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Fancy a pint? Or even better, a pint and a talk by a scientist about their pioneering research at The University of Nottingham? This unusual opportunity is coming to Nottingham as the international festival of public science, ‘Pint of Science’, makes its debut in the city.
A team of University researchers will take to the stage for a launch evening on Monday 11 April at Rough Trade on Broad Street. This is a night of engaging talks by scientists like spider expert Dr Sarah Goodacre with ‘Spiderglobia’, a tale of 8-legged travellers, as well as a chance to make your own molecules, see ancient bones and real 3D-printed technology.
The international, three day Pint of Science festival will be held between 23rd — 25th May 2016. Thousands of scientists will be talking about their research in over 100 cities across 12 countries around the world, including the UK, Brazil, Canada & South Africa. Founded only four years ago by two UK researchers, the festival today brings a unique line up of talks, demonstrations and live experiments to the world’s favourite watering holes.
More than 34 University of Nottingham researchers will be speaking at various pubs across the city, including Canal House, Spanky Van Dyke’s and Lace Market favourites, Rough Trade and Missoula. Tickets are available from the Pint of Science website with each evening costing only £4. The Nottingham Pint of Science is run by STEM Outreach Nottingham which has arranged a variety of exciting talks including: ‘Black holes in the bathtub’ with Dr Silke Weinfurtner, ‘Can the world change computer games?’ with Prof Steve Benford, and ‘Chemistry in space’ with Dr June McCombie.
As well as the main talks, each evening will also include a range of fun, science related activities including insect eating, molecule making, live experiments, science comedy, quizzes, geeky puzzles, engaging stories and other interactive activities.
Nottingham Co-ordinator and University of Nottingham PhD student, Matt Young said:“The STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Maths) Outreach Nottingham team are always working on ways to make science a bigger part of Nottingham’s already packed cultural calendar, and bringing the Pint of Science festival to the city gives us the perfect opportunity to do just that. As one of only six, government-recognised Science Cities in the UK, Nottingham has a strong history and huge involvement in science and innovation that people want to be able to connect with on a more approachable level.”
Nottingham Pint of Science Launch Event
Date: Monday 11th April 2016
Times:
19:00 pm: Doors open
19:30 pm – 20:00 pm (Talk set 1 – photo/video opportunity)
20:00 pm – 20:55 pm (Activities and break – photo/video opportunity)
20:55 pm – 21:30 pm (Talk set 2 – photo/video opportunity)
21:30 pm - onwards (Media interview opportunities)
Location: Rough Trade, 5 Broad St, Nottingham NG1 3AJ
Interview opportunities:
By prior arrangement, there will be an opportunity to interview Matt Young (Co-ordinator for Pint of Science Nottingham Co-ordinator) There is also potential to have an interview, by prior arrangement, with our main speaker on the night Associate Professor Sara Goodacre and some of our other PhD speakers.
Notes to editors:
Pint of Science is a volunteer run initiative. It is coordinated by a small central Pint of Science team who work alongside organisers predominantly based within the various participating universities. Background information on the central Pint of Science team can be found here - http://pintofscience.co.uk/teams
The 2016 programme, to be officially announced on 18th April, will see UK talks held in London, Oxford, Cambridge, Bath, Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester, Glasgow, Southampton, Exeter, Teesside, York and (new for 2016) Edinburgh, Hull, Leeds, Newcastle, Norwich, Nottingham, Portsmouth and Sheffield. Whilst every science evening during the festival is unique, each will include at least two experts presenting their research.
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Our academics can now be interviewed for broadcast via our Media Hub, which offers a Globelynx fixed camera and ISDN line facilities at University Park campus. For further information please contact a member of the Communications team on +44 (0)115 951 5798, email mediahub@nottingham.ac.uk or see the Globelynx website for how to register for this service.
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Notes to editors: The University of Nottingham has 43,000 students and is ‘the nearest Britain has to a truly global university, with a “distinct” approach to internationalisation, which rests on those full-scale campuses in China and Malaysia, as well as a large presence in its home city.’ (Times Good University Guide 2016). It is also one of the most popular universities in the UK among graduate employers and the winner of ‘Outstanding Support for Early Career Researchers’ at the Times Higher Education Awards 2015. It is ranked in the world’s top 75 by the QS World University Rankings 2015/16, and 8th in the UK by research power according to the Research Excellence Framework 2014. It has been voted the world’s greenest campus for three years running, according to Greenmetrics Ranking of World Universities.
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