World-leading researchers to speak at Saturday Morning Science

Some of Durham University's world-leading scientists will seek to inspire members of the public in their chosen field when an annual series of talks returns later in September. The University's Saturday Morning Science programme sees some of the University's top experts explore their specialist subjects in public talks aimed at high school students and adults alike. This year, the programme, which is free to all, has been expanded beyond physics to include biosciences , chemistry , computer sciences , earth sciences , engineering , mathematical sciences and psychology. There will be 22 sessions between September 2018 and May 2019, each including a 45-minute talk and 15 minutes for questions. Refreshments will be served afterwards and some sessions will include associated activities, such as laboratory tours. The Big Bang Show The series will begin with Professor Richard Bower , from the University's Department of Physics , the Institute for Computational Cosmology and the Centre for Extragalactic Astronomy , whose talk entitled 'The Big Bang Show' will explore humanity's place in the Universe, what the Universe is made from and evidence for an expanding Universe. Other topics to be explored include: what makes people hear voices or see things; driverless cars; climate change; human interactions with seaweed; light; neutrinos; atomic clocks; our energy needs; electromagnetism; the human brain; how plants 'feel'; sunspots; autism; volcanoes; and planetary collisions.