The Week of Monday 21^st November

Here are some fascinating extra-curricular events for those in Priory 6 (and their parents!) for the week commencing Monday 21^st November, with links attached.  Prepared by Mr Salmon, they cover topics as diverse as allergies, ivory poaching and synthetic biology.

Monday 21^st November

Haldon Range Dam earthquake damage, New Zealand: 6.00pm, Institute of Civil Engineers. They organise some wonderfully odd events, and love students. Nice venue; check out their other offerings  https://www.ice.org.uk/events/haldon-range-dam-earthquake-damage-London

Challenging Myths and Misconceptions: Understanding the Nazi Camps and the Holocaust: 6.00pm, Senate House

Is Holocaust education failing? Many children currently leave school without a clear understanding of the Holocaust: they are confused about the perpetrators, about the concentration camps and their function.

http://www.bbk.ac.uk/events-calendar/challenging-myths-and-misconceptions-understanding-the-nazi-camps-and-the-holocaust-1

Tuesday 22^nd November

More’s Utopia: 6.00pm, Gresham College

http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/thomas-mores-magnificent-utopia

Mendeleev: Really; he has used his time machine to travel to 2016. 5.45pm, SCI at UCL Chemistry Dept, students friendly.  http://www.soci.org/news/london/london-autumn-lecture-series-2016

Synthetic Biology: 7.00pm, Imperial College; need to buy a ticket.

One of UK Government’s Eight Great Technologies is to apply engineering principles to biological systems in order to meet needs for low-carbon fuel, new food sources, novel pharmaceuticals and much more.  http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/newsandeventspggrp/imperialcollege/eventssummary/event_31-8-2016-16-21-56

Trains and fonts and double arrows: Design and identity for railways.  This is really nerdy. 7.00pm, St Bride’s Library

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/trains-and-fonts-and-double-arrows-tickets-28945014317

Wednesday 23^rd November

Operating at the boundaries: The science and art of getting things done. 7.00pm, RI; cheapish.  The working world is becoming ever more complex. How do leaders of elite teams keep them focused on delivering the best outcomes, in the fastest time with the greatest efficiency? A panel of world-class experts from science and industry divulge the secrets of effectiveness at the second Operating at the boundaries event.

http://www.rigb.org/whats-on/events-2016/november/public-operating-at-the-boundaries-the-science-and-art-of-getting-things-done

Seeing through Lies: Prof M Elliott; good speaker.  6.00pm, Gresham College at MOL.

Doctors’ careers can be sometimes built on publication rates and citation indices. Medical journals preferentially publish positive results, which also benefits industry. It is not surprising that scientific fraud occurs. When discovered, reputations are broken and livelihoods lost. The collateral damage to innocent patients and other researchers can be catastrophic. This lecture reviews some classic and some new examples of fraud and discusses what can be done to prevent it.

http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/seeing-through-the-lies-innovation-and-the-need-for-transparency#cjhihXeHz6FQmi2w.99

A new beginning in the fight against allergies: 5.30pm, Imperial College.

Find out if a personalised medicine revolution could spell the end for asthma at the inaugural lecture of Professor Adnan Custovic. http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/newsandeventspggrp/imperialcollege/eventssummary/event_25-10-2016-13-47-46

GREEK ARCHAEOLOGICAL COMMITTEE UK ANNUAL LECTURE: The Mentor shipwreck. 7.00pm, Kings College

The recent archaeological expeditions (2009, 2011-15) conducted by the Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities at the wreck of the brig Mentor, which sank in 1802 off Kythera, have been focused mainly on excavating the section of the hull that is still well preserved, as well as collecting information about the passengers, the crew and the cargo of the ship. The brig, owned by Lord Elgin, was transporting some of the antiquities and sculptures taken from the Acropolis monuments, and sank off the small port of Avlemonas in September 1802. https://www.kcl.ac.uk/artshums/ahri/eventrecords/2016-2017/CHS/GAC2016.aspx

What does the Paris Agreement on climate change mean for civil engineering?  6.00pm, Institute of Civil Engineers. https://www.ice.org.uk/events/what-does-cop21-mean-for-civil-engineering

Ivory Poaching:  6.00pm, Kings College.  This year’s Marjan-Marsh Award will be presented at a double presentation and award ceremony titled ‘The Bleeding Heart of Africa: Central Africa’s Elephants’. This year Keith Somerville, a leading expert with a broad overview of ‘blood ivory’, will be joined by conservation practitioner and former French army officer, Stephane Crayne to explore the Central African ivory poaching crisis and receive the 2016 Marjan-Marsh Award.

https://www.kcl.ac.uk/sspp/departments/warstudies/events/eventsrecords/The-bleeding-heart-of-Africa-central-Africa’s-elephants-Marjan-Marsh-Award.aspx

Kony 2016: what happened with the Lord’s Resistance Army?: 6.30pm, LSE.  In the first months of 2016, fighters from the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) abducted more than 300 Central Africans, posing a threat to civilians. The increase in LRA violence as Uganda considers withdrawing troops from eastern Central African Republic (CAR) poses a threat to security in the region. Author Ledio Cakaj’s book, When the Walking Defeats You: One Man’s Journey as Joseph Kony’s Bodyguard, offers a rare insider account of one of the world’s most well- known terrorist groups.  http://www.lse.ac.uk/publicEvents/events/2016/11/20161123t1830vCLM402.aspx

Thursday 24^th November

The Great Convergence: information technology and the new globalisation: 6.30pm, LSE. Between 1820 and 1990, the share of world income going to today’s wealthy nations soared from twenty percent to almost seventy. Since then, that share has plummeted to where it was in 1900. This reversal of fortune reflects a new age of globalisation that is drastically different from the old.

http://www.lse.ac.uk/publicEvents/events/2016/11/20161124t1830vWT.aspx

Denouncing Israel: Anti-colonialism or Antisemitism on the British Left?: 6.30pm, German Historical Institute:  friendly place!

A significant part of the British left, especially since the June 1967 war, tends to denounce Israel as a state and Zionism as an idea. Ostensibly, these attitudes are grounded in the anti-colonialism and anti-racism which have been staple causes for the British left since the sun began to set on the Empire. Brian Klug [Oxford]

https://www.ghil.ac.uk/events_and_conferences/seminars_and_lectures/2016/european_leo_baeck_lecture_series_london.html

Friday 25^th November

The Building Blocks of the Universe: 7.20pm, RI.  A bit expensive, but good.

According to our best theories of physics, the fundamental building blocks of matter are not particles, but continuous fluid-like substances known as ‘quantum fields’. David Tong will explain what we know about these fields, and how they fit into our understanding of the Universe. He’ll cover topics from the Big Bang to the latest developments in particle physics from CERN.

http://www.rigb.org/whats-on/events-2016/november/public-the-real-building-blocks-of-the-universe

Quantum Teleportation: 6.30pm, UCL; tends to be crowded; turn up early.  Prof J Morton; good speaker. Part of the UCL student lecture series. Free. https://www.ucl.ac.uk/phys/department/science_centre/tabs/programme

Opening Weekend at the Design Museum: Friday-Sunday. This will be interesting….

https://designmuseum.org/things-to-do/weekend-open