Science@Culture- whats on

national | sci-tech | news report Sunday May 01, 2005 19:35 by dunk fuspey at yahoo dot co dot uk

a mail list has been set up which you can sign up to, letting people know of what scientific events are on around city and country
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"if the day ever dawns when science, art and religion become as one, we would then have that which is missing today"
frank lloyd wright @ 1920, US architect

Science@Culture e-bulletin Supporting Einstein Year

New subscribers welcome / (c) Mary Mulvihill 30 April 2005
Next bulletin: May 23; send notices by May 20th.

In this bumper Bealtaine issue . . .

From poetry to proof: Hamilton fest, talk, dine and play, 18th May, TCD
Calculus: Irish premiere of Carl Djerassi's play, TCD May 17-20
Sex, reproduction and divorce: Djerassi (inventor of 'the pill'), lecture, May 19, TCD
Outreach I: volunteer for the Lab in a Lorry, touring Northern Ireland schools May 9-31.
Outreach II: one-day meeting, iSCAN and TREO, 7 May, Dublin.
Outreach III: science in Northern Ireland, QUB May 23rd

Big issues:
Organs for sale? bioethics debate, Dublin May 11th
The Art of Decision: interactive multimedia exhibition, May 9-22 Dublin
The Digital Experience: public events at Dublin's Digital Hub, May 5th onwards
Dana debates all kinds of everything! the London pop-science venue's May debates

ON SCREEN:
What the Bleep do we know?! documentary-style movie, opens Dublin's IFI May 20
Small screen science: a busy week on the goggle box

ART:
Still lifes: drawing day, Natural History Museum, Dublin May 21st
Floral lifes: botanical photographs, National Botanic Gardens until May 29th
Wildlifes: photograph exhibition, Belfast W5 science centre May 7-June 11
Poster physics: schools competition, closing date: 31st May

TALKS
DNA Profiling: talk for Leaving Cert science students, May 5th 7.30pm NUI Maynooth
Einstein's Physics: talk for Leaving Cert science students, May 19th, 7.30pm NUI Maynooth
Ireland's oldest industry: 9,000 years of mining, talk 5 May 8pm, GSI, Dublin 4
Inside the stars: Astronomy Ireland talk 8pm May 9, Dublin
Institutionalised child abuse: Understanding Science talk, 11 May, 8pm UCC

WALKS
Rush for Gold: Mourne Mountains, Geological Survey Northern Ireland walk, 8 May, 2pm
Fantastic fossils: events at Marble Arch cave, Fermanagh, May 2, 10am-4pm
Dawn chorus day: 5.30am (!) walk, Glendalough

NOTICES
Hubble, book and DVD offer: www.astrosales.biz
Improbable Frequency brought to book: in all good bookshops now
Science Live: RDS bursaries, Closing date 31 May
Innovation Island: IBEC conference, Dublin May 4-5.

See also the DIARY of events

From poetry to proof: TCD remembers one of its great past pupils, William Rowan Hamilton, in a one-day symposium for the scientist's bicentenary. Hear poet Brendan Kennelly on science and creativity (Hamilton, an incorrigible versifier, was friends with Wordsworth), see conical refraction (an optical phenomenon Hamilton predicted in 1832), plus lots more, culminating that night in a reading of David Auburn's play, Proof, about maths and, well, madness. Hamilton Mathematics Institute (www.hamilton.tcd.ie) 18th May, TCD. Talks: free, booking reqd; dinner e20, play e5 (booking: kod@maths.tcd.ie, T: 01 608 1949). The excellent HMI is also bringing a Mathematics Roadshow to Dublin inner-city schools, May 3-6 (www.mmp.maths.org.uk)

Newton v. Leibniz, Irish premiere: 1712, and Sir Isaac Newton and Gottfried Leibniz both claim to have invented the calculus. Around this conflict, US chemist and writer Carl Djerassi, has built a play, Calculus. TCD Physics Dept hosts the Irish premiere, for Hamilton Year 2005, with music, wine and projections(!) Professional staged reading, May 17-20, 7.30pm, tickets e5 (T 01- 608 1262, ellissa@tcd.ie).
The always-provocative Djerassi, who in 1951 first synthesised 'the pill', will attend, and gives a talk about sex, reproduction and divorce, on May 19th, Burke Lecture Theatre, 5pm, TCD, adm free (www.djerassi.com).

