Science Public Lecture Series Launched

University College Cork has launched its Annual Public Lecture Series from the College of Science, Engineering and Food Science.

The lecture series, organised by Prof. William Reville, comprises a selection of distinguished speakers who will discuss various aspect of science and technology, many of particular relevance to Ireland today.

The series runs weekly from January 5th until March 30th 2011 and takes place on Wednesday evenings. The location for the lectures is Boole Lecture Theatre 2 on UCC's main campus.

Highlights from the series include Professor Mark Achtman  from the Environmental Research Institute at UCC speaking on "Human Migrations from a bacterial Perspective". Prof. Achtman will explain how Heliobacter pylori, a common bacterium of human stomachs, can be used to trace human migrations over the last 80,000 years. This lecture is the first in the series and takes place on January 5th at 8pm.

"Tracking Birds: From Individuals to Populations" is the subject of Professor John O'Halloran's lecture which takes place on Wednesday 2nd February at 8pm. The scientist, Head of the School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences at the university will speak on how knowledge of bird species relies on data collection both by professionals and by 'citizen science'.

Dark Matter and Dark Energy will be the subject of a talk by Professor Paul Callanan from the Department of Physics, UCC on the 23rd February. "Whistling in the Dark: How our Understanding of the Universe Continues to be Frustrated by the Mysteries of Dark Matter and Dark Energy" will look at one of the greatest challenges to modern astrophysics and the implications for our understanding of the Cosmos at large.

Full details of all of the lectures in the series can be found here (pdf). Admission is free to all lectures and all are welcome to attend.

In the following video, Prof. William Reville introduces this year's lecture series: