changing place full of extremes. From Black Holes to asteroids, massive stars to elusive distant planets, every part of the Universe poses it own questions. But how are astronomers trying to answer those questions? And how can you take part? Come along to find out.
  
  
• 28 January 2011
  Weathering solar storms
  Dr Jim Wild
  Age 16+
  
  Space isn’t quite as cold and empty as you might first think. The Earth is embedded within the outer atmosphere of the Sun and is constantly buffeted by the solar wind and bathed in the remnants of the Sun’s massive magnetic field. While generally imperceptible to humans here on Earth, changes in the space environment, so-called “space weather”, can have an impact upon man-made technologies under, on and above the surface of the Earth.
  
  
• 25 February 2011
  Synthetic Biology, Hope and Hype
  Professor Dek Woolfson
  Age 16+
  
  Synthetic biology is an emerging area of scientific research at the interface of biology, chemistry, engineering, physics and mathematics. The research promises cheaper and faster routes to drugs, biofuels, and new materials for medical applications. However, synthetic biology also provokes controversy because it aims 'to make biology engineerable'. Thus it raises ethical questions as well as pragmatic and purely scientific ones.
  
  
• 25 March 2011
  The Materials Requirements for the Origin of Life
  Professor Tony Ryan
  Age 12+
  
  Over the last decade materials science has been dominated by the recognition that exercising control at the nanoscale can lead to new properties. Surfaces are proportionately more important for finely divided matter such that properties depending on surfaces, such as reactivity and catalysis, are enhanced for nanomaterials.
  
  
• 29 April 2011
  Art and Astronomy
  Barry J. Kellett
  Age 12+
  
  Astronomical objects often appear in paintings or other historical accounts. Such works of art can then be used, by astronomers, to gain a deeper insight into the artists' mind or location. This talk will discuss two paintings by van Gogh and two more by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch - including his famous painting, "The Scream". Astronomy can place van Gogh on an exact spot ~120 years ago to within about 1 minute! Astronomers can also date the exact moment that the Roman's invaded Britain and also tell you which "special" star Shakespeare used in his opening lines of Hamlet.
  
  
• 27 May 2011
  Polar Climate Change: Is it happening? Does it matter? And are we to blame?
  Dr John King
  Age 16+
  
  In recent years, the impacts of climate change in the polar regions have received a huge amount of attention in the media. But is all of this attention justified, when the biggest impacts will be felt in more populous regions of the globe? In this talk, I will argue that the polar regions are a central part of the Earth’s climate system and, if we want to understand global climate and predict its future course, we need to study how climate works in the polar regions and how changes in these regions can impact the rest of the globe.
  
  
• 24 June 2011
  Who do we think we are?
  Dr Pamela Styles
  Age 12+
  
  Life has existed on Earth for over a billion years and evolved into a huge variety of forms. But where do humans belong on the tree of life? Who are our ancestors, and who are our closest relatives? Follow the journey of human evolution from the very first life forms, taking a look at antibiotic resistance, malaria, and dinosaurs along the way!

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