Science, poetry, funding and innovation

Two interesting articles in the Saturday Guardian struck me as worth mentioning. First, poet Ruth Padel, author of Darwin: a Life in Poems, talks about The Science of Poetry, The Poetry of Science:

"Poetry is about feeling, science is about facts. They're nothing to do with each other!" The A-level students in a school I visited last week were passionate on this point. Behind them was Keats, urging them on. "Philosophy," Keats said – meaning science – "would clip an angel's wings." Science was out to dissolve beauty, "Conquer all mysteries by rule and line, / Empty the haunted air and gnomed mine – / Unweave a rainbow …" Edgar Allen Poe agreed. Science was a "vulture" that shrivelled wonder. "Hast thou not torn the Naiad from her flood, / The Elfin from the green grass; and from me. / The summer dream beneath the tamarind tree?" 

I think this over-romanticises both poetry and science, which have got on fine for two millennia and today are enriching their dialogue. Michael Symmonds Roberts's collection Corpus came out of a conversation with scientists mapping the genome. Jo Shapcott's collection Of Mutability is expanding poetry's audiences in the medical community.

Padel (who mentions Erasmus Darwin - see my previous post), sums up: "The deepest thing science and poetry share, perhaps, is the way they can tolerate uncertainty. They have a modesty in common: they do not have to say they're right. True, perhaps. Or just truer. "A scientist should be the first to say he doesn't know," a tiger biologist told me when I asked some detail of tiger behaviour. "A scientist goes forward towards truth but never gets there." (Read the full article here.)

This might not seem to be precisely the case if you head over to Philip Ball's article in another section of the newspaper, where he is bemoaning the conservatism of funding bodies:

The kind of idle pastime that might amuse physicists is to imagine drafting Einstein's grant applications in 1905. "I propose to investigate the idea that light travels in little bits," one might say. "I will explore the possibility that time slows down as things speed up," goes another. Imagine what comments these would have elicited from reviewers for the German Science Funding Agency, had such a thing existed. Instead, Einstein just did the work anyway while drawing his wages as a technical expert third-class at the Bern patent office. And that is how he invented quantum physics and relativity. 

The moral seems to be that really innovative ideas don't get funded – that the system is set up to exclude them.

As Ball says: "your proposal has to specify exactly what you are going to achieve. But how can you know the results before you have done the experiments, unless you are aiming to prove the bleeding obvious?" He talks about a new scheme being initiated by the US National Science Foundation to fund "'unusually creative high-risk/high-reward interdisciplinary proposals'. In other words, it is looking for new ideas that might not work, but which would be massive if they do." Read the full article here.

This fund, called CREATIV (not a very creative choice), might want to take some hints from poets about unknowns and uncertainties, perhaps?!  What are your thoughts - whether you are a poet, scientist or scientist-poet!

Julio: Student Experience: Or Why Study Mathematics at the University of Bristol?

My intention in this post is to comment and present some of my experiences and my own visions of the Department of Mathematics of the University of Bristol.

When I arrived at the Department of Mathematics here in Bristol for the first time, I was very well received by the staff and especially by my supervisors Jon Keating and Nina Snaith, they present me the department and gave me a warm welcome.

The math department in Bristol definitely is worldwide known, and with leaders in various areas of research. For example in my case, I work with number theory and the department have researchers at the highest level in number theory and related areas. I'm lucky to be part of the number theory and quantum chaos groups here in Bristol.

But the areas of research here in the department of Bristol not only restrict to the number theory and if you take a look on the website about research groups in the department you may notice that there is research in several areas of mathematics such that Pure mathematics (such as research in analysis, partial differential equations, dynamical systems, algebra and others), Applied Mathematics (random matrix theory, quantum chaos, statistical mechanics, quantum information and others) and Statistics (Applied Probability, Monte Carlo, behavioural biology and others). So research in mathematics at the University of Bristol is vivid and very varied.

The courses offered are varied and change each year ranging from undergraduate level units up to advanced graduate courses. The Postgraduate courses and the department of mathematics is part of the TCC along with other universities (University of Bath, Imperial College, University of Oxford and the University of Warwick) which offer advanced courses in specific mathematical subjects. I can say that these courses are very useful for the mathematical training of anyone involved in any area of ​​mathematics.

I am enjoying my course and have been learning many new things every day. The Mathematics Department is very well structured with good rooms, seminar rooms, teaching rooms, computer lab rooms and many excellent lecturers. The professors here are very friendly and always ready to help. Studying in Bristol has been a priceless experience for me and I'm sure it will enormously contribute to my career as a mathematician and to my personal life.

The University of Bristol is very well located in the city of Bristol and this is amazing, since everything is quite close to the University. Bristol is a very nice city, probably one of the best places invUK. It's got all the good things the big city has, and yet it is a calm and safe place and is close from London. The city has good train and coach stations and even an airport where you can not catch only direct flights to other cities in the UK, but also to many other cities.

I highly recommend to my friends in Brazil to apply and come to study here, I guarantee you will be a unique experience and very rewarding academically, professionally and personally.

James: Science, a labour of love

At times I wonder if the outside world sees science, and the way it is done, as geeky people in basements pouring money into a big machine, during the handle and out comes science. However, I see it far more as a heady set of ups and downs as you strive towards an answer.<br>
For instance take my last two days. I have had the pleasure of coming to conduct some work at Oxford university. Although the work was conducted in a darkened room it was far from just turning a handle, I have been put through a phenomenal number of emotions; from palpable anticipation through confusion to heart breaking disappointment. <br>
The actual work conducted is of little importance to discuss here but I feel the manner is of interest. I have never before sat back and realised the extent to which I am invested in my work, but it us not just me others are too. I think it is in the elder members of academia where it is most evident, as some old guy getting excited over what experiment to run next as if they are a 5 year old discussing what they are going to ask Santa for.
I think the long and the short of it is science research isn't driven by money, although it does nudge you in more profitable directions, it is driven by the fact we are just genuinely interested. I personally hope I never lose the thirst for knowledge and that I can pass the bug onto as many as possible.

James: Perception of Science

I often wonder what the world thinks of science and scientists as through out my life I am surround by those within the bubble, as it were. To try and unravel what maybe thought of us by the outside world you have to look at what hits the main stream news and popular culture.

