Sallis Benney Theatre,
University of Brighton,
Grand Parade,
Brighton, BN2 0JY

Sun March 2nd, 
12.noon – 7.00pm

Tickets for Arena and Arena talks - £7 / £5 concessions.

Tickets for individual Main Stage talks - £6/£4.

Special All Day Ticket - £15 accesses all areas and all talks in all theatres (not including the Catalyst Club)

Tickets available on the door, but advance booking is advisable.

Food all day; cakes & sandwiches, fruit, snacks and drinks.

Watch the 2007 video

12.00PM - CONFESSIONS OF AN ECO SINNER

One of our most revered ecology writers finds to his horror the cost in environmental terms of his work. He has searched for the source of the cotton in his shirt, the prawns in his curry, the coffee in his mug, the computer on his desk, and the people who grew, mined or made all his stuff, and has made a startling discovery; in his efforts to reduce the carbon footprint of others he himself is leaving a sizeable carbon footprint.

1.30PM - FINDING MOONSHINE: A MATHEMATICIAN'S JOURNEY THROUGH SYMMETRY

Marcus du Sautoy says, ‘Symmetry is all around us. The unique, all-pervasive phenomenon indicates a dynamic relationship between objects. In chemistry and physics the concept of symmetry explains the structure of crystals or the theory of fundamental particles; in evolutionary biology, the natural world exploits symmetry in the fight for survival. Symmetry—and the breaking of it—are central to ideas in art, architecture, and music. This talk takes a unique look into the mathematical mind as I explore deep conjectures about symmetry. These conjectures have culminated in the most exciting discovery to date—the summit of mathematicians’ mastery in the field—the Monster, a huge snowflake that lives in 196,883-dimensional space with more symmetries than there are atoms in the sun.

3.00PM - LEWIS CARROLL IN NUMBERLAND

If Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) had not written his Alice books, he would be remembered as a mathematician, the career he held as a lecturer at Christ Church college, Oxford. But what mathematics did he do? How good was he? Do we find shades of Wonderland in his maths, or maths hidden in Wonderland? This general-interest illustrated talk looks at his life, labours and legacy.

Robin Wilson is Professor of Pure Mathematics at the Open University.

4.30PM - PANICOLOGY

The papers all try to scare us with science. The question is not why does the media do this, but why do we enjoy it so. Some of the most prominent stories of recent years - from bird flu to sea level rises, and MMR to GM crops - reveal the devious tricks of the trade used to make us read and believe. Understand these, and you go equipped to deal with the modern world of scientists seeking their sound-bites and a media keener to terrify than inform their readers.

6.00PM - THE SECRET LIFE OF THE NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM

Behind the public façade of any great museum there lies a secret domain, of unseen galleries, locked doors, priceless specimens and hidden lives. Here Richard Fortey, former senior paleontologist at London's Natural History Museum, gives us sparkling tales of the feuds, affairs, scandals and skullduggery that have punctuated the Museum's long history.

Bill Bryson said ‘Richard Fortey is without peer among science writers’.

BRITISH & IRISH METEORITE SOCIETY

STEAM DREAMS

BIOCHEMISTRY FOR THE WARY

BLOOMING FUTURES & BATH BIOFUELS

AXIOM

TAP INTO HEALTH WITH SOUTHERN WATER

CAN ANCIENT ART ADVANCE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY?

THE GREEN HOUSE

NOW WASH YOUR HANDS

THE OWL HOME ELECTRICITY MONITOR

WALKING WITH ROBOTS

CONTROL YOURSELF

YOU CAN'T SEE THE NOSE IN FRONT OF YOUR FACE!

BEAU WINDOWS

12.00PM - A GUINEA PIG'S HISTORY OF BIOLOGY

The history of modern biology told through the stories of the animals and plants that made it possible, showing how the guinea pig and his colleagues played a pivotal role in the understanding what genes are and what they do.

1.15PM - A BLAST FROM THE PAST

The Wollemi pine was known only from 200 million year-old fossils, This was a plant that nobody expected to find. Then in 1994 one was found growing happily in a deep, inaccessible gorge in New South Wales. Despite ice ages and bush fires the Wollemi pine had never quite become extinct. It joins other tales of botanical survival from Wakehurst Place. This will be a rare chance to see a real specimen of the tree.

2.30PM - WHY THE TOAST ALWAYS LANDS BUTTER-SIDE DOWN

The science of Murphy’s Law. Why does your queue go slowest? Why do buses go round in threes? Why do all the clothes in the washing machine end up inside the duvet cover? There are many weirdnesses to be explained, and the explanations show that the world is often counter-intuitive. Richard Robinson takes you on a white-knuckle ride through your own mind.

3.45PM - EATING THE SUN

The everyday miracle of photosynthesis. Oliver eloquently describes the process that is the ultimate source of all our food and the ultimate source of all our breaths.

“Morton is as compelling and eloquent in describing the evolution of landscape as he is at describing the evolution of life itself. He moves easily from explaining cosmological theories to describing the chalky meadows around Lewes.” - Sunday Telegraph

5.00PM - HOW BEES KEEP BUSY

One of every three or four bites of food we eat is thanks to bees. Professor Francis Ratnieks tells us how such tiny creatures do such an incredible job. The honey bee is amazing, it has the most complex communication of any animal, using more than 20 different dances and chemical signals (pheromones) to coordinate the 50,000 workers and queen in a hive.