Featured content: Recent Episodes
Cambridge University
Genetics of a canine transmissible tumour show how the world’s oldest cancer “metastasised” through the global dog population – and captured, maintained and rearranged its mitochondrial DNA along the way.
Strakova et al. eLife 2016;5:e14552
More info here:
http://www.tcg.vet.cam.ac.uk/
A time-lapse day-in-the-life video celebrating the magic of Cambridge, featuring iconic views of the city and University.
This talk was part of the Departmental Seminars in History and Philosophy of Science series.
In 2010, Dr Stephen Leonard embarked on a year-long trip to live with the Inugguit of north-west Greenland, the northernmost settled people on Earth. His aim was to record the language, stories and songs of these communities. The traditional life of the community and its future is potentially threatened by a number of factors, one of which is climate change. Dr Leonard lived as a member of those communities, travelled on hunts, and recorded and filmed as he went. Here he talks about some of his experiences and reflects on a year spent in the midst of a fading culture.
For more info visit: www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/living-with-the-inugguit
Dr Wendy Pullan discusses the work of her research group looking at veryday life and the possibilities for transformation in Belfast, Jerusalem and other divided cities. ‘Conflict in Cities and the Contested State’ focuses on divided cities as key sites in territorial conflicts over state and national identities, cultures and borders.
The film clip shows a nest of the most frequent host of the cuckoo finch, the tawny-flanked prinia, which has an extravagantly diverse range of eggs. The prinia parent has recognised that an egg in its nest is that of a cuckoo finch, and proceeds to eject it by spearing it on the end of its beak and carrying it away.
Scientists at Cambridge University take a closer look at algae and examine its potential as a renewable source of energy. In the near future algae could be used as a sustainable, carbon neutral biofuel.
New research from the University of Cambridge sheds light on how fleas jump, reaching speeds as fast as 1.9 meters per second.
(3 bar) extracts from an Almain dance movement for harpsichord written by the 17th C English composer Albertus Bryne and which survives in four manuscript sources. Terence Charlston plays from two of the sources to show the performance differences caused by a slight variation in the notation of musical ornaments in the two sources. Example A manuscript source - Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. Mus. Sch. D.219
When Cambridge University Lecturer in Archaeology Dr Catherine Hills discovered that Anglo Saxon remains could be buried in the grounds of Newnham College, Cambridge, she and her colleagues set about organising a dig to find them. Key to its success would be the help of 20 sixth-form girls from schools in London, Birmingham and Peterborough, all of whom stayed in the college for a week to sample life at Cambridge. What did the girls make of their stay? And did they unearth skeletons in the garden?
Approximately 200,000 babies every year are infected with HIV by breastfeeding from their mothers, primarily in Sub-Saharan Africa. In order to reduce the spread of HIV from mother to baby during breastfeeding, scientists are developing a low-cost, modified nipple shield which dispenses antiviral compounds.
An early work by composer Ralph Vaughan Williams is to be performed for the first time after being spotted in an exhibition at Cambridge University Library.
The score of A Cambridge Mass was written by Vaughan Williams for his doctoral examination and has never been heard. It has been in the safe-keeping of Cambridge University Library for more than 100 years.
Vaughan Williams studied at Trinity College, Cambridge, in the 1890s. Here short excerpts of A Cambridge Mass are played at Trinity by 20-year-old Kausikan Rajeshkumar, currently a final year music student at the college.
A Cambridge Mass has been transcribed from the original score by Alan Tongue who will conduct it at a concert next year. He first saw the score in an exhibition of manuscripts at Cambridge in 2007.
The score of A Cambridge Mass will be published by Stainer & Bell Ltd in 2011. Excerpts played with kind permission of Stainer & Bell.
Dr Martin Worthington introduces his online audio library of Babylonian poems and texts.
Churchill College's video highlighting the 50th Anniversary of the Cambridge University College and the launch of its £12m fundraising Appeal.
Michael Kelly, Prince Phillip Professor of Technology in the Department of Engineering. Michael was Chief Scientific Advisor to the Department for Communities and Local Government.
Chris Hope from the Energy and Environment Research Group at the Judge Business School. Chris is an advisor to DEFRA.
Julian Alwood, Group Leader of the Low Carbon and Materials Processing Group at the Department of Engineering. Julian is leading a major project on the global emissions targets for steel and aluminium.
Tim Radford gives the background to COP15 at the Copenhagen conference held in Cambridge on 3 November 2009.
Tim is a freelance journalist who has worked for the Guardian for 32 years. He was Science Editor for The Guardian and has won the Association of British Science Writers award for science writer of the year four times.
Emily Schuckburgh, Head of the Open Oceans Research Group at the British Antarctic Survey. Emily’s research is focused on gaining a better understanding of the dynamics of the atmosphere and oceans to improve predictions of future climate change.