Outreach I: the Lab in a Lorry, an interactive mobile physics lab staffed by volunteer physicists and engineers, tours Northern Ireland schools, May 9-31. The Lorry aims to make physics and scientific careers more attractive. Visitors do the experiments, and volunteers answer the difficult questions that arise! Curious? Want to share your excitement and knowledge with others? To become a volunteer, visit www.einsteinyear.org/events/ Run by the Institute of Physics (IOP) with the Schlumberger Foundation.

Outreach II: how can scientists establish links with pupils, teachers and schools? Hear how the Natural History Museum is opening its cupboards to students, and initiatives at Armagh Planetarium and Cork's Castle Robotic Observatory, among others, at a one-day meeting of iSCAN (Irish Science Centres Awareness Network), and TREO (Third-Level Research, Education & Outreach). All welcome, adm free. Info: Dr Ciaran Byrne, RDS (T 01 240 7217 ciaran.byrne@rds.ie) Sat, 7 May, National Botanic Gardens, Dublin.

Outreach III: what should be done to promote science subjects in Northern Ireland? At QUB on May 23rd, the Northern Ireland Science Education Forum (NISEF) hosts a conference, with the Astra-Zeneca Science Teaching Trust, and participants from schools, industry, academia, government and other interested parties. Having identified targets, a workshop in the autumn will then design action plans. Info from Dr Martin Brown, Sentinus, 19a Ballinderry Rd, Lisburn, BT28 2SA (Fax: 048 9262 7744, martin.brown@sentinus.co.uk)

Big Issues:
Organs for sale? Prof John Harrison (Univ Manchester) believes there should be an open commercial market for donor organs. Prof Paul Schotsmans (Univ Leuven) thinks not. Discuss the options with them at a public debate hosted by the Irish Council for Bioethics. 7pm, May 11th, Royal College of Surgeons, Dublin. Adm by free ticket, from tickets@bioethics.ie.

The Art of Decision: this intriguing interactive multimedia exhibition, a joint venture by researchers from TCD's Dept of Electronic & Electrical Engineering and the Centre for Gender and Women's Studies, explores people's attitudes to and involvement in political decision-making, and invites them to contribute to this evolving research (www.artofdecision.net). The nine rooms include a large-scale interactive data map of Ireland, a VIP room, rant room, the Art of Decision Daily Post opinion page, and PowerHouse, a photographic exhibition. 10am-5pm, May 9-22; Lee's Cash & Carry warehouse, Digital Hub, Thomas Street, Dublin 2. Free, but by appointment (01 608 2225, info@artofdecision.net) It is part of . . .

The Digital Experience: a programme of exhibitions, seminars and events at Dublin's Digital Hub during May (www.thedigitalhub.com). Lots on gaming (new games exhibition, talks on censorship in the games industry, a gaming careers Expo, and more), plus an exhibition celebrating work by local school children from the Diageo Liberties Learning Initiative.

Dana debates all kinds of everything! No, the other Dana, the London pop-science venue. Topics this month include (Ir)Rational voting, embryo testing, whether leaders are born or made, and Punk Science: the Albert Einstein Experience, plus an evening with James (DNA) Watson. Next month the Dana Centre hosts Astro Black Morphologies, a multimedia dialogue between astronomy, digital art and electronic music. All events are free, but do pre-book atwww.danacentre.org.uk.

ON SCREEN
What the Bleep do we know?! The programme notes for this documentary-style movie, screening at Dublin's IFI from May 20, include the adjectives 'suspect' and 'puzzling' (www.irishfilm.ie), and the contributors apparently include quantum physicists, spiritualists and Ramtha, 'a 35,000 year-old mystic ... [speaking] through the body of an American woman'. Hm. Perhaps our Skeptical friends (www.irishskeptics.net) will review it for us.

Small screen science: a busy week on the goggle box includes a Timewatch feature about the Black Death (BBC 2, May 1 7.30pm), a 3-parter featuring a zoologist turned agony aunt in Dr Tatiana's Sex Guide to All Creation (C4, Mon-Wed 11pm, and based on a book of the same name), also an Equinox special on the so-called 'Human Hobbits' (C4, Mon 9pm), not to be confused with BBC2's programme about The Piltdown Man Hoax.(Friday 7pm). Plus a new series on Seven Natural Wonders (BBC2, Tues 7.30pm), and the Journey of Life continues (BBC1 Thurs 9pm). But will RTE's new series on Dublin Bay (Wed 7.30pm), include any geology or marine science?

