lectures

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UCL Sound ▶ UCL Lunch Hour Lectures

http://www.ucl.ac.uk/lhl
http://www.youtube.com/ucllhl
http://twitter.com/UCLLHL

Running at UCL since 1942, Lunch Hour Lectures are an opportunity for anyone to sample the exceptional research work currently being undertaken at the university. Speakers are drawn from UCL's wide-ranging academic departments and lectures frequently showcase new research and recent academic publications.


Lunch Hour Lectures - Spring 2014

interesting

general lecture

Science

UCL Lunch Hour Lecture: Landing on a planet at 600 miles per hour

Professor Alan Smith (UCL Mullard Space Science Laboratory)

Unmanned robotic missions are essential for understanding the planets within our solar system. Current missions comprise of gentle landings combined with rovers to explore the local region. Due to the expense of such missions, and their sometimes unsuitability as scientific outposts, UCL's Mullard Space Science Laboratory is developing Planetary Penetrators, which aim to land on planets at very high speed, penetrating the planet and implanting equipment just below the surface.

This lecture discusses the engineering difficulties of ensuring delicate instrumentation remains intact and operable after such high impact and highlights the biggest hurdle of all - convincing the space agencies to adopt the equipment in the first place!

With a whole solar system waiting to be explored this talk describes the UK Penetrator Programme - where we've been, what we've achieved and the opportunities for the future.

http://www.ucl.ac.uk/lhl

UCL is consistently ranked as one of the world's top universities. Across all disciplines our faculties are known for their research-intensive approaches, academic excellence and engagement with global challenges. This is the basis of our world-renowned degree programmes. Visit us at www.ucl.ac.uk.

Landing on a planet at 600 miles per hour (8 Feb 2011)

Lunch Hour Lectures - Autumn 2013

Professor Sophie Scott, UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience

If you ask people what makes them laugh, they will tell you they laugh at jokes: however if you look at when they laugh a very different pattern emerges, in which laughter can be seen as an extremely important social emotion. This talk explores the science of laughter, from laughter in other animals to the acoustics of laughter, and the ways that laughter is processed in our brains.

You can also watch this lecture on the UCLLHL YouTube channel at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqwlnMJBDo4

UCL is consistently ranked as one of the world's top universities. Across all disciplines our faculties are known for their research-intensive approaches, academic excellence and engagement with global challenges. This is the basis of our world-renowned degree programmes. Visit us at http://ucl.ac.uk.

LOLZ! The science of laughter (8 Oct 2013)

UCL Lunch Hour Lecture: Will robots take over the world?

Dr Kathleen Richardson (UCL Anthropology)

2011 is the 90th anniversary of the robot, first imagined as a character in a play, performed in Prague in 1921. It is also the 50th anniversary of the first use of robots in industry with the robot ‘Unimate’ for General Motors in 1961.

Since the origin of robots they have undergone a number of transitions from the popular idea of the robot as a domestic, a vision popular from fiction such as the 1970's cartoon ‘The Jetsons’, to the last fifteen years imagining robots, not just for work, but to act as companions, exercise coaches for the elderly or stroke patients, and assistants for children with autism spectrum conditions.

This lecture will explore the history of the robot, and how it has changed and been re-imagined in fiction and labs over the last 90s years.

http://www.ucl.ac.uk/lhl

UCL is consistently ranked as one of the world's top universities. Across all disciplines our faculties are known for their research-intensive approaches, academic excellence and engagement with global challenges. This is the basis of our world-renowned degree programmes. Visit us at www.ucl.ac.uk.

Will robots take over the world? (24 Feb 2011)

As part of 2014 Norton Lecture series, Herbie Hancock, who was endowed with the Charles Eliot Norton Professorship in Poetry, gave his first lecture at Harvard on February 3, 2014. In this clip he discusses how Miles Davis reinvigorated his musical imagination and helped him innovate. 

Herbie Hancock "The Wisdom of Miles Davis" clip | Soundbytes

Lunch Hour Lectures - Spring 2014

Professor Brian Butterworth, UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience

Do animals possess the capacity to use numerical information? Is this capacity confined to primates, or indeed to mammals? It is thought that humans inherit a numerical capacity upon which more sophisticated mathematics is built. If this is the case, then we may find signs of this capacity in human infants, but we may also find that some humans are born without this capacity.

You can also watch this lecture on the UCLLHL YouTube channel at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_LY4M8nBOY

Can fish count? UCL Lunch Hour Lecture (21 Jan 2014)

Lunch Hour Lectures - Spring 2014

Professor Essi Viding, UCL Psychology and Language Sciences

Although childhood behavioural problems are relatively common, not all problems develop for the same reason, and only a few individuals will go on to develop psychopathy in adulthood. This lecture reviews behavioural problems in children, in terms of genetics, brain function and development, and considers why some children may be at an increased risk of developing psychopathy when they grow up.