Looking the popular view you get tv shows and definitely Prof Brian Cox with his previously life as a pop star with D:Ream. I see things such as the big bang theory being created showing and increase the scientists stereotype, that is they are socially awkward brainy people that are funny to laugh at as they fail to fit in with the world around us. Brain Cox on the other hand has come to previalance because he is the exact opposite, like Richard Feynman he is easy to talk to and has the ability to explain complex ideas with ease for everyone to understand. Now I am not saying we are all like Brian but think of it this way. We wouldn't have science if scientists where unable to communicate.

This then leads me to labels. Prof Cox labels himself a geek, and you could say that those comic book loving social outcasts in big bang are nerds. But really what is the difference. Can you be a nerd, without being geek or vice versa. Interestingly a team that put together a 'Geek Calender' this year, containing snaps of people like Simon Singh and Ben Goldacre, have at the head of their website 'nerds on the march'. This would suggest that a 'nerd' driven movement has created a calender about geeks.

Admittedly these points lead me further from finding the difference between nerd and geek, but more importantly I see the use of the words changing. No longer are people negatively labelled using these words but more using it as an empowerment.

James: An Interview with Dr Tom Scott

When I was asked to interview someone from my research group I knew instantly the man to go to. Dr Thomas B Scott, PhD, MSci, Director of the Interface Analysis Centre (IAC) and Honorary Lecturer in Earth Sciences. The reason for this is I thought Tom’s mentality would be perfect for it, coupled with the fact I myself have found want to ask him questions about himself as he has risen to success early in life, something any aspiring academic would want to emulate.

Tom did his PhD here at Bristol in environmental geochemistry and mobility of uranium and its potential for uptake by iron and iron-bearing minerals, which he loved to such a degree that he stayed to do research, which lead into his current area of research: Nuclear materials - safe storage, environmental transport, structures and fundamental properties.

When asked why did you come into, and stay in, academia his response was: “I like the idea that any day you could come into the lab, run an experiment and find out something new that nobody has ever seen before. I'd also like to leave a positive mark on humanity by contributing something which helps make a better world”. I feel this shows the kid-like excitement of discovery and the hope to do good in the world. However, with being director and honorary lecturer Tom doesn’t just get to do research, as he pointed out himself, he misses working in the lab everyday (even if it is just to stop us making a mess). One of the extra things that Tom really enjoys about his job is getting new grant funding for the IAC, indeed in his own words "I like winning!" and "winning" grants at times has given Tom so much glee that he has run round the department for a round of hi-fives.

When asked what a typical day was in the life of Dr Tom Scott, the response surprised me somewhat:

Get up at 6.40am; breakfast; help get little ones fed; get dressed; help get little ones dressed; get to work by 8.45am after dropping off little ones at nursery; check emails; deal with urgent issues;  planned phone calls; meetings; 1-2 hours personal research work; 1 hour (or more) of student work and/or issues; Have lunch in office about 4pm; pick up little one by 5.15pm; get home and have dinner; get kids in the bath and then bed by 7.15pm; 8pm onwards check emails and continue working for a few hours; go to bed knackered and hope the little ones sleep through.

The things that stuck out to me most where the time he has to get up in the morning coupled with the time until lunch, add to that continuing to work after getting his children to bed. It gives me more respect for him, and I think in future will stop me being so miffed when I can not find him to help me with my own ends. I get up after him and never do work after I have left the office.

One of my more benign questions during the interview was: Do you work to music? Some people are very different, for instance I have music on constantly where as other require complete silence. Tom it turns out tends towards classical music most notably Ludovico Einaudi, an Italian composer and pianist. Little known fact, as well as being known in classical circles Ludovico has also done some music scores for films mostly in Italian but also ‘This is England’.

When asked about time out of the office at conferences and whether he thought them productive, he used the example of a conference in Slovakia he had just been to. To make the most of his time there he went with a “game plan":

1) Deliver a kick-ass talk that showed the AWE and all others attending that  in Bristol we're doing some fantastic science and have some fantastic facilities.

2) Then capitalise on the interest generated by my talk to cultivate international research links and collaborations with other senior researchers. Down the road this might lead to FP7 or similar funding.

3) Spend time with guys from the AWE, to strengthen relationships and engage in future research planning. This is VERY important.

4) Watch talks to improve my general background understanding in different areas of actinide/nuclear science. It’s also a prime opportunity to spot good PhD students from Europe that are close to finishing. I can then target them to bring them to Bristol on Marie Curie fellowships.

5) Have a few full nights of sleep.

This is quite different to the "jolly" I thought they were going on off to Slovakia, I was expecting it to be more like a holiday but on expenses.

Finally I wrapped up the interview by asking what Tom’s short and long term goals were. To which the response was some simple things like "go skiing" and "teach the kids to play tennis". Some personal challenges: "complete the 3-peaks and run another half marathon". Then there were loftier goals which are "grow the IAC; become a Professor; start and own a successful company; retire by 55; keep doing research for fun."

Posted by James.

Welcome to the new bloggers!

The first Science Faculty blogging course has been running for several weeks now and it's time that the new bloggers made their first appearance here! So, here are excerpts from the first exercise I set them for homework, a blog "inspired by" our first session. Do leave a comment, give them some encouragement!

My first blog meeting ever

As I was walking back home, I was thinking a lot about my first blogging experience. Why do I want to learn how to blog? What do I hope to gain? Truth be told, I’ve never really paid much attention to blogs. I have a Facebook account and a page so I can promote my research, but I never thought about blogging. Even worse, I had no idea that the Science faculty had one (yes, I am deeply ashamed of my ignorance).

Then again, there are so many things I don’t know. Ever since I moved to Bristol from Athens, every day is a new experience. Sometimes I feel like I am a toddler exploring the world around me. My limited capacity processor (aka brain) tries to process the stimuli, and though it is not always successful, I still make an effort anyway. Like in the dream, I keep trying to dial the right number or wake up trying.

So, back to the original question: to blog or not to blog? Would the world be interested in my thoughts? Would I care if they didn’t? How would I feel if people didn’t like my way of thinking? Would I get upset?