Darwin’s five bridges Professor Richard Dawkins (University of Oxford, UK)
Summary: Was Darwin the most revolutionary scientist ever? If, by revolutionary, we mean the scientist whose discovery initiated the most seismic overturning of pre-existing science, the honour would at least be contested by Newton, Einstein and the architects of quantum theory. Those same physicists might have outclassed Darwin in sheer intellectual fire power. But Darwin probably did revolutionize the world view of people outside science more comprehensively than any other scientist. I want to recognize four ‘bridges to evolutionary understanding’. The first bridge is to natural selection as a force for weeding out the unfit. The second bridge is the recognition that natural selection can drive evolutionary change. Bridge number three leads to the imaginative grasp of the importance of natural selection in explaining all of life, in all its speciose richness. Bridge number four is the bridge to public understanding and appreciation. Darwin crossed it alone, in 1859, by writing On the Origin of Species. The fifth bridge, which Darwin himself never crossed was neo-Darwinism or what I shall rename ‘digital Darwinism’ because the essence of Mendelian genetics is that it is digital. As crests get longer, or eyes rounder, or tails gaudier, what is really being carved by natural selection is the gene pool. As mutation and sexual recombination enrich the gene pool, the chisels of natural selection carve it into shape, working away through geological time. It is an image that might have seemed strange to Darwin. But I think he would have come to love it.
Cambridge occupies a distinctive and distinguished place among universities, but our future health and that of UK higher education as a whole are interdependent. Between us, we offer splendidly varied and high-quality opportunities for learning and research, to the enormous benefit of UK students and society. We serve for one another as important pools of talent, postgraduate students as well as staff. Even as we become increasingly active overseas, we benefit greatly from collaboration and competition at home. Cambridge’s international standing is enhanced by virtue of belonging to one of the best university systems in the world and, in turn, Cambridge adds lustre to the reputation of that system.
A lecture commemorating the 250th anniversary of the birth of William Pitt in 1795, and 425 years of continuous printing and publishing at Cambridge University Press.
A lecture by the world-famous linguist David Crystal, commemorating 425 years of continuous printing and publishing at Cambridge University Press.
Interviews with visitors to the 2009 Cambridge Science Festival exploring favourite scientific discoveries.
The visit of Mr George Yong-Boon YEO. Minister for Foreign Affairs, The Government of Singapore.
This lecture, by Professor Malcolm Longair, tells the story of the development of Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology over the 800 years of Cambridge University's existence. A Cambridge Science Festival 2009 lecture.
A recording of the Intercontinental Music Lab performing songs from their album Superheroes of Science. The musical lecture took place in the Babbage Lecture Theatre on Saturday 14th March 2009.
Dr Sadaf Farooqi, a Wellcome Trust Senior Clinical Fellow at Addenbrooke's Hospital will look at the genetic factors which cause human obesity and the dramatic response that patients can experience following leptin therapy, including the critical role this hormone plays in the regulation of human food intake. A Cambridge Science Festival 2009 lecture.
From 17-19 January 2009, Senate House and Old Schools were lit up in a spectacular light show featuring some iconic images from the University's past and present, as well as some new drawings of two of our most famous alumni, produced by world-renowned illustrator and Downing College alumnus Quentin Blake.
From 17-19 January 2009, Senate House and Old Schools were lit up in a spectacular light show featuring some iconic images from the University's past and present, as well as some new drawings of two of our most famous alumni, produced by world-renowned illustrator and Downing College alumnus Quentin Blake. The show was produced by world-renowned light artist Ross Ashton.
Both behaviour and appearance of locusts change as they go from solitary locust, being propelled by other locusts, to a gregarious locust, seeking other locusts out. In the top video a solitary locust is eager to get away from the other locusts. However, in the bottom video a gregarious locust is desperate to join the other swarming locusts.
Bravely going where few of their kind have gone before, the Teddy-nauts were dressed in special space-suits designed and made by 11 and 12 year-old pupils from Parkside and Coleridge Community Colleges as part of a project with Cambridge University Spaceflight to help them learn more about science, engineering and space. This footage shows the launch and was filmed by the school pupils taking part.
Evan Davis, BBC Today presenter, outlines five things everyone should know about economics, Mike Kitson looks at the relevance of economics to everyday life and Professor Willy Brown describes the growing impact of the minimum wage over its first ten years. This talk was recorded on 25 October 2008 as part of the first Festival Of Ideas in Cambridge.
Dr David Runciman talks to Guardian politics journalist Michael White about his views on why we shouldn't demand sincerity from politicians. This talk was recorded on 25 October 2008 as part of the first Festival of Ideas in Cambridge.
Evelyn Welch chairs a debate on how creativity and the arts, humanities and social sciences contribute to the economic and social good. Speakers include Doug Richard, Nigel Brown, Tim Jones and Jennifer Barnes. This debate took place on 24 October 2008 as part of the first Festival of Ideas in Cambridge.
Peter Curran chairs a debate on the arts. With John Carey, Claire Fox, Julian Baggini and Adrian Monck. This debate took place on 23 October 2008 as part of the first Festival of Ideas in Cambridge.
An International Cafe Scientifique discussion organised and hosted by The Darwin 2009 Festival and the British Council with speaker Robert Foley chaired by Ash Rampura.
An inaugural lecture to mark the establishment of the Joseph Needham Professorship of Chinese History, Science and Civilization. With Professor Roel Sterckx.
