Pint of Science 2015

As exams come to a close, I find myself able to write a piece for this sporadically updated blog. For those who are familiar with the blog, you need only scroll back one year to find a very similar piece to this. For what has most likely become an annual event in my calendar, Pint of Science was back at the English Lounge and once again it was bringing science to the huddled masses.

Obligatory logo photo, from the
first night.

Pint of Science

For those who are unaware of Pint of Science (POS), it's an annual festival which aims to bring researchers out of the lab and into the pub, where they can talk about their work over a pint. Now in it's third year overall, POS has exploded into an international event. Anybody can get involved and help with the running of the event, which is where I came in.

This year, like last year and most probably a few years to come, I helped to organise three nights. However, unlike last year, this time I was helping with the 'Our Body' team, which meant I was in somewhat unfamiliar academic surroundings. Yet, as part of an excellent team, the nights were organised with only a few hiccups on the way. You may recognise the pub in the pictures as The English Lounge, which is where we held nights last year. 

Who Gave Talks?

The aim of POS is to have anyone who is doing interesting research at the local university to give a talk. For our nights, we mainly had PhD students who were interested in public engagement, so it acted as a perfect platform for them to get their work known. With talks ranging from stem cells to cosmetics and stopping off at discovering new drugs in the battle against cancer, there was something to keep most interested. Obviously, for those not interested in the human body there were other events at other pubs running simultaneously to our nights. 

Lee chairing a Q&A session on the second night

The general format of the night was very relaxed, especially when the beer was flowing. Talks generally ran for 25 minutes, then followed up by a Q&A session which was always chaired by our compere Lee Moore (@fullofpenguins). With plenty of breaks for drinks and quizzes galore, the nights always ran smoothly and the audience seemed to enjoy themselves. 

When was it?

The event took place on 18-20th May and will most likely be on the Mon-Fri of the same week next year. If you're reading this and interested in getting involved, check out their website or send me an email through the Google+ profile to the right (I promise I will see it). With plans for the event to expand to even more cities and countries, it looks as though Pint of Science is always moving on up.

Pint Of Science

Hello, I'm back! Yes, exams are over and I'm free to write up posts to my heart's desire! That means I can tell you all about my latest escapade, which included a pub, pints and a lot of science!

Fancy a Pint of Science?

Yes, the event I attended was the "Pint of Science" festival. The aim of this event was to bring science to the masses, in a laid-back environment. But where can you find an environment that is laid-back, but serious enough that people will pay attention? The pub of course! By having researchers and academics talk about their work in a pub, the gap between the universities and the general public shrinks. Plus, by going to one of these events, you might even learn something!

The logo was a pint glass with glasses and a brain!

The nights I attended were part of the Manchester physics and chemistry branch, being held in the English Lounge, in the Northern Quarter. However, there were nights running simultaneously across Manchester, on a variety of topics. The main set up of the evening was that there would be a introductory talk about the subject at hand, followed by the main talk of the evening. These were always followed by a Q&A session, which could get a bit dynamic, especially later on in the night!

Dr Jon Hargreaves giving the introductory talk about
acoustics. Look at how captivated the audience are!

The first night I attended was all about acoustics, with the main talk from Professor Trevor Cox of the University of Salford. He spoke about his travels across the world, finding and recording the strangest sounds he could find. This ranged from the call of seal (recorded underwater) to a record-breaking echo! The second night was about nuclear waste, with a talk all about the subject, the stigma and the issues surrounding the topic, given by Matt Gunther, who runs a blog all about the subject (here). His Q&A session quickly became a discussion, amongst the audience, all about nuclear power. This really showed how passionate people could get about science and it was fantastic to see.

How much?

Each night was ticketed, at a cost of £2 a ticket. This fee wasn't to make a profit, as any money gained is reinvested back into future events and the nights are organised and run by volunteers. Taking these facts into account, you can see that the each night was very good value. 