I have no idea whatsoever. There is only one-way to find out. I think I should blog. I should just say what I think and see what happens.

Hello world !!! My name is Ypapanti, I am Greek (thus the I-don’t-think-I-can-pronounce-this name) and you can call me Papi.

Ypapanti Chochorelou, 3rd year Psychology undergraduate. See the Science Faculty portrait of her here.

Blogging Everywhere

Last Tuesday was the kick off for the first Science Faculty Blogging Course, and to be honest, I was skeptical about the idea of a blogging course, because, I've always had the idea that write a blog should be very intuitive, not too sophisticated, that you don’t need to have previous instruction - basically, such a friendly coffee talk! However, it was totally cool, because somehow the blogging experience became real with people with different background and interests. So, I would like to share my experience reading and writing blog stuff using my iPod and some exciting apps...

...In my experience, I will always prefer to edit and publish entries on a PC or laptop, but sometimes the ideas don’t pop up in the right moment, for those kind of unexpected moments, I use a text editor called Plain Text. As the app of the same title, it’s a simple editor like the default notes app, with the extra features that allows you to create and organize folders and sync everything with Dropbox. Nevertheless, the minimalist paper-like user interface makes the experience of writing and creating something simple and elegant, without distractions (nasty ads), only you and an entire world to be walked and discovered.

Well, I’m at the end of this first entry, so the only thing that I have to say is that almost every app is good. Maybe these that I’ve reviewed are the more boring, complex, least reliable and awful in the whole world, but it all relies on the experience of each user. Which ones are the best for you?

Angel Sanchez, PhD student, Chemistry.

My first blog post

Does the following paragraph grab most audiences?

“A significant seismological event of magnitude 9.1-9.3 has ruptured the fault boundary between the Indo-Australian and southeastern Eurasian plates on the 26 December 2004. Rapid fault slip of up to 15 meters occurred in the southern portion of the belt but to the north the slip was much smaller.”

I’ve just described the technical details of the 2004 Boxing Day Sumatra earthquake. But I definitely haven’t engaged you (unless you are a seismologist). Simply put, this was an earth-shattering event only surpassed in magnitude by the recent Japanese earthquake. There was so much energy that the Earth literally tore apart - the ocean floor ripped apart for over 1,300 km. That’s roughly the distance of Edinburgh to Prague. Hopefully that’s a bit more readable.

(I hope you’re still reading, I’m now trying to be a little less science-y but old habits die hard and all).

This is the reason why I think scientists need to bash down their barriers and blog! It’s not just the journalist’s role to bring science to the public – scientists and journalists need to work together. This is why I am going to start learning how to write again and try to make science engaging and fun for all. (See, even by just writing that last sentence I feel unscientific and bordering on cheesy).

So blogging is what I am learning to do and this is my first attempt. Hopefully why I want to blog has come across to you reading this and that you made it to the end. Actually, I think that what I wrote isn’t just specific to blogging, more of a call for scientific engagement but I am seeing scientist blogging more and more and it’s time I got involved.

Elspeth Robinson, PhD student, Earth Sciences.

On the Difficulty of Communicating Mathematics.

In the first session of the blog course we were asked to write a little post about what we had done that day, 03/29/2010. I then wrote about my usual day of research in mathematics and how to practically use only pencil, eraser, paper and some books and sometimes the computer.

It was then that the theme for my second homework for the blog course arose. When I told course participants and the instructor of the course that I do research in mathematics I saw, I believe, from the questions from some of the people and their expressions, that they are interested in math and really would like to know what research in mathematics is.

Some of the questions that arose on the day about research in mathematics were:

1-) Why research in mathematics is important?
2-) Why is mathematics important and which is the usefulness of the mathematics?
3-) How is research in mathematics done?
Answering these philosophical questions is not a trivial task and must be analyzed carefully. n the rest of my post I'll try at least to start with this discussion and those questions that arose as a curiosity of the participants in the blog course. Due to the small space here I will deal with a more different and simple question: What are the main areas of research in the department of mathematics at the University of Bristol and what they mean?

The research in mathematics can be divided into research in pure mathematics, applied mathematics and in statistics (note that this division is not an absolute truth, because even the division of pure mathematics, applied mathematics and statistics can be discussed as a philosophical question about the nature of the mathematics). At least here in the department of mathematics at the University of Bristol...

Hopefully in the next post or on the next opportunity I will try to explore these issues and other questions which arose through the curiosity of the participants of the blog course.

Julio Andrade, PhD student, Mathematics

To blog or not to blog…..what is the question?!

I arrived about an hour late for our first blogging session. High on Lemsip it took me a while to locate the group through the misty paracetamol fog but there they were. My fears that this had all been some cleverly orchestrated practical joke were set aside. I had been looking forward to this course for a while so I wasn’t going to let a dose of freshers’ flu defeat me! I was slightly worried that, having spent the last three years of my life writing as a scientist in short, staccato sentences, I would have lost the ability to string together a sentence of more than 5 words. That one was 37, all is not lost.

So this last session got me thinking about what I wanted to get out of this. I did a quick search to see who was blogging in my field and I stumbled across a number of blogs devoted to interesting biology and weird science. Most with an aim to engage people with information both bizarre and visually appealing. One to aspire to is Arthropoda, the collective thoughts of a grad student from the University of Maryland. It has a great combination of interesting personal encounters with strange animals, stunning photography and sound but easily digestible science.

The wildlife in Bristol seems less exciting but this is probably because it is too familiar and I don’t pay it enough attention. Searching “most boring blog” via Google to get some perspective led me to ‘the dullest blog in the world’ with entries such as ‘Straightening the doormat’:

‘February 7th, 2010

I noticed that the doormat was at a slightly crooked angle. I reached down and moved the mat back into its correct place. The edge of the mat was then perpendicular to the door.’

Back on topic (not entirely sure what it was to start with) its really impressive and quite daunting the number and quality of science blogs out there. If I’m going to make my own I’ll have to find something I’m passionate and knowledgeable about, two things spring to mind, deep sea fish and cheese. Perhaps I can combine the two. I’ve searched it, it doesn’t exists, horay! Time to get thinking of a snappy title.....

Milly Sharkey, PhD student, Biology.

