Public lectures at the University
Welcome to our new series of public lectures for 2012/13. More lectures will be added as they are confirmed. If you would like to submit details for a lecture to appear on this page, please contact comms@bath.ac.uk
A number of the public lectures are available as podcasts on the Public Lecture Podcast page.
Forthcoming lectures
- There are currently no forthcoming lectures
Previous lectures
- Wednesday 19 June 2013 INAUGURAL LECTURE
6.15pm | 2 East 3.1
Inaugural lecture: How could suppliers and customers dramatically reduce future electricity bills?
Professor Furong Li, Department of Electronic & Electrical Engineering
- Wednesday 12 June 2013 GULP
5.15pm|Lecture Theatre 5W 2.3
From Technophobia to Technophilia - can you love or hate technology too much?
Technology is everywhere - in schools, in the workplace as well as the home. Technology impacts upon how we learn, work and play. But can people love technology too much? Can people become dependent upon technology? Can people become addicted to using technology? This talk explores the psychological research into these questions, to suggest the answer is 'yes'. At the opposite end, there are people who hate using technology. The talk explores the psychological research that shows that people can be highly anxious when using technology - termed 'technophobia'. Who are these technophobes and what is it that they fear?
Speaker: Dr Mark Brosnan.
Admission is free.- Wednesday 29 May 2013 GULP
5.15pm|Lecture Theatre 5W 2.3
The Royal Observer Corps: A History and Archaeology of a Classic British Voluntary Organisation
The Royal Observer Corps was primarily a voluntary organisation allied to the Royal Air Force and, later, Home Office. It has a rich heritage spanning 70 years, all of it focussed on the protection of the British mainland from attack from the air. During the Cold War period aircraft recognition was all but abandoned in favour of fallout warning and reporting. The archaeology and material culture of this organisation is now the focus of study, demonstrating that the process of volunteering displays complex behaviour. And just what happens to a nuclear bunker once it is redundant? This illustrated talk reveals how, through current research, the abandonment process is helping us understand human behaviours and attitudes towards structures connected with the archaeology of mass destruction.
Speaker: Mr Robert Clarke.
Admission is free.- Tuesday 21 May 2013 Gerald Walters Memorial
6.15pm|Lecture Theatre 5W 2.4
Paths to reconciliation in rediscovering a common humanity
Drawing from his 40 years experience in reconciliation work in Northern Ireland, Latin America, The Holy Land, Iraq and in his work with the Anglican Communion, Peter Price will reflect on the necessity to recognise the dignity of every human being, and the recovery of human values, in order to move towards a reconciled humanity.
As a theologian and humanitarian, Peter will consider universal themes such as the place of compassion, the nature of human salvation, and the search for wholeness under the umbrella of a belief that a different world is possible.
Peter’s lecture will be rooted in practical hands on experience and encounter, and will offer small steps of hope to the establishment of a reconciled humanity, at home with itself, its environment, and its Source.Peter Price has been Bishop of Bath and Wells since 2002, and a member of the House of Lords since 2008. He was a schoolteacher before his ordination, and spent much of his ministry in south London, including time at St Mary’s Addiscombe, at Southwark Cathedral, and as Bishop of Kingston.
For five years (1992-97) he travelled the world as General Secretary of one of the Anglican Church’s leading mission and development agencies, USPG. His particular interests are small Christian communities and contextual biblical reflection. He was greatly influenced in his theology and politics by the experiences of visiting the churches of Latin America during the ‘dirty wars’ of the 1980s and 90s, when small Christian communities bore the brunt of death squads and government repression.
He is active in issues of reconciliation, contributing to peacemaking in Northern Ireland, Iraq and Zimbabwe. In 2011 he was able to revisit friends in El Salvador, including one Bishop he was instrumental in saving from execution 20 years ago.
He represents the Archbishop of Canterbury in the world Anglican Communion by chairing the panel of Visitors who deal with the differing views within the world church on matters such as authority and human sexuality.
In the House of Lords he takes a particular interest in foreign affairs and defence matters. He most recently (19 March) sponsored a debate about the UK government’s approach to water and sanitation in third-world countries.
Among his publications are ‘Changing Communities – Church from the Grassroots’; ‘Undersong’, ‘Playing the Blue Note’ and ‘Seeds of the Word’.
- Wednesday 15 May 2013 GULP
5.15pm|Lecture Theatre 5W 2.3
Bath's First Theatre Royal
The story of an anonymous-looking building in one of Bath's cobbled backstreets that contains over 260 years of history, from being the first Theatre Royal outside of London, to a Catholic Chapel where Bishops preached and finally the home of England's oldest provincial Masonic Lodge and Museum.