Video of the annual address of the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Alison Richard, 1 October 2008.
Interview of Lord Martin Rees the cosmologist and Master of Trinity College, Cambridge about his life and work.
Interview of Lord Martin Rees the cosmologist and Master of Trinity College, Cambridge about his life and work.
Professor Duncan Maskell, Head of the Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge and Fellow of Wolfson College speaks at Cambridge in America Day, San Francisco, Grand Hyatt Union Square , March 31, 2007.
Panel Discussion at Cambridge in America Day, San Francisco, Grand Hyatt Union Square, March 31, 2007. Moderator, Bernard Rivers, Aidspan Founder and Director, Alumnus, Queens College. Bernard Rivers is the founder and leader of Aidspan, a US based non governmental organization whose mission is to reinforce the effectiveness of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria by serving as an independent watchdog of the Fund, and by providing services that can benefit all countries wishing to obtain and make effective use of Global Fund financing.
Dr. Ian Tattersall, Curator, Division of Anthropology and Co-Curator of the Spitzer Hall of Human Origins introduces it in this video. The hall is located in The American Museum of Natural History, New York City.
An interview with the double Nobel laureate Fred Sanger who sequenced insulin and phage.
Part 2 of an interview of the Nobel Prize winning scientist at Cambridge University, Sir Aaron Klug, sometime President of the Royal Society, Director of the MRC laboratory of molecular biology and Fellow of Peterhouse, Cambridge.
An interview of the Nobel Prize winning scientist at Cambridge University, Sir Aaron Klug, sometime President of the Royal Society, Director of the MRC laboratory of molecular biology and Fellow of Peterhouse, Cambridge.
Clifford Geertz talks of his later life in anthropology, including his fieldwork and writing methods. He describes the influence of various anthropologists and writers on his work.
Huxley memorial lecture by Professor Dame Marilyn Strathern given at University College, London, on 8th December 2004, filmed by Alan Macfarlane.
With Dr. David Starkey. More than the biographies of the kings and queens of England, this lecture is an in depth examination of what the English monarchy has meant, in terms of the expression of the individual, the Mother of Parliaments, Magna Carta, the laws of England and the land of England. The importance of the rich heritage of the Anglo Saxon kings is featured but it does not stop there. This is the history of ideas and ideals, as well as colourful characters.
Professor Lawrence Joseph, Tinnelly Professor of Law at St. John's University School of Law and Poet explores whether law gets to the bottom of things. He shows that writing poetry isn't an alternative but a necessity.
The talk is introduced by Louise Mirrer, President, New-York Historical Society and was filmed at Cambridge in America Day 2007, New York City, CUNY Graduate Center, December 1, 2007.
Dr. David Starkey discusses Cambridge's history and how the university was transformed during the sixteenth century.
Dr. David Starkey, an Honorary Fellow of Fitzwilliam College, is a winner of the W.H. Smith Prize for Biography for Elizabeth and the Norton Medlicott Medal for Service to History presented by the Historical Association.
This talk was filmed at Cambridge in America Day 2005 New York City, CUNY Graduate Center, November 19, 2005.
James Deutsch directs the Africa Program of the New York based Wildlife Conservation Society, with 1,100 staff implementing conservation work in 20 African countries. James studied philosophy at Harvard and biological anthropology and zoology at Cambridge King's College before holding a research fellowship at Churchill College and a lectureship in conservation biology at Imperial College, London.
In Africa he has researched rhinos, kob antelope, and cichlid fishes and taught high school and field courses. Before coming to the Wildlife Conservation Society four years ago he ran the UK's national fundraising charity for AIDS.
Speakers in this video are Jill Fredston, Professor Bill Adams and Professor William Sutherland.
Professor Bill Sutherland wrote The Conservation Handbook and the snappily titled From Individual Behaviour to Population Biology. He is interested in finding means of providing free conservation books to developing countries and enabling practicing conservationists to learn from each other. In September he came to Cambridge from the University of East Anglia to become the new Miriam Rothschild Professor in Conservation Biology at the Department of Zoology.
Professor Bill Adams works on relations between society and nature, particularly on rural development and conservation. Much of his work focuses on Africa.
His work on the history and development of nature conservation, particularly about sustainability, is shaped by a primary interest in the power of social constructions of nature to affect the way the environment is understood, transformed and managed. His most recent book is Against Extinction The Story of Conservation.
Currently Co-Director of the Alaska Mountain Safety Center, Inc. Jill Fredston is one of North America's leading avalanche specialists, as well as being an accomplished rower and explorer. Her book Rowing to Latitude Journey along the Arctic's Edge won the 2002 National Outdoor Book Award for Literature. Her most recent book Snowstruck In the Grip of Avalanches was published in November 2005. Her talk entitled A View from Water Level will discuss what makes a place wild as well as the shifting baselines of wilderness and touch on her most recent work studying polar bears, shrinking habitats, adaptation of species and reconciling science and policy.
Admissions Tutor, Mike Sewell, explains to parents the admissions policy at Cambridge and what the University and Colleges have to offer undergraduate students.
