Tag Archives: Manchester

Job posting: G20 Water Technologies is looking for a PhD level scientist to join a fast-growing and well-funded start-up company developing graphene based water treatment.

This is the June 6, 2017 G20 Water Technologies notice I received via email,

Senior Application Scientist Vacancy

This is an opportunity for a PhD level scientist to join a fast growing
and well funded start up developing graphene based water treatment.

The company has developed coatings for existing filter materials with
applications in oil/water separation, waste water treatment, dehydration
of organic liquids and desalination, with addressable markets in excess
of £2.8Bn.

We have a vacancy for an exceptional individual with an in depth
understanding of membranes and 2D materials to join our team as a Senior
Application Scientist. This post carries a high degree of responsibility
to deliver results, a salary to match, will report directly to the
company’s CEO and will be based with the Water@Leeds interdisciplinary
group in the University of Leeds.

Key responsibilities include:

* Managing the company’s internal and external research and
development activities with both academic and commercial partners;
* To further develop graphene oxide (GO)-based coatings/membranes for
highly efficient water purification. This will involve working closely
with materials suppliers and end users to understand and deliver the
required performance;
* Developing test methodologies to quantify membrane performance
* Supporting current and future government funded grant work;
* Further developing and strengthening G2O’s IP portfolio.

The successful candidate will be expected to have:

* The ability to design, manage and deliver technology R&D projects;
* Experience in working with academic institutions in an industrial
environment;
* An in depth knowledge of formulation of 2D material dispersions;
* A PhD or other suitable academic qualifications to be accepted as a
Visiting Fellow by the company’s academic partners.

Before getting to the contact information, a few words about one of the company’s principles, Tim Harper, G20 Chief Executive Officer. I’ve never met him in person but have known him online for many years (we’ve exchanged emails and tweets). He has been an active member of the ‘nano’ blogosphere and social media environment for many years. He has run his own consultation company (on emerging technologies), Cientifica (About Us) since 1997, and other companies. He’s been involved with the World Economic Forum and has consulted internationally for governments and other entities. That said, there are no guarantees with start-up companies and you do need to perform your own due diligence as I’m sure Tim Harper would counsel you. One other piece of information before you dash off, the company’s headquarters are in Manchester where its university boasts it’s the ‘home of graphene’ and houses the National Graphene Institute.

Here are a few places you might want to check:

G20 website

About G20 webpage

Contact us (for more details about the position)

Good Luck!

Little black graphene dress

Graphene Dress. Courtesy: intu

I don’t think there are many women who can carry off this garment. Of course that’s not the point as the dress is designed to show off its technical capabilities. A Jan. 31, 2017 news item on Nanowerk announces the little black graphene dress (lbgd?),

Science and fashion have been brought together to create the world’s most technically advanced dress, the intu Little Black Graphene Dress.

The new prototype garment showcases the future uses of the revolutionary, Nobel Prize winning material graphene and incorporating it into fashion for the first time, in the ultimate wearable tech statement garment.

A Jan. 25, 2017 National Graphene Institute at University of Manchester press release, which originated the news item, expands on the theme,

The project between intu Trafford Centre, renowned wearable tech company Cute Circuit which has made dresses for the likes of Katy Perry and Nicole Scherzinger and the National Graphene Institute at The University of Manchester, uses graphene in a number of innovative ways to create the world’s most high tech LBD – highlighting the material’s incredible properties.

The dress is complete with a graphene sensor which captures the rate in which the wearer is breathing via a contracting graphene band around the models waist, the micro LED which is featured across the bust on translucent conductive graphene responds to the sensor making the LED flash and changing colour depending on breathing rate. It marks a major step in the future uses of graphene in fashion where it is hoped the highly conductive transparent material could be used to create designs which act as screens showcasing digital imagery which could be programmed to change and updated by the wearer meaning one garment could be in any colour hue or design.

The 3D printed graphene filament shows the intricate structural detail of graphene in raised diamond shaped patterns and showcases graphene’s unrivalled conductivity with flashing LED lights.

The high tech LBD can be controlled by The Q app created by Cute Circuit to change the way the garment illuminates.