Stream of conciousness

I have blogged before and enjoyed it, however, I felt every word I wrote must be perfectly crafted as any and every person in the world would be able to see it once posted.

Yet just in the short opening to our first meeting I realised that blogging isn’t supposed to be perfect it is supposed to be an opening to a dialogue. Now thanks to that the ‘chore’ of writing being lifted, I can’t stop myself from writing. I find words flowing back on to the page with ease, an un-hindered flow of conciseness onto the page. With no ugly read lines appearing, or even worse green ones.

Further more the best thing, arguably, I took away was meeting everyone else. I love meeting new people and learning about them. So a collection of scientists from so many walks, of which I know little to nothing, panders to my urge to learn. It will be interesting to see how we all feel about each other’s subject. Although we are all scientists your view of the same science can be different. I know from personal experience as I think that I took the easy option when it came to sciences. For instance I have the up most respect for biologists and organic chemists as they are required to learn so much more. I just learn one thing and apply it, probably in a vacuum with no friction or other external forces to make it easier. {http://xkcd.com/669/}

This first session has just wet my appetite and I look forward to more. I think this could lead to a very fruitful end, and the production of something worth reading or even better worth commenting upon.

James "Ed" Darnbrough, PhD student, Physics.

Positive and negative charges

When I left the first workshop (which I really enjoyed), I did also feel some trepidation about what I would write about. Working on the assumption that it is always best to go with your instincts, and the first thing that comes to mind, I decided to write this post about my ambivalence about blogging. Tania had said write anything at all about the first session that comes to mind and so I decided to take on board what she said about having an authentic voice, which is of course true. Speaking with honesty will always encourage an honest response.

So what is my ambivalence about then …. The true definition of ambivalence is to be in the state of having both positive and negative valence towards someone or something. Today, although part of the online generation, I have very conflicted feelings about the constant exposure that is a natural product of being part of the social network. It has to do with being an essentially private person, or maybe just a product of an older generation than my fellow bloggers in this group. In truth, I feel uncomfortable about revealing too much of myself to complete strangers, even though, when blogging to what would hopefully be a wider audience, they would be people I probably wouldn’t ever know.

This reluctance of mine is why I resisted joining Facebook for so long, despite the numerous people who used to moan at me because I wouldn’t join. Of course, now I am on it I wonder why I didn’t join long ago. ...

However, the downsides are that I worry too much that Facebook separates me from real-world interactions with people - how often do I send a quick Facebook message when I could phone instead, hear my friends’ voices and have a proper chat. The other ‘negative’ which relates more to blogging (and I may seem a bit intolerant here) is to do with the sheer banality of some people’s Facebook posts. The same is true of blogging – I have previously read some which have just been incredibly boring and, frankly, puerile. Having said that, there are numerous blogs out there which do inspire, enthuse and interest me enormously.

Still, this all sounds horribly negative which I didn’t want it to do. The reason I joined the course is that I feel very passionately that I want to post on the science blog in order to share and communicate my love of science, and, in particular, how the application of scientific techniques to archaeological problems has, over the last few decades, significantly increased our understanding of the actions and behaviours of past peoples.

Julie Dunne, PhD Student, Organic Geochemistry

Well, that's your - and their - first taste of blogging on the Science Faculty blog, I think it's going very well. There will be more coming soon - if there's something you'd like them to blog about, leave a comment, we'll see what we can do.

Thought lab life was dull and boring? Think again!

One of the scientists at the lab I am writer-in-residence in sent this around yesterday and I think it's wonderful! It's for all of you non-scientists who think science is about hard fact, about right and wrong, about automatons in lab coats who reveal the truth of existence on a daily basis. Umm, no, not quite...

"Roche Continents: Arts and Science" - a PhD student's experience

I am very lucky in that I landed in a lab that already has a lot of interest in arts+science, primarily through pHd student Becky Jones, who organises the annual Art of Science contest in the Faculty of Medical and Veterinary Science. The competition calls for researchers to submit images from their work that they think have artistic merit, and this year it has widened applications to include postgraduates and staff as well as PhDs.

Becky recently flew to Salzburg to take part in the "Roche Continents: Arts and Science" program which, says Roche, "has been created for students and post-docs aged 20 to 29 from across Europe. Through “Roche Continents” you can experience performances of contemporary music and try to uncover the common ground of creativity in the arts and science." I asked Becky to tell me a bit about the week:

Tania. What made you apply for this workshop? What did you think you might get out of it?

Becky: I wanted to experience a) the working of a pharmaceutical company b) the world of opera c) the fusion of fantastic arts brains with science ones, all things I had no real knowledge of, but a great intrigue and even a slight fear of. I also liked the mystery that there was so little said about what the week would entail and what to expect, so it was blind, exciting. Jetting off to Austria, all expenses paid, to shmooze with artists, it seemed very mysterious and glamorous and a fantastic contrast to the life I was leading as a PhD student

T. What was your first impression when you arrived?

B: There was a kind of dead awkward opulence when I first arrived at the Tourism school in Salzburg for Roche Continents. The first thing I noticed was a small man with a video camera on a tripod filming our arrival, I felt slightly like royalty but also slightly uneasy as to what to expect from this week and the level of intrusion and voyeurism. I quickly got the impression we were there to be worked into a mold for a good Roche employee, whilst also being lured to possible job opportunity by the lavish reception, food, wine, compliments to a credentials etc. But then they were also incredibly generous and thoughtful - the lady organising saw I had a sore throat and gave me a set of throat sweets (Roche brand of course) and told me to look after myself. She had learned all our names and faces by heart (also slightly odd and big brother), but seemed to really care how we were are would do anything for you. I think the awkwardness in hindsight of the proceedings is possibly an Austrian/Swiss thing, the manner is stand-offish but polite and efficient, and as I eased into their way of doing things I felt a lot more comfortable.

T. What was the thing that most surprised you about the whole week?

B: The speed at which everyone relaxed around each other and worked together. After the first day I already felt like I had a group of close friends. There was also a lot of freedom to create whatever you liked during the final project we were set, this made me feel like being back in school which a set of felt pens and paper in hand. Was very open to debate and criticism of Roche and the pharma industry in general. That's something I expected to be shot down, but they were very open and honest about their role in the world for good and bad.

