U3A SciTech Group
Previous Years' Programmes
Previous Years' Programmes
Back to the current programme
2012
Jan 20 David Cox – How drugs work in our bodies
Feb 17 Denis Yell – “Big Business - evil or misunderstood?"
Mar 16 Ros Cole - Cognition
Apr 20 Nicola Tee - Sports Science
May 18 Keith Lovell - How a Car Works
Jun 15 Ray Smith – Getting it Right First Time
Jul 20 John Marriage / Ros Cole – Your Eyes
Sep 21 Eden Thomson – Tides
Oct 19 Patrick Shepherd – Planetarium, + evening visit to NLO the following week – Weds 24th at 19.00, £5
Nov 16 Jeff Bolam – Weather
2013
Jan 18 Richard Doney - "Turning a Grapefruit into a Mushroom" - The incredible story of how an idea that something the size of an grapefruit could destroy a city was made a reality.
Feb 15 Val Doney – The Heart and the Circulation of the Blood
Mar 15 David Croman - Things You Wondered About Freud - But Were Afraid to Ask
Apr 19 Maurice Liddiard – The Three Parent Child
May 17 Ros Cole – Phobias
Jun 21 John Marriage – Charges and Sparks – The Mysteries of Static Electricity (live demo)
Jul 19 Ray Smith – Thermionic valves + Richard Doney – Life and Death of a Star
Sep 20 Denis Yell – Hidden Engineering – the big Cover-up
Oct 18 Nicola Tee – Newton to Einstein – One Small Step
Nov 15 Richard Godfrey & David Halberstadt – Our Joints (now including practical demonstrations!)
2014
Jan 17 Enrich your Future - A recorded lecture by Prof. Tom Kirkwood of Newcastle University
Feb 21 Fred Humphrey – TV lighting as it used to be (live demo)
Mar 21 Richard Doney – Untangling the Internet
May 16 Denis Yell & Keith Lovell – The Truth about Fracking
Jun 20 David Cox - Some Lifestyle Mysteries of our Birds and Butterflies
Jul 18 Steve White - Space Weather Research on Ascension Island
Sep 19 Val Doney - Immunology
Oct 17 Ros Cole – Communication (especially non-verbal)
Nov 21 Paul Bohane – Apr 7 1964 and how it’s affecting YOUR life now
2015
Jan 16 Geoff Townson - “The history of a pebble - a 900 million year Round Trip” - a pebble from a Dorset beach with worm burrows made 450 million years ago on a beach 50 degrees south of the equator...
Feb 20 Nicola Tee & Gerald Clark - The Science & Technology of Nuclear Power Part 1
Mar 20 Eclipse morning! - Richard Doney
Apr 17 Eden Thomson - Cephalopods
May 15 Nicola Tee & Gerald Clark - The Science & Technology of Nuclear Power Part 2
Jun 19 Geoff Townson - Geomythology
Jul 17 Richard Doney et al - Questions
Sep 18 Paul Bohane – Apr 7 1964 and how it’s affecting YOUR life now
Oct 16 Ros Cole - Lichens
Nov 20 Kevin Benfield – Synesthesia
2016
Jan 15 Steve Coles - Where do our drugs come from: a short history of medicines
Feb 19 Stella Huyshe-Shires - Lyme Disease
Mar 18 Bob Miles (Sidmouth U3A) - Nanotechnology
Apr 15 Richard Doney – Comedian wins Nobel Prize, the life and achievements of Richard Feynman … PLUS … Gravitational Waves
May 20 Geoff Kirby (Weymouth U3A) - Ancient Mathematics
Jun 17 Nicola Tee - Thinking fast, thinking slow
Jul 15 Eden Thomson – Biological Light
Sep 16 John Marriage - Harmonography
Oct 21 Richard Doney - Are you smarter than a 10 year old? - the retake
Nov 18 Keith Shaw (Exeter U3A) – The Digitisation of the UK Telephone Network
2017
Jan 20 Steve Coles – Proteins and the Human Genome
Feb 17 Steve White – The BBC South Atlantic Relay Station
Mar 17 Hilary Naylor – Astronomy: What the Very Small can tell us about the Very Large
Apr 21 Steve Coles – Human Genome research: it's impact on current understanding of disease
May 19 Bob Speer - Listening in on the Universe A Demonstration Lecture.
June 16 Tony Fitzpatrick - The Importance of the Minus Sign
Jul 21 Kevin Benfield – Perception – The Science of Seeing
Sep 15 Steve Coles – Senile Dementia
Oct 20 Jim Wiles – How to MoT a Nuclear Power Plant
Nov 17 Richard Pinion (Sidmouth U3A) – The Science of Christmas
2018
Jan 19 Joss Kent - Airborne research undertaken by the Met Office
Feb 16 Geoff Townson: Two Billion Years - Four Snapshots & a Projection
Mar 16 Richard Doney - To Boldly Go
Apr 20 Steve Coles - Antibiotic resistance
May 18 Bob Speer - Gold and Platinum (a talk with demos)
Jun 15 Nicola Tee - Automotive power systems - past, present and future.