Speaker: Mr Malcolm Toogood
Admission is free.- Tuesday 14 May 2013 IPR
12:30-18:3 | East Building lecture theatre 1.1
Institute for Policy Research Launch Conference: Policy and Power: Re-thinking the Role of Policy Research
The University has just established a new Institute for Policy Research. The Institute brings together many of our research strengths. It will provide a platform from which this research can exert a greater influence on public policies – locally, nationally and internationally.
The conference will present some of the research on which the new Institute will build. It will begin a debate with the academic community and the public at large, around the policy challenges which the Institute’s research programme will need to address. The conference will conclude with the Director of the Institute presenting its plans for future development.
Outline Programme
Professor Paul Gregg will examine the scars that recessions leave on the social and economic fabric of our society. He will consider what policy makers can do, to mitigate the damage that the current recession could otherwise leave in its wake.
Professor Anna Gilmore will examine the ways in which the tobacco industry seeks to shape and subvert public health policies in the UK and elsewhere. She will argue for vigilance by policy makers and the public and will show how research can help in this.
Dr David Galbreath will consider whether our security will require our involvement in the Western Sahara for decades to come, as the Prime Minister has stated. He will unpick the complex linkages between international security, terrorism and social and economic development, and will ask how UK and international policy-makers should best proceed.
The conference will also bring together the range of our research on responses to climate change. Our Science and Engineering Faculties are working on green technologies: colleagues in Management and Social Sciences are concerned with the social, economic and political dimensions of climate change adaptation.
This session will include a ‘Question Time’ Panel chaired by Iain Stewart, Professor of Geoscientific Communication at the University of Plymouth and presenter of several BBC TV series, including ‘How to Grow A Planet’.
A drinks reception will follow the conference.
Tickets are required. To confirm your place please email: g.gillespie@bath.ac.uk Telephone: 01225 383659- Thursday 9 May
16.15 | 1 South 0.01
'Low Coordination Number and low Oxidation State Transition Metal Complexes with Sigma-Bonding Ligands' by Professor Philip Power, David Parkin Visiting Professor, Department of Chemistry.- Thursday 2 May ICIA
7.30pm|3 West North
Artist Lecture: Alex Hartley
Hartley has just completed Nowhereisland, one of twelve public art commissions for the Artists Taking The Lead 2012 Cultural Olympiad Project. Nowhereisland journeyed from the High Arctic region of Svalbard to the south west coast of England in summer 2012, stopping at ports and harbours as a visiting ‘island nation’. Hartley will be discussing the project and his broader practice and influences.
Free Admission, All Welcome. Contact the Box Office: 01225 386777 www.bath.ac.uk/icia
- Wednesday 1 May GULP
5.15pm|Lecture Theatre 5W 2.3
A Brief History of Infinity
Where did the idea of infinity come from? Who were the people who defined and refined this paradoxical quantity? Why is infinity, a concept we can never experience or truly grasp, at the heart of science? How can some infinities be bigger than others? An exploration of one of the most mind-boggling features of maths and physics, this talk uncovers the amazing paradoxes of infinity and introduces the people who devised and refined the concept.
Speaker: Mr Brian Clegg
Admission is free.- Wednesday 1 May
17.15pm|3WN 2.1
'Mechanism of the Reactions of Hydrogen and Other Small Molecules (Amines, Olefins, Isocyanides and CO) with Heavier Main Group Compounds under Ambient Conditions' by Professor Philip Power, David Parkin Visiting Professor, Department of Chemistry.
- Tuesday 30th April 2013
6.15pm | East Building lecture theatre
Presidents & American Foreign Policy
Are trends in global politics simply the result of large impersonal structural forces, or does human agency matter? For example, would America have become the dominant country in the 20th century regardless of who was president? To what extent did leaders matter, and if so, what kind of leader? Leadership theorists focus their attention on what they call transformational leaders, but were "transformational" leaders like Woodrow Wilson and Ronald Reagan really more important than "transactional" leaders like Eisenhower and the first Bush? What are the lessons we can draw for leadership and foreign policy in this century?"
For more information and to book your free place please go to:http://go.bath.ac.uk/Professor-Nye-Lecture
- Wednesday 24 April 2013 INAUGURAL LECTURE
6:15pm | 8 West 2.3
Brand Aid? Development finance and African agriculture (Inaugural Lecture Series)
In a global system that seems to be remorselessly concentrating capital into fewer hands, this lecture will examine efforts to move money the other way in order to promote food security, with particular reference to Ethiopia.
In this lecture, Professor James Copestake will highlight the growing business-orientation of aid and explore scope for being more transparent about its impact.