The dress was created by the Manchester shopping centre to celebrate Manchester’s crown as the European City of Science. The dress will then be on display at intu Trafford Centre, it will then be available for museums and galleries to loan for fashion displays.

Richard Paxton, general manager at intu Trafford Centre said: “We have a real passion for fashion and fashion firsts, this dress is a celebration of Manchester, its amazing love for innovation and textiles, showcasing this new wonder material in a truly unique and exciting way. It really is the world’s most high-tech dress featuring the most advanced super-material and something intu is very proud to have created in collaboration with Cute Circuit and the National Graphene Institute. Hopefully this project inspires more people to experiment with graphene and its wide range of uses.”

Francesca Rosella, Chief Creative Director for Cute Circuit said: “This was such an exciting project for us to get involved in, graphene has never been used in the fashion industry and being the first to use it was a real honour allowing us to have a lot of fun creating the stunning intu Little Black Graphene Dress, and showcasing graphene’s amazing properties.”

Dr Paul Wiper, Research Associate, National Graphene Institute said: “This is a fantastic project, graphene is still very much at its infancy for real-world applications and showcasing its amazing properties through the forum of fashion is very exciting. The dress is truly a one of a kind and shows what creativity, imagination and a desire to innovate can create using graphene and related two-dimensional materials.”

The dress is modelled by Britain’s Next Top Model finalist Bethan Sowerby who is from Manchester and used to work at intu Trafford Centre’s Top Shop.

Probably not coming soon to a store near you.

100 free daypasses for European Science Open Forum in July 2016

This contest is open to students and early career researchers for the European Science Open Forum (ESOF) 2016, which is going to be held in Manchester, UK from July 23 – 27, 2016. Here are more details from an April 15, 2016 ESOF announcement (received via email),

#ESOF100Days

Today we have reached an important milestone – with 100 days to go until ESOF rolls into Manchester. To celebrate this we will be giving away 100 free conference (day) passes via Twitter to those who follow us @ESOF2016 and tweet us an interesting science fact using the hashtag #ESOF100days.  The best tweet each day, as judged by the Delivery Team, will be announced in our week tweet round-up.

The competition is open to all early career researchers and higher education students and will run from today (15 April) to Friday 1 July, or until we have given away all 100 passes!

Winners of the #ESOF100days competition will be able to choose which day they would like to attend the conference.

For more information on the competition and how to enter, please see our latest news item. For the up-to-date conference programme see here.

If you are unlucky this time round and don’t manage to get your hands on a ticket through our competition, there are still ways to attend the conference for free. We have just launched our call to recruit 100 local volunteers to assist with delivery of ESOF. Those interested in offering their services in welcoming ESOF delegates to the city in July should visit our volunteer page for information on how to apply.

Good luck!

January 31, 2016 deadlines for early bird tickets (ESOF) and conference abstracts (emerging technologies)

ESOF 2016 (EuroScience Open Forum)

Early bird tickets for this biennial science conference are available until Jan.  31, 2016 according to a Jan. 18, 2016 email notice,

Our most affordable tickets are available to purchase until the end of the month, so make sure you get yours before they disappear. Prices start from only £75 for a full four-day pass for early careers researchers (up to 5 years post doc), and £225 for a full delegate pass. All registrations are entitled to a year long complimentary subscription to Nature at this time.

You can also book your accommodation when you register to attend ESOF. We have worked hard with our city partners to bring you the best deals for your stay in Manchester. With the summer set to be busy with not only ESOF but major international sporting events, make sure you take advantage of these deals.

To register to attend please click here

You can find out more about the event which takes place from July 23 – 27, 2016 in Manchester, England here and/or you can watch this video,

For any interested journalists, media registration has opened (from the Jan. 18, 2016 notice),

Media registration opens

We are delighted to announce our ESOF press accreditation is available for journalists and science communications professionals to register for the conference. Accreditation provides complimentary access to the full ESOF programme, social events and a range of exclusive press only activities. Further details of the eligibility criteria and registration process can be found here.

Nature Publishing Group offers journalists a travel grant which will cover most if not all the expenses associated with attending 2016 ESOF (from the ESOF Nature Travel Grant webpage),

The Nature Travel Grant Scheme offers journalists and members of media organisations from around the world the opportunity to attend ESOF for free. The grant offers complimentary registration as well as help covering travel and accommodation costs.