You can also watch this lecture on the UCLLHL YouTube channel at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yB_syUDbjs


Why do some people become psychopaths? (30 Jan 2014)

A live panel discussion at UCL, 10 March, 2014
Video: http://youtu.be/mBqgLK9dTk4

There are just 85 black professors out of 18,510 in the UK and the number has barely changed in eight years. The percent of black professors (0.4%) shows a striking disparity with the proportion of black students, which has increased steadily each year and now stands at 6%.

What does it mean when the generation that produces knowledge is so unrepresentative of the generation that consumes it? This panel debate will be chaired by Professor Michael Arthur, UCL President and Provost. It will aim to ask difficult questions and explore even more challenging solutions.

Speakers:
Chair: Professor Michael Arthur, UCL President and Provost
Nathan E. Richards, freelance digital journalist, doctoral researcher at Goldsmiths University and director of 'Absent from the Academy'
Dr William Ackah, Birkbeck, University of London
Dr Lisa Amanda Palmer, Newman University
Dr Shirley Tate, University of Leeds
Dr Nathaniel Adam Tobias C̶o̶l̶e̶m̶a̶n̶, UCL
Deborah Gabriel, Founder and CEO of Black British Academics

Further info:
http://events.ucl.ac.uk/event/event:xe-hobmesz1-pt3gqx/why-isnt-my-professor-black

Why isn't my professor black? UCL panel discussion

'Memorandoms' of James Martin, the only extant first-hand account of perhaps the most famous escape by convicts transported to Australia

Website:
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/Bentham-Project/publications/martins-memorandoms/martins-memorandoms.html

About Dr Tim Causer (UCL Bentham Project):
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/Bentham-Project/about/staff/causer

Voice of James Martin: Matt Kyle
Australian narrator: Travis Edwards
Director: Rob Eagle
Researcher: Jack Dean
Sound recording: Ben Stevens​

Further info
The most well-known escape of prisoners transported from England to Australia in the 18th Century has been brought to life, thanks to handwritten accounts by the convicts unearthed in the collections of the philosopher Jeremy Bentham at UCL and now published online for the first time.

The Memorandoms of the convict James Martin are the only first-hand account of the famous escape, which has been the subject of a number of books and a television drama. The document is written in three different hands, potentially of three of the convicts involved, and recounts their fascinating -- and, ultimately, tragic -- tale in full.

Escape from Australia: a convict's tale

Crime fiction expert Barry Forshaw has talked to or interviewed virtually every writer in the Nordic Noir field for various newspapers, magazines, TV and radio, as well as for his book on Scandinavian Crime Fiction, Death in a Cold Climate. 

He has a fund of insights (and anecdotes) about the authors and their work, and is equally au fait with the work of the publishers and translators who are helping to make the field the hottest in the entire crime fiction genre. 

If you're an aficionado of Nordic Noir, you have something to learn from Barry! Chaired by Dr Jakob Stougaard-Nielsen (UCL Scandinavian Studies).

Nordic Noir Book Club blog:
www.scancrime.wordpress.com


Nordic Noir: Crime in Translation with Barry Forshaw

Lunch Hour Lectures - Spring 2014

Professor Maxine Molyneux, UCL Institute of the Americas

Among the eight Millennium Development Goals were women's empowerment and gender equity. This lecture, marking International Women's Day, focuses on the Latin American region, assessing the progress that has been made, and the obstacles that women still face in achieving greater equality and justice, sexual and reproductive rights and measures to tackle violence against women.

You can also watch this lecture on the UCLLHL YouTube channel at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2k8LFxb8nQ



Gender equality and women's rights in Latin America (6 Mar 2014)

Lunch Hour Lectures - Spring 2014

Dr Maryam Shahmanesh, UCL Infection and Population Health

What can female sex workers in India teach us about the structural drivers of the HIV epidemic? This talk explores how underlying social and political factors contribute to female sex workers vulnerability to HIV and poor sexual health outcomes.

You can also watch this lecture on the UCLLHL YouTube channel at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F43ebh6Mbf8

A tale of two cities: sex work in India (4 Mar 2014)

Lunch Hour Lectures - Spring 2014

Dr Jack Stilgoe, UCL Science and Technology Studies

Policies to tackle climate change do not seem to be working. Some scientists have begun to look into tacking climate change directly, through 'geoengineering', but the risks, ethics and politics look worrying. Should we be testing technologies now or keeping research indoors until we know more?

You can also watch this lecture on the UCLLHL YouTube channel at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-o2DqvjQKpc

Should we experiment with the climate? (11 Mar 2014)

Lunch Hour Lectures - Spring 2014

Dr Antonio Sennis, UCL History

Divine letters, supernatural visions and apocalyptic curses were often successfully employed by medieval clerics to persuade their counterparts to do what they wanted them to do. This lecture explores how these tools of persuasion responded to a Medieval cultural logic.

You can also watch this lecture on the UCLLHL YouTube channel at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWZJ_z2aW8Q

Medieval languages of persuasion (13 March 2014)

UCL Lunch Hour Lecture: Genetic testing in the 21st century: Should we screen the human embryonic genome before implantation?

