In this IPR Public Lecture, Professor Robert H. Wade - Professor of Political Economy at the LSE - builds on Supreme Court judge Louis Brandeis' dictum "We must make our choice. We may have democracy or we may have wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both". Professor Wade reports on recent evidence on the degree of income concentration at the top of OECD countries and the political costs of inequality, and asks: how should social democratic movements appeal for public support in the context of the representational bias in favour of the wealthy?

This IPR Public Lecture took place on 19 November 2013

Prof Robert Wade: How Income Inequality Puts Democracy - And Climate Change - At Risk

A recording of the lecture from 13 June 2018, which overviews the tremendous contribution of Professor Darryl Almond to the research profile of the University of Bath. 

Darryl had a unique ability to use his expertise in physics to undertake cutting edge research across a range of subjects in science and engineering.

A Life Connected by Physics: A Tribute to Professor Darryl Almond

Additive manufacturing allows us to produce parts at a reduced size and weight. For amputees, this means we can create powered prosthetics that are both durable and a more comfortable fit. Working alongside Moog and Blatchford we set out to bring our powered prosthetics research to the commercial market. Professor Andrew Plummer discusses how this could be game-changing for the prosthetics industry.

Transcript:
"Imagine you got ill, maybe diabetes or had an accident and had to have a leg amputated. In days gone by, you could get a wooden leg, but that wasn't a great substitute particularly for above the knee amputees. Nowadays you might get a leg made from carbon fibre or light alloys, and subtly designed joints incorporating springs and shock absorbers to give a fairly natural and pleasant walking experience. They might even be computer-controlled. But you'll still be a long way from the league of a bionic man or bionic woman. Walking up slopes or stairs will still be slow and tiring because your new leg will have no muscle power. Your trailing leg really needs to push off every time it leaves the ground to propel you up and along, but building in muscle power into prosthetic legs is a formidable engineering challenge. Using existing technology, the leg ends up being too bulky, too heavy or using too much energy, not to mention the challenge of controlling the leg to automatically synchronise with your movements. I'm Andrew Plummer, Professor in the mechanical engineering department, so I lead the Power Transmission Motion Control research centre here at Bath and we have considerable experience in hydraulic actuation, this provides very high-power density by using pressurised oil, which means we can generate significant muscle power in a light and compact leg. And using additive manufacture we can further integrate these powerful hydraulic actuation components into incredibly light titanium prosthetic joints. At Bath we have been fortunate in having world-leading industrial partners. We were working with Moog and Renishaw on additive manufacture for hydraulic components and independently with Blatchford on smart powered prosthetics. Bringing the two strands of work together was, as they say, 'a no brainer'. I'm convinced this is a game-changer for future prosthetics technology."

Professor Andrew Plummer discusses additive manufacturing's potential for the prosthetics industry

In this talk, Professor Mott from the Faculty of Engineering and Design, debates the impact that COVID is having on engineering and technology businesses and how they need to adapt to rapidly changing circumstances.

Professor Peter Mott talk: Covid-19 and its impact on industry

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Prof Robert Wade: How Income Inequality Puts Democracy - And Climate Change - At Risk

University of Bath

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