05/15: LASERS – The Incredible Power of Light – Professor John Collier

Tuesday 20th May 2025 from 19:00 for 19:30
Abingdon United Football Club (Northcourt Rd, OX14 1PL, Abingdon)

If asked to talk about a laser, many of us would speak of light shows at concerts or night clubs, maybe laser pointers, or for those close to our speaker’s generation; maybe the famous ‘laser scene’ from James Bonds’ Goldfinger! But from quite humble beginnings since its first demonstration in 1960, lasers have grown to become some of the most important generic tools that have ever been invented. Today, lasers underpin much of what we consider to be modern society, modern economies, modern science, modern technology. In this talk we will explore some of these areas, give a basic explanation of how lasers work and highlight some of the pioneering research and development that is taking place in laser-based science in Oxfordshire on the Harwell Campus. This includes, for example; sophisticated systems that look for new solutions to cancer, climate change, new energy technologies, through to the development of compact plasma-based accelerators for industrial and medical imaging and ending in the construction of the world’s most powerful laser – potentially powerful enough to perturb the vacuum. The talk will not be technical or complex, rather a celebration of some of the wonderous and very likely unknown ways that lasers are continuing to shape our future.

Speaker: Professor John Collier

Professor Collier is the Director of the UK’s Central Laser Facility (CLF), based at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory at Harwell, Oxfordshire and part of the UKRI Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). A laser scientist by training, Professor Collier initially joined the CLF as a research scientist from CERN (where he was a Research Fellow), a position from which he has grown to become its Director 15 years ago. Professor Collier has played a central role in building the CLF into one of the world’s leading research centres for multi-disciplinary science and innovation using lasers and establishing the CLF at the heart of major international programmes. He is Executive Director of Laserlab-Europe AISBL, a consortium of all the major laser facilities throughout Europe, a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales and he won the Institute of Physics Glazebrook Medal in 2020.

04/15: The Scientific Study of Butterflies and Moths – Professor Peter Holland

Tuesday 15th April 2025 from 19:00 for 19:30
Abingdon United Football Club (Northcourt Rd, OX14 1PL, Abingdon)

Moths and butterflies account for 10% of all animal species on earth. Many species are critical to the health of humans and the environment, for example as pollinators, as prey items for birds, and as indicators of environmental change. This talk will also explain how moths and butterflies have given important new insights in many areas of science, including the mechanism of evolution, the control of development, and the mysteries of animal migration.

Speaker: Professor Peter Holland

Portrait photo of Professor Peter HollandPeter Holland is Professor of Zoology at the University of Oxford researching genetics and evolution in mammals, molluscs, moths and marine invertebrates. He has been awarded the Genetics Society Medal, the Kowalevsky Medal, the Linnean Medal for Zoology, the Frink Medal of the Zoological Society and the Darwin Medal of the Royal Society. He has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, Fellow of the Linnean Society and Fellow of the Marine Biological Association. He also has a life-long interest in butterfly and moths.

03/2025: Macular Degeneration: Through the Ages – Professor Susan Downes

Tuesday 18th March 2025 from 19:00 for 19:30
Abingdon United Football Club (Northcourt Rd, OX14 1PL, Abingdon)

This talk is part of the 2025 ATOM Festival of Science & Technology.

Macular Degeneration can occur at any age. It may be inherited or caused by degenerative, infective, inflammatory, toxic or other processes. Descriptions of the retina were recorded probably the earliest in 300-400 BCE, and since then imaging technology has revolutionised our ability to visualise the retina in health and disease. Numerous conditions affecting the macula have been described.

An up-close image of an eye generated by AI.The macula is the central part of the retina, which is located at the back of the eye, and measures about 5mm across. Its presence enables us to see print, recognise faces and distinguish colours and detail. Different modalities have enabled high resolution imaging of the macula, its components, and any structural changes. Innovations in functional assessment have contributed to the characterisation of different diseases affecting the macula. Disorders of the macula can occur at any age with nearly 1.5 million individuals being affected by a macular condition in the UK. The symptoms range from blurred and distorted central vision to loss of central vision. The most common macular condition is age related macular degeneration usually occurring after the age of 65 years and in the UK affecting approximately 600,000 individuals in the UK with 196 million worldwide in 2020 recorded to be affected. For the wet type timely and frequent treatments (around 700,000 a year in the NHS) are required, with a significant impact on healthcare resources. Childhood onset inherited macular degeneration such as Stargardt disease, affects 1 in 10000. Macular conditions clearly have a huge impact on the individual. A short overview of the current management and treatment approaches for these conditions, with reference to genetic testing, potential therapeutic intervention, and advances in diagnosis and treatment will be given.

