In a big week for science, when an observatory at the South Pole has discovered evidence to back up the Big Bang expansion theory, and has observed Gravity Waves, the first Abingdon Science Festival began this evening at the Yolande Patterson Hall at St Helen and St Katherine School.
Professor Frank Close (leading science communicator and physicist) from Abingdon started the evening by saying this was the start of hopefully many Abingdon Science Festivals. He showed how Abingdon was at the very centre of science, surrounded as it is by Fusion research at Culham, the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory at Harwell, and numerous science research establishments round Oxford University.
Professeur Close then interviewed Dame Jocelyn Bell-Burnell (thought by many to have been wrongly overlooked for the nobel Prize for her work on pulsars) on her career as a Cosmologist.
In the second half Robin Ince – comedian and host of R4s infinite monkey cage – performed some his standup Science show including extracts from Darwins last work “The formation of vegetable mould, through the action of worms, with observations on their habits.”
Robin then led a discussion with questions from the audience.
(For other Science events in Abingdon over the weekend see The Atom Guide. But Visualise is sold out.)