This short film is for Cambridge applicants who are interested in playing the organ or singing in a chapel choir. Primarily geared towards potential organ scholars, the film also gives a good overview of choral music at Cambridge for those considering applying for choral awards.
Former Cambridge students, Anna and Xina, present an overview of the University of Cambridge and the College system, with information on choosing a course and College, the application process and student life in Cambridge.
Interviews in Action is a 25-minute film designed to give undergraduate applicants a better idea of what to expect when they come to Cambridge for interview.
We suggest that you watch the whole film then read the related information attachment, which contains important information and context for the film. A transcript of the film is also available for those who are unable to view the film.
One of four lectures on aspects of legal anthropology given by Alan Macfarlane to second and third year students in Cambridge university department of social anthropology doing a special paper on Legal Anthropology in February 2008.
One of four lectures on aspects of legal anthropology given by Alan Macfarlane to second and third year students in Cambridge university department of social anthropology doing a special paper on Legal Anthropology in February 2008.
One of four lectures on aspects of legal anthropology given by Alan Macfarlane to second and third year students in Cambridge university department of social anthropology doing a special paper on Legal Anthropology in February 2008.
One of four lectures on aspects of legal anthropology given by Alan Macfarlane to second and third year students in Cambridge university department of social anthropology doing a special paper on Legal Anthropology in February 2008.
One of eight lectures for first year Cambridge University students in February 2006. Introducing some of the major approaches to the anthropology of politics and economics.
One of eight lectures for first year Cambridge University students in February 2006. Introducing some of the major approaches to the anthropology of politics and economics.
One of eight lectures for first year Cambridge University students in February 2006. Introducing some of the major approaches to the anthropology of politics and economics.
One of eight lectures for first year Cambridge University students in February 2006. Introducing some of the major approaches to the anthropology of politics and economics.
One of eight lectures for first year Cambridge University students in February 2006. Introducing some of the major approaches to the anthropology of politics and economics.
One of eight lectures for first year Cambridge University students in February 2006. Introducing some of the major approaches to the anthropology of politics and economics.
One of eight lectures for first year Cambridge University students in February 2006. Introducing some of the major approaches to the anthropology of politics and economics.
One of eight lectures for first year Cambridge University students in February 2006. Introducing some of the major approaches to the anthropology of politics and economics.
A talk on how to investigate the patterns of social relationships through the use of historical and anthropological materials.
A lecture given to the Joint course in research training for Master of Philosophy students in Cambridge, with backgrounds in history, anthropology, sociology, law, geography, criminology. It describes in an autobiographical way the use of personal records, including letters, diaries, autobiographies and travel records.
An introductory talk describing the consumption of wealth as analysed by social anthropologists.
An introductory talk describing the exchange of wealth as analysed by social anthropologists.
An introductory talk describing the distribution of wealth as analysed by social anthropologists.
An introductory talk describing the production, of wealth as analysed by social anthropologists.
A short introductory talk explaining what social anthropology is and what social anthropologists do, without jargon or detail.
This lecture gives a description of the Enigma machine and how it was used operationally by the Germans, followed by an explanation of the how the Enigma messages were broken with the Turing Bombe. Mr Frank Carter works for the Bletchley Park Trust and is an expert on the methods used to break the Enigma and similar codes. He is one of Bletchley Park's most experienced guides and regularly lectures on Colossus and Enigma. He recently gave a lecture on Polish code-breaking achievements to an audience, which included the Polish Ambassador.
Between 1937 and 1970, computers were difficult to make, difficult to keep running and difficult to use. Since 1970, everything has become progressively easier. Today every academic has at least one computer on his or her desk, and the Computing Service has changed greatly as a result.
In 1937 the remit of the Mathematical Laboratory at Cambridge included the requirement to provide a computing service for general use, and to be a centre for the development of computational techniques in the University. But computers as we now know them did not exist at that time. The EDSAC, developed by the Computing Service at Cambridge, was the world's first stored-program computer which successfully executed its first program in May 1949.
Dr David Hartley read Mathematics at Clare College 1956 followed by a Diploma in Computer Science. After his PhD he was appointed University Lecturer in 1967, and then Director of the University Computing Service from 1970. He became Chief Executive of UKERNA in 1994, then Executive Director of the Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre in 1997 and Steward of Clare College from 2002. Now more or less retired, he has been a Fellow of Clare since 1986, and was President of the British Computer Society in 1999 to 2000.
Professor Carter's lecture opened with the relationship between poverty and poor access to safe water. He then spent time developing a series of pragmatic approaches to sustainability, and asked whether and under what circumstances sustainable water development is found to occur. The challenge of scaling up and the implications of the millennium development goals for sustainable development were explored. The lecture was based on Professor Carter's wide experience of water sector development in developing countries, particularly focusing on the poorest countries of sub-Saharan Africa, from which he gave many illuminating examples of the difficulties facing those working in water development and water aid projects. Lecture summary provided by Centre for Sustainable Development.