Attend this event
Free tickets for the lecture are available from: Ms Clare Allen (Department Coordinator) email: c.c.allen@bath.ac.uk | tel: 01225 38 6264
The speaker is Professor James Copestake (Professor of International Development)- Wednesday 24 April 2013 Foreign Languages Centre
12pm | 8 West 2.3
Living and working across cultures (The Arab World, Brazil and China)
Isabella Stefanutti, Ana Bertyolossi, Dikra Ridha, Juron Zheng
Tickets: flc@bath.ac.uk or call 01225 383991- Tuesday 9 April 2013
4.15pm | 3 East 3.8
Early years: Embedding evidence based policy in practice
In the last decade, there has been increasing interest from central government, from local government and from funders in understanding what works in achieving public policy goals – and in designing policy and funding services that make use of robust evidence.
This lecture by Sonia Sodha and Nick Axford will draw on the Social Research Unit at Dartington’s experience to consider the opportunities and challenges in supporting policymakers and decision-makers to use evidence of what works in public policy and spending decisions.
This seminar is hosted by the Centre for the Analysis of Social Policy.- Tuesday 9 April 2013 Department of Mechanical Engineering
6.15pm | 3 West North 2.1
Downsizing for fuel efficiency- Wednesday 20 March 2013 GULP
5.15pm| Lecture Theatre 8W 1.1
King Charles II
Ronald Hutton is Professor of History at Bristol University. He took his degrees at Cambridge and Oxford and is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, Society of Antiquaries and Learned Society of Wales.- Wednesday 13 March 2013 4:15pm | 8 West 2.1 MILLENIUM
A little light relief
Professor David Phillips CBE, FRSC, Professor Emeritus, Dept of Chemistry, Imperial College London
Immediate Past-President, Royal Society of Chemistry.- Wednesday 13 March 2013 GULP
5.15pm| Lecture Theatre 8W 1.1
Juggling - Theory and Practice
Colin Wright graduated in 1982 from Monash University, Melbourne, Australia, with a B.Sc.(Hons) in Pure Mathematics, and went on to receive his doctorate in 1990 from Cambridge University, England.- Tuesday 12 March 2013
2pm|East Building Lecture Theatre 1.1
Speaking Truth to Power- Tuesday 12 March 2013
5.30pm|East Building Lecture Theatre 1.1
Trust & Transparency in Public Life and Business- Friday 8 March 2013
Non-cognitive characteristics and life outcomes
Non-cognitive skills and characteristics are increasingly being recognized as playing an important role in determining an individuals life outcomes. However, the ways in which these skills are developed and the mechanisms through which they translate into educational and later life success is less well understood.
This workshop brings together leading academics working at the nexus of non-cognitive skills, background, education, health and the labour market to present the latest findings on these questions and consider future directions for research.
The event is open to all, but please register here.- Thursday 7 March ICIA
7.30pm|ICIA Art Space 2
Artist Matthew Houlding and Ceri Hand - Director of Ceri Hand Gallery in Conversation
Matthew Houlding talks to Ceri Hand about his current exhibition at ICIA. Ceri Hand initially trained as an artist and has twenty years’ experience in the arts world. She established Liverpool’s first contemporary commercial art gallery in 2008.
Free Admission, All Welcome. Contact the Box Office: 01225 386777 www.bath.ac.uk/icia
- Wednesday 6 March 2013
7pm | University Hall
TBA
Professor Alison Walker, Department of Physics, University of Bath
Free tickets: zt230@bath.ac.uk- Wednesday 6 March 2013
Ben Goldacre: Bad Pharma This event is now sold out.
- Monday 4 March 2013
6.15pm - 8.05pm | Lecture Theatre 5 West 2.3 l
From Poverty to Power: How Active Citizens and Effective States can Change the World
Duncan Green argues that a radical redistribution of power, opportunities, and assets rather than traditional models of charitable or government aid is required to break the cycle of poverty and inequality. The forces driving this transformation are active citizens and effective states. Why active citizens? Because people living in poverty must have a voice in deciding their own destiny and holding the state and the private sector to account. Why effective states? Because history shows that no country has prospered without a state structure that can actively manage the development process.
