Public Events – Spring 2019

London & South East Branch

InformationAll our lectures are free to all and last about one hour. There is usually 10 to 15 minutes afterwards for the audience to ask questions. School parties are most welcome but please register numbers beforehand with the relevant venue organiser (see below). All venues are wheelchair accessible. Details herein are subject to possible alteration – check branch web pages. Any views expressed in here are not necessarily those of the Institute of Physics.

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Lecture venue information and times are as follows:Berkshire

Please see website for details of lectures. Lectures held at 7.30pm in the William Penny Theatre, Recreational Society, West Gate, AWE, Aldermaston, Reading RG7 4PR. The theatre entrance can be found on the A340 Basingstoke to Newbury road, just before the Heath End Roundabout at Tadley. Do not use the main gate entrance; the correct gate is signposted as the West Gate or AWE Staff + Deliveries (picture of a lorry). Email iop.lectures@awe.co.uk for further information.

Herts

Lectures usually held at 7pm in the Lindop Building, University of Hertfordshire, College Lane, Hatfield AL10 9AB. To book a place or for further information on this season’s events please contact Dr Diane Crann (email d.crann@herts.ac.uk, tel 07770 444614).

London

PLEASE NOTE THE NEW LOCATION FOR LONDON LECTURES Lectures held at 6.30pm, Institute of Physics, 37, Caledonian Road, King's Cross, London N1 9BU. Refreshments are served from 6pm on the day of the lecture. Please register online to attend lectures.

Milton Keynes

Lectures held at 7.30pm in the Berrill Lecture Theatre, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA. For further information contact Prof. Ray Mackintosh (email raymond.mackintosh@open.ac.uk). No need to register.

Oxford

Lectures held at 6.45pm in the Martin Wood Lecture Theatre, Clarendon Laboratory, Parks Road, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PU, email iop.oxford@outlook.com. Refreshments are served from 6.30pm. Please register online to attend lectures.

REMS

The Retired Members Section has a full programme of events. See the REMS part of the website for details.

London • Wednesday 20 March, 6.30pm

An overview of X-ray astronomy: past discoveries and future prospects Prof. Andrew Norton, The Open University

In this talk Prof. Norton will describe how astronomical objects, such as neutron stars and active galaxies, emit X-rays, as well as the technology used to detect X-rays from space. He will discuss various X-ray astronomy satellites from the last few decades and look ahead to what the future may have in store with forthcoming missions.

Oxford • Thursday 21 March, 6.45pm

Philosophy of physicsDr Alistair Wilson, University of Birmingham

Dr Alastair Wilson is a philosopher who works on the philosophy of science and metaphysics. His research includes the metaphysics of many-worlds quantum mechanics, chance and the laws of nature.

April 2019Herts • Wednesday 3 April, 7pm

Plastic waste – how can we reduce the problem?Sophie Thomas, Thomas Matthews Communication Design

Over the last century, plastic has become part of everyday life, from bottles and bags to plastic pots, tubs and trays. How can we reduce plastic waste? Sophie will discuss ways through design and citizen action.

London • Wednesday 3 April, 6.30pm

Bubbles, meet graphene! Can microscale LEGO® improve healthcare? Prof. Gaio Paradossi, University of Rome Tor Vergata

Please see events calendar for details.

Milton Keynes • Tuesday 9 April, 7.30pm

Please see events calendar for details.

London • Wednesday 17 April, 6.30pm

Summiting the science of EverestDr Melanie Windridge, Imperial College London/Tokamak Energy

Mount Everest – the ultimate endurance challenge – is a place where science plays a huge part in performance and survival. Telling the story of her own summit attempt, Dr Melanie Windridge investigates how advances in science and technology enable ordinary people to summit and survive the extremes.

January 2019Oxford • Thursday 17 January, 6.45pm

Transient astronomy – bursts, bangs and things that go bump in the nightProf. Jocelyn Bell Burnell, University of Oxford

Jocelyn Bell Burnell is best known for her discovery of pulsars, a signal that she originally called “Little Green Man 1”. She was the first woman to be elected president of The Royal Society, which describes her work on pulsars as “one of the greatest astronomic discoveries of the 20th century”.

REMS at Home • Thursday 17 January, all-day meeting

Big Data and Artificial IntelligenceBig Data and AI (artificial intelligence) is a very topical subject that is widely covered in the media and, we are told, with a potentially huge impact on society. We have therefore assembled leading experts in the field to provide an overview of the subject but directed to a scientific audience. The morning session will be devoted to the science and technology of Big Data and AI. The afternoon session to a

selection of application areas including health and more general areas where it is anticipated that artificial intelligence will have a major impact on our lives, ending with a talk about more philosophical aspects of the utilisation of data, including the ethics of assembling public data in hitherto unforeseen ways.