ART
Still lifes: sharpen your pencils and drawing skills at the Natural History Museum on May 21st. A facilitator will be there to help, for this 'drawing day', in association with the Royal Hibernian Academy, noon-4pm.

Floral lifes: Macroplant, a glorious study of botanical form and structure, by photographer Stephen Lohan, runs until May 29th in the National Botanic Gardens.

Wild lifes: photographs from the Natural History Museum, London, and BBC Wildlife magazine. At Belfast's W5 science centre May 7-June 11 (www.w5online.org).

Poster physics: get painting, or creating, for the international Physics Across the World schools poster competition (see: www.scienceacross.org, and www.einsteinyear.org). Posters should show how physics has made a positive impact on everyday life, and can be in electronic or paper format. Closing date: 31st May. Prizes for students, and for teachers with the most entries!

TALKS
DNA Profiling, Einstein's Physics: Dr Sean Doyle (NUIM) will discuss the controversial topic of DNA Profiling, in the Chain Reaction series of lectures aimed at Leaving Cert science students, May 5th 7.30pm, LT 2, John Hume Building, NUI Maynooth. The series concludes with a talk on Einstein's Century of Physics by Dr Raymond O'Neill, on Thurs May 19th, LT CS1, Callan Building, NUIM 7.30pm. Adm to both is free, info: T: 01 708 3638, science.dean@nuim.ie.

Ireland's oldest industry: nothing less than 9,000 years of history and extraction, from the flintstone ages, to modern times, is the topic for Dr John Morris (Geological Survey of Ireland), in his talk on Irish mining through the millenia, 5 May at 8pm, GSI, Beggars Bush, Dublin 4, adm free.

Inside the stars: astronomers don't just look at stars, they also listen to them hum, ring and pulsate. Learn more, in this Astronomy Ireland talk by Dr Simon Jeffery (Armagh Observatory) 8pm May 9, Henry Grattan Building, DCU, Dublin 9. Adm e5 (e3 members/ concs) www.asrtonomy.ie.

Institutionalised child abuse: that's the Points Race, according to UCD chemist, Prof Donald Fitzmaurice, who will air his views in the UCC lecture series on Understanding Science (www.ucc.ie), 11th May, 8pm Boole 4 Lecture Theatre, UCC, adm free. The series concludes on May 25, when engineer Frank Turvey discusses Energy, Environment and Economics.

WALKS
Rush for Gold: would-be pan handlers should head for the Mourne Mountains, and a Geological Survey of Northern Ireland gold rush walk, 8 May, 2pm. Meet: Leitrim River, on the B25 Hilltown -Rostrevor Road, 1.5km south of Hilltown. Contact Marie Cowan, T: 048 9038 8462.

Fantastic fossils: hands-on day at Marble Arch cave, Fermanagh, including fossil fishing and fossil crafts. Events free, but normal prices apply for cave tours. May 2, 10am-4pm. T: 048 6634 8855.

Dawn chorus: special walk with BirdWatch Ireland departs 5.30am from the Wicklow Mountains Information Office, Glendalough on May 15th, Dawn Chorus Day. Followed by a birdsong workshop in the Education Centre. The centre is also hosting an eco-hike across the Wicklow Mountains on May 21st, 11.30am. Booking for both is essential (WicklowEducationCentre@duchas.ie).

FESTIVALS
Salters Festival of Chemistry: one-day fun event to promote chemistry among young students, and run by the charitable Salters Company (www.festivalsofchemistry.co.uk), with roots in the mediaeval salt trade, and which was granted its first licence in 1394 by King Richard II, no less. Brings school students to visit UCD on May 4th.

Bealtaine science: geological walks along Waterford's volcanic Copper Coast, are among the outdoor activities on offer for secondary school students in a new Bealtaine Science Festival in the southeast, May 4-6th. Co-ordinated by the Centre for the Advancement of Learning of Maths, Science and Technology (CALMAST) at Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT). Booking: School of Education, WIT (skennedy@wit.ie, T: 051 30267).

NOTICES: to advertise here contact scients@indigo.ie
Hubble, book and DVD offer: for the 15th anniversary of the Hubble Space Telescope, Armagh Planetarium has a special offer. Hubble: 15 Years of Discovery, is a coffee-table book with stunning images from the telescope that shed new light on the heavens (stg10.99, including a copy of the DVD). The DVD is a journey through the history, trouble and scientific successes of Hubble, with a specially composed soundtrack. The movie, made by ESA and partners across Europe including Armagh Planetarium, lasts 83 minutes (with 50 minutes of bonus material, various language options, and a 32-page booklet stg6.99). Available at www.astrosales.biz

Improbable Frequency brought to book: Arthur Riordan's award-winning musical scientific comedy has just been published. Catch those one-liners you missed at the live show. Nick Hern Books (www.nickhernbooks.co.uk) stg8.99 pbk (ISBN: 1854598759), and all good bookshops.

