Newsletters

NEWSLETTERS FOR DOWNLOAD

Below are our newsletters which appear three times a year.  They are in PDF format, and if you click on a link you will be able to view, download, and save the document

Lectures that we publish here have been written up by our Newsletter Editor and former Secretaries, and speakers are given the opportunity to review the content prior to publication.  However mistakes can be made, and any errors in a write-up are our responsibility and NOT that of the speaker

All Newsletters from September 2009 TO CURRENT SEASON

Click here for NL119 January 2025 to March 2025, consisting of:

• 'An unexpected movement of the stars: Kew's place at the start of modern physics', by Paul Quincey, retired from NPL

• 'Kirkaldy's Testing Works', by Bill Godwin, RSS member

• 'Parasitic wasps, biocontrol, Costa Rica, gallo pinto and Lizano brown sauce', by Dr John Noyes, Natural History Museum

Click here for NL118 September 2024 to December 2024 Consisting of:

• 'Science on Ice: the U.S. Antarctic Program', by Mike Lucibella, former editor of The Antarctic Sun

• 'Immunotherapy: Using the Body to Fight Cancer' by Prof Lauren Pecorino, University of Greenwich

• 'The Use of LiDAR in Archaeology' by David Stapley, University of York

'The Medical Implications of Space Flight' by Dr Steven Cutts (November) was not written up

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Click here for NL117 February 24 to May 24 Consisting of:

• 'Urban Greening', Mr Dusty Gedge, European Federation of Green Roof & Wall Associations

• 'The Millennium Seed Bank Partnership', Dr Aisyah Faruk, RBG Kew

• 'Using AI to Predict Bee Colony Behaviour',  Dr Gordon Hunter, Kingston University

• 'Heat Pumps: For a Cooler Future', Dr Michael de Podesta

Click here for NL116 September 23 to January 24 Consisting of:

• 'London's Industrial Archaeology', Prof David Perrett, GLIAS

• 'Modelling the Upper Atmospheres of Planets in and out of the Solar System', Prof Alan Aylward, UCL

• 'What's in a Name? The Use of Onomastics for Science Policy', by Dr Grant Lewison, RSS Council

'Biofabrication Techniques in Organ and Tissue Engineering' by Dr Alexander Justin (October), Cambridge University, was not written up due to copyright issues

Click here for NL115 March to May 2023 Consisting of:

• 'Artificial Intelligence and Alzheimer's', Prof Eric Aboagye, Imperial

• 'Fusion Power...Within our grasp?' by Robin Stafford Allen, Culham Centre for Fusion Energy (retired)

• 'GPS - The Global Positioning System' by Dr Nick Stapley, RSS Council 

 Click here for NL114 December 22 to February 2023 Consisting of:

• 'Is it Possible to Live a Carbon Zero Life?' by Dr Michael de Podesta

• 'Lessons from the Inquest into the Deaths of Diana Princess of Wales and Dodi Al Fayed', by Prof Atholl Johnston

• 'The New NPL Optical Atomic Clock', by Dr Rachel Godun, NPL

Click here for NL113 September to November 2022 Consisting of:

• 'Interstellar Travel' by Professor Alan Aylward UCL

• 'Conversational AI' by Dr Julie Wall, University of East London

The lecture on the Thames Tideway Project could not be written-up owing to restrictions imposed by the speaker

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Click here for NL112 March to May 2022 Consisting of:

• 'Accessibility and Inclusive Design', Mr Chris Lewis

• 'The New Science of the Body Clock', Prof Russell G Foster, Oxford University

• 'A Printed Steel Bridge', Dr Craig Buchanan, Imperial College

Click here for NL111 December 2021 to February 2022 Consisting of:

• 'Creativity with Computing: Generative Design in Engineering', Conor Black, ARUP

• 'The Diamond Light Source, Harwell', Dr David Price, Harwell

• 'Silicon Metal, A Cornerstone of Modern Technology', Dr Thomas Blase

Click here for NL110 September to November 2021 Consisting of:

• 'Exoplanets', Prof Alan Aylward, UCL

• 'The Quantum Kilogram', Dr Paul Quincey, ex NPL

• 'Animal Testing and the 3Rs', Dr Elliot Lilley, 3CR

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Click here for NL109 March to May 2021   Consisting of:

• 'Comparing Pathways to Domestication, Agriculture, and Civilisation across Asia and Africa', Professor Dorian Fuller, University College London

