11/2026: Cold Temperature Chemistry – Timothy Softley
Reply
Author Archives: AtomAdmin
10/2026: Modelling of Climate Change – Professor Tim Palmer
Tuesday 20th October 2026 from 19:00 for 19:30
Abingdon United Football Club (Northcourt Rd, OX14 1PL, Abingdon)
Climate Change: Hoax, Lukewarm Inconvenience or Existential Catastrophe?
In this talk, we will ask which of these three different approaches to climate change are correct scientifically, and argue that none are. In addition, we’ll discuss about what we know, and what we don’t know, about the drought this summer. The results are disturbing.
Speaker: Professor Tim Palmer
Tim Palmer CBE FRS is Royal Society Research Professor Emeritus in the Department of Physics at the University of Oxford and author of the popular science book “The Primacy of Doubt”.
09/2026: Quantum Computing: From Testing the Multiverse to a Tech Revolution – Maria Violaris
Tuesday 15th September 2026 from 19:00 for 19:30
Abingdon United Football Club (Northcourt Rd, OX14 1PL, Abingdon)
Imagine if your computer could access a hidden reality, outperforming even a supercomputer the size of the universe — that’s what’s possible with quantum computing. Dr Maria Violaris demystifies how quantum computers actually work; the global race towards building them; and how they could radically change our everyday lives. You’ll also find out how quantum computing originated in an idea to test one of the biggest controversies in physics: whether or not we live in a quantum multiverse.
Speaker: Maria Violaris
Dr Maria Violaris is a quantum physicist and prize-winning science communicator, with a PhD in the foundations of quantum information from the University of Oxford. She works on quantum theory research and technical content creation at quantum computing spin-out Oxford Quantum Circuits. Alongside this, she runs a YouTube channel and the Quantum Foundations Podcast; writes for publications such as Physics World; and researches fundamental aspects of quantum physics. She pioneered the approach of using quantum thought experiments for quantum computing education, through publications, workshops and creating the Quantum Paradoxes video series while at IBM Quantum.
08/2026: Remote Applications in Challenging Environments: Robotics for Fusion and Beyond – Charles Birdsall
Tuesday 18th August 2026 from 19:00 for 19:30
Abingdon United Football Club (Northcourt Rd, OX14 1PL, Abingdon)
At the UK Atomic Energy Authority, robots are an essential part of achieving fusion energy. What sort of robots do we use, why do we need them and how did we get here? This talk explores the robots we currently have at Culham, their surprisingly long history, and how we use them to enable fusion research. Outside of fusion energy, we will also cover our involvement in robotics around the world, spanning from systems that can inspect the Large Hadron Collider, will process material at the world’s largest neutron source, and navigate the hazardous environments of the traditional nuclear fission industry.
Speaker: Charles Birdsall
Charles Birdsall is a Remote Handling Operations Engineer at the UK Atomic Energy Authority, working on robotic operations at the Joint European Torus (JET) fusion energy experiment. With academic backgrounds in engineering physics, mechatronics, and robotics, they have recently contributed to the development of a training course on remote handling. They plan to begin PhD research in biologically inspired soft robotics for applications in challenging environments.
07/2026: Interventional Cardiology for Congenital Heart Disease: Bomb Disposal for Cowards – Dr Neil Wilson
Wednesday 22nd July 2026 from 19:00 for 19:30
Abingdon United Football Club (Northcourt Rd, OX14 1PL, Abingdon)
Please note this month’s event is on Wednesday.
Congenital heart disease is the term given to heart abnormalities patients are born with. Cardiac catheterisation is the procedure of inserting long thin tubes through the blood vessels in the groin, neck and liver into the heart. Neil will describe the development of cardiac catheterisation from a purely diagnostic procedure to treatment of structural and electrical congenital heart disease (holes in the heart, abnormal heart rhythms, etc.)
Speaker: Dr Neil Wilson
Neil graduated MB BS from St Thomas Hospital Medical School and specialised in paediatric cardiology during a varied career in the UK, USA and Middle East. His retirement is devoted to helping children read, Pilates, golf, playing the melodeon and Morris dancing.