T: What kinds of people were doing the course and what did they seem to
enjoy about it?

B: There were composers, musicologists, fine/interactive arts students, a women who sang opera in The Hague, but the majority were organic chemists, useful for synthesising drugs, of course. There were a few like me who were from a more biological background but we were in the minority among scientists. Everyone who came saw it as an amazing opportunity, many of the artists not quite knowing why Roche wanted to pay for them to come (although it became clear that although there were no jobs on the horizon for them - they could mingle with possible future investors in their concert/exhibits/galleries). The chemists were also there to scout for future jobs and be scouted. I was just there to take it all in.

T. What is the first thing you wanted to tell someone about it when you
got back?

B: "Wow what an amazing time", amazing people, amazing place, amazing hospitality, so many operas, but really great to see them and learn about the process behind the composition. The cost was the main thing I talked about, the investment they had made in us (200 euro opera tickets etc). I also felt very relaxed and confident and had a new lease of life to attack my PhD work.


T. Do you think it has affected the way you do science or the way you see
your scientific future?

B: Yes I am a lot more proud of what I do, but also more certain that the motives that drive brilliant scientists are not what drive me. Those drivers are not learned but innate and so I realise as much a I understand and love my science, it isn't my way of thinking and isn't my passion in the same way that I observed in others on the workshop. It also made me realize you don't have to dedicate yourself to one thing, as I met a girl who did a joint undergraduate course in chemistry whilst studying concert level flute and becoming a professional musician. It has inspired me to go live a life that suits me, that may not be corporate but that will allow me to be passionate about all the things I used to be when I was a child. I saw people there who just wanted a great job with great pay, I saw people who would never jeopardize their integrity or do something they didn't want to be doing. It made me realise, probably against their objectives, that I am probably not cut out to be a research scientist in a pharma company but was very inspired to think about different ways to be creative and inspired by my work.

Thank you, Becky, I have no doubt that you will be!

There's Science in My Fiction... And Poetry

I'm running this event tomorrow night at the British Science Festival in Birmingham - come along if you're in the area! It's free... no need to book.

There's Science in My Fiction... And Poetry

 7-10pm, Wed 15th Sept, The Old Joint Stock Function Room

"What if..?" ask both scientists and fiction writers. What if a gene mutates? What if she never married him? Science is fabulous inspiration for fiction - come read out your science-inspired stories and poems to win great prizes, including a Focus magazine subscription and champagne. Science-inspired authors Tania Hershman, Sue Guiney and Brian Clegg will judge. Put some science in your fiction!

More details here.

Hollywood Comes to the Lab?

I was just listening to an interesting program on Radio 4, Scientists Go to Hollywood (not available on Listen Again, sadly), about scientists who consult for Hollywood films, and it gave me an idea.

Why is it always a one-way street?

Why not the other way around?

Why not get a Hollywood director into the lab? How helpful might that be? I think it could be fantastic.

"Ok," says Hollywood Director (HD), "Who's the good guy here?"

"Umm," says PhD student, "Well, we think this protein plays a major role in wound healing."

"Great!" says HD. "So, so in Act 1 we see your protein doing his job, healing wounds, and then there's the Inciting Incident: he gets a bump on the head and he's knocked clean out."

"OK!" says the PhD student, getting excited. "So, he can't do his job. So no wounds get healed at all. And then there's the bad guy..."

"The villain, very important," says HD, who is looking around the lab and seeing dollar signs and record-breaking first weekend's takings.

"Who is wounding and wounding, and it looks like none if it will ever get healed..." shouts the PhD student, pounding a fist on the bench. "And there's only 24 hours to save the world!"

"Ok, pal, slow down," says HD. "Where's the love interest? There's gotta be attraction..."

 "Oh yes," says the PhD student. "There are the immune cells, they head for the wound..."

"Ok, ok, and one of them falls in love with our good guy..." says HD, gazing across the microscope and seeing golden statuettes.

"Um, well, I'm not sure..." says the PhD student.

"That's all we need so far, kid" says HD, putting an arm around the student's shoulders. "Now let's talk budget".  

You see where I'm going with this, right? I think this is a winning combination! Scientist is helped with plot development, Hollywood funds life-saving research in exchange for exclusivity on the story... everyone benefits! Writer-in-residence, move over, Hollywood-director-in-residence applications open soon.

Guest Blog Post: Nick Riddle Makes Friends With Science

I'm delighted to welcome Nick Riddle to the blog! Nick is a writer and editor in the University's Public Relations Office. Take it away, Nick:

As a child I had a fear of dogs. There was no very good reason - they just seemed intimidating. When, as an adult, I overcame this phobia, I started taking an extravagant pleasure in making the acquaintance of certain dogs. I’d make a fuss of them and let them lick my face, which occasioned a few concerned remarks from friends: ‘You know, you really don’t have to let him do that...’

It’s been a bit like that with science. I was your classic science-averse kid who resisted the advances of biology and chemistry, neither of which gained a purchase on my imagination. At home I was captivated by TV science - James Burke’s Connections, Carl Sagan’s Cosmos - but by then I’d dropped the science subjects and was grinding my way miserably through O-level Maths.

But years (and two arts degrees) later, as a writer working at Indiana University, I started interviewing academics about their work. One such subject was a particle physicist who tested laptops and other electronic devices for their resistance to radiation. Even now, when I read the resulting article, I can sense the relish of the younger me trying out his facility for language on a new subject. It was partly the challenge of tackling something new, but there was also a thrill involved in feeling at ease (relatively speaking) with something I used to think of as intimidating.

A neuroscientist could probably tell me which chemicals are sloshing about when this happens (dopamine? You see, I get a little kick just out of throwing the word in there), but I’m willing to bet that they’re the same chemicals at work when I’m saying hello to my friend’s beagle.

These days, as co-editor of Bristol’s Subtext magazine, I get to meet and interview a goodly number of the University’s scientists: astrophysicists, chemists, neuroscientists, biologists, mathematicians - the full range of academic breeds. I don’t imagine for one moment that I’ve understood more than a fraction of their work, and I’d like to do an awful lot better, but just getting to grips with a topic and finding words to describe it can still hit the spot.

