| Date | Subject (Standard Info) | Speaker |
|---|---|---|
2011 8:15 pm |
The issue of Global Warming is still contentious. Despite near universal scientific consensus, many people – including celebrities – object to the idea vehemently. How can people make up their own minds when faced with this kind of 'tribal' disagreement? In this talk Dr. de Podesta outlines the basic science involved, explains why scientists are concerned, and asks you to consider whether you should be concerned too. |
(National Physical Laboratory) |
8:15 pm |
Recent cold winters have highlighted the role of highway authorities in aiming to keep roads as free of ice and snow as possible in winter. This talk will show how road-weather forecasts are created specifically for highway engineers. These forecasts utilise observations from hundreds of roadside weather stations found throughout the UK, data that is then merged with the output from global computer models. How is it possible to still be 'caught out' by the weather? How can the mild climate of the UK really be more challenging than that of our Continental neighbours? This talk will attempt to shed some light on these questions - and possibly even hint at the kind of winter to come. |
(MeteoGroup UK) |
8:15 pm |
*** CANCELLED *** and replaced by ANTIBIOTICS AND ANTIVIRALS: THE ROLE OF CHEMISTRY IN THE FIGHT AGAINST DISEASE Dr Devine will examine in detail two classes of antibiotics – sulfonamides and penicillins – and two classes of antivirals – nucleosides and protease inhibitors. The talk will focus on the chemistry that underpins the medicinal activities of these molecules, and the considerable role played by chemists in the fight against pathogenic diseases. |
(Dept of Health and Human Sciences, London Metropolitan University) |
8:15 pm |
Steven Cutts is a doctor and science writer with a life long interest in the planet Mars. His Mars based novel, VIKING VILLAGE is about a human settlement on the planet in the near future and in this talk, he discusses the science behind the adventure and how we might be able to make it a reality. Steven has lectured through the science cafe network about 20 times now, speaking about Mars, Spacecraft Propulsion and also his day job in joint replacement surgery. |
(Doctor and Science Writer) |
8:15 pm |
*** CANCELLED *** and replaced by ORGANIC MATTER, METEORITES AND LIFE IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM We are still at the very beginning of mankind's investigation into the Universe we live in. Explorers, both human and robotic, have made only the smallest scratches on the surfaces of other worlds. One of the underlying, driving motivations for exploration is the joint question of how life began on Earth and whether it exists elsewhere in the Solar System and beyond. The rapidly expanding field of astobiology seeks to answer these questions. Incorporating a wide range of disciplines from geology, microbiology, astronomy, chemistry, and engineering amongst many others, technological developments are now giving us the opportunity to determine even the faintest traces of life on other worlds. The ultimate goal, undoubtedly, is to send humans to Mars and bring them back safely, along with the wealth of data that human observers would acquire. whilst not likely to happen for many decades yet, other projects including sample return missions and sophisticated rovers with onboard instrumentation are in development. A large part of astrobiology involves the investigation of organic materials that occur in meteorites. This talk will provide an overview of extraterrestrial organics delivered in meteorites and what they can tell us, and some of the work under way to detect life on Mars. |
(Dept of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford) Dr. Richard Matthewman (Imperial College) |
8:15 pm |
Many chemical substances can exist in two mirror-image forms. The properties of the left- and right-handed forms are almost identical, but they differ in subtle ways. In this talk, we will explore the properties of mirror-image molecules and the consequences for chemistry, biology and pharmacology. |
(University College London) |
8:15 pm |
*** CANCELLED *** and replaced by MOUNTAINS UNDER THE SEA One of the mysteries of the sea are the large number of seamounts that rise up on the seabed and, in a few cases, break surface to form oceanic islands. Volcanic in origin, seamounts are widely scattered throughout the world's ocean basins, especially in the Pacific. Seamounts are generally circular in shape, have pointed, star-shaped, curved, or flat tops, and are often capped by a coral reef. Repeat bathymetry surveys show that seamounts change their shape with time, sometimes dramatically. Seamounts are of geological interest because they record the motions of Earth's tectonic plates, the strength of its hard outermost rock layer, and the magmatic 'pulse' of its deep interior. They are also significant as ocean 'stirring rods', biodiversity 'hotspots', and hazards for earthquakes, landslides, tsunami and submarine navigation. Statistical studies suggest there maybe as many as 24,000 seamounts higher than 1 km that still remain to be discovered. The charting of these seamounts and the determination of their morphology, structure, and age is one of the many challenges facing marine geologists in the future. Tony Watts is Professor of Marine Geology and Geophysics in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Oxford. He received his BSc. in Geology and Physics from University College, London and his Ph.D in Marine Geophysics from the University of Durham. After graduating, he joined the Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth, Canada and then the Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory of Columbia University, New York, USA. He has participated in some 20 cruises of scientific research ships to each of the world's ocean basins. His current research is focussed on the structure and evolution of the Tonga-Kermedec deep-sea trench island arc system in the southwest Pacific Ocean. |
(Group Director Utilities, Logica) Prof. Tony Watts (Dept of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford) |
8:15 pm |
(University College London) | |
8:15 pm |
There are 763 confirmed extrasolar planets and many more unconfirmed candidates at the time of writing. These planetary systems have been discovered using a variety of observational techniques, and their masses, compositions and orbital architectures provided clues about their origins. During the talk Prof. Nelson will discuss the observations of extrasolar planets and current theories about their formation mechanisms. |
(Queen Mary, University of London) |
8:00 pm |
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Last updated 04-Aug-2012