1. Purpose

Created by EuroScience, the biennial ESOF – EuroScience Open Forum – meeting is the largest pan-European general science conference dedicated to scientific research and innovation. At ESOF meetings leading scientists, researchers, journalists, business people, policy makers and the general public from all over the world discuss new discoveries and debate the direction that research is taking in the sciences, humanities and social sciences.

Springer Nature is a leading global research, educational and professional publisher, home to an array of respected and trusted brands providing quality content through a range of innovative products and services, including the journal Nature. Springer Nature was formed in 2015 through the merger of Nature Publishing Group, Palgrave Macmillan, Macmillan Education and Springer Science+Business Media. Nature Publishing Group has supported ESOF since its very first meeting in 2004.

Similar to the 2012 and 2014 edition of meeting, Springer Nature is funding the Nature Travel Grant Scheme for journalists to attend ESOF2016 with the aim to increase the impact of ESOF.

2. The Scheme

In addition to free registration, the Nature Travel Grant Scheme offers a lump sum of £450 for UK based journalists, £600 for journalists based in Europe and £800 for journalists based outside of Europe, to help cover the costs of travel and accommodation to attend ESOF2016.

3. Who can apply?

All journalists irrespective of their gender, age, nationality, place of residence and media type (paper, radio, TV, web) are welcome to apply. Media accreditation will be required.

4. Application procedure

To submit an application sign into the EuroScience Conference and Membership Platform (ESCMP) and click on “Apply for a Grant”. Follow the application procedure.

On submitting the application form for travel grants, you agree to the full acceptance of the rules and to the decision taken by the Selection Committee.

The deadline for submitting an application is February 29th 2016, 12:00 pm CET.

Good luck!

4th Annual Governance of Emerging Technologies: Law, Policy and Ethics Conference

Here’s more about the conference (deadline for abstracts is Jan. 31, 2016) from the conference’s Call for Abstract’s webpage,

Fourth Annual Conference on
Governance of Emerging Technologies: Law, Policy, and Ethics

May 24-26, 2016, Tempe, Arizona

Call for abstracts:

The co-sponsors invite submission of abstracts for proposed presentations.  Submitters of abstracts need not provide a written paper, although provision will be made for posting and possible post-conference publication of papers for those presenters interested in such options.  Although abstracts are invited for any aspect or topic relating to the governance of emerging technologies, some particular themes that will be emphasized at this year’s conference include existential or catastrophic risks, governance implications of algorithms, resilience and emerging technologies, artificial intelligence, military technologies, and gene editing.

Abstracts should not exceed 500 words.
Abstracts must be submitted by January 31, 2016 to be considered.
Decisions on abstracts will be made by the program committee and communicated by February 29 [2016]. 

Funding: The sponsors will pay for the conference registration (including all conference meals) for one presenter for each accepted abstract.  In addition, we will have limited funds available for travel subsidies in whole or in part.  After completing your abstract online, you will be asked if you wish to apply for a travel subsidy.  Any such additional funding will be awarded based on the strength of the abstract, demonstration of financial need, and/or the potential to encourage student authors and early-career scholars.  Accepted presenters for whom conference funding is not available will need to pay their own transportation and hotel costs.

For more information, please contact Lauren Burkhart at Lauren.Burkhart@asu.edu.

You don’t often see conference organizers offering to pay registration and meals for a single presenter from each accepted submission. Good luck!

Science City: Manchester 2016

Manchester (UK) is celebrating its designation as the European City of Science concurrently with the European Open Science Forum (ESOF) 2016 which will be held there as I noted in a May 8, 2015 posting, which focused largely on the forum. An Oct. 22, 2015 Manchester: European City of Science announcement reveals early details about the city’s celebration of science,

Be part of the Manchester Science Formula

We’re concocting something special for Manchester for 2016. You might have already heard about Manchester becoming the European City of Science, and we would like to invite you to get involved!

Manchester’s year was started by celebrating alongside the launch 2015 Manchester Science Festival, at the Museum of Science and Industry. We captured everyone’s enthusiasm for science in our pop-up photo booth, where many made a promise to bring science alive in Manchester over the next year.  You can see more pictures and promises here.