Paul White talks with Tim Lewens, a philosopher of biology in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge. Dr Lewens is the author of Organisms and Artifacts 2004, which examines the language and arguments for design in biology and philosophy. He has also just completed a book on the role of Darwin and Darwinism in modern philosophy: Darwin 2007. In this interview, Dr Lewens discusses the role of Darwinism in modern science, the arguments for intelligent design in nature, the implications of evolution for religious belief, and the importance of a historical understanding of Darwin's work.
A little light relief - or the chemistry of light was a 2006 Science Week Chemistry Lecture at Cambridge University. Sponsored by The Walkters Kundert Trust. With Dr Peter Wothers, Department of Chemistry
Find out who your customers are and how you can meet their needs. Understanding your market is perhaps one of the most critical first steps in the development of an entrepreneurial venture. You will gain an understanding of the strategic issues of determining key groups of customers for your product and the more tactical issues of communicating effectively with them so that they buy.
This session will equip you with tools and techniques to deliver a winning pitch. Selling your ideas effectively to investors, customers or indeed anyone who may have involvement in your business, requires that you communicate the right messages in the right way. MARY SPILLANE Founder of Imageworks Mary Spillane is a world class coach, trainer and presenter. She speaks from both personal experience and a solid grounding in business, communications and psychology training. With seven titles on personal impact published in over thirty countries Mary is in demand to coach others in making the most of themselves. This can take the form of working one to one with a top performer who has become unstuck, showing young high flyers how to be effective in testing situations or re vamping the way people communicate to achieve results.
Drivers may face limits on the carbon they emit from their cars, which could affect the number of journeys they can make, said The Right Honourable David Miliband MP, Secretary of State for the Environment, at a free public lecture at the University of Cambridge's Faculty of Law. An option would see drivers buying and selling their carbon allowances, if the Government succeeds in persuading the EU to extend the emissions trading scheme to the roads. Motorists who emit too much carbon would have to buy pollution permits from greener drivers.
Miliband's lecture The Transition Economy - a future beyond oil. was the Dr S. T. Lee Public Policy Lecture at the Faculty of Law. He was introduced by the University's Vice-Chancellor Professor Alison Richard. Aged 41, Mr Miliband is seen as one of the brightest of his generation of Labour MPs. He worked for Mr Blair's policy unit when the Labour Party was still in opposition and became head of Downing Street's policy unit after the 1997 election.
The S. T. Lee lectures were established in 2003 thanks to a benefaction from Seng Tee Lee, the business executive, philanthropist and Honorary Fellow of Wolfson College, Cambridge. Each lecture considers aspects of scientific, medical or technological research and developments that are likely to have significant implications for public policy over the next decade.
This was the third lecture in the series. Previous lectures have been given by Professor Sir David King, Chief Scientific Adviser to the government, and the Nobel laureate, Sir John Sulston.
The annual Marshall Lectures in Cambridge University was set up in 1946 for the memory of Sir Alfred Marshall 1842 - 1924 who founded the Economics Tripos in 1902. Professor Marshall was one of the most influential economists of his time. He discoursed in a united framework on key neoclassical economics concepts such as supply and demand, marginal utility and the costs of production in his book, Principles of Economics in 1890, which was a standard textbook for several generations of students in economics in the world.
The annual Marshall Lectures in Cambridge University was set up in 1946 for the memory of Sir Alfred Marshall 1842 - 1924 who founded the Economics Tripos in 1902. Professor Marshall was one of the most influential economists of his time. He discoursed in a united framework on key neoclassical economics concepts such as supply and demand, marginal utility and the costs of production in his book, Principles of Economics in 1890, which was a standard textbook for several generations of students in economics in the world.
There is much that we do know about the human as a consequence of our curiosity about ourselves. The fossil record, the archaeological record and the broad fields of social and cultural studies give an insight about our species that is fairly comprehensive. One thing is clear and that is that there was and is no \inevitability\ to our being now or at any time, past, present and future. From the perspective of origins, serendipity is evident and in this era of renewed religious fundamentalism, we must promote the scientific understanding of humans far more than has been the practice in recent times. The prehistory of humanity is an excellent starting point where serendipity rather than design has been so critical. Biography. Richard Leakey has been responsible for some of the most significant discoveries in the study of human origins and evolution, carrying out research and excavation projects in east Africa throughout the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Throughout this time he became increasingly active in conservation and politics in Kenya, and since the 1990s these have been his main focus. He has been Director of the National Museums of Kenya, Director of Kenya Wildlife Service, Permanent Secretary, Secretary to the Cabinet and Head of the Civil Service of Kenya, and is involved with the managerial boards of over thirty organisations. He has received thirteen international awards for his various works, and Honorary Doctorates from eleven universities. His academic activities are currently focused around the Chairmanship of the Turkana Basin Institute and a Professorship of Anthropology at the State University of New York, Stony Brook.