Where and when?

Pint of Science was an international event, held in 8 countries over 3 nights. This was the 19th-21st May. In the UK it was held in Cambridge, London, Oxford, Manchester, Bath, Bristol, York and Glasgow, but it has plans to expand further into more cities and countries, so watch this space!

MSF 2013- 21st Century Coffee House (Penny University)

Lucky you, you've stumbled across an explosive blog post, with lasers and fire! I'm not a liar, you really have. Recently I went to a the Penny University event at the Manchester Science Festival (MSF) 2013 and I want to tell you all about it. So grab a coffee, sit back and relax...

21st Century Coffee House- Penny University Live

Yes, you did read that correctly. University for one pence. I must admit, it's not technically a whole degree for 1p, rather some talks by experts in their respective fields for 1p. If you did the maths though, you would still see it is much better value than £9000 a year! 

21st Century Coffee House? Penny University?

Yes, the name stems from 17/18th century coffee houses, which cost only 1p to enter. It didn't matter which class you were, as long as you paid 1p, you could enter and join in with discussions. They apparently very quickly became well-known as alternative places for learning, as you could speak with scholars outside of the traditional university environment. You could also get coffee there.

This event had a similar theme, where it cost 1p to enter and you could then buy coffee and listen to experts talk about their research in their specific fields. Hosted at MOSI's cafe, there were talks by 5 people, plus a quick intro about coffee and the old coffee houses themselves. 

The talks were about a wide range of topics, from bronze-age mummies to how we may have a possible cure for cystic fibrosis. The bronze-age mummy talk was very interesting for me in particular, as apparently quite a lot of mummies found in the British Isles were actually a mish-mash of various different bodies! Lovely. Another talk was on how smog is created over cities, especially in the morning, how this relates to climate change and some of the events being taken to prevent this increase in temperature. This included an example which involved oranges and lasers! 

Oranges and Lasers?

Science right there.

Yes, that famous combination, oranges and lasers. Originally, the laser was directed through the vial, but the beam wasn't visible. The orange peel acted as a pollutant, which reacted with some ozone which was already in the vial. When Sarah Moller (the speaker, pictured) shined a laser through the vial, the laser could be seen! This showed that the principle of how clouds work, by having particles which the water can grab onto. This creates bigger particles, which gets more water. You see the point. 

But this wasn't the only experiment of the night. No, no. No. Make way for exploding custard!

Exploding Custard!

Yes, exploding custard! Science communicator Ian Russell isn't a scientist. But he is brilliant science communicator and has been doing a show for years, all over the place, to get kids interested in science. This has taken him to places like the Royal Institution in London and even to Russia! He explained to the audience how children can notice things that adults can't. Why? Because adults are boring and have had most of the creativity drummed out of them at school. Startling, but it's true. 

Not to leave the audience on a low, he then showed us one of the tricks he uses in his show. That was exploding custard powder. By having the custard in powder form and mixing it with a lot of air at a high temperature, you can make it explode! So that's what he did. Have a look:

Put the powder in the tub, ready for all the air and fire...

BOOM!

Ta-dah! Exploding custard!

Cost?

It's in the name! Penny university! It cost one pence to get in and then you could buy coffee for extra.

Will It Happen Again?

Alas, this was a one-off event for the Manchester Science Festival. However, there are plenty more awesome science events during the rest of the festival. So have a look at the guide here and see what you fancy. If you want to find out more about the Penny University, their website is here. But for now, I'm going to try and cram in some more science festival fun! Bye!

MSF 2013- Science Showoff

Hello! The time is upon us, by that I mean the Manchester Science Festival (MSF) 2013 is here! This great city is currently experiencing a flurry of science-related activity, which anyone can get in on. However, there are so many events for you to go to, what happens if you miss some? Don't worry, that's where I come in. Over the period of the festival I will be visiting several events and shortly afterwards, I will be blogging about them. You can then use my blog as a guide to see whether you should visit these events the next time they are town. Anyway, enough chat! Let's get down to business...

