The Week of Monday 27th March and the Easter Holidays
Revolution in healthcare, the effect of the colour red, cybersecurity and conserving the mountain chicken – just some of the talks offered next week and during the Easter holidays in a list which Mr Salmon has put together for your edification and enjoyment. Do ask him if you would like further information.
Monday 27th March
Human Threats to London’s Infrastructure: This lecture, the first of ICE London’s Preparing London for Change series, will explore what the capital can do to prepare itself against malicious attacks like terrorism and cyber criminality. The lecture will explore what engineers are doing to protect our core systems and what needs to be done to ensure the capital remains safe. Sounds terrifying but important. Institute of Civil Engineers 18.30. Free, need to book. https://www.ice.org.uk/events/preparing-london-for-change-lecture-1-London
The Effect of Red on Human Competition: Laura Fortunato, Oxford University. Bright red coloration is a signal of male competitive ability in animal species across a range of taxa, including non-human primates. Does the effect of red on competition extend to humans? A landmark study in evolutionary psychology established such an effect through analysis of data for four combat sports at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Perhaps the school PE strip should be red…. LSHTM 17.30, free. http://www.lshtm.ac.uk/newsevents/events/2017/03/revisiting-the-effect-of-red-on-competition-in-humans
Tuesday 28th March
2017 Easter lecture: creating a high performance revolution in healthcare: Matthew Syed [good speaker]. The RSM’s Annual Easter lecture is back for its 28th lecture, this year presented by Mr Matthew Syed who is a columnist for The Times and author of two acclaimed books ‘Bounce’ and ‘Black Box Thinking’. Matthew Syed will focus on the dynamics of a high performance culture. Talent is significant but not enough. There is no substitute for a mind-set that drives continuous improvement. Every marginal gain is vital and they build together to achieve performance excellence. Matthew believes that purposeful practice and the need to push beyond the comfort zone is crucial to success. Learning does not happen by repeating or defending the status quo. Success occurs when we confront the mistakes that are inevitable in a complex world, learn from them and create a climate that fosters change. Using compelling examples from healthcare, aviation, business, education, sport and the criminal justice system, he will highlight how to implement a growth culture and the difference that that can have on performance and growth – both at an individual level and at an organisational level. Royal Society of Medicine 18.30. Lovely and friendly venue. Free; need to register. https://www.rsm.ac.uk/events/events-listing/2016-2017/groups/public-engagement-programme/peh07-2017-easter-lecture-creating-a-high-performance-revolution-in-healthcare.aspx
Wiring up the Brain: Professor Christine Holt FMedSci FRS. The brain is made up of billions of nerve cells (neurons) that are wired together by axons and dendrites. The precision of this wiring allows us to accurately sense, interpret and interact with the outside world, which is crucial for survival. Many neurons are positioned far away from the targets so they face the formidable task of sending out an axon that must navigate correctly over a long distance to find its targets. This key step in wiring the brain, called axon guidance, occurs early in embryonic development mostly before birth in humans. Royal Society 18.30, free. https://royalsociety.org/science-events-and-lectures/2017/03/ferrier-lecture/
Wednesday 29th March
Malaria Eradication; Necessary and Possible: Bruno Moonen, Deputy Director Malaria at BMGF. Malaria is the world’s leading infectious disease. LSHTM 17.00; a bit early, free. http://www.lshtm.ac.uk/newsevents/events/2017/03/malaria-eradication-necessary-and-possible
Cybersecurity: Dr. Richard J. Harknett. King’s College 18.00, free, need to register. http://www.lshtm.ac.uk/newsevents/events/2017/03/malaria-eradication-necessary-and-possible http://www.kcl.ac.uk/aboutkings/worldwide/newsevents/eventrecords/Guest-Lecture-Dr-Richard-J-Harknett.aspx
Thursday 30th March
What will happen when Artificial Intelligence and the Internet meet the Professions?: Richard Susskind. Two futures are outlined for the professions. Both rest on technology. One is reassuringly familiar. It is a more efficient version of what we have today. The second is transformational – a gradual replacement of professionals by ‘increasingly capable systems’. In the long run, in an Internet society, it is claimed, we will neither need nor want doctors, teachers, accountants, architects, the clergy, consultants, lawyers, and many others, to work as they did in the 20th century. Something to think about when you are choosing a career. Gresham at Museum of London. 18.00. Free. https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/what-will-happen-when-artificial-intelligence-and-the-internet-meet-the-professions
Friday 31st March
Perovskites: The crystalline materials known as Perovskites make up 38% of the volume of the earth. Moreover, they have many very important practical uses, for example in electronics, ultrasonics and in thermal sensing devices. So what are they exactly? Mike Glazer will explain how tiny changes in their crystal structures can lead to such a vast array of different properties and why they are so important in our daily lives. Not as nerdy as it sounds; superconductors! Royal Institution Discourse. Smart dress! Cheap. 19.20 [sic]. http://www.rigb.org/whats-on/events-2017/march/public-bragg-lecture-2017
Weekend and Holidays
Monday 3rd April
Safe Disposal of Nuclear Waste: ICE 18.30.https://www.ice.org.uk/events/delivering-safe-geological-disposal-of-nuclear-was
Emerging Infectious Diseases: kiss, snort, bite and fly: Annelies Wilder-Smith, Professor of Emerging Infectious Diseases. Probably will be really and wonderfully gruesome. LSHTM 17.15 http://www.lshtm.ac.uk/newsevents/events/2017/04/emerging-infectious-diseases-kiss-snort-bite-and-fly
Wednesday 5th April
Poisons: Institute of Physics. 18.30. Free; need to book. http://www.iop.org/events/public/branch/index.html#/?i=3
Defeat is an orphan: How Pakistan lost the Great South Asian War: King’s 1800, free.
Thursday 6th April
Seismic Engineering in Nepal: https://www.ice.org.uk/#
Tuesday 11th April
Conserving the mountain chicken: [It is a frog…] ZSL 18.00. https://www.zsl.org/science/whats-on/conserving-the-mountain-chicken-frog-the-impact-of-chytridiomycosis-under-scrutiny
Wednesday 12th April
The cutting edge: Surgery from scalpels to robots: Royal Institution 19.00. Cheap. http://www.rigb.org/whats-on/events-2017/april/public-the-cutting-edge
Thursday 20th April
The Air we Breathe; using buildings to tackle air pollution: Building Centre, 1830, free. Need to book. http://www.buildingcentre.co.uk/events/the-air-we-breathe
