Institute of Physics lectures
The Institute of Physics lectures are held at the University of Surrey campus on Tuesday evenings and are accessible and understandable to all.
Past events
It’s not a Mess: It’s Science
Tuesday 21 January
Alexia Beale, University of Surrey.
What’s special about slime, jelly, cornflour and paint?
In this 45-minute interactive talk, we will explore a variety of materials and the science behind them. Aimed at children aged 7-11, this talk will include demonstrations with the chance for audience participation.
Quantum and Classical Effects in DNA Point Mutations
Tuesday 11 February
Dr Marco Sacchi, University of Surrey.
Our work dives into the fascinating world of Quantum Biology, focusing on how protons move along the hydrogen bonds in DNA. These movements can sometimes create temporary changes in the structure of DNA, leading to what we call “tautomeric bases.” Although these changes are brief, they can cause genetic mutations, which might even lead to cancer.
We used advanced computer models to simulate how these proton transfers happen between the standard DNA base pairs (A-T and G-C) and their rare tautomeric forms (A*-T* and G*-C*). Our findings suggest that while changes in A-T pairs are unlikely to have lasting effects, the G-C pairs might experience more significant changes, which could potentially be passed on during DNA replication.
Interestingly, although there are high energy barriers that usually prevent these changes, the rare forms of these DNA bases can last longer than we expected. We also discovered that to understand how these proton movements affect DNA, we need to consider the quantum nature of protons and how they interact with their environment, especially the noisy surroundings inside cells, like water molecules. By combining molecular simulations with quantum theory, we were able to estimate how often these proton transfers might happen in real-life conditions.
Our research also touches on the role of enzymes, like helicase, which may help prevent these quantum-based mutations from spreading during DNA replication.
To help you better understand the context, we’ll begin with a general introduction to Quantum Biology—a field that explores how quantum mechanics influences biological processes.
Explaining Cosmology through Analogies
Tuesday 11 March
Professor Kathy Romer, Sussex Astronomy Centre.
Through a series of light hearted analogies I hope to explain some of the complexities of modern observational cosmology. This will include explaining the similarities of: dark matter with bubble tea; model selection with fly fishing; baryon acoustic oscillations with tide marks on the beach; dark energy as Dairylea triangles; supernovae with the Gallagher brothers; and the cosmological constant problem with the Spinal Tap movie.
The Magical World of Motion: a child-friendly journey into classical mechanics
Tuesday 16 January
Dr Caroline Shenton-Taylor, University of Surrey.
Embark on an adventure as we delve into the fascinating world of classical mechanics! This child-friendly talk will ignite minds with curiosity and wonder, as we explore Sir Isaac Newton's timeless laws of motion with demonstrations, a sprinkling of physics and a lot of fun. Get ready to spin, balance and launch into understanding the physics that governs our everyday.
Electrospinning: an emerging medicines manufacturing method
Tuesday 13 February
Professor Gareth Williams, UCL.
In order to be effective, a drug must be delivered to the right part of the body, at the correct time, and in an appropriate amount. If any one of these three criteria is not met, then a medicine will be ineffective or even dangerous. To develop potent medicines, pharmaceutical scientists need to find ways to enhance the intrinsic properties of drug molecules, for instance by increasing their solubility in water. There are a number of technologies which have been adopted to achieve these goals. One emerging approach which is attracting significant interest is electrospinning, which applies an electric field to generate nano-to-micro sized fibres from a polymer solution.
Electrospun fibres have been very widely explored in the context of drug delivery. The rapid drying nature of the process tends to result in amorphous systems, and use of a hydrophilic filament-forming polymer can give significant increases in dissolution rate, apparent solubility, and bioavailability. Electrospun formulations thus have great potential to overcome the solubility challenges faced by >70% of emerging drug candidates. Beyond this, by careful choice of the polymer carrier and the nanoscale architecture of the fibres, it is possible to precisely control both the drug release rate and location, and in a number of cases much sought after zero-order (constant rate) release has been obtained with electrospun systems.
In this presentation, we will first introduce the electrospinning technology, and then discuss a number of recent studies exploring its applications for drug delivery. We will further consider issues of translation from bench to bedside, and the likely patient acceptability of electrospun formulations.
The well tempered physicist: Physics and music
Tuesday 12 March
Dr Sam Carr, University of Kent.
Temperament is to do with the way musical scales are tuned — the most common is known as ‘equal temperament’ which featured in 'the well tempered Clavier’, a collection of preludes and fugues in all musical keys written in the early 1700s by Johann Sebastian Bach. But what exactly is equal temperament, what are the alternatives (such as Pythagorean temperament), and what has any of this got to do with maths and physics? In this talk we will explore these questions and enjoy some Bach.
The Science of Musical Instruments
Tuesday 30 April
Dr Chris Wiley, University of Surrey.
Have you ever wondered about how musical instruments make sounds? Or why some sounds are high and others are low? Then join musician Chris Wiley and physicist Alexia Beale – who both play lots of instruments – and find out!