Speaker: Professor Susan Downes

Portait photo of Professor Susan DownesProfessor Downes has a national and international reputation in the field of inherited retinal dystrophies (IRD) with over 30 years of research and working in the field. The subject of her Medical Doctorate was inherited cone and cone rod dystrophies, and she described the phenotype genotype correlation in a novel gene (*GUCA1A*) the first purely cone dystrophy gene to be reported at that time. Since then, she has published numerous papers in IRD phenotype genotype correlation, working in collaborations across the UK and internationally, which have contributed significantly to the knowledge in this field. In recognition of this she was listed in the European Vision Institute’s top excellent Women in research in 2021 and received a leadership award from the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neuroscience for her contributions in 2023.

Downes set up the Eye Research Group Oxford (ERGO) in 2008, now a 20 member multidisciplinary team, for which she is lead. ERGO provides support for all the clinical trials in the Oxford Eye Hospital as well as collaborating closely with the vision scientists within the University, and international collaborations. In recognition of this initiative Downes received a Gold Award for Leadership and Innovation from the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in 2014.

She is a regular presenter at patient support groups on age related macular degeneration. She set up Oxford as one of the three UK Centres for the European Reference Network for Rare Eye Diseases (ERN) and has recently set up the Kellogg Oxford Eye Centre with a remit for research and education into visual impairment, which is due to be launched in June 2025. Downes and other IRD specialists set up a collaborative research consortium in 2011, to enable collaborative research across the UK, called the United Kingdom Inherited Retinal Disease Consortium (UKIRDC), which has been highly successful. In addition to her specialist interest in inherited retinal disease, she led the Medical retina Service at the Oxford Eye Hospital from 2000 until 2021. She has been involved in the design of several clinical trials, as well as chair of the steering group for these.

02/2025: Monitoring the Environment from Space – Dr Robin Wilson

Tuesday 18th February 2025 from 19:00 for 19:30
Abingdon United Football Club (Northcourt Rd, OX14 1PL, Abingdon)

An artificially coloured satellite image of the city of Southampton in the UKHundreds of satellites orbit the Earth every day, collecting data that is used for monitoring almost all aspects of the environment. This talk will introduce to you the world of satellite imaging, take you beyond the “pretty pictures” to the scientific data behind them, and show you how the data can be applied to monitor plant growth, air pollution and more.

Speaker: Dr Robin Wilson

A profile photo of Dr Robin WilsonRobin is an expert in satellite imaging, having won the Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry Society’s PhD Prize for his thesis in 2014.  Afterwards he worked in academia but is now a freelance geospatial software engineer, working for clients ranging from small community groups to multi-national corporations to store, process and visualise geographic data such as satellite images and maps.

Website: https://rtwilson.com
Twitter: @sciremotesense
Bluesky: @robintw.bsky.social

01/2025: Influenza: from the Spanish Lady to the Winter Sniffle – Dr David Miles

Tuesday 21st January 2025 from 19:00 for 19:30
Abingdon United Football Club (Northcourt Rd, OX14 1PL, Abingdon)

In 1918, an influenza pandemic killed more people than the First World War. The disease was called the Spanish Lady, among many other names, because nobody had more than a vague idea of what caused it. The Spanish Lady’s descendants are still with us, causing the annual ‘winter flu’ that empties workplaces, filling hospitals and stuffing noses.

Now we know the influenza virus down to the most intimate molecular detail but we’re still locked in an ongoing tussle with it. Science, medicine and our own immune systems can limit the damage it does but every year, influenza is involved in thousands of deaths across Britain.

The story of the influenza virus circulating today is intertwined with the story of how science came to know it. Both stories are still being written.

Speaker: Dr David Miles

David Miles is an infectious disease immunologist who has worked mostly on diseases of childhood in Africa and the vaccinations that protect against them. He now lives in London and tutors on the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine’s online MSc course. His first popular science book, How Vaccines Work, was published in March 2023.

Website: https://www.variolator.com/
Twitter: @Variolator
Bluesky: @variolator.bsky.social