Latest news from Loughborough University
| 9 February 2005 | PR 05/11 |
National Science Week 2005
Loughborough has organised a packed programme of events for this year’s National Science Week.
Taking place from 11 – 20 March, National Science Week aims to celebrate science and its importance to our lives, giving everyone a chance to participate in science activities and to engage in science discussions in their local area.
The University’s programme kicks off on Monday, 14 March with a workshop looking at the design of mobile phones. The hands on session, called ‘How 'fit' is your mobile phone?’ will take place in local schools and be led by the University’s Ergonomics and Safety Research Institute. It is open to pupils aged 12 and over and places must be booked in advance by contacting Jackie Baseley.
A series of events are being held on Wednesday, 16 March, starting with a robotics workshop at 10am. Presented by Professor Paul Chung of the University’s Computer Science Department, the session will see youngsters working in teams to construct and test their own robots. It will be held on campus and is open to pupils aged 12 and over. Places must be booked in advance with Jackie Baseley.
At 2pm a workshop entitled ‘Why you should not play with Frisbees in the snow’ will be held by staff from the University’s Institute of Polymer Technology and Materials Engineering (IPTME). This will offer people a chance to see how a Frisbee is made from plastic by injection moulding techniques and how it reacts at different temperatures. It will take place at the IPTME building and is open to pupils aged between 14 and 16. Places must be booked in advance with Jackie Basely.
The final event on Wednesday will be the annual Sir Neville Mott Lecture, presented by the Department of Physics at 5pm. The lecture will be given by the highly esteemed Russian physicist Professor Emmanuel Rashba, formerly of the Landau Institute for Physical Problems in Moscow and now with the Physics Department at Harvard University. Professor Rashba belongs to the generation that started the field of solid state physics and created a theoretical background for people’s understanding of the effects, processes and phenomena controlling the performance of modern electronics. His contributions to general physics and to almost all areas of solid state physics have been very important and still have tremendous impact today.
The lecture will take place on campus in the David Davis building, room W0.01 and is open to staff, students and members of the local community with a background in physics. No pre-booking is required.
The final session of the week is on Thursday, 17 March when Dr John Tyrer of the Wolfson School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering will present a lecture entitled ‘Bras to Bridges’. Starting at 6.15pm the lecture will look at how people measure something without touching it. Dr Tyrer will utilise various practical demonstrations of optical equipment to show how modern techniques can be used on a wide range of measurement problems.
The lecture is being held in the Wolfson School, room T003. It is open to staff, students and members of the public, and is suitable for school groups aged 14 and over. Places must be booked in advance by calling Gill Youngs on 01509 227509.
To pre-book any of the other National Science Week events or for further information about the programme contact Jackie Baseley by calling 01509 228336 or visit http://www.lboro.ac.uk/nsw
Ends
For further information contact:
- Judy Smyth, Public Relations Office,
T: 01509 228697, E: J.L.Smyth@lboro.ac.uk
Notes to editors
Loughborough has an established reputation for excellence in teaching and research, strong links with industry, and unrivalled sporting achievement. Assessments of teaching quality by the Quality Assurance Agency place Loughborough in the top flight of UK universities, and industry highlights Loughborough in its top five for graduate recruitment. Around 45% of the University’s income is for research. The University has been awarded four Queen’s Anniversary Prizes: for its collaboration with aerospace and automotive companies such as BAE Systems, Ford and Rolls Royce; for its work in developing countries; for pioneering research in optical engineering; and for its world-leading role in sports research, education and development.