In this 45-minute interactive session for school pupils aged 7 to 11, we’ll explore a range of instruments with strings and instruments you blow down, as well as those you hit with a stick. Audience participation will be welcomed!
An Exploration of Time
Tuesday 14 May
Professor Jim Al-Khalili, University of Surrey.
Questions about the nature of time are some of the most enduring. Yet despite our ever-deepening understanding of the physical universe, we have yet to reach a consensus on the nature of time: does it flow like a river, carrying us along, or does it flow past us? And why does it point towards the future and not to the past? We tend to make the mistake of thinking that we are always facing forward, looking to the future, when in fact we have our backs in the direction of travel, not seeing what lies ahead of us, instead watching the past recede into the distance. But is this arrow of time baked into the structure of the universe, or is that just a trick of our senses?
So, what does our current understanding of the laws of physics and the nature of the universe tell us about these big questions on the nature and behaviour of time. For example, did time have a beginning and will it have an end? Can it be stretched and squeezed, or even reversed? Some of the answers I will share are widely accepted by scientists and philosophers, while others will elicit heated debate. The result will forever change the way you think about the passage of time and your place within it.
Surfing the Universe: Cosmology with Gravitational Waves
Tuesday 8 October
Professor Tessa Baker, University of Portsmouth.
In this talk, we’ll journey into the new world of gravitational wave astronomy. First predicted by Albert Einstein, gravitational waves are minute fluctuations in spacetime, the fundamental fabric of reality, and are produced by the most violent events in the universe. It took nearly a century for scientists to understand and build detectors sensitive enough to make the first breakthrough detection of them in 2015. Just nine years later, we detect them on a weekly basis.
We’ll talk in more detail about where gravitational waves come from, and some of the incredible detections to date. We’ll also understand how gravitational wave events can be used as tools to answer major questions in cosmology: how fast is the universe expanding? What is the true nature of dark energy? And is Einstein’s theory — which gave birth to gravitational waves themselves — really the complete picture of gravity?
A Weekend of Physics, with the Open University and University of Surrey physics societies
Saturday 9 November and Sunday 10 November
A weekend of physics in collaboration with Fusion, the Open University Physics and Astronomy Society and the University of Surrey. The Saturday program will include talks by guest speakers on topics ranging from a History of Dimensions, and Music and Space to fluid dynamics and 'how a pencil in St Paul's Cathedral in 1979 changed my life'. Speakers include Jim Grozier, Colin Piper and Steven Macdonald.
Artificial Intelligence: are Scientists' Jobs Safe?
Tuesday 12 November
Dr Jorge Quintanilla, University of Kent
Artificial Intelligence is on the rise, and it's making us all a little nervous. These days, computers can do everything from recognizing faces to writing poetry, marking essays, diagnosing patients, and even coding new software. No job seems immune to the march of the machines. But what about science? Is the creation of new knowledge something that machines can never truly replicate? In this talk, I'll take you on a tour of the different types of AI, using examples from the world of
physics to show how scientists are embracing these tools in their daily work. I'll also look ahead to the quantum era of AI and explore what all this might mean for the future of science and of human endeavour more generally.
Jorge is a theorist whose interests lay at the fertile intersection of machine learning, quantum computing and condensed matter physics. He has have contributed to our understanding of unconventional superconductors, ultra-cold atomic gases, exotic magnets and strongly-correlated electron systems. Jorge is Reader in Condensed Matter Theory at the University of Kent in Canterbury and the founding leader of its Physics of Quantum Materials research group (https://research.kent.ac.uk/pqm).
How to Heat Up Dark Matter
Tuesday 10 October
Prof Justin Read, University of Surrey.
Since its discovery by the Swiss astronomer Fritz Zwicky in the 1930's, dark matter has continued to capture the public imagination. It raises the velocity of stars and gas in galaxies, bends light around massive galaxy clusters and promotes the growth of structure in the Universe. In this talk, I will explain the key evidences for dark matter, and our latest theories for what it is. In particular, I will focus on new results from our group in Surrey that show that dark matter can be "heated up" and moved around at the centres of tiny "dwarf' galaxies. I show that this points to dark matter comprising a new particle of nature that remains to be found. I conclude with a discussion of the latest experiments that are trying to detect or create such a particle in the laboratory.
Fusion Update: Entering the Technology Delivery Phase
Tuesday 14 November
Dr Chantal Shand MInstP, Senior Radiometric Researcher, UKAEA.
The UK Government recently announced a £650 million budget for cutting-edge fusion R&D on top of the funds committed to the STEP Programme which aims to finalise the concept design for the prototype plant by March 2024. With this support and the unprecedented boom in the private sector, a cleaner, greener alternative to nuclear fusion, it is time to demonstrate fusion energy can deliver net energy and affordability for consumers. This talk will highlight key research currently underway and some of the great unanswered questions as we enter the technology delivery phase of fusion energy.
Fantastic Fractals
Tuesday 5 December
Dr Robert Izzard, University of Surrey.
An event for all ages: learn about fractals, their properties and their applications. There will be a range of activities and crafts to complete, including making your own fractal snowflakes and Christmas cards.
