STEMfest 16 October 2019
INTRODUCTION STEMfest is a celebration of science at Radley which will involve all Radley students along with about 80 pupils from our partnership academy, Desborough. We are extremely grateful to all of the eminent scientists who are giving up their time to give what I am sure will be an inspirational programme of lectures and seminars. The Science Centre was originally built in 1937 and refurbished in 1984 (opened by Margaret Thatcher a week after the Brighton bomb). For eighty two years it has been the centre of scientific learning at Radley, but over that time it has become tired and the growth of the school meant that it no longer had the required capacity.
The work over the past year has brought the Physics and Chemistry departments in line with the excellent teaching facilities elsewhere in the school such as the neighbouring Biology department which houses a small zoo. As well as twelve custom fitted Physics and Chemistry labs - some new, some refurbished, the development includes a state of the art 180-seat lecture theatre, an observatory and an interactive periodic table. With new Heads of Physics (Andrew Norman) and Chemistry (Oliver Choroba) in place from September 2018, working alongside the ever energetic Head of Biology (Michael Noone), it is fitting that we have a new department suitable to inspire a new generation of Radelians. Roger Shaw Senior Master and Head of Science, Radley College
OUTLINE OF THE DAY
STEMfest – 16 October 2019
Period
Shell + Des09
1
Biology Video
0830-0915
2
Seminars
3
Dr Simon Singh
0920-1000
1005-1045
Break
1045-1115
4
1115-1155
Rem + Des10
5
normal p1
normal p1
normal p1
Dr George McGavin
(if that is science then Dons will say what to do)
normal p2
normal p2
normal p2
Meet, Coffee in CTC
Seminars
normal p5
normal p5
normal p5
Tour
To the Ends of the Earth
Fermat’s Last Theorem
Break
Dr George McGavin
To the Ends of the Earth
normal p7
Desborough lunch in Hall
Lunch
Prof Ed Anderson
Shining Light on Organic Reactions
normal p7
Desborough lunch in Hall
normal p6,
selected boys to Enigma Machine Interview
normal p7
Dr Simon Singh
6
normal p3
normal p3
Breaking the Enigma (with genuine Enigma machine)
7
normal p4
normal p4
Seminars
1415-1455
1500-1540
Break
1540-1605
Break
Break
Break
Desborough hosted by Radleians
APT1
APT1
1605-1645
APT2
1650-1730
normal p6
normal p6
normal p7
Dr Simon Singh
APT1
APT2
APT1
APT2
Desborough pupils to Geography with JMS
Prof Ed Anderson Shining Light on Organic Reactions
From Theorems to Serums
Lunch in Hall
Lunch in Hall
1240-1415
Speech / Plaque Unveiling
Break
Desborough hosted by Radleians
Theatre
1200-1240
6.1 + Des12 normal p1
6.2
Guests
Fifth+ Des11
selected pupils in Round Pavilion
normal p3
Desborough pupils to Geography with JMS
Prof Peter Atkins
normal p3
normal p4
What is Under the Periodic Table
Break Dr George McGavin To the Ends of the Earth (Physics set 1 to Cosmic Rays)
Seminars (Physics set 1 to Cosmic Rays)
APT1
APT2
Prof Ed Anderson
Shining Light on Organic Reactions
Dr Simon Singh
From Theorems to Serums
Lunch in Round Pavilion
THE OPENING The official opening of the Science Centre takes place at 10:45
Professor Sir Nigel Shadbolt FRS FREng Principal of Jesus College, Oxford
Sir Nigel completed his undergraduate degree in Philosophy and Psychology at the University of Newcastle graduating with 1st Class Honours in 1978. His postgraduate studies were in the Department of Artificial Intelligence at the University of Edinburgh. In 1983 he joined the Department of Psychology at Nottingham where he established and led the AI Research Group. In 1992 he became the Allan Standen Professor of Intelligent Systems. In 2000 he moved to Southampton’s School of Electronics and Computer Science. His research focused on the science and engineering needed to support the continued development of the World Wide Web and he led the Web and Internet Science Group. In 2009 he was appointed along with Sir Tim Berners-Lee as Information Advisor to the UK Government. This work led to the release of many thousands of public sector data sets as open data. In 2010 he was appointed by the Coalition Government to the UK Public Sector Transparency Board which oversaw
the continued release of Government open data. He continues to advise Government in a number of roles. He is Chairman and Co-founder of the Open Data Institute (ODI), based in Shoreditch, London. The ODI specialises in the exploitation of Open Data supporting innovation, training and research in both the UK and internationally. He has always been fascinated by the link between innovation and research. He was a founder and Chief Technology Officer of ID protection company Garlik Ltd. In 2008 Garlik was awarded Technology Pioneer status by the Davos World Economic Forum and won the UK national BT Flagship IT Award. In December 2011 Garlik was acquired by Experian Ltd. In its 50th Anniversary year 2006-2007, he was President of the British Computer Society. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society, the Royal Academy of Engineering and the British Computer Society. He was knighted in 2013 for ‘services to science and engineering’.