• 'Pharmaceuticals in the Environment' Dr Leon Barron, Imperial College

• 'Biology and Light', Dr Elinor Thompson, University of Greenwich

Click here for NL108 December 2020 to February 2021   Consisting of:

• 'Bitcoin and the Blockchain', Keith Bear, Fellow, Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance

• 'Gut Bacteria: how microbes influence our health' Prof Lindsay Hall, Technical University of Munich

• 'A Map of the Invisible',Prof Jon Butterworth, UCL

 Click here for NL107 September to November 2020   Consisting of:

• 'Milankovitch Cycles', Prof Alan Aylward

• 'The Electricity Distribution Network and Power Transformers',  Mr Paul Dyer, UK Power Networks

• 'Light & Wellbeing - Circadian Alignment - Natural Light vs Artificial Light', Sophie Parry, Zumtobel Group

Click here forNL106  December 2019 to February 2020   Consisting of:

• 'Space Debris - a Horror Story', Spyros Grammenos, Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd

• 'Ants, Ant Intelligence; and Ant-hills in the Royal Parks',  Dr Tim King, Wolfson College, Oxford University

• 'The Carbide Age: Superlative Tool Materials for the 21st Century', Dr B Roebuck, Emeritus Senior Fellow, NPL Teddington

There were no lectures for March to May 2020 because of the Covid-19 crisis

Click here for NL105 September to November 2019   Consisting of:

• 'Plastics', Dr Ron Bennett

• 'The Surface of Mars', Dr Joel Davis, Natural History Museum

• 'From Gout to Mad Cow Disease - My Biochemical Journey', David Perrett, Professor Emeritus of Bioanalytical Science at Barts and the London School of Medicine & Dentistry, Queen Mary University London

• 'Human Longevity', David Goldhill (inspired by his book 'Longevity')

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Click here for NL104 March to May 2019  Consisting of:

• 'Women in Zoology', Ann Slyph, Zoological Society of London

• 'Forensic Science', Dr Georgina E. Meakin, UCL

• 'Deep Learning and Probability', Prof James Orwell, Kingston University

Click here for NL103 December 2018 to February 2019  Consisting of:

• 'Scanning Probe Microscopy: measurements in the nanoscale', Dr. Andrés Muñiz-Piniella Director C4AD CIC

• 'NMR Spectroscopy: a miscellany of molecular microscopy', Dr Paul Driscoll, Francis Crick Institute

• 'Things We Have Measured at the NPL', Fiona Auty, National Physical Laboratory

Click here for: NL102 September to November 2018   Consisting of:

• 'Applying Maths in Medical Imaging', Dr Gordon Hunter, Kingston University

• 'Measuring the Earth from Space (and being a woman in science)', Dr Emma Woolliams, NPL

• 'Climate Change: Science, Policy and Opinion', David Warrilow, Royal Meteorological Society

• 'Quantum Biology - from animal migration to future cell therapies', Alex Jones, Principal Research Scientist, National Physical Laboratory

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Click here for NL101 March to May 2018  Consisting of:

• 'Beekeeping' Simon Silvester RSS Member

• 'Conservation of Photographic Materials', Jacquie Moon, National Archives, Kew

• 'Medieval Mottes and Prehistoric Mounds', Dr James Leary, Reading University

• Click here for NL100 December 2017 to February 2018  Consisting of:

• 'Forensic Microscopy- tales from the past' Pam Hamer, Retired Forensic Scientist

• 'The History of Anaesthesia', Dr Douglas Justins

• 'The Geology of Italy: plate tectonics, volcanoes, earthquakes, art and scenery', Dr Lidia Lonergan, Dept of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College 

Click here for: NL99 September to November 2017   Consisting of:

• 'How do we know Anything? And How Can We Do Things Better?, De Michael Podesta, NPL

• 'South East Asian Geology', Prof Robert Hall, Earth Sciences, Royal Holloway University

• 'Sopwith Biplanes', David Hassard, The Hawker Association

• 'Aerodynamics of Today's Megastructures', Stefano Cammeli, BMT Fluid Mechanics

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Click here for NL98 February to May 2017  Consisting of:

• 'Emerging Contaminants in the Environment: implications for human health', Dr Nick Voulvoulis, Centre for Environmental Policy, Imperial College

• '4D Science: how we use synchrotron x-ray glasses to see inside a volcano', Prof Peter D Lee, Acting Director, Research Complex at Harwell

• 'Laser Remote Sensing of Fugitive Gas Emissions' Dr Tom Gardiner, NPL

• 'Spider silks and webs', Yue Jin Oh, Silk Group, Zoology Dept., Oxford University