Discoveries of the very unexpected do keep happening in physics - even in areas previously thought to be settled and classical. Despite the stifling overload of published research and generally over-busy active fields of research, carefully chosen experiments that bring new elements from outside the field can and do reveal surprises. What are the best steps to follow? When is it wise to depart from the mainstream, or pick up techniques and technologies from outside ‘physics’? I will select examples from my own work (the development of semiconductor physics based on carbon-based molecular or polymeric materials) and from the field of superconductivity. Biography Professor Sir Richard Friend, FRS , FREng Richard Friend has been a member of the academic staff in the Department of Physics, University of Cambridge, since 1980, where he is the Cavendish Professor of Physics. He pioneered the study of organic polymers as semiconductors, and his research group has demonstrated that these materials can be used in wide range of semiconductor devices, including light-emitting diodes and transistors. He has been active in the process of technology transfer of this research to development for products. He co-founded Cambridge Display Technology Ltd in 1992 to develop light-emitting diode displays, and Plastic Logic Ltd in 2000, to develop polymer transistor circuits, and these are now being developed as flexible active-matrix backplanes for e-paper displays. He is currently working on the use of polymer and related materials for thin-film solar cells.
Politics is a conjuncture of ideas, external realities and public mood - the Cleopatra's nose theory is therefore a correct description of a lot of what happens - most of the chance occurrences are unfortunate - but serendipity does occur - the interesting question is whether politicians themselves have any capacity to increase the likelihood of serendipitous occurrences - my answer is that they do, but exclusively by changing the ideas that cause the moods.
Simon Winchester will be talking about the serendipitous events that led him from his early career in geology to his more conspicuous and successful life in writing. This change of path came about through what he says were entirely propitious happenings, which along with the unexpected - which he promises too - constitute the core of serendipity.
Although human DNA is 98 percent similar to that of the chimpanzee, the infections we catch are 80 percent different. Some pathogens have co-evolved with the host since chimpanzees and hominids diverged, but most are serendipitous acquisitions that we have picked up as humans spread across the world. In fact, pandemic infections like smallpox and influenza only date from the last 12,000 years or so after we adopted settled farming communities and later developed large colonies known as cities. Does the history of infectious diseases help to predict future epidemics? I shall illustrate my story with examples of HIV and ectoparasites.
Serendipity is slippery, marked by an ambiguity it is more enjoyable to explore than to lament. This talk will visit the concept through the lens of two related disciplines - classics and archaeology, particularly classical archaeology. From one direction, we will investigate the degree to which serendipity - the name an invention of the eighteenth century AD - possesses a stratigraphy, an ancient history, and examine some of the contexts in which Greeks and Romans (and those that study them) recognized the power of unexpected conjunctions and discoveries. From the other angle, the role of serendipity in the early history, and later development, of classical archaeology will be assessed. For a field in which the act of 'discovery' is so important, and luck so often ascribed to the successful, serendipity is a surprisingly unpopular factor to invoke - a reluctance that is actually quite revealing. Together these two disciplinary squints at the concept will demonstrate aspects of its history, elasticity, catalytic force, and occasional humor.
Serendipity plays a significant role in astronomical discovery. Astronomers generally cannot experiment with their objects and must rely on interpreting the objects and phenomena as they find them. A wide range of examples from volcanoes to planets to neutron stars to black holes will be used to illustrate how an observationally-driven subject like astronomy works. Finally, how a 'look before you think' approach fits in with ever more expensive telescopes will be considered.
This item is part of the Alumni Weekend 2007 collection of the Alumni Office. To view more media from the Alumni Office, please visit the Alumni Office video page.
The Abolition of the Slave Trade in America and Britain.
Internationally-renowned historian Professor Simon Schama was an undergraduate, and later Fellow, at Christ's College, Cambridge before becoming Fellow and Tutor in Modern History at Brasenose College, Oxford. He then spent 13 years as professor at Harvard and is currently Professor of Art History and History at Columbia University in New York, where he specialises in European cultural and environmental history and the history of art.
Professor Schama is well known for his award-winning books including Landscape and Memory, Dead Certainties, Rembrandt's Eyes and Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution. He has also written and presented the BBC documentary series A History of Britain, The Power of Art, and Rough Crossings: Britain, the Slaves and the American Revolution, the little-known history of thousands of African-American slaves who fought for the British in the American War of Independence.
Since 1995, he has been art and culture critic for The New Yorker and essayist for The Guardian, and was made a CBE in the 2001 New Year's Honours list.
Sir Crispin Tickell, Government Adviser on the Environment, and former UK Ambassador to the United Nations, came to Cambridge as the last speaker in this series. He discussed the ways in which human living conditions have improved dramatically since the industrial revolution - resulting in dramatic population increase, and subsequent land degradation, water pollution, energy use and abuse, climate change and damage to biodiversity. \This acceleration in the earth's transformation is not sustainable\, he said. He argued that while scientists and environmentalists have successfully won widespread public awareness of the perils of climate change, they now have to do a similar job in enlightening people about the importance of biodiversity, so that we don't take natural systems for granted. (e.g. When we cut down forests, we are destroying areas of trees that hold together the structure of the earth underneath that contains water which in turn sustains plant and animal life etc.) He called for better \global governance\ on this issue, and warned, \We may have to make many changes if we are going to bequeath a healthy Earth to our children.\ (Lecture summary provided by Centre for Sustainable Development.)