LECTURES To the Ends of the Earth Dr George McGavin George McGavin studied Zoology at Edinburgh University, followed by a PhD in entomology at Imperial College and the Natural History Museum in London. After 25 years as an academic zoologist at Oxford University looking after the world famous Hope Entomological Collections, he became a television presenter, working mainly for productions from the BBC Natural History Unit in Bristol. George is an Honorary Research Associate of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History and a Research Associate of the Department of Zoology at Oxford University and an Honorary Principal Research Fellow at Imperial College. George is a Fellow of the Linnean Society and the Royal Geographical Society, an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology and an Honorary Life Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society. As well as his many TV appearances George has written numerous books on insects and other animals. In 2019 he became the President of the Dorset Wildlife Trust. (George is the one on the left in the photograph).
Fermat’s Last Theorem From Theorems to Serums Breaking the Enigma Dr Simon Singh Simon studied Physics at Imperial College London, before completing a PhD in Particle Physics at Cambridge University and at CERN, Geneva. In 1990 he joined the BBC’s Science Department. In 1996 he directed Fermat’s Last Theorem, a BAFTA award winning documentary about the world’s most notorious mathematical problem. This was also the subject of his first book which was the first book about mathematics to become a No.1 bestseller in the UK. His second book, The Code Book, is a history of codes and codebreaking. As well as explaining the science of codes and describing the impact of codebreaking on history, the book also shows that cryptography is more important today than ever before. His other books include “Big Bang”, “Trick or Treatment?“ and most recently “The Simpsons and Their Mathematical Secrets”.
Shining Light on Organic Reactions Prof Edward Anderson Ed completed his B.A. at Oxford in 1997, then moved to Cambridge for his Ph.D. under the supervision of Prof. Andrew Holmes (19972001). This was followed by a postdoctoral position with Prof. Erik J. Sorensen at the Scripps Research Institute, CA where he worked on the synthesis of the furanosteroid viridin. He returned to the U.K. in 2003 to take up a Junior Research Fellowship at Homerton College, Cambridge, working with Prof. Ian Paterson. His work included the first total synthesis of the marine macrolide spirastrellolide A. In 2007 he was appointed as an EPSRC Advanced Research Fellow in Oxford, and took up a Lectureship at Jesus College, Oxford, in 2009. He was promoted to Full Professor in 2016.
What is Under the Periodic Table Prof Peter Atkins Peter Atkins was Fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford and tutor in physical Chemistry from 1965 until his retirement in 2007. His research was into various aspects of quantum mechanics, but following the success of his Physical Chemistry textbook, which is now in its eleventh edition and many languages, he spent, and continues to spend, most of his time writing. His books, which now number over 70, include university-level textbooks and books on science for the general public. The most recent of these, ‘Conjuring the Universe’, is an account of the origin of the laws of nature. He continues to lecture world wide on Chemistry and on the central role of science in our understanding of everything.
SEMINARS M10: Decrypting Secret Messages Nathan Harpham Nathan has recently completed his Master’s Degree in Mathematics from the University of Oxford, specialising in Number Theory. He has also particularly enjoyed studying the application of statistics in population genetics and the theory behind mathematics education. As part of his role as a Graduate Scholar at Radley, Nathan is keen for students to
be enthused by the art of problem solving and the wide reaching applications of mathematics Nathan is running a seminar on one particular application of pure mathematics with a rich and interesting history that sparked his interest in number theory: Cryptography.
P1: Sleep Dr Gaby Illingworth Gaby Illingworth is a Postdoctoral Research Assistant in the Sleep and Circadian Neuroscience Institute (SCNi) at the University of Oxford. After studying Politics (BSc) at the University of Bristol, she had a career in publishing and marketing. She subsequently pursued her interest in psychology through a Graduate Diploma in Psychology, an MRes in Developmental Psychology, followed by a PhD in Psychology focusing on maternal mind-mindedness. Her current research
focuses on adolescent sleep interventions and she was one of the developers of ‘Teensleep’, a school-based sleep education programme. She worked on the Teensleep study which examined the impact of this programme on adolescent sleep, sleep knowledge and health-related quality of life. Her previous research roles include Clinical Studies Officer at the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, and Research Associate at Oxford Brookes University.