We’re inviting everyone to be involved and make the most of the focus on science in Manchester in 2016. If you would like to find out how to join us, please visit manchestersciencecity.com to join our newsletter and you can also discover more about our plans for The Manchester Robot Orchestra and the Big School Science Share, just two of the exciting developments announced at the launch.

The 2015 Manchester Science Festival is still ongoing and once it ends Manchester is hosting a science policy week,

Manchester Science Festival

Running from 22 October – 1 November, the Manchester Science Festival is in its 9th year and promises to be bigger and better than ever before.

Curated by the Museum of Science and Industry, there will be events held city-wide that are suitable for all ages.

Keep an eye on #MSF15 for trending topics and the website for all the available events.

Manchester Policy Week

For five jam-packed days in November, the Manchester Policy Week takes over the University of Manchester. There will be everything from lectures to workshops to films and they’re open to everyone.

This year, Manchester Policy Week has the theme of ‘Science, Technology and Public Policy’ as part of the European City of Science.

Policy week runs from 2-6 November.

I’m quite taken with what they’re doing in Manchester and with how this ‘city of science’ festival has grown. I believe it was introduced by the Irish when they hosted ESOF 2012 in Dublin and later adopted by Copenhagen when they hosted ESOF 2014. Each city has given this festival its own flavour and it is becoming a richer experience each time. Bravo!

Musical suite at Graphene Week 2015

Graphene Week 2015 was held in Manchester, UK from June 22 – 26, 2015. (Some might call Manchester the home of graphene as it was first isolated at the University of Manchester by Andre Geim and Konstantin [Kostya] Novoselov  in 2004). As part of the Graphene week festivities and activities, a musical composition, Graphene Suite was premiered according to a July 3, 2015 news item on Azonano,

At Graphene Week 2015 in Manchester, delegates and others were treated to the premiere of a musical suite by Sara Lowes, composer-in-residence at the National Graphene Institute. Sara’s Graphene Suite was commissioned by Brighter Sound, a Manchester-based producer of creative music projects and other cultural events.

A June 26, 2015 Graphene Flagship press release by Frances Sedgemore, which originated the news item, reveals more about the music,

Graphene Suite is scored for a somewhat unusual combination of musical forces, with a string quartet joined by oboe, trumpet, percussion, electric bass guitar, electric guitar and electronic keyboards. Strong visual effects accompanied the musical performance, with electronically manipulated video images of the musicians projected onto a screen behind the stage. For the Graphene Week participants present, the music was a welcome cultural complement to an intense programme of science-centred events.

The Graphene Suite has six movements, and the number six features strongly in the structure of the piece. Here it is sufficient to say that the performance was for this scientist-writer and sometime musician utterly fascinating. In technical terms the music is electro-acoustic, but at the same time Sara’s compositional style is traditional. It is also strongly melodic.

Immediately following the concert I conducted a video interview with the composer, focussing on her music, her experience of the graphene science community, and the nature of and similarities between art and science as creative processes.

The interview which includes some of the music is courtesy of the Graphene Flagship ,

According to the Bright Lights undated [2015] news release, there were two full performances on June 25 and June 26, 2015 while excerpts were performed at Manchester’s Museum of Science and Industry on June 27 and June 28, 2015.

Science as revolution: the 2016 European Science Open Forum in Manchester, UK

Should you be interested in presenting at the 2016 European Science Open Forum (2016 ESOF) which takes place July 22 – 27, 2016 in Manchester, UK, you have until June 1, 2015 at 10 am CET to make your submission.

Here’s more from the ESOF 2016 homepage,

Science as Revolution from Cottonopolis to Graphene City

Manchester is the city where Marx met Engels and Rolls met Royce. Similarly ESOF 2016 will be a meeting of minds, bringing together many of the world’s foremost scientific thinkers, innovators and scholars. Capitalising on Manchester’s unique history as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution the theme for ESOF 2016 has been announced as ‘science as revolution’.

ESOF 2016 will comprise a number of distinct programme tracks:

• A science programme of seminars, workshops and debates on the latest research and related policy issues, structured around a programme of keynote speakers and the latest scientific issues. The call for proposals is now open.