Herts • Wednesday 30 January, 7pm

‘Elementary!’ A celebration of the 150th anniversary of Mendeleev’s periodic tableDr Stephen Ashworth, University of East Anglia

The periodic table is a tabular arrangement of the chemical elements, ordered by their atomic number, electron configuration, and recurring chemical properties. Dr Ashworth’s talk will highlight how it came about and how it’s grown over the last 150 years.

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IOP London and South East Lecture ProgrammeFebruary 2019London • Wednesday 6 February, 6.30pm

150 Years of the London UndergroundMr Barry Lejeune, London Transport Museum

The underground is the life-blood of London. It carries four million passengers each day and enables residents, workers and visitors to go about their daily profession and social lives. Over 150 years, the London Underground has expanded with the capital city and has facilitated its commercial and residential growth. The talk will trace the history of the underground from its opening in 1863 to its 150th

anniversary in 2013 (a year which saw the operation of special steam trains over the earliest section of line between Paddington and Farringdon). On this historical journey we will meet groundbreaking engineers; dodgy American financiers; design gurus; far-sighted planners and administrators; and (inevitably) the politicians. All have shaped the underground’s fascinating story.

Milton Keynes • Tuesday 12 February, 7.30pm

The physics of thunderstormsProf. Paul Hardaker, Institute of Physics

Thunderstorms are ever-present across the globe and for centuries have had a strong cultural influence. Our knowledge about thunderstorms has been largely driven though by our need to protect ourselves from their impact on local communities and infrastructure. This talk will explore what we know about the physics of thunderstorms and how this has helped us to understand how and where they occur, both on Earth and on other planets, the important role they play in balancing the Earth’s energy budget, how to mitigate the weather hazards they create and how we can use this knowledge to make predictions and give warning.

London • Wednesday 20 February, 6.30pm

The missing satellite problem – where are all the galaxies?Dr Olivia Keenan, The Institute of Physics

State of the art computer simulations of our Universe currently over predict the amount of dwarf galaxies by a factor of 10. As astronomers we need to understand why this discrepancy has come about, and whether it is due to problems with simulations, observations, or both. One potential solution is that these galaxies could be hidden, ‘dark galaxies’. Dark galaxies are galaxies which are gas dominated, with few to no

stars. There have been many dark galaxy candidates, however so far none of these has been confirmed. Another solution is that the galaxies are star dominated but extremely faint and hard to detect in crowded, large field surveys. If so these galaxies could be detected using a combination of their physical properties to separate them from background field galaxies. In this talk I will discuss work on this topic, and how this has contributed to understanding the missing satellite problem.

Herts • Wednesday 27 February, 7pm

Mysteries of the solar systemDr Stuart Eves

Since the beginning of the space age in 1957, we have learned an enormous amount about the solar system, but our space probes have also uncovered many things that we simply don’t understand. Hence, this talk will focus on what we still DON’T know about our local region of the universe.

March 2019London • Wednesday 6 March, 6.30pm

Mathematicians at warProf. June Barrow-Green, The Open University

British mathematicians responded to the First World War in a variety of ways. Some volunteered their mathematical skills for work at the Royal Aircraft Factory where they could experience the risky practice of flying, while others went to the National Physical Laboratory where, safely on the ground, they did experiments using wind tunnels. Another group joined the Anti-Aircraft Experimental Section of the Ministry of Munitions where they worked on ballistics. There were also those who followed a military path, and those who, for reasons of conscience, refused to take an active part in the war. In this talk, Prof. Barrow-Green discusses the war-time activities of a number of British mathematicians, and examine the impact of the war on their careers as well as on mathematics itself.

Milton Keynes • Tuesday 19 March, 7.30pm

Data science: ‘The sexiest job of the 21st century?’Dr Tamara Sheret, Swamphen Enterprises

In 2012 Harvard Business Review described data science as being “the sexiest job of the 21st century”. However, the field of data science is still relatively unknown in the wider world. In this talk Dr Sheret will discuss the beginnings of data science in physics and astrophysics, and show examples from her varied career. We will look at some famous uses of data science and explain why, today, every business wants and

needs a data-science department. Come along and see for yourself how sexy data science is and experience the nerve-wracking thrill of live coding.