As part of Rutherford Appleton Laboratory’s Talking Science programme, we have a fantastic series of talks lined up for you, and we do hope you’ll be able to join us for them! The talks cover everything from from studying life in extreme environments to how we use particle physics to model pandemics.
We now plan to run Talking Science entirely via Zoom until at least April 2022 with talks only taking place once at 7pm. After Easter, we may be able to welcome you back to the lab – we’ll update you as soon as we can!
If you’re not able to join the webinar live, but would like a recording of it, please register and select the option to receive the recording on the order form.
To allow you to book more than one ticket at once, the date of the talk is shown in your ticket name, not in the time shown on Eventbrite. We will send you a reminder email in the run up to each talk you have booked.
Talks coming up:
FRIDAY 26 NOVEMBER, 19:00 – Marvellous microbes for plastic pollution (suitable for ages 12+) by Dr Joanna Sadler, University of Edinburgh
From the clothes we wear, through to tiny components of a mobile phone, plastic is present in almost every corner of our lives. Dependence on these useful materials has led to a vast build-up of plastic in natural environments, leading to a global plastic waste crisis. Incredibly, Nature has already responded with its own solutions to tackle plastic waste. This talk will explore how some microbes (microscopic living organisms) can ‘eat’ plastic and how modern science can use this to design new methods to break down plastic and even use it as a resource to make useful new products.
FRIDAY 17 DECEMBER, 19:00 – The James Webb Space Telescope: Preparing for launch (age 10+) by Paul Eccleston, Chief Engineering, RAL Space and Dr Stephen Wilkins, University of Sussex
The James Webb Space Telescope is the largest space telescope ever built and, after years of designing, building, planning and testing, its launch date has been announced as 18 December. Webb is the scientific successor to the famous Hubble telescope, and will learn even more about the Universe: from the first galaxies to the air around alien worlds – possibly contributing to the search for life.
To celebrate the launch, join Paul Eccleston (Chief Engineer, RAL Space) and Stephen Wilkins (University of Sussex) as Paul focuses on the amazing engineering that makes this telescope possible – including the extensive testing that has taken place to make sure it’s ready, some of which took place here at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory – and Stephen shares some of the fascinating science that Webb will cover, from how stars are formed to the beginnings of planets.
FRIDAY 28 JANUARY, 19:00 – The amazing 24 million invertebrates and their associated scientists at the Natural History Museum, London (age 12+) by Dr Lauren Hughes, Principal Curator in Charge Invertebrates (non-Insects), Natural History Museum, London
The Museum is a world-class visitor attraction and leading science research centre. We use our unique collections and unrivalled expertise to tackle the biggest challenges facing the world today. We care for more than 80 million specimens spanning billions of years and welcome more than five million visitors annually. Over the coming seven years we are excited to undertake our largest move of naturally history specimens gaining an additional research and collections facility in the prestigious Harwell Science Campus. Significantly, more than 24 million Invertebrate specimens have been selected for Harwell. As the most biologically diverse collection, come hear about these amazing invertebrates, our current researchers and the future of our natural history.
FRIDAY 25 FEBRUARY, 19:00 – How the world of the very small can help us tackle big problems (age 12+), by Dr Chiara Decoroli, National Quantum Computing Centre
The foundations of quantum physics were laid out 100 years ago and initiated a Quantum Revolution. The First Quantum Revolution saw scientists such as Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr and Erwin Schrödinger uncover the counterintuitive laws governing the world of the very small, of individual quantum particles such as atoms, photons and electrons. Nowadays, we are witnessing a Second Quantum Revolution: quantum technologies are entering our everyday life. Among them, Quantum Computers are expected to have a transformative and disruptive impact. In this talk I will bring you along with me in a quantum computing laboratory, and show you how we can use individual quantum objects to solve incredibly hard problems.