• A science-to-business programme to explore the major issues for research within business and industry and the role of universities for business.

• A career programme showcasing career opportunities across Europe and beyond for researchers at all stages of their careers.

An exhibition that showcases the best of European academic, public and private research.

A forum to host other meetings, satellite events and networking opportunities (e.g. science policy advisers and science media)

Call for proposals

Submissions for the science programme are now open until the deadline for session proposals is 1 June 2015 at 10:00 am CET. There are nine core themes running through the science programme, spanning particle physics to pandemics, antimicrobial resistance to artificial intelligence and the Anthropocene epoch. More information on each of the themes can be found here. The nine themes are:

• Healthy populations

• Material dimensions

• Sustaining the environment

• Turing’s legacy – data and the human brain

• Far frontiers

• Living in the Future

• Bio-revolution

• Science for policy and policy for science

• Science in our cultures

A May 4, 2015* ESOF 2016 announcement extends the invitation (I apologize for the repetition but there’s enlightening additional  information such as the invitation being global and free registration is included if your proposal is accepted),

With themes spanning antimicrobial research to artificial intelligence, the green economy to graphene – there are hundreds of topics to be explored and even more reasons to get involved in the science programme. Playing on Manchester’s unique history as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, the overarching theme for the event has been announced as ‘science as revolution’. As such, ESOF 2016 will be an opportunity to discuss the socio-cultural and economic implications and impacts of scientific revolutions from regional, national, European and global perspectives.

Over recent years ESOF has developed into the largest multi-disciplinary science meeting in Europe, where scientists meet scientists, policy makers, media specialists, business leaders and the wider community. The home of ESOF 2016 is Manchester, UK – the city where Marx met …. . Similarly ESOF 2016 will be a meeting of minds, bringing together many of the world’s foremost scientific thinkers, innovators and scholars from 23-27 July 2016. And 2016 is a special year for science in Manchester, coinciding with the 250th anniversary of the birth of John Dalton – the father of atomic theory. ESOF will be the culmination of an 18 month celebration of science in the city.

There is still plenty of time for proposals to be submitted for science-based seminars, workshops and debates on the latest research and policy issues, all of which are warmly welcomed. This is an open invitation to individuals and organisations alike and it is hoped that the call will inspire our foremost thinkers and researchers from across the global scientific community to take a unique look to share with us how science, technology and innovation has the potential to transform all our lives.

Please note that all session organisers and speakers are entitled to complimentary registration for the conference, with access to the full science programme, plenary sessions and the ESOF 2016 exhibition.

Manchester is being described as Europe’s City of Science 2016 which I thought was an initiative of Dublin’s city council when the city hosted the 2012 ESOF and which was then adopted by Copenhagen in 2014 during its ESOF hosting period. It appears I may have misunderstood and this title is part of the ESOF hosting designation as per a Sept. 30, 2013 University of Manchester press release,  Perhaps one of these days I’ll be able to settle the matter for my own satisfaction if no one else’s.

*’3015′ changed to ‘2015’ on Oct. 28, 2015.

Of graphene cities and Manchester (UK)

I have expressed great admiration for the graphene publicity effort (mentioned in this Feb. 21, 2012 posting and elsewhere) put on by the UK during the run up to its European Commission award of a 1B Euro research prize in January 2013 (mentioned in my Jan. 28, 2013 posting). Officially, the award was given to the Graphene FET (future and emerging technologies) flagship project consortium headed by Chalmers University (Sweden).

The University of Manchester, a member of the consortium, has been active in graphene research and commercialization in the UK, from my Feb. 19, 2013 posting,

The University of Manchester (UK) has a particular interest in graphene as the material was isolated by future Nobel Prize winners, Andre Gheim and Kostya (Konstantin) Novoselov in the university’s laboratories. There’s a Feb. 18, 2013 news item on Nanowerk highlighting the university’s past and future role in the development of graphene on the heels of the recent research bonanza,

The European Commission has announced that it is providing 1bn euros over 10 years for research and development into graphene – the ‘wonder material’ isolated at The University of Manchester by Nobel Prize winners Professors Andre Geim and Kostya Novoselov.