• Click here for NL97 November 2016 to January 2017  Consisting of:

• 'The Curiosity Rover on Mars', Jerry Workman, Hampstead Observatory

• 'The Selection of the Right Material: bottles to jet engines to brakes', Prof Rees Rawlings, Imperial College

• 'The importance of geology versus biology in Government marine policy', Prof Paul Leonard, Visiting Professor at Brunel

Click here for: NL96 September to October 2016   Consisting of:

• 'Life on Mars', Prof Andrew Coates, Mullard Space Science Laboratory, UCL

• 'The Plastic Ocean', Ronan McAdam, Grantham Institute, Imperial College

• 'Climate Geo-engineering', Prof Joanna Haigh, Co-director Grantham Institute, Imperial College

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Click here for NL95 March to May 2016  Consisting of:

• 'Inter-stellar Chemistry observed from the Herschel Space Observatory 2010', Prof. Geoffrey Duxbury, University of Strathclyde

• 'Electronic Music Andrew Hanson', Outreach Manager, National Physical Laboratory

• 'Sustainable Livestock Grazing Systems', Jamie McFadzean, Rothamsted Research North Wyke and University of Exeter

Click here for NL94 December 2015 to February 2016  Consisting of:

• ;Non-native invasives in freshwater;, Joe Pecorelli, Zoological Society, London

• 'Future of wireless communications:higher frequencies, higher data rates, shorter distances', Prof Alwyn Seeds, UCL

• 'Applied plasma physics: the new frontiers of space propulsion and medicine', Dr Thomas Harle, Fourth State Medicine

Click here for: NL93 September to November 2015   Consisting of:

• 'Fusion Power: do we need it and is it possible', De Alan Costley

• 'New Horizons: space-probe mission to Pluto', Dr Mike Goldsmith, science writer

• 'Cold atoms: from fundamental physics to precision measurements', Dr Vera Guarrera, National Physical Laboratory

• 'Colour Perception', Bill Stevenson, Society of Dyers and Colourists, sdc.org.uk

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Click here for NL92 February – May 2015 Consisting of:

• ‘Adventures and advances in medical physics as seen from the viewpoint of a small local consultancy company;, Dr Alan Calverd

• ‘100 years of Aircraft from Kingston upon Thames’, David Hassard, The Hawker Association

• ‘Pioneering laser anemometry in the wind industry’, Dr Michael Harris, Chief Scientist, ZephIR Lidar

• ‘Half Life: Bruno Pontecorvo, father of neutrino astronomy, but was he also an atomic spy?’ Prof Frank Close, University of Oxford

Click here for NL91 November 2014 –January 2015 Consisting of:

• ‘Optical radiometry in support of earth observation and climate management’, Dr Nigel Fox, head of the Earth Observation group, NPL

• ‘The long carry: how stretcher bearers of the Great War transformed military medicine’,Dr Emily Mayhew, Medical historian, Imperial College

• ‘Pollen and Forensic Science’.Dr Michael Keith-Lucas, University of Reading, plant scientist (retired)

Click here for NL90 September - October 2014 Consisting of:

• ‘Climate, ocean and the hydrogen imperative’, Mike Koefman, www.planet-hydrogen.org

• ‘Graphene-based metrology’, Dr Jan-Theodoor Janssen, NPL

• ‘Fisheries: predicting the consequences of ocean management’, Prof. Stuart Rogers, Chief Scientist, CEFAS

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Click here for NL89 March - May 2014 Consisting of:

• ‘Materials for fusion power’, Dr David E J Armstrong, standing in for Prof Steve Roberts, both University of Oxford

• ‘Fracking in the United Kingdom’, Prof Peter Simpson, Imperial College London

• ‘Creativity in arts and science’, Nik Boulting, designer

Click here for NL88 December 2013 - February 2014 Consisting of:

• A note on the Archives by John Bradbury

• ‘Dinosaur sociality: crests, colours and signalling’, Dr David Hone, Queen Mary, University of London (the wrong date for this lecture is in the newsletter as it was in December not November as stated)

• ‘Life histories & evolution in Hawaiian Lepidoptera’, Dr Klaus Sattler, Natural History Museum

• ‘How do you know what the temperature is?’ Dr Michael de Podesta, National Physical Laboratory

Click here for NL87 September - November 2013 Consisting of:

• ‘Atmospheric measurements from small airborne platforms’, Dr Keri Nicoll, University of Reading