So when I knock on the office door of the next scientist - audio recorder in hand, web printout of their research summary in pocket - chances are that I’m silently repeating my mantra: Go ahead, science - lick my face.

Thanks so much, Nick, a lovely image to end on! If you'd like to contribute a guest blog post, please email me at tania.hershman@bris.ac.uk. All contributions welcome!

Tania Talks about Science

I was thrilled last week to be invited to take part  - along with Dr Ben Goldacre and Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock - in a discussion on Radio 4's Off the Page program entitled "Blinded by Science". It was broadcast today at 1.30pm and is available on iPlayer for 7 more days.

I got the chance to talk about being writer-in-residence in the University labs, and I read out the first short story I've written inspired by being where science is done. Not sure what the scientists in the lab I am embedding in will make of it! (Comment here, guys, if you like...!)

Hope you enjoy it, I think it was an interesting discussion!

Let's Get Liminal! Scientific Art & Artistic Science, June 30th

 Mer de Glace, EMMA STIBBON

What happens in that space where science meets art and art meets science? Come along to this half-day seminar to have a look at what's going on and what will be happening, both at Bristol University and outside. Speakers will be showing films of mathematicians and scientists talking about how they do what they do, beautiful scientific images, an artistic collaboration between a glaciologist and an artist, a course on creativity for medical students and more...


We are delighted to welcome special guests Oron Catts, director of SymbioticA, Australia's artistic laboratory dedicated to the research, learning, critique and hands-on engagement with the life sciences, and UK-based artist Kira O'Reilly, a former SymbioticA artist-in-residence. Scroll down for more information about the speakers. 

When: Wed June 30th 2010, from 2-6pm, including drinks & nibbles, 
FREE EVENT

Where: NSQI Centre, Tyndall Avenue (opposite the Arts and Social Sciences Library)

What's Happening:  

2.00 - 2.10 Welcome: Tania Hershman, Science Faculty Writer in Residence 

2.10 - 2.25 Maggie Leggett, Director, Centre for Public Engagement, 2011 Changing Perspectives exhibition 

2.25 - 2.45 Professor Jon Keating, Dean of the Science Faculty, Chrystal Cherniwchan, Science Faculty films and portraits 

2.45 - 3.15 Dr Louise Younie, Catherine Lamont-Robinson, Out of Our Heads, creativity for medical students 

3.15 - 3.30 Becky Jones, organiser, The Art of Science Competition 

3.30 - 3.50 Dr Giles Brown (glaciologist) and his artistic collaborator Emma Stibbon 

3.50 - 4.00 BREAK 

4.00 - 4.20 Kira O'Reilly, artist, SymbioticA residency 

4.20 - 5.05 Oron Catts, director, SymbioticA, art and science collaborative research lab 

5.05 - 6pm Drinks & nibbles

Speakers:

Tania Hershman is fiction-writer-in-residence in Bristol University's Science Faculty. Find out more at www.taniahershman.com.

Maggie Leggett: Head of Department, Centre for Public Engagement. Maggie will be introducing Changing Perspectives, an exhibition planned for Spring 2011 which seeks to engage and alter the perspectives of a wide range of people though art inspired by science – life, physical and social science - produced by artists in collaboration with University of Bristol staff and students.

Professor Jon Keating is Dean of the Faculty of Science and Professor of Mathematical Physics.

Chrystal Cherniwchan studied photography at the Alberta College of Art & Design, in Canada. After completing her BFA, she spent several years assisting and developing her own documentary practice. Chrystal is now based in the UK, and is currently working on a series of short documentary films and portraits, profiling mathematicians and scientists at the University of Bristol. www.chrystalcherniwchan.com

 

Dr Louise Younie is aGP and teaching fellow at Bristol University's Medical School. she also delivers a 2nd year taught SSC "Exploring the creative arts in health and illness". This involves co-facilitation with artists and creative therapists where the students engage in dialogue, reflection and their own creative work. Creativity and the arts in medical education was also the topic of her MSc dissertation. 

Catherine Lamont-Robinson is an artist and curator of Out of Our Heads, a project by students and staff of University of Bristol Medical school to showcase creative work. It is often said that medicine is both Art and Science. In the modern medical curriculum there is a goodly amount of science. But what about the Art? What is it, is it important and should it be part of the curriculum?

Becky Jones is a PhD student in the Department of Biochemistry and the organiser of The Art of Science, a competition in the Faculty of Medical and Veterinary Sciences in collaboration with @Bristol. The challenge, open to postgraduates across the faculty, was to represent scientific research in all its aesthetic beauty.

 

Dr Giles Brown is a glaciologist in the University's School of Geographical Studies, focussing on glacier meltwater hydrochemistry, chemical weathering processes and rate in mountain/cold environments; snow chemistry; glacier and snow hydrology. He collaborated with artist Emma Stibbon: The emphasis of Stibbon’s research is on the relationship between the mutability of place and the process of drawing.Exploring the temporal qualities of a glacier through drawing. An artist working primarily on paper, she has established her reputation through a wide exhibition profile and a series of residencies and awards.

Kira O’Reilly is a UK based artist; her practice, both wilfully interdisplinary and entirely undisciplined, stems from a visual art background; it employs performance, biotechnical practices and writing with which to consider speculative reconfigurations of bodies.

Since graduating from the University of Wales Institute Cardiff in 1998 with a BA (HONS) in Fine Art, her performance works have been exhibited widely throughout the UK, Europe, Australia, China and Mexico.

In October 2004 she completed an artist residency at SymbioticA, School of Anatomy and Human Biology, University of Western Australia, funded by a Wellcome Trust sciart research and development award. She was concerned with exploring convergence between contemporary biotechnical tissue culturing and traditional lace making crafts, using the materiality of skin at its cellular level as material and metaphor. She has continued and expanded these investigations as artist in residence in the School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, funded by Arts Council of England and Wellcome Trust where she is investigating using spider silk and bone, muscle and nerve cell cultures as biomedia, and the relations between tissue, text and textile – as variants on the theme of techné with writing outcomes.

In 2009 new works included falling sleep with a pig (2009) commissioned by The Arts Catalyst for INTERSPECIES. She presented Stair Falling (2009) exhibited as part of Marina Abramovic Presents . . . at Manchester International Festival. Her work inthewrongplaceness (2005 – 2009) was curated by Jens Hauser in the highly successful sk-interfaces, Creating Membranes in Art, Technology and Society, at Casino Luxembourg.