The University is very active in technology transfer and has an excellent track-record of spinning out technology, but some think that the University has taken a different view when it comes to patenting and commercialising graphene. Others have expressed a broader concern about British Industry lagging behind in the graphene ‘race’, based upon international ‘league tables’ of numbers of graphene patents.

Manchester is the site for one of two graphene institutions in the UK as per my Jan. 14, 2013 posting titled, National Graphene Institute at the UK’s University of Manchester. The other is in Cambridge as per my Jan. 24, 2013 posting titled, Another day, another graphene centre in the UK as the Graphene flagship consortium’s countdown begins.

The latest item ‘graphene & UK’ (Manchester) item I’m featuring here is a May 12, 2014 news item on Azonano titled, ‘Graphene City’ Can be a Model for Commercialising Scientific Discoveries (Note: A link has been removed),

This is a blog [posting] by James Baker, Business Director for Graphene@Manchester. As the government announces further support for the UK’s emerging graphene industry, James Baker from the National Graphene Institute says the emerging concept of a ‘graphene city’ can be a UK model for commercialising new scientific discoveries.

After a few fits and starts, I traced the news item to a May 7, 2014 posting on the University of Manchester’s [Manchester] Policy Blogs: Science and Technology blog,

Announcing new investments into graphene commercialisation in March’s [2014] Budget, Chancellor George Osborne described the material as a “great British discovery that we should break the habit of a lifetime with and commercially develop in Britain”.

As the new business director for the National Graphene Institute (NGI), which has its new £61m building opening here at the University next year, I obviously couldn’t agree more.

I first came across graphene in my previous job at defence giant BAE Systems where I was in charge of technology collaboration programmes. We ran a number of ‘futures’ workshops where the aim was to get senior executives to think about how the wider world might look in 20 years time.

In defence there has been much debate about the need for a coherent defence industrial strategy to ensure we have the necessary skills and industrial capabilities for the future, and it was through these sessions that a wider dialogue around technologies such as graphene as a potential ‘disruptive’ capability started to emerge.

Whether it’s helping develop new lightweight components for aircraft or battery packs for soldiers, or developing flexible touch screens for the specialist gadget market, graphene has a vast array of potential uses.

My role is to sign up potential industrial partners who want to collaborate with The University of Manchester and take the graphene science to a higher maturity and onto commercialisation. We are looking for partners across a range of sectors who want to operate in this environment in an open, shared and collaborative way.

The vision of creating a ‘graphene city’ in the 21st century can be compared with Manchester in the 19th century when economic activity and innovation developed largely in the absence of the state.

If you are interested in graphene commercialization in the UK, this posting offers some insight into how at least one person involved in this process views the possibilities.

Historians of science get ready for ‘Knowledge at Work’

The theme for this year’s 24th International Congress of History of Science, Technology and Medicine is ‘Knowledge at Work’. According to Rebekah Higgitt’s Nov. 26, 2012 posting on the Guardian science blogs, the congress is on track to be the largest history of science conference ever held in the UK (Note: I have removed links),

This Friday [Nov. 30, 2012] sees the deadline for submissions to what will be the largest ever meeting of historians of science in the UK, and almost certainly the largest for at least a generation to come.

Last Friday already saw the closing date for organised symposiums within the International Congress of History of Science, Technology and Medicine, and the organisers tweeted:

@ichstm2013

 

#ichstm has just received its 1000th symposium paper abstract.

With the individual submissions still to come in, this promises to be huge for the history of science, which usually counts conference delegates in the 10s or 100s.

The 24th international congress will be held in Manchester, UK from Monday, July 22, 2013 – Sunday, July 28, 2013. Here’s more from the congress home page,

Welcome to the website for the 2013 International Congress, whose theme is Knowledge at Work.

The International Congress of History of Science, Technology and Medicine is the largest event in the field, and takes place every four years. Recent meetings have been held in Mexico City (2001), Beijing (2005) and Budapest (2009).

In 2013, the Congress will take place in Manchester, the chief city of Northwest England, and the original “shock city” of the Industrial Revolution. Congress facilities will be provided by The University of Manchester, with tours and displays on local scientific, technological and medical heritage co-ordinated by members of the University’s Centre for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine.