P3: Neuronal Circuits Cristiana Vagnoni Cristiana is a DPhil student in Neuroscience at the University of Oxford. She has previously worked on projects to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying microcephaly using in vitro systems to mimic the depletion of key proteins in brain development, as well as dopamine dynamics and the characterization of circuit development in a mouse model of autism. She is
passionate about science, and has been heavily involved with science outreach programmes around the country, as well as co-creating the award-winning short film ‘Just a touch’ and taking part in the Soapbox Science and Art programme in Oxford. She has also organised the PubhD programme around Oxford, and was Chair of the Oxford branch of the British Science Association.
P4: The Science of Climate Change Dr Ken Amor Ken is a Visiting Researcher at the University of Oxford, and was recently awarded a MPLS outreach grant on the theme of ‘Let’s talk Climate’, a series of public engagement and research workshops on the topic of climate change to take place in the Autumn of 2019. His research is centred on the geoChemistry of the chromium cycle. This covers the vast expanse of time from
the formation of the solar system to the modern day. Chromium isotopes can be used to trace the early evolution of the solar system, and shed light on changes to the Earth during the evolution of life. He has been on TV discussing ancient asteroid impacts and fossil records, most recently on the Channel 4 documentary ‘Walking Through Time: Scotland’s Lost Asteroid… the backstory’.
P5: The Nature of Gravity and Black Holes Rudin Petrossian-Byrne Rudin is a DPhil student in Theoretical Physics at the University of Oxford, working on Hawking radiation and primordial black holes with an application to dark matter and baryogenesis.
Previously he studied as an undergraduate in Dublin, completed a master’s degree at Cambridge and spent a year at IFAE Barcelona. He was recently in the finals of Oxford Famelab, in which he asked ‘How do magnets talk?’
P6: Constellations, Astronomy & the Signs of the Zodiac Kevin Mosedale Kevin read Natural Sciences at Jesus College Cambridge and then served as an Army Officer in the Royal Logistic Corps for sixteen years. His interest in Science was reawakened whilst studying for an MSc in Defence Technology at the Joint Services Staff College in 1999/2000 and, following a final tour of duty in Iraq, he joined Radley
as a Physics don in 2004. Prior to taking on the role of Head of Curriculum Extension, he has been Head of Physics and Head of Science. In 2019 Kevin was awarded the Institute of Physics ‘Physics Teacher of the Year’ award. In his spare time, he runs the cult ‘Pylon of the Month’ website.
B2: DNA Fingerprinting / Electrophoresis Dr James Popplestone James began his teaching career after completing his DPhil in the field of Molecular Virology at the University of Oxford. He joined Radley College in 2018 having previously taught at d’Overbroeck’s,
Oxford and Stowe School. He is the resident sub-tutor in J Social. As well as teaching Biology, he coaches Hockey and Tennis and is a Lieutenant in the Army section of the CCF.
C1: Radiotherapy - targeting the tumour not the patient Dr Martin Christlieb Martin is the Public Engagement Manager at the Dept of Oncology, University of Oxford. Martin trained as a chemist at Cambridge. After his PhD he went to California to do research at Stanford before coming back to the UK and moving to Oxford. After working on a Chemistry project related to medical imaging, Martin
moved to Oncology where he conducted imaging research before taking up his current position. Martin is a keen climber of hills and walls. The photo is from the edge of an old volcano on Easter Island.
C2: Exothermic Reactions Ralph Woodling Ralph is a Chemistry teacher and Master in Charge of Tennis at Radley. He graduated from Oxford in 2000 and entered teaching via a PGCE at Cambridge, following a brief spell in banking and cooking. He taught previously at Tonbridge and Shrewsbury. Ralph is the Chemistry Lead for Buckingham University School of Education and holds an explosives certificate.
He is a DCA qualified tennis coach and plays league club tennis at Roehampton, and for Radley Dons. He is an enthusiastic Rugby and Hockey coach. He is a keen motoring enthusiast and owner and enjoys ski touring, cooking and wine. He sits on the Radley cellar committee.
C3: Spectroscopy in a Suitcase Saskia O’Sullivan, Dr Simon Rainbow Saskia O’Sullivan is the Educational Outreach Officer at the University of Oxford’s Department of Chemistry, and has been involved in school and community education for over eighteen years, firstly as a youth worker, and latterly as a school teacher. Saskia read Natural Sciences at the University of Cambridge, and later undertook an MSc in Science and Education at the University of Bristol.