Science Showoff

What?

I have to admit, it's quite a jazzy logo.

Science Showoff is an open mic night for scientists, teachers, students or just anyone who wants to talk to an audience about science. Each person gets roughly 8-10 minutes to talk about their topic of choice. They are generally aided by background slides, but don't be mistaken, this isn't a lecture. These talks are humorous, intriguing and relaxed. You get a range of performing styles, from the traditional (person talking to the audience for 8 minutes) to the bizarre (somebody not saying a word). 

Who?

The general set up. The lack of people is because this was
during the intermission, so they are at the bar.

The entire show was comprised of 7 performers, each doing a 10 (ish) piece. Yet the show needed somebody to make sure the show ran smoothly. This role was filled by Steve Cross, a man who prided himself on not knowing any science. This may sound odd, having a scientific novice hosting a show all about science, but it worked extremely well. This was mainly because he was a very laid back and funny individual, who was not above mocking certain members of the audience (chemists) and giving anecdotes.

It would take too much space to list all of the brilliant acts in depth, so I'll try and give a quick overview of my favourite 3 acts:

Katie Steckles- Without saying a single word or using any limbs to control an instrument, she played several tunes using a floppy disk drive. One of my favourite moments was when she played the Eastenders theme using the drive, recreating the opening sequence by using google maps to zoom out over London.

Tom Bishop- Talked all about the behaviour of "weaver ants" in the rainforest. One of the best things I learnt from him was that to form their many nests out of leaves, weaver ants will squeeze their young larvae. This forces a glue out of the larvae, which is used to stick the leaves together.

Yes, those are the lyrics to the chorus.

Chella Quint- "Adventures in Menstruating". An interesting title, I know. Chella took the audience on a journey through the advertising history of period products, as she tried to eliminate the social stigma about periods and make us all "period positive". A highly informative talk, I was unaware that the advertising techniques for period products haven't changed in over 80 years. We're on to you bodyform. Her piece was then rounded off with a song titled "The Crimson Tide", which was designed to explain the menstruation cycle as though it were being done on Sesame Street. A tad strange, but very enjoyable.

When?

Sadly, Science Showoff was only on once during the MSF. They do tours of the country and visit several cities. They are also in London a fair bit. However, I am sure they will be making a reappearance in Manchester very soon. Their website can be found here.

Why?

Why? Because it's fun, that's why.

How?

Now you're just being silly.

Is There Anything Similar?

Luckily for you, there are some similar events happening during the MSF. There is "Punk Science", hosted at MOSI, by two comedic members of the Science Museum. They plan to explain how humans love, laugh and feel pain, using very loose scientific demonstrations. There is also "Bright Club", which I believe aims to be a mixture of comedy, music and anything vaguely related to science. So never fear, the MSF schedule (found here) has you covered!

Brains at MOSI.

Hello all, I was worried that I wouldn't be posting in a while. How foolish I was. As a proof of this, I shall regale you with the following story, the story of my trip to the brains exhibition. Sit tight.

Exhibition

The exhibition was entitled "Brains: The Mind as Matter". The theme of the event, as you may have guessed, was the brain. The brain, the organ which determines how we spend our days, which decisions we make and which holds all of our memories. Yet the event is not as science-orientated as you would think. In order to not frighten anybody away with science, there was a large emphasis on science meeting art. This meld of science and art ensures that the event is easily enjoyed by all. As proof of art being on equal ground with science, the exhibition had commissioned a specialist artist to create some rather spectacular prints. I will come back to this later, as there is much more to be discussed.

Slice of human. 

The exhibition was split into 4 sections, each one regarding a different surgical practice involving the brain. The section  titles were vague, with titles such as "Giving/Taking" and "Cutting/Treating", to allow several avenues regarding the brain to be explored.

