Public Talks

Talks are often given at science festivals around the country, at astronomical societies, local interest groups and organisations such as Gresham College and the Ri. Many talks are available online such as former PhD student Frances Staples’ talk on radioactivity in space.

The Radioactivity of Space - with Frances Staples:

Frances Staples explores 60 years of scientific discovery since the realisation of radiation hazards in space. Frances Staples was a PhD student at UCL studying the dynamics of the Van Allen radiation belts - rings if relativistic particles trapped in Earth’s magnetic field. During her Master’s in physics at Lancaster University she specialised in space science, researching convection in the Earth’s ionosphere. Her research interests focus on improving our understanding of the complex interactions between the solar wind and Earth’s magnetosphere. Better knowledge of this system will aid space weather forecasting models, allowing action to be taken to mitigate damage to technology and infrastructure.

Prof. Andrew Coates’ Gresham College talk discussing his work on the Rosalind Franklin Rover to Mars

Mars has changed since it formed 4.6 billion years ago. When life started on Earth ~4 billion years ago, Mars was habitable too, with volcanism, a magnetic field, surface water and a thick atmosphere. Today, Mars is cold and dry, with a thin atmosphere and harsh surface. In this lecture Professor Andrew Coates will discuss the search for life beyond Earth on our closest target, using the Rosalind Franklin rover.