• ‘The story of noise’, Dr Mike Goldsmith, science writer

• ‘3D photography from 1841 to the present: an illustrated talk’, Colin Metherell, The Stereoscopic Society

• ‘A growing problem - Invasive pests of plants in Britain’, Andrew Halstead, Entomologist at RHS Wisley (retired)

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Click here for NL86 April - May 2013 Consisting of:

• Exoplanets Dr. Patrick Josephs-Franks, Royal Astronomical Society

• The Global Crisis in the Nutrition of the Brain Prof.Michael Crawford, Imperial Coll

Click here for NL85 December  2012 - March 2013 Consisting of:

• Marion Martyn Remembered

• 'Cold Atom Clocks for Time & Space], Prof Patrick Gill, National Physical Laboratory

• 'The Thames Tideway Tunnel', Malcolm Orford, Construction and Delivery Manager

• 'The Impact of Lasers on the World', Prof Stephen Sweeney, University of Surrey

• 'Eel Migration in the Thames', Joe Pecorelli

Click here for NL84 September - November 2012 Consisting of:

• 'Autism',  Dr.Emily Mayhew, Imperial College

• 'Colour in Diamonds', Douglas Garrod, Gemmological Association

• 'Marine Life in action',  Dr Paul Naylor, marinephoto.co.uk

• 'Alan Turing and the Enigma Cipher', Simon Singh, writer and broadcaster

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Click here for NL83 February - May 2012 Consisting of:

• 'The Science of Multiple Sprint Sports', Dr Mark Glaister, St Mary's University College

• 'Titanium & Bone', Dr Dev Patel, Eastman Dental Institute, University College London

• 'The World's First Computer: Decoding the Antikythera Mechanism', Dr Tony Freeth, Images First Ltd.

• 'Microfluidics and Nanochemistry', Prof. Andrew deMello, ETH Zurich, ex Imperial College.

Click here for NL82 November 2011 - January 2012 Consisting of:

• Obituary of Arthur John Ellis

• Science and Archaelogy, Dr Caroline Cartwright, British Museum

• Plants and People in the Amazon, Dr William Milliken, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

• Nuclear Power After Fukishima, Prof Paul Leonard

Click here for NL81 September - October 2011 Consisting of:

• The Society trip to Bletchley Park

• Life on Mars, Steven Cutts, Surgeon and Writer

• Renewable Energy Programme in Richmond, James Heather, Project Manager

• The far future of the Sun and life in the solar system, Dr Ian Crawford, Birkbeck College

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Click here for NL80 March - May 2011 Consisting of:

• Autonomous Underwater Vehicles, Stephen Hall, National Oceanographic Centre, Southampton

• Early Drugs and the Chelsea Physic Garden, Christine Hodgson, Garden Guide

• Redefining Time: Optical Atomic Clocks , Dr Anne Curtis, NPL

• (The February lecture was not written up)

Click here for NL79 Nov 2010 - Jan 2011 Consisting of:

• Mammoths, Prof Adrian Lister, Natural History Museum

• Mountains Under the Sea, Prof Tony Watts, Oxford University

• Global Warming from First Principles, Dr Michael de Podesta, NPL

Click here for NL78 September - October 2011 Consisting of:

• Alkaline Sub-Ocean Vents: The cradle of life?, Dr Nick Lane, UCL

• Sustainable Urban Water Systems, Dr Sarah Bell, UCL

• Optical Fibres in Civil Engineering, Dr Binod Amatya, Halcrow Group

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Click here for NL77 February -  May 2010 Consisting of:

• Solar Eclipses, Fantastic Events, Jerry Workman

• Plants, Animals, and Time, Prof William Chaloner FRS, Royal Holloway and Bedford New College

• Darwin: An Inspiration for the 21st Century

• The Environmental Effects of Genetically Modified Crops, Prof Rosie Hall MBE, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology

Click here for NL76 November 2009 - January 2010 Consisting of:

• Saturn, Titan , and Enceladus, recent results from Cassini, Prof Andrew Coates, UCL Mullard Space Science Centre

• Saving the Planet with a Computer, Dr Graham Higley, Head of Library & Information Services, Natural History Museum

• A Journey Through Space - from Infinity to Richmond in 40 mins, Dr Colin Hicks

Click here for NL75  September 2009 - October 2009 Consisting of:

• The History of the Greenwich Time Service, David Rooney, Science Museum

• NPL Timekeeping Today, Phillip Whibberley, NPL

• What Is Colour and How Do We Measure It?, Andrew Hanson, NPL