Sections

The sections were enjoyable for visitors of varying interest, there were articles explaining the different neurological practices for those who were fascinated, but it was just as easy to stare at brains in jars, if you so wished. The exhibits ranged from rare surgical textbooks regarding the brain (one from the famous surgeon Andreas Vesalius), through the aforementioned prints, to slices of the human body and the brain. One fascinating exhibit was of a human spinal cord, which was being preserved for all to see. I will admit, it was slightly strange to see that on a Tuesday afternoon.

Above: The work of Andreas Vesalius.

Above: Brains in jars. Lovely.

Above: The spinal cord, in all its glory.

There were also video exhibits, which explained different methods of testing, scanning, measuring (etc) the brain. I will leave those to you to watch. Get back to me, tell me how they are.

Location

The exhibition itself is currently (at time of writing) on the first floor of the Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI- http://www.mosi.org.uk/). In my opinion, MOSI was a bit of a strange location (My original thought was that it might have been better suited in the environment of the Manchester museum), however I was proved wrong. It serves as a pallet cleanser for those (like myself) who would normally visit MOSI for its exhibits on the physical sciences. Another benefit for MOSI being used is that the exhibits from Manchester itself seem to belong in the historically mancunian environment of MOSI.

Above: A resin cast of the blood vessels in the brain. The resin is 

pumped into the vessels, where it solidifies. The rest of the brain is 

corroded away with acid, resulting in this exquisite view of what 

feeds the brain.

Art

As previously mentioned, in order to not appear as another purely scientific exhibition, MOSI took some artistic influence. This came in the form of Daksha Patel, a wonderful woman who did some inspired work for the collection. Her works used the brain as the overarching theme, unsurprisingly for the event, to produce works which included a print of the human nervous system and an unstable piece of art depicting the brain. Like all good art, you can (like myself) look at it and just enjoy how it looks, or you can search for a deeper meaning. I think I'll stick with just admiring the pretty pictures. 

As I mentioned previously, the entire exhibition aims to put science and art on equal ground. The best example of this is to the right, in the resin cast of the blood vessels in the brain. Call me pretentious (go ahead), but I truly think it shows how art can come up from even the most scientific regimes.

Cost

Completely free! This is not a case of it being free to get into the main museum and being charged to get into the special exhibition. No, it is completely free if you want. If you do wish to show your gratitude, you can make a (recommended £3) donation to MOSI at their entrance.

Summary

An exhibition about brains, which isn't puts science and art on a level playing field. It sounds strange, risky even, but I think (or my brain does) that it is a risk which works. Why does it work? Well I've already tried to explain it, so I'll leave it to you. Go ahead and find out, it's open until the 4th of January.

Live from Jodrell Bank- Transmission 007

Hello! Just as you thought I did very little travelling, I manage to get some in the last few weeks of summer! Shortly after my visit to the Towersey Village Festival (previous post- I recommend giving it a read), I was fortunate enough to do some volunteering up north. The event in question was "Live from Jodrell Bank" (http://www.livefromjodrellbank.com/), of which transmission 007 shall be the focus today.

Background

The "Live from Jodrell Bank" transmissions began a few years back, the reasons for it are unbeknownst to me. However, it is still powering on today. Which is great news for music fans, as some big names have assembled at Jodrell in the past, including Elbow and New Order. Transmission 007 (they are all named this way) was headlined by the Hallé Orchestra, with a few other classical supporting acts.

Lovell Telescope

Ignoring the musicians, the Lovell Telescope (named after Sir Bernard Lovell) was the headliner. Just over 76m in diameter (over 8 Routemaster buses!), it strikes an imposing figure. Impressive though it may be, it is there everyday. The musicians weren't. If you desperate for information, please go the Jodrell Bank website (http://www.jodrellbank.net/).

The Lovell Telescope- in all its glory.