In autumn 2010 she beings an AHRC funded three year creative fellowship at Department of Drama, Queen Mary University of London; Thresholds of Performance: Between Body, Laboratory and Text.

Oron Catts is director of SymbioticA, an artistic laboratory dedicated to the research, learning, critique and hands-on engagement with the life sciences. SymbioticA’s emphasis is on experiential practice. SymbioticA facilitates a thriving program of residencies, research, academic courses, exhibitions, symposiums, and workshops. Researchers and students from all disciplines work on individual projects or in interdisciplinary teams to explore the shifting relations and perceptions of life.

As a research centre within the School of Anatomy and Human Biology at The University of Western Australia, SymbioticA enables direct and visceral engagement with scientific techniques. Crossing the disciplines of art and the life sciences, SymbioticA encourages better understanding and articulation of cultural ideas around scientific knowledge and informed critique of the ethical and cultural issues of life manipulation.

Tania's Tales from the Lab Part 2: Live!

So today I'm the one who is experimenting - this blog post is coming to you live from the lab! Want to know what scientists actually do during the day? Or, if you are a scientist, is this lab more fun than yours? Only kidding...Please leave comments!

My laptop was stolen two days ago so I am blogging from my mobile phone, forgive any odd spelling.

12pm weekly lab meeting.

One person presents their work, everyone else eats lunch. Here goes...Ok, it's acronym city, and I've only heard of one of them so am a bit (very) lost. Like the idea of knockdowns. Sounds like cells meeting at High Noon!

12.25
Oooh, pretty pictures! Cells, I think. Hmm. Ah, once again, the word "story" is used in talking about the direction of research, what questions are going to be asked. Like this idea. And I like the word "vesicle".

12.40
Funding. It always comes down to money, doesn't it?

1.05
Meeting over, back in the lab office, and the post has arrived. What is it? Fish! M opens the square polystyrene box and there are two squarish clear containers, with blue liquid and dozens of baby zebrafish. They look happy, says M. How can you tell? And do you ever think that there are fish wandering around Royal Mail?

2.05
Having a fascinating discussion with E who is writing up her PhD thesis, and M, who did his PhD in Canada, where it took 6 years instead of the 3 here in the UK. Is a 6-year PhD an entirely different degree?

2.15

E is in a flat with three other women, all of whom are writing their PhD theses now and having such different experiences: one has a special desk assigned to her in the department so she can concentrate, one has a supervisor who won't get back to her with comments on her first chapter. E has a great supervisor but no good place to write: the lab office isn't quiet, her downstairs neighbours at home just had a baby and upstairs they are doing renovations!

Very interesting talk about supervisors - so much depends on who you get, you might even say that this relationship is vital for the course of science. If you get on well, if they are helpful, maybe a PhD student will continue on in science, or in this field, but if the relationship is fraught, difficult, your journey might take an entirely new direction.

2.55
E shows me her introduction, which is the size of my short story collection. This is just chapter 1! Am quite happy that I can sort of follow what it is talking about. We discuss how, plot-wise, the thesis doesn't really get into the action til Chapter 3, but of course that isn't the main consideration.


3.20
Am actually in the lab now as opposed to the lab office next door. When I first started embedding, Radio 2 was always on. Seemed like an odd choice. How did it affect experiments, I wondered. A few weeks later, I dared to change to Jack FM, which plays mostly 80s and 90s music and no talking! Will this affect anything? Then last week - no radio! No-one seemed to know who turned it off.... And today, Jack FM back on. Who is operating the lab radio?! (just heard Valerie by Steve Winwood. Nice.)

4.01

M has just shown me a new site he and Y recently discovered: The Journal of Visualized Experiments. It's totally amazing! It's like cookery shows for scientists:

How to dissect a fruit fly:
First, take specific-sized tweezers, then pull here...
shake twice for 3 minutes each...

And there's the postdoc, in his lab coat, being made to be the presenter, looking like he might burst out laughing as he talks to the camera. Is this the 40th time he's had to say this? Will future PhD students have to take a screen test? Next stop: Science TV? Love it! They have a Facebook group too.

4.24
B is having a bad day. She did something with gels and the result was completely baffling. Nothing appeared when something definitely should have shown up on the gel. A few week ago B had the opposite problem - too many things showed up on the gel in places they shouldn't. So M is helping out by testing the primer she used (do I sound like I know what all this means? Good!). M is just loading the gel - what will happen? Excitement is mounting! Jack FM is playing All I Need is A Miracle! Stay tuned....

bottle being filled with extra-pure water

4.34

Still waiting... M starting the electrophoresis. Will take 25 mins. Breath is bated.

4.45
Pipettes don't look like they did when I was at school. Bit scary, eh?

5.01
We head back into the lab. B watches as M gets the gel out and puts it in the machine which will show if there's something on it... And yes, there's something there!

But... wait.

It's not the right thing. Something's up. There's a stripe where there shouldn't be, and a blank space where there should be a stripe. It's inconclusive. M will have to do it all again. And this one test takes several days to prepare for.

Now this is science and it's not what you normally hear about - tests that when they work properly are "beautiful", says B, but can go wrong for so many different reasons. Some could be to do with the supplier who supplied the primer, say. Or a contaminated tube? There are so many steps involved in getting to the point where you even do the test, that doing it all again is a fairly exhausting and disheartening prospect. But there's no choice. B needs to see if a certain gene was present. She needs to know. So: one more time. Tomorrow is another day.

5.15 and I'm heading home. This has been great, but I think next time I will just scribble in my Moleskine, as I have been doing, and enjoy the tranquility involved in not being able to rush anything, having to wait. And then I will capture my reflections on the blog later. 

Tania's Tales from the Lab Part 1

I'm one of those people who gets a thrill from the smell of a chemistry lab. Talk to me of quarks and mesons, and my stomach is aflutter! But I wasn't cut out to be a scientist, it seemed. A BSc in Maths and Physics demonstrated that I didn't have what it took to dedicate myself to research – and I also realised that I wanted to work with words instead of elementary particles. So I became a science journalist. But fiction was my first love, and in 2008 my first short story collection, The White Road and Other Stories, was published. Half of the stories in the book were inspired by articles from New Scientist, because I just couldn't leave that science connection alone. I'm not the only one: there's quite a bit of science-inspired fiction out there, check this out.