Dr Joyce Harper (UCL Centre for Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis)

In preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), embryos are created by IVF and cells removed from these embryos for genetic analysis. Until recently, testing was solely for the disease the couple carried. The use of array-comparative genomic hybridisation and single nucleotide polymorphism arrays has entered the PGD arena. These techniques allow all chromosomes and many genes to be examined. The analysis of the whole genome prior to implantation brings ethical concerns. Will healthy couples opt for PGD to select their 'best' offspring?

http://www.ucl.ac.uk/lhl

UCL is consistently ranked as one of the world's top universities. Across all disciplines our faculties are known for their research-intensive approaches, academic excellence and engagement with global challenges. This is the basis of our world-renowned degree programmes. Visit us at www.ucl.ac.uk.

Genetic testing in the 21st century (8 March 2011)

Lunch Hour Lectures - Spring 2014

Professor Lars Stixrude, UCL Earth Sciences

To the founders of geology, the question of how the Earth began could not be addressed by science; answers had to await recent advances in radioactive dating, planetary accretion, and materials physics. The Earth appears to have begun in a completely molten state, a magma ocean, the nature of which, while still sketchy, is remarkably rich in its implications for understanding our planet today.

You can also watch this lecture on the UCLLHL YouTube channel at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VybMqy0qbbk


How did Earth begin? (18 Mar 2014)

Lunch Hour Lectures - Spring 2014

Professor Christian Dustmann, UCL Economics

New research has shown the beneficial impact that immigration has on the UK economy. However, the beliefs people hold about immigration are not necessarily formed on the basis of economic considerations, but on other non-economic concerns and fears. Prof Dustmann reports on his research that quantifies the magnitude of these two channels.

You can also watch this lecture on the UCLLHL YouTube channel at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6Ex4RV4gc4


The impact of immigration: fact or fiction? (20 Mar 2014)

Lunch Hour Lectures - Spring 2014

Professor Angela Sasse, UCL Computer Science

Passwords have been used for around 40 years to authenticate people to computer systems, and nowadays on phones and touchscreen devices. This lecture will explain why most people today struggle with them, and why, contrary to received security wisdom, strong passwords do not necessarily mean good security for stakeholders and organisations. What might be the likely replacement? 

You can also watch this lecture on the UCLLHL YouTube channel at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xg7mqWF4M8


The end of passwords (25 Mar 2014)

What is the link between the way plants make use of sunlight, the migration of the European robin, our sense of smell, and mutations in DNA? Jim Al-Khalili believes the exciting new field of quantum biology may provide the answers. He is one of a growing number of scientists using quantum mechanics to describe the workings of the wet, warm biological world. This lecture is a heady mix of the weirdness of quantum mechanics and its still speculative applications in biology - all based on his forthcoming book out early next year. Presented by the Cambridge Humanist Group. - See more at: http://www.festivalofideas.cam.ac.uk/events/fully-booked-sir-hermann-bondi-lecture-life-edge-coming-age-quantum-biology#sthash.nNFYRZ5q.dpuf

Sir Hermann Bondi lecture: life on the edge - the coming of age of quantum biology

UCL Lunch Hour Lecture: Building scientific models with computers

Professor Richard Catlow (UCL Chemistry)

Model building is one of the oldest scientific activities and is essential for allowing us to understand the complex reality of nature. Modern computers have allowed scientists to develop models of unprecedented accuracy and detail, and this lecture will explore and illustrate some aspects of the contemporary field, using examples ranging from cosmology and geosciences to engineering and materials sciences. The power of modern visualisation techniques will also be illustrated. 

This lecture marks 2011 as the International Year of Chemistry.

http://www.ucl.ac.uk/lhl

UCL is consistently ranked as one of the world's top universities. Across all disciplines our faculties are known for their research-intensive approaches, academic excellence and engagement with global challenges. This is the basis of our world-renowned degree programmes. Visit us at www.ucl.ac.uk.

Building scientific models with computers  (20 Jan 2011)

UCL Lunch Hour Lecture: Stabilising the global population: Where next for the Millennium Development Goals for health and nutrition?

Professor Anthony Costello (Institute of Global Health)

(please note the sound improves after the first 30 seconds)

In many poor countries the Millennium Development Goals for improvements in nutrition and health, especially of mothers and children, will not be met by the target date of 2015. This talk will review progress towards these targets and consider critical obstacles to success. New strategies will be considered to improve nutrition and to accelerate reductions in death and fertility rates so that the global population will be stabilised by mid-century.

http://www.ucl.ac.uk/lhl

UCL is consistently ranked as one of the world's top universities. Across all disciplines our faculties are known for their research-intensive approaches, academic excellence and engagement with global challenges. This is the basis of our world-renowned degree programmes. Visit us at www.ucl.ac.uk.

Stabilising the global population (25 Jan 2011)

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