Science Arena

In this event, the science definitely did not try and take a back seat. There was a wide range of stalls, ranging from the scientifically simple (solar system bracelets) to the celestially complex (Square Kilometre Array). There was of course the Manchester staple, graphene. Yet, physics shared the stage with atmospheric scientists and even some wacky chemists! Each of the stalls were interactive, with guests being able to fire rockets, look at moon rocks and even make some light-up badges! All of the people in the science arena were very approachable and incredibly knowledgeable, as you would hope. For the quieter people, there were several talks given by leading scientists.

Sadly, it is not without some disappointment. An issue I had with the science arena in this transmission was that it seemed very separated from the music arena. For an event that seemed to promote science alongside music, you could potentially go the whole day without seeing any science-based activity. I was told this was not the case at previous transmissions, so we will have to wait and see for the future.

The beginnings of the science arena. Notice various flags for different topics.

Transportation

I recommend driving down, or getting one of the coach packages. Or something that will drop you right at the door. The reason for this is that the nearest train station is a 2 mile walk away. So unless you want to leave the event early to get the last train, I recommend driving and parking. There is a parking fee (grumble), but the advanced one is a bit cheaper.

Music Arena

As I mentioned previously, separated from the science arena. The majority of the music arena was very well laid out, with the food and drink stands at the back. There were several performances throughout the day, including a talk from the people's favourite Tim O'Brien. For the main Hallé performance, the Lovell telescope was used as a backdrop, on which various projections were done. I'll go into this further in a bit. While the music arena was generally well laid out, with the Lovell telescope behind the music stage, there were a few issues.

One issue was the position of the ice cream vans. Mr Whippy vans were placed in the middle of the crowd (towards the back), causing anybody sitting nearby to hear classical music with a mechanical hum overtone. This needed to be addressed. Another issue was the toss-up between having amazing seats or having a good view of the telescope. If you were at the side, like I was, you got an amazing view of the telescope and an okay view of the stage. On the other hand, if you were at the front, you got an amazing view of the stage and no view of the telescope. This is hopefully something that would be sorted for future performances, as I believe this layout hasn't always been the case for the transmissions.

Above and below: Day and night from roughly the same spot. Notice how if
you were very close to the stage, you would block out the telescope.
Right: Day and night from roughly the same spot, to the side of the stage.

Hallé- "A Concert Inspired by the Stars"

A magnificent projection of a nebula, to accompany the music.

The main act were the Hallé orchestra, as previously mentioned. They were performing classical pieces with planetary relations, along with several science-fiction themes. For a classical beginner but long time science-fiction fan like myself, it was heaven. The few classical pieces which I knew (e.g The Planets by Holst, along with The Blue Danube) were performed exquisitely and the science-fiction themes (Dr Who, Star Trek, Star Wars, Independence Day to name a few) were done with such energy you couldn't help but smile. The concert was split into two halves. The first allowed for the turning of the Lovell telescope, to "The Blue Danube", which was a fantastic choice of music for the occasion. The Lovell telescope was used as a backdrop on which several scenes were projected, however this only really occurred during the second half. This meant the first half felt a bit like they weren't using the telescope to its full potential. This was not the case in the second half, where it was used for sweeping travels through the solar system and the cosmos. All in all, the Hallé did a brilliant job and took control of the arena like very few can.

 A Very Special Birthday

The event landed on the 100th birthday of Sir Bernard Lovell, the man who really kick-started radio astronomy. Without him, the event wouldn't have been possible. To commemorate this event, the Lovell telescope was used to show a feature about his life and the evolution of Jodrell Bank. It was a very fitting tribute and was very touching, especially for a physics nut like myself.

Summary

On a whole, I would say transmission 007 was a success. There were a few niggling placement issues, but these can be dealt with for future events. The Hallé were a fantastic booking, the playlist was brilliant for those, like myself, who were new to classical music. If there was a similar event next year, would I go again? Try and stop me.