Gravitational waves
Tuesday 11 February
Dr Chris North, Cardiff University.
In 2015 the twin LIGO detectors picked up the first definitive signature of gravitational waves - ripples in the fabric of space predicted a century previously by Albert Einstein. In the subsequent years, LIGO and its European counterpart, Virgo, have confirmed the detection of around a dozen such signals. Each originates from the merger of some of nature's most extreme objects - black holes and neutron stars. The measured effect on Earth, however, is absolutely tiny, and requires a precision that seems to be beyond our imaginations - and which led Einstein to think his prediction would never be tested. Since 2015, the era of gravitational wave astronomy has truly begun, and teams from all over the world are poring over the data from some of the most sophisticated experiments on Earth. In this talk, three years to the day since we were able to announce that first discovery to the world, I'll describe what gravitational waves are, how we detect them, and what we're learning from the discoveries to date. Find out what the future holds for astronomy's youngest observational field.
Quantum mechanics: A deep dive into weirdness
Tuesday 10 March
Sapphire Lally, University of Surrey.
Quantum mechanics drives the most important processes in the universe, from the tiny scales of atom formation to the burning of the giant stars that light the night sky. We have harnessed its power to develop clocks that never run slow, lasers to rival science fiction weapons, and ultra-efficient electronics. But it is a well-kept secret that physicists have no idea what's going on behind the curtain of the quantum world. Why is quantum physics different to the world we're used to? What is going on when we aren't looking at a quantum system? In this lecture, I'll present some of our best and weirdest answers to those questions - including universes that touch each other, systems that move backwards and forwards in time, and the possibility that you are the most important person in the universe.
The Universe in a bottle
Tuesday 10 March
Matthew Orkney, University of Surrey.
The Universe is as enormous as it is mysterious. This talk will showcase some of the methods and techniques used to build cosmological simulations, models which attempt to follow the evolution of the Universe through time and shed light on the physics behind it all. With just a few key cosmic ingredients and expert scientific craftsmanship, modern computers can create a toy model of our Universe that can be tweaked and examined without limitations - a Universe in a bottle.
Stranger Worlds: The Sci-Fact in the Sci-Fi
Tuesday 8 October
Brendan Owens Royal Observatory Greenwich.
Is time travel really possible? Are there aliens? Could we travel between the stars in a lifetime? These are all questions that authors, filmmakers and more have used as inspiration to fuel new creative ideas that have intrigued and excited audiences over the years.
Some of those inspired include scientists who are really exploring those big questions through science, and sometimes they in turn pass on their science knowledge to artists to inspire them. So what are the answers to these questions and how well do filmmakers in particular display the science fact in the science fiction? Astronomer Brendan Owens will help you find out in this tongue-in-cheek talk exploring the do’s and don’ts of science fiction while also exploring how sometimes the strangest science fiction is closer to reality than you might think…
Pushing the whale - A new story about watching paint dry
Tuesday 12 November
Malin Schulz, University of Surrey
"In modern day life paint is often applied in multiple layers and typically they have to be deposited individually. Time consuming, expensive and honestly who wants to watch paint dry that much... . So what if we could do it all in one go? We'll look into recent research and explore how a phenomenon called diffusiophoresis can help us in developing new types of paint and coatings.
About the diet of galaxies
Tuesday 12 November
Pol Massana Zapata, University of Surrey
Galaxies are gigantic complex structures and understanding how they are formed and evolve is a difficult matter. But one thing we do know, they feed from each other. Under the current paradigm of galaxy evolution, big galaxies have grown by assimilating smaller galaxies. These kind of events usually produce the most astonishingly beautiful images that can be taken with telescopes. But what is really happening when two galaxies collide? Is there really any violence involved at all? Should we be worried that our galaxy will be eaten as well? In these talk we will answer all these questions and learn about the latest developments in our understanding of galaxies.
The dark energy survey
12 March
Prof Kathy Romer, Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Sussex to explain how almost 70 per cent of the universe is an exotic form called dark energy. Find out more about the dark energy event.
CSI universe: Space and spectra
9 October 2018
Dr Radmila Topalovic, Programme Leader for Science and Engineering at Kaplan International College to talk about CSI in space.
Please download our CSI Universe: Space and Spectra poster (PDF) to advertise our event at your institution.
Particle accelerators - A gift from nuclear physics or what have particle accelerators ever done for us?
13 November 2018
Prof Bill Gelletly and Dr Annika Lohstroh from the Physics Department at the University of Surrey to talk about particle accelerators.
Please download our accelerators poster (PDF) to advertise our event at your institution.
Last day of the dinosaurs
11 December 2018
Prof Phil Manning, Professor of Natural History at the University of Manchester to talk about how he uses physics to understand what happened to the dinosaurs.
Please download the last day of the dinosaurs poster (PDF) to advertise our event at your institution.
Zombie degenerate stars - what can we learn from the stellar graveyard?
12 February 2018
Dr Arnau Rios Huguet, Senior Lecturer in Theoretical Nuclear Physics at the University of Surrey to talk about how he uses stellar graveyards to study nuclear physics.