The lecture is open to the public and is free to attend. Register to attend via email: cds@bath.ac.uk- Wednesday 27 February 2013 GULP
5.15pm| Lecture Theatre 8W 1.1
Outfoxing Crusaders - parady, satire and non-participation in the crusades
Ms Sarah Lambert of Goldsmiths University is an Essex girl by upbringing and her whole academic career has been London based.- Wednesday 20 February 2013 MILLENIUM
4:15pm | 8 West 2.1
Pyromania, science or artistry? Behind the scenes of professional firework displays
Mr Matthew Tosh, presenter, writer, pyrotechnician, and education and media consultant.- Wednesday 20 February 2013 GULP
5.15pm | Lecture Theatre 5W 2.3
Cosmic Rays - Messengers of the Universe
Professor Glenn Patrick CPhys, FInstP, FRAS. Glenn Patrick is a particle physicist from the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL) near to Oxford where until recently he led one of the groups studying the differences between matter and antimatter at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).- Wednesday 13 February 2013
4:15pm | Lecture Theatre 8W 1.1
Bright earth: The invention of colour
Dr Philip Ball, freelance science writer and regular columnist for Chemistry World and Nature Materials- Wednesday 13 February 2013 GULP
5.15pm | Lecture Theatre 8W 1.1
France and the Modern Olympics
Dr Steve Wharton, Senior Lecturer in French and Communication in the University’s Department of Politics, Languages and International Studies, is a social and cultural historian working on 20th and 21st France, politics and propaganda.- Wednesday 6 February 2013 GULP
5.15pm| Lecture Theatre 8W 1.1
Climate change: What we know, what we don't know and what we can do
Dr Dan Lunt is a Reader in Climate Science in the School of Geographical Sciences at the University of Bristol.- Wednesday 6 February 2013 GULP
5.15pm| Lecture Theatre 3WN 2.1
Beyond the fringe: early days of alternative theatre
Colin Chambers is the first Professor of Drama at Kingston University. He has been a journalist, including a theatre critic in print and on radio, and was Literary Manager of the Royal Shakespeare Company from 1981-1997.- Thursday 6 December 2012 ICIA
7.30pm, East Building 1.1
Artist Lecture: Richard Wentworth
Richard Wentworth- ICIAThursday 22 November 2012
7.30pm, ICIA Art Space 2
Beyond Utopia
Sophie Warren and Jonathan Mosley- InauguralThursday 22 November 2012
6.15pm | 5 West 2.3
Through the eyes of a child: the hidden costs of poverty and austerity policies for Britain's poorest children
Professor Tess Ridge, Department of Social and Policy Sciences, University of Bath
Free Tickets: Clare Allen or call 01225 386264
- Millennium Wednesday 21 November 2012
4.15pm | 8 West 2.1
Molecular Gastronomy: The science of taste and flavour
Professor Peter Barham, School of Physics, University of Bristol- Foreign Languages Wednesday 21 November 2012
7pm | 6 West 2.1
Living and working across cultures (Eastern Europe)
Isabella Stefanutti, Hanna Gruszczynska, Larisa Kasyan
Tickets: flc@bath.ac.uk or call 01225 383991- RESEARCH Tuesday 20 November 2012
6.15pm | 8 West 2.1
The ethical roboticist
Professor Alan Winfield, Director of Science Communication Unit, University of the West of England, Bristol
Tickets: Paula McGrane- HERSCHEL Thursday 15 November 2012
7pm | Lecture Theatre 5 West 2.4
Astrophysical Black Holes
Professor Andrew Fabian OBE FRS, University of Cambridge- Wednesday 14 November 2012 GULP
5.15pm Lecture Theatre 8 West 1.1
in association with the Royal Geographical Society
A sustainable future for wildlife and people - Is it possible?
Mr Simon Garrett- Wednesday 7 November 2012 GULP
5.15pm Lecture Theatre 8 West 1.1
No job for a woman: Insights into the manufacture of explosives and shell filling in the First World War
Dr Barry Maule- GULP Wednesday 31 October 2012
5.15pm Lecture Theatre 8 West 1.1
Archaeology, common rights and the origins of Britishness
Dr Sue Oosthuizen, University of Cambridge Institute of Continuing Education- GULP Wednesday 24 October 2012
5.15pm Lecture Theatre 8 West 1.1
How to build an Olympic stadium
Dr Paul Shepherd, University of Bath- ICIATuesday 16 October 2012
6pm, ICIA Art Space 2
Preview, Book-Signing and In Conversation with Dr Katie Hill
Dinu Li, established curator, lecturer and writer who specialises in Chinese contemporary art.- InauguralWednesday 10 October 2012
6.15pm | 2 East 3.1
Are buildings evil?
Professor David Coley, Department of Architecture & Civil Engineering- GULP Wednesday 10 October 2012
5.15pm Lecture Theatre | 8 West 1.1
Say it with poison
Mr Russell Bowes- Wednesday 3 October 2012
5.15pm Lecture Theatre | 8 West 1.1
The science of breakfast in weight management & health
Dr James Betts, Department for Health, University of Bath- BIME Wednesday 3 October 2012
7pm East 1.1
44th Annual Lecture of Bath Institute of Medical Engineering (BIME)
How technology can help older people - Moving beyond the pendant alarm
Professor Gail Mountain, Professor of Health Services Research (Assisted Living Research) at University of Sheffield; Director of EPSRC-funded SMART Consortium & Principle Director of KT-EQUAL Consortium