So, the next natural step? Get inspiration directly from the place where science is being done. And that's what I did. Let me introduce Bristol University Science Faculty's first writer-in-residence. Nice to meet you.

I've only just begun, so there's not a great deal to report yet. I am headquartered in the brand-new and very beautiful Nanoscience and Quantum Information Centre (NSQI), but free to roam around the university, sniffing out those chemicals and large hadron colliders (alright, maybe only small hadron colliders.). The plan is to spend two days a week embedded in a lab, or perhaps several labs, asking lots of ridiculous questions, learning about how science is done, who does it, why they do it, what they do on a daily basis. And then my brain, which works in fairly odd ways, will stew on all of this, and somehow from it I will write short – and very short – stories. One of these stories will be published here each month, as well as regular blog posts so you can follow what I'm up to. I'm also aiming to get some of the lab rats writing fiction too, by running a few flash fiction workshops. (What is flash fiction? See my website here)

So far, I've been to a seminar on quantum tunnelling at the NSQI, and spent some time in the glass-walled “fishbowl” room there, intended to inspire interaction and encourage multi-disciplinary collaboration. And last week I spent a day and a half in Professor Paul Martin's biochemistry lab. I learned so much in just that time, there is so much that those outside the practice of science have no idea about. For example: how do you get to work in a lab? Do you answer a job ad? What radio station is best to have on in the background? Do scientists call themselves “scientists”? I will be visiting this lab more often, will report back on my findings! I also blog regularly about writing at TaniaWrites.

In the meantime, here's one I wrote earlier, a science-inspired flash story, The Painter and the Physicist. More tales from the lab soon. Blog post 2

The Painter and the Physicist

While I settle in to my writer-in-residence position at the Science Faculty, here's a piece of science-inspired flash fiction I wrote last year, which was read by an actress at a Liars league event in London (you can listen to the reading here) This story is entirely fictional, not based on spending any time with physicists or painters, or the two together! Just from my imagination.

The painter and the physicist
by Tania Hershman

The curtain is pulled back.
Yes? Says the assistant.
I've come... to see. To see the painter.
And you are...?
I... I'm the physicist.
One moment, says the assistant and the curtain falls back again.

The painter doesn't turn round.
Send the physicist in, says the painter, cleaning a brush.

The physicist sits on a stool, watching as the painter chooses colours.
So, says the painter, you're a physicist.
Yes, I... Theoretical physics.
Unseen. You imagine what's there.
The physicist is uncomfortable, shifting a little, the stool leg rocking. The painter is mixing two colours on the palette. The physicist watches the painter and wonders how it works, what the eye sees, what the eye knows.
I suppose, says the physicist. Yes, that is certainly one way to put it. Some might say we, umm, guess. We are just guessers. I mean, well, educated guessers! He laughs, shortly, quickly.
Electrons, says the painter. What do you think an electron looks like?
Looks like? An electron?
Does it have colour? says the painter, licking the tip of the paintbrush.
I... I don't...
Don't think, says the painter.
Blue, says the physicist, who doesn't see the painter grinning.
Blue. A blue electron.
Yes, says the physicist, whose mind is trying to ask what the relevance of this can possibly be to current research projects. Cobalt, says the physicist, unsure exactly what shade this. Or azure.
Cobalt, or azure. Very specific, says the painter. Wavelengths make all the difference, don't they.
Yes! says the physicist, who almost falls off the stool. The way a colour hits the eye. I mean.. I'm not a biologist, of course, I'm not familiar with the structure, the rods and the cones and...
Neutron, would that be white, says the painter, who has now added several brushstrokes to the canvas.
Well, I suppose so, although now that you ask, I imagine them more as, well, grey. The physicist looks at the canvas and wonders if a question would be appropriate at this point. Your painting, says the physicist quietly.
You want to know if I know what it is going to look like, says the painter.
You don't have to... please don't feel you, I mean, I just came to.. It's your..
There is something, says the painter, turning away from the canvas and towards the stool where the physicist, uncomfortable again, is fidgeting. The painter holds up the brush and then holds it out. Something. I can see it out of the corner of my eye, a hint of it. But, if I try and look at it directly, it vanishes. I have to move towards it...
Slowly, yes, says the physicist. Like a small animal, or a child. So you don't...
Scare it, says the painter. The painter smiles again, still facing the physicist. Theories, says the painter. For you, too?
Yes, says the physicist, who hasn't thought about falling off the stool for quite some time now.
Later, when the canvas is half-covered, the painter puts the brushes down and suggests they go for a drink. In the pub corner, the physicist has a single malt, the painter a glass of dry red. The painter picks up the physicist's glass and holds it to the light.
Look at that, says the painter. The shades of gold.
The way the photons hit the liquid, some are reflected, some pass through.
It shimmers, says the painter. Hard to capture that, hard to express the movement, the angles, the flow.
I could, says the physicist, tell you about flow, give you equations, write it down on a napkin.
Xs and ys, says the painter, grimacing.
Hey, says the physicist, tongue loosened. Those are my colours.
What colour is an X? says the painter, sipping the dry red, thinking of ochre, scarlet, black.
Green, says the physicist, who has never imagined it before, but now, once the word emerges, sees it all over the blackboards, the whiteboards, the pages of notebooks.
And if I said to you, X must be pink, says the painter.
No, says the physicist. Wrong.
Aha! says the painter.
Oh, says the physicist, and grins. I see. And if I said to you, paint the sky brown...
It's been done, says the painter, who doesn't like to be predictable. The physicist nudges the painter's elbow and then wonders where the boldness comes from.
Are you telling me, says the physicist, that there is no wrong?
Oh, says the painter. I don't... well. I couldn't. I mean...
Aha! says the physicist, getting up. Another round?

The next day, the painter paints; the physicist teaches a class. The day after that, they sit together again, in the pub. The following week, the painter visits the physicist. In the space between them, colours flow.



To read more of my short and short short stories, please visit www.taniahershman.com.