The annual Marshall Lectures in Cambridge University was set up in 1946 for the memory of Sir Alfred Marshall (1842 - 1924) who founded the Economics Tripos in 1902. Professor Marshall was one of the most influential economists of his time. He discoursed in a united framework on key neoclassical economics concepts such as supply and demand, marginal utility and the costs of production in his book, Principles of Economics in 1890, which was a standard textbook for several generations of students in economics in the world.
In the Senate House the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Alison Richard, paid tribute to Prince Philip and reflected on the changes in the University since he was installed as Chancellor in 1977.
The Atlantic Ocean between them, Darwin in England and his friend and co-scientist Asa Gray at Harvard worked to reconcile orthodox Christian beliefs with Darwin's emerging theory of evolution by natural selection. We enter their minds and worlds as - in their own words - they debate the great issues of science and religion, war, and slavery, but also share news of personal tragedies and triumphs, holidays and gardening. This video brings you highlights of Re:Design, the dramatisation by Craig Baxter in collaboration with Cambridge University's Darwin Correspondence Project (http://www.darwinproject.ac.uk). Produced by Menagerie Theatre Company, and filmed by Cambridge Media.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Alison Richard posed this question to the audience gathered in Great St Mary's to hear her annual address this morning. The Distant Fen: Cambridge in the World focussed on the future of the University in a global setting.
Popular scientist Dr Chris Smith presents a radio programme on parasites and ultraviolet LED's for clean water.
School students are encouraged to improve their language skills by pursuing modern languages in higher education.
Shai is Director for the Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning. He started his working career in small companies, leaving to complete his MBA and PhD at Cranfield School of Management, where he stayed on the faculty for ten years, before taking up a Chair in Enterprise at Nottingham Business School. In 1990 he co-founded Transitions, combining his academic interests with the practical how-to for businesses. As a result of this he has worked with over 400 businesses in workshops, consulting assignments through his business Transitions and as coach, mentor and non-executive director. He is on the editorial board of the International Small Business Journal and the Journal of Strategic Change. He is Visiting Professor at Nottingham Business School and at the University of Reading.
From an idea to a business vision requires a step change in thinking. How does an idea look like a business opportunity. This talk is about the journey from the lab to business. You will learn about the practicalities, issues, rewards and challenges that are encountered in the journey from the lab to the market place. Prof Derek Fray will illustrate these issues through examples from personal experience. He has patented many technologies and has been involved in several start-ups and commercial discussions with large organisations that have licensed his technology. Prof DEREK FRAY Dept of Materials Science & Metallurgy Derek Fray is a Fellow of the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy and a member of the Materials Society and the American Institute of Metallurgical engineers. He has published over 320 articles on materials processing and is cited as the inventor on over 160 published patents. Twelve projects are now under active industrial development both in the U.K. and Europe, Australia and the United States. He is a founder director of Ion Science Ltd., Ion Science Messtechnik Gmbh., Ion Science (Americas) llc., Environmental Monitoring and Control Ltd., Cambridge Advanced Materials Ltd., Metalysis Ltd., Camfridge Lt, Ion Medicare Ltd and British Titanium plc. All these companies are exploiting technology developed by Derek Fray.
In this lecture you'll gain an overview of the different sources of finance available to early stage businesses and an insight into the minds of potential investors. Gaining funding is critical for starting a new venture and is probably what keeps most entrepreneurs in the early stages awake at night.
This session is about setting out a big vision, how ideas can lead to a big vision which, when commercialised, can make a big difference to society and benefit the inventors. You will begin to understand why it is essential that entrepreneurs need to have a strong and clear vision for their business that can be clearly communicated to and understood by their team, potential investors and customers. You will also start to consider some of the key issues and challenges facing an entrepreneur. Prof CHRIS LOWE Institute of Biotechnology Chris is currently a Fellow of Trinity College and a Professor and Director of the Institute of Biotechnology at the University of Cambridge. His research work is multidisciplinary and covers aspects of biochemistry, microbiology, chemistry, electrochemistry, physics, electronics and chemical engineering. He is also actively involved in scientific work that includes prototype product development and R&D strategy. His work has led to the launch of many innovative products in the Life Sciences industry over the last 30 years. He is actively involved in many worldwide collaborations, is on the Editorial Boards of a number of academic journals and is a member of several UK Research Council and Government Committees on Scientific Policy.
Join in the Cambridge Science Festival excitement! This time Helen Czerski takes us to the physics department at Cambridge, known as the Cavendish laboratory. She turns the oxygen in a ballon liquid, explaining how the molecules zoom around. She shows us how to tell a real diamond from a fake diamond. Finally, she shows us a really big gun - the single stage gas gun at the Cavendish, which can fire objects at 1000s of miles per hour. She shows us how the diamond cracks when shot at with very high speed. Finally, she shows us what happens when a drop of water falls through a soap bubble.
