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Attendance is free, but we do need to know approximate numbers to organise the seating. To reserve a place please e-mail or phone 01279 600704

Upcoming Events   

Monday 13th February 2012

You're Looking Very Well: Lewis Wolpert discusses the Surprising Nature of Getting Old

Lewis Wolpert

We now live longer today than at any time in history. In the UK, more people are aged over sixty-five than under sixteen and by 2050, over a third of the developed world will be over sixty. How should we deal with this phenomenon? What are the scientific reasons for ageing? And can - or should - we prevent it? Lewis Wolpert investigates, tackling themes from ageism to euthanasia to anti-ageing cream and, through it all, tries to better understand his own ageing. Witty, frank and often inspiring, Lewis Wolpert is the perfect guide to 'looking very well'.

Lewis Wolpert CBE FRS FRSL (born October 19, 1929) is a South African-born developmental biologist, author, and broadcaster. He was educated at the University of Witwatersrand (BSc), Imperial College London, and at King's College London (PhD). He is currently Emeritus Professor of Biology as applied to Medicine in the Department of Anatomy and developmental biology at University College London. In addition to his scientific and research publications, he has written about his own experience of clinical depression in Malignant Sadness: The Anatomy of Depression (1999).

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Monday 5th December 2011

A Journey Round Saturn, its Rings and Moons

Carolin Crawford

Saturn is the most beautiful planet in our Solar System. Famous for its bright yet ethereal rings, the gas giant has over sixty natural satellites in orbit around it – and one artificial satellite: NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, which provides many of the results and images that will be showcased in this talk. We shall explore the weather observed in the atmosphere of Saturn, the curious structures that develop within the rings, and its wide variety of moons – from smog-shrouded Titan, two-sided Iapetus, to busy Prometheus, and the icy plumes erupting from frozen Enceladus. 

Dr Carolin Crawford is based at the Institute of Astronomy in the University of Cambridge, and is a Fellow of Emmanuel College. She is an observer, combining data from the optical, near-infrared and X-ray wavebands to study how active galaxies can influence their environment. Carolin combines her research into astronomy with the job of Outreach Officer, conveying her enthusiasm for her subject to as wide an audience as possible through talks, lectures, videoconferences and radio.