Northumbria University academics are once again preparing to present their world-leading  research to the public during a third season of public engagement lectures at Newcastle’s historic Literary and Philosophical Society, also known as the Lit & Phil.

Following two highly successful programmes of talks, which began in January 2023, “NU Ideas at the Lit & Phil” returns this Autumn. The new schedule features themed pairs of 20-minute talks from Northumbria researchers working in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects.

Organised by Professor Martyn Amos from the University’s Department of Computer and Information Sciences, the series is supported by Joe Shimwell from University’s NUSTEM outreach project, which works with schools across the North East to nurture a passion for STEM subjects from an early age. Northumbria researchers will present short TED talk-style overviews of their work, with time for questions at the end of the session.

“We’re delighted to be teaming up with Northumbria University to deliver a third season of NU Ideas talks,” said Kay Easson, the Lit and Phil Librarian.

“These events have made huge difference to the Lit & Phil's STEM offer, and this innovative collaboration has brought in new and more diverse audiences who have a real appetite for learning about current research - and ideas - in a wide variety of areas. Looking to the future, these talks give a more than respectful nod to the Lit & Phil's original emphasis on enquiry, experiment and innovation.”

Each session will be held at the Lit & Phil, starting at 6pm. Entry is free but donations are appreciated. The full programme is below:

Oct 29

• Daniel Ratliff: What Makes Space Sing? (And Why Should I Care?)

• Henrik Melin: The James Webb Space Telescope: New Eyes on the Universe 

Nov 11

• Clara Howcroft Ferreira: What can non-eusocial insects teach us about social behaviours?

• Vartul Sangal: Honeybees and Himalayan balsam

Dec 10

• Alison Osborne: “Armed with knowledge”: Can technology impact experiences of epistemic

  injustice in health?

• Gillian Pepper: The double dividend of safety: How feeling safer can improve people’s

  health behaviour?

Jan 30

• Jonathan Knowles: Drug discovery

• Mark Sims: Chemistry without the chemicals

Feb 10

• Joseph Graly: Are glaciers maintaining their own existence through chemical weathering?

• Sadaf Iqbal: Machine learning for flood prediction

   

Mar 5

• Graham McClelland: The FAST and the curious: research into paramedic stroke care

• Peter Moseley: Hallucinating voices: the everyday, the spiritual, and the distressing

Mar 20

• Anna Carter: Creating Equitable and Inclusive Public Spaces through Community Collaboration

• Carol Davenport: When I grow up…? Exploring young children’s career aspirations

Directions to the Lit & Phil can be found  and tickets can be booked online via