Innovation and creativity: Burt Rutan, designer of SpaceShipOne, the rocket aircraft that flew to the edge of space last autumn and won the USD10 million Ansari X-Prize, is in Dublin for the second Innovation Island conference, May 4-5. Organised by IBEC's Irish Medical Devices Association, other speakers include Thomas Fogarty, who revolutionised vascular surgery with the therapeutic balloon catheter, entrepreneur Ravi Govindan, innovation expert Charles Handy and medical innovator Dr Mary Russell. Cost: e600 (+VAT), but 5 for the price of 4 offer at www.ibec.ie!

Science Live: want to devise a demonstration lecture? The RDS is offering science educators bursaries of up to e1,500 to develop creative new ways of presenting science to students. Closing date 31 May
Details: Dr Ciaran Byrne, science development executive, RDS (Ciaran.byrne@rds.ie)


DIARY (includes events featured in previous dispatches):
Until May 4: (Sm)Art, Waterfront Gallery, Rosses Point, Sligo (071) 915 1688.
Until May 29: Macroplant, National Botanic Gardens.

May 2: fossils day, Marble Arch cave, Fermanagh, T: 048 6634 8855
May 3: Magic, science or mystery? school talks, RDS Dublin, ciaran.byrne@rds.ie
May 3-6: Mathematics Roadshow, TCD www.mmp.maths.org.uk
May 4: Bird brained, lunchtime talk, Natural History Museum, 1 pm www.museum.ie
May 4: The Wire Men, opens Gaiety Theatre Dublin http://www.wirementhemusical.com/
May 4-6: Bealtaine Science Festival (skennedy@wit.ie, T: 051 30267).
May 4-5: Innovation Island conference, Dublin www.ibec.ie
May 5-June: Experience Dublin's Digital Hub (www.thedigitalhub.com)
May 5: DNA Profiling, Leaving Cert talk 7.30pm Maynooth science.dean@nuim.ie
May 5: Irish mining history, talk 8pm, GSI, Beggar’s Bush, Dublin 4
May 7: Research, outreach meeting, Dublin, ciaran.byrne@rds.ie)
May 7: Wildlife photographs, W5 centre Beflast until June 11 (www.w5online.org).
May 7: Geological Survey Northern Ireland gold rush walk, 2pm T: 048 9038 8462.
May 9: Astronomy Ireland talk, 8pm DCU www.asrtonomy.ie
May 9-31: the Lab in a Lorry tours Northern Ireland schools, www.einsteinyear.org/events/
May 9-22: Art of Decision, multimedia exhibition, Dublin, info@artofdecision.net
May 11: Bird brained, lunchtime talk, Natural History Museum, 1 pm www.museum.ie
May 11: Organs for sale? bioethics debate 7pm, Dublin tickets@bioethics.ie
May 11: Institutionalised child abuse, Understanding Science talk, 8pm www.ucc.ie
May 15: Dawn chorus day walk, 5.30am Glendalough, book: WicklowEducationCentre@duchas.ie
May 17-19: Calculus, play, TCD ellissa@tcd.ie
May 17: Hamilton symposium, TCD kod@maths.tcd.ie
May 19: Sex, reproduction and divorce, lecture, TCD, 5pm ellissa@tcd.ie
May 19: Einstein's Physics, Leaving Cert talk, 7.30pm Maynooth science.dean@nuim.ie
May 21: drawing day, Natural History Museum, noon-4pm www.museum.ie
May 23: Northern Ireland Science Education Forum (NISEF), QUB martin.brown@sentinus.co.uk
May 26th to July 2nd: bubble science and photographs, Draiocht Gallery, Blanchardstown, Dublin.

June 2: RIA discourse, Sir David King, UK Government chief scientific advisor, University of Limerick,
June 23: Science & technology in Ireland, 1780-1920, conference, Dublin, http://www.bshs.org.uk/conf

Aug 27-28: Humanist Summer School, Carlingford www.irish-humanists.org

Sept 5-10: BAAS Festival, TCD, Dublin

Nov 14-15: Communicating EU research, conference www.europa.eu.int/comm/research/cer2005.html

Ends