Here’s some information about individual submissions from the Call for stand-alone papers webpage,

The theme of the 24th Congress is ‘Knowledge at work’. We construe this theme broadly, and encourage studies of the creation, dissemination and deployment of knowledge and practice across all periods, and from a variety of methodological and historiographical approaches. Possible areas of investigation may include, but are not limited to

  • case studies of knowledge-making and knowledge-use in particular scientific, technological and medical communities
  • the use and adaptation of scientific knowledge in the workplace, the home, and the wider world
  • how facts, and other knowledge-claims, travel between disciplines, countries and communities
  • relationships between those knowledge-making enterprises which are described as ‘science’ and those which are not, and the dynamics of the boundaries between them
  • definitions and meanings of ‘pure’, ‘fundamental’ and ‘applied’ research
  • how scientists, engineers and healthcare professionals (and their historical antecedents) work, and whom they work for
  • the status relations of knowledge and work, including the roles of ‘artists’, ‘artisans’, ‘professionals’, ‘amateurs’, ‘devotees’, ‘operatives’, ‘philosophers’, ‘adepts’, ‘scientists’ and ‘workers’
  • sites and geographies of knowledge-production and knowledge-exchange: laboratory, field, factory, hospital, ocean…
  • communication about science: forms and genres, advocacy and dissent, authorship and audience in print, manuscript, broadcasting, digital media and performance

Stand-alone submissions will normally be assembled thematically into groups of 4 presentations per 90-minute session. You should prepare a presentation of around 15 to 17 minutes’ duration, to be followed by 5 minutes of audience questions. Please plan carefully: the very high volume of activity at the Congress means it will be necessary to run strictly to time.

Most papers at the Congress are presented by sole authors. You may, however, submit a co-authored paper to be co-presented by two or, if necessary, three authors. All registered co-presenters should take an active role in delivering the paper.

If your research involves collaboration with colleagues who will not be attending the Congress, please do not list them as co-presenters (see “Attendance requirement”). Instead, please develop a solo paper based on the collaboration, crediting your colleagues as appropriate in your talk.

Language

Papers may be presented in any of the following languages: English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Chinese, Portuguese, Russian and Arabic.

For review and documentation purposes, we require titles and abstracts for all proposals to be submitted in either English or French. If you will be presenting in another language, please also supply an equivalent title and abstract in that language.

In addition to the standard tours and extras, Higgitt’s post mentions something you may consider to be an incentive to submit,

There will also be a “fringe” that will include films, music, theatre and performance, aimed at the public as well as delegates. Importantly, there will also be an entire pub, the Jabez Clegg, handed over for the conference, selling, I’ve been promised, unique and appropriately-named cask beers. (It helps that the Manchester department includes a postgrad with experience of organising beer festivals and a historian of brewing.)

Good luck with your submission!

Drawing pictures with your eyes at FutureEverything digital celebration

The title is meant literally, i.e., drawing pictures using your eyes only. What makes the feat even more extraordinary is that the designers hacked a Playstation 3 webcam to create the Eyewriter and (from the BBC article by Zoe Kleinman) “You could put it together at home without a soldering iron for about £30.”

The project won first prize at the FutureEverything festival in Manchester, England. From the BBC article,

Artists, musicians, engineers and hackers from around the world recently descended on Manchester for a three day celebration of digital culture.

Now in its 15th year, FutureEverything (previously called Futuresonic) has quietly established itself as an annual gathering for the technology avant garde.

With a £10,000 prize up for grabs for the best innovation, the stakes were high for the exhibitors at a local pop-up art gallery called The Hive.

The first prize went to Eyewriter, a team who developed a pair of glasses designed to track and record eye movement, enabling people to draw pictures using their eyes.

It was designed for Californian graffiti artist Tony Quan, who has ALS, a form of motor neurone disease. His eyes are the only part of his body that he can move.

Kleinman’s article features details about other projects that were shown at the festival as well as a video which features the artist, Tony Quan, putting the Eyewriter to the test, and an interview with the festival founder and organizer.

Something like the Eyewriter points to exciting possibilities for leveling the playground so everyone (no matter what physical limitations they may have) can participate. It also points to the benefits of hacking.