Applied Sciences Launches 9th Public Lecture Series
Mon, 13 Oct 2014 11:35:00 BST
The School of Applied Sciences popular Public lecture series enters its ninth season this month. Six of the School's academic and research staff will each give a one hour lecture on the scientific area in which they are working and its "real world" importance. The lectures will take place in the Canalside West Building Lecture Theatre, with refreshments available in the foyer from 6.00pm. Following the lecture, there is an opportunity for questions from the audience, and we aim to conclude the evening by 8.00pm.
This year we have introduced a booking form for each lecture, which will allow you to register for free tickets for the lecture. If you are unable to use the booking form for any reason, please feel free to email Janet Goodridge.
Dr Graham Williams will open this year's series with a talk entitled "Forensic Genetics: Human Identity and Beyond" on Wednesday 22 October, in which he will share his expertise in the use of DNA profiling techniques to identify offenders. Dr Williams will also share his views on how the UK needs to both upgrade the technology which is in use and the way in which DNA evidence is used in criminal investigations and court cases.
Dr Nathan Patmore will consider the contribution chemistry can make to the planet's energy challenges in a talk entitled "Future Energy Generation and Storage Technologies: Chemical Strategies" on Wednesday 19 November. He will discuss how chemistry has enabled our current battery and oil solutions, and the challenges which face emerging technologies for solar and chemical energy conversion.
On Wednesday 17 December, Dr Paul Elliott's lecture will focus on light. Entitled "Illuminating Chemistry: the Molecular Manipulation of Light", Dr Elliott will discuss the importance of energy from the Sun and the molecular processes which enable interactions between light and matter.
Our first public lecture of 2015 will be given by Dr Tarja Kinnunen on Wednesday 21 January, and is entitled "Lessons from the garden compost; how tiny worms can inform about human diseases". The lecture will explain how a small worm formed the basis of a model which has been used to make discoveries and breakthroughs in medical research into a number of human diseases.
Dr Jane Bradbury asks whether Obesity bias is the "Last Socially Acceptable Prejudice" in a Public Lecture on Wednesday February 18. Dr Bradbury will explore the psychological and social consequences of obesity and being overweight, and how negative perceptions can cause discrimination against overweight people, which can lead to low self-esteem, depression and even eating disorders.
Our final lecture of the season is by Dr Richard Bingham, on Wednesday 18 March. Dr Bingham will explain how scientists are "Playing Hide and Seek with Lyme Disease" a bacterial disease which can be transmitted to humans through tick bites, and consider why these bacteria are so hard to detect in humans. He will also present recent research from the University of Huddersfield into how these bacteria interact with human blood.
For further details on any of these lectures, please see the , where you can also complete the booking form.
In addition to our Public Lecture Series, we offer a programme of Research seminars in which researchers from the School and guest speakers from academia and industry share their latest work. Members of the public are welcome to attend these seminars, however unlike our Public Lectures, these seminars are intended for a more specialist audience, so the speakers will assume that the audience has some understanding of the scientific area being addressed.