Why is nose snot is good for your lungs, and how to make electricity from hairy legs! Dave Ansell is also one of the Naked Scientists (see our previous podcast), and he's always out and about at the Cambridge Science Festival with the CHaoS crowd, bringing exciting science to a young audience! In case CHaoS doesn't mean anything to you - check out the CHaoS movie and other movies from the Cambridge Science Festival at http://www.sciencelive.org/content/view/65/52/
Join in the Cambridge Science Festival excitement, and see what Peter Wothers gets up to in his science festival lectures! This lecture is taken from the 2008 Cambridge Science Festival.
The foundations of Cambridge's contribution to Bletchley Park's extraordinary successes in WWII were laid in the First World War when codebreaking helped both to defeat the U-Boats and bring the United States into the War. The successes of WWII in turn made possible the unprecedented codebreaking alliance between Britain and the US, which still continues. One of the alliance's early Cold War successes was to make the first crucial breakthrough in tracking down the 'Cambridge moles', whom the KGB considered its ablest foreign agents. Christopher Andrew is Professor of Modern and Contemporary History at the University of Cambridge, he is also the Official Historian of MI5, Chair of the British Intelligence Study Group and President of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. His most recent book is 'The Mitrokhin Archive II: the KGB and the World' (Penguin).
This item is part of the Alumni Weekend 2007 collection of the Alumni Office. To view more media from the Alumni Office, please visit the Alumni Office video page. (Please note: This is an audio preview, and video is in preparation. To receive the video as soon as it is available, you can subscribe to the The Cambridge University Alumni Office podcast.) Acclaimed author Adam Nicolson discusses his landmark book, God’s Secretaries: The Making of the King James Bible. One of the most amazing works of English prose ever produced, the King James Bible was not the product of one genius, but rather a group of some fifty scholars and clergymen (many from Cambridge). Nicolson examines the intriguing question of how the best-selling and arguably most influential English language book of all time could have been created by a committee of relative unknowns, and explores the politics and history surrounding its genesis. Adam Nicolson, writer and grandson of Vita Sackville West, received the Somerset Maugham Award for his earlier work, Frontiers. Other books include Wetland? Life in the Somerset Levels, Restoration, and Sea Room. Currently, he is a columnist for the London Daily Telegraph.
Freedom has become perhaps the most central value in current political debate. America, for example, promises ‘freedom to the Iraqi people’. But what exactly is the content of this promise? The lecture tries to clarify what is involved in invoking freedom as a justification. Quentin Skinner is Regius Professor of Modern History and a Fellow of Christ’s College. His interests lie in the intellectual history of early-modern Europe, and he specialises in the Renaissance and in seventeenth-century political philosophy - in particular the philosophy of Thomas Hobbes, on which he has published two books and numerous articles.
There is much discussion of the dangers of climate change, but what is the scientific basis for the predictions? This talk will review the science behind the headlines. Dr Emily Shuckburgh is a Fellow in mathematics at Darwin College and a Natural Environment Research Council Fellow based at the British Antarctic Survey. She is involved with the media, regularly contributing to discussions of climate change and other environmental issues. (Photograph courtesy of Howard Guest.)
In this podcast Duncan Robinson, Director of the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge provides a personal introduction to the Museum's exhibition 'From Reason to Revolution: Art and Society in Eighteenth Century Britain'. The Director gives a fascinating insight into his own enthusiasm for the Eighteenth Century, before inviting the listener to 'enter the gallery' itself for a guided audio tour around the exhibits, accompanied by a slideshow of images from the exhibition.
A behind-the-scenes introduction to The Fitzwilliam Museum's first-ever photographic exhibition, with photographer Howard Guest and curator Duncan Robinson. Several of the sitters for these portraits also discuss their personal experiences of being involved with the exhibition.
An introduction to the exhibition 'Anglo-Saxon Art in the Round' at The Fitzwilliam Museum (23 May - 7 September 2008), which explores the rich inventiveness of early medieval art through the medium of coins and ornamental metalwork. Mark Blackburn, Keeper of Coins and Medals at The Fitzwilliam Museum explores the artistic vibrancy of the Anglo-Saxon era, and provides a illustrated tour of the exhibition's highlights.
In May 2008 museums across the East of England celebrated Museums and Galleries Month (1-31 May 2008) with a special programme of events and activities for all ages throughout the month, many on a Chinese theme. This podcast from The Fitzwilliam Museum explores the various exciting events going on around the region as 'East meets East'.
A look at The Fitzwilliam Museum's 'Art Works' programme for young people aged 14-21. Education Officer Rachel Sinfield and local students discuss 'Source' and 'Head Space', the Museum's art sessions for young people, and discuss the challenge of encouraging younger visitors to museums. For more information on the Museum's sessions for Young People, visit http://www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/whatson/
Innovative new ways to teach Latin to a new generation of school students, via video links and games.
Young people explore physics through events such as open days at the Physics Department to encourage people to consider careers in physics.
Activity days for children aged 9-11 to inspire them about science run by Science and Engineering Experiments for Kids (SEEK).
Children are introduced to basic engineering skills at science festivals, to show that science is applicable to everyday life.
Young people challenge their perceptions about museums and explore museums in Cambridge.
University of Cambridge students go into the community to teach English to children for whom it is a second language.