Dr Simon Rainbow is the Sales Director at GPE Scientific. Simon graduated from Loughborough University with a BSc in Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, before working for Evotec as a research chemist. Simon then undertook his PhD in the field of natural product synthesis under the supervision of Prof David C. Harrowven at the University of Southampton. Simon then gained valuable experience as a synthetic organic chemist at Target Molecules, working on a variety of custom synthesis projects, prior to joining GPE Scientific.
C4: Breathing with your Brain Dr Sarah Finnegan, Alexander Luettich Sarah’s research focuses on the neuroscience of breathlessness. She is particularly interested in using computational techniques to better understand breathlessness and to develop personalised medicine programmes. Her interest in neuroscience began during her Biomedical Sciences BSc at Kings College
London, which she furthered with a Masters in Cognitive Neuroscience at UCL. After working as a researcher in London for two years, she moved to Oxford in 2012 to complete her PhD in visual neuroscience. As well as doing research, she is a keen science communicator and she runs a public engagement programme.
C5: Chemistry puzzles Prof David Read Professor David Read is Professorial Fellow in Chemical Education within Chemistry at the University of Southampton. David obtained his BSc in Chemistry and PhD in Organic Chemistry from the University of Bristol. After postdoctoral work with Professor Peter Gaspar at Washington University, St Louis (USA), he trained as a Chemistry teacher on the Graduate Teacher
Programme at Theale Green Community School. In 2007 he was appointed as School Teacher Fellow in Chemistry at Southampton. David was promoted to Principal Teaching Fellow in 2013, then Professorial Fellow in Chemical Education in 2015. David has been the recipient of a number of prestigious awards.
C6: The Pestilence of Plague Rachel White, Carrie White, Blanché, Lucky Khan Following a career in paediatric critical care nursing, Rachel joined the Oxford Vaccine Group in 2015 and is currently working as a Senior Research Nurse in clinical trials with a team of researchers investigating new and improved vaccines for children and adults. Working presently in clinical trials investigating vaccines to protect against meningitis, pneumococcus and pertussis. Her other work includes education and training outside health care professionals involved in administering immunisations. Carrie works as Senior Research Nurse in clinical trials at Oxford Vaccine Group with a team of researchers investigating new and improved vaccines for children and adults. Working presently in clinical trials investigating vaccines to protect against ebola, meningitis, pneumococcus and influenza. With a particular interest in public health and education, previous roles include health promotion within a health visiting team, clinical practice educator for research team and teaching fellow for undergraduate nurses at Oxford Brookes University.
Blanché is a clinical research fellow at the Oxford Vaccine group. She attended medical school in Manchester. After graduating as a clinical doctor she moved to India for six months for an internship on tropical dermatology. She spent seven months at the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Belgium learning about parasitology and public health and completed MScs at the London School of Hygiene in Tropical Medicine and in Epidemiology. She then went to Ghana to carry out a research project on Yaws in the rural villages and this was when she realised that she had a passion for research. She now spends her time working on clinical trials. Lucky is an Events and Media Assistant. He provides support to enable the delivery of professional and internationally renowned courses and events. He also helps to develop consumer-focused marketing campaigns for research activites in the Oxford Vaccine Group across a range of media.
COSMIC RAYS Particle Physics World Wide Data Day 2019
Particle Physics World Wide Data Day is a 24-hour midnight-to-midnight event in which students from around the world analyze data from the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Geneva. The results are shared with other groups and at the end of the event there is a videoconference with a particle physicist where boys can ask questions and better understand the results of their analysis. 6.1
Physicists from Radley will be taking part for about two hours and will analyze tracks left by muons (more massive cousins of electrons) in the ATLAS detector. The Physics Department also has a cosmic ray muon detector on long term loan from Fermilab in the USA and this is used for more hands-on particle physics research in the Lent and Summer term.
Dr Ali Hakimi Ali first came to teach at Radley in 2011 after completing a PhD in Material Science in Cambridge. He left in 2015 to fulfil a lifelong dream of living and working abroad and spent the next three years running a boarding house at Marlborough College, Malaysia. In 2018 he rejoined the Radley Common Room and was delighted to be appointed L Social Tutor. He is an extremely keen sportsman, with Cambridge Blues in football and real tennis and, when not teaching physics, he can generally be found on the sports fields coaching or keeping himself fit.
THANK YOU We would like to thank the following people whose generosity made the Science Centre redevelopment possible: Mr & Mrs Prakash Anand Mr Dong Hai Cheng and Mrs Bao Hua Cao Mr & Mrs Kennedy Liu Mr Peter Ng Mr David Wei & Mrs Diana Shen as well as all other donors who have chosen to remain anonymous.