Jul 20 Richard Pinion (Sidmouth U3A) - Tommy Flowers, The Man who Changed the World
Sep 21 Ros Cole - Slime Moulds
Oct 19 Kevin Benfield - Consciousness
Nov 16 Richard Doney - The Gaia Survey
2019
Jan 18 Bob Speer - A Pound of Paper. Treasures from the Book World. With demos!
Feb 15 Guy Hayden - Why can I still see when I'm 40? ... and other marvels of ophthalmology
Mar 15 Sugendran Govender - The Future of Dentistry
Apr 12 Steve Coles - Sleep
May 17 Brian Young - Meteorology
Jun 21 John Marriage - Electrochemistry
Jul 19 Kevin Butcher (Weymouth U3A) - SONAR - SOFAR 50 years of UK sonar development
Sep 20 Paul Bridge - Why is Penicillin called Penicillin?
Oct 18 Ros Cole - Fungi - Rotters, little and large
Nov 15 Maurice Liddiard - Waterwheels + Fred Humphrey - Sundials
Jan 20 David Cox – How drugs work in our bodies
Feb 17 Denis Yell – “Big Business - evil or misunderstood?"
Mar 16 Ros Cole - Cognition
Apr 20 Nicola Tee - Sports Science
May 18 Keith Lovell - How a Car Works
Jun 15 Ray Smith – Getting it Right First Time
Jul 20 John Marriage / Ros Cole – Your Eyes
Sep 21 Eden Thomson – Tides
Oct 19 Patrick Shepherd – Planetarium, + evening visit to NLO the following week – Weds 24th at 19.00, £5
Nov 16 Jeff Bolam – Weather
2013
Jan 18 Richard Doney - "Turning a Grapefruit into a Mushroom" - The incredible story of how an idea that something the size of an grapefruit could destroy a city was made a reality.
Feb 15 Val Doney – The Heart and the Circulation of the Blood
Mar 15 David Croman - Things You Wondered About Freud - But Were Afraid to Ask
Apr 19 Maurice Liddiard – The Three Parent Child
May 17 Ros Cole – Phobias
Jun 21 John Marriage – Charges and Sparks – The Mysteries of Static Electricity (live demo)
Jul 19 Ray Smith – Thermionic valves + Richard Doney – Life and Death of a Star
Sep 20 Denis Yell – Hidden Engineering – the big Cover-up
Oct 18 Nicola Tee – Newton to Einstein – One Small Step
Nov 15 Richard Godfrey & David Halberstadt – Our Joints (now including practical demonstrations!)
2014
Jan 17 Enrich your Future - A recorded lecture by Prof. Tom Kirkwood of Newcastle University
Feb 21 Fred Humphrey – TV lighting as it used to be (live demo)
Mar 21 Richard Doney – Untangling the Internet
May 16 Denis Yell & Keith Lovell – The Truth about Fracking
Jun 20 David Cox - Some Lifestyle Mysteries of our Birds and Butterflies
Jul 18 Steve White - Space Weather Research on Ascension Island
Sep 19 Val Doney - Immunology
Oct 17 Ros Cole – Communication (especially non-verbal)
Nov 21 Paul Bohane – Apr 7 1964 and how it’s affecting YOUR life now
2015
Jan 16 Geoff Townson - “The history of a pebble - a 900 million year Round Trip” - a pebble from a Dorset beach with worm burrows made 450 million years ago on a beach 50 degrees south of the equator...
Feb 20 Nicola Tee & Gerald Clark - The Science & Technology of Nuclear Power Part 1
Mar 20 Eclipse morning! - Richard Doney
Apr 17 Eden Thomson - Cephalopods
May 15 Nicola Tee & Gerald Clark - The Science & Technology of Nuclear Power Part 2
Jun 19 Geoff Townson - Geomythology
Jul 17 Richard Doney et al - Questions
Sep 18 Paul Bohane – Apr 7 1964 and how it’s affecting YOUR life now
Oct 16 Ros Cole - Lichens
Nov 20 Kevin Benfield – Synesthesia
2016
Jan 15 Steve Coles - Where do our drugs come from: a short history of medicines
Feb 19 Stella Huyshe-Shires - Lyme Disease
Mar 18 Bob Miles (Sidmouth U3A) - Nanotechnology
Apr 15 Richard Doney – Comedian wins Nobel Prize, the life and achievements of Richard Feynman … PLUS … Gravitational Waves
May 20 Geoff Kirby (Weymouth U3A) - Ancient Mathematics
Jun 17 Nicola Tee - Thinking fast, thinking slow
Jul 15 Eden Thomson – Biological Light
Sep 16 John Marriage - Harmonography
Oct 21 Richard Doney - Are you smarter than a 10 year old? - the retake
Nov 18 Keith Shaw (Exeter U3A) – The Digitisation of the UK Telephone Network
2017
Jan 20 Steve Coles – Proteins and the Human Genome
Feb 17 Steve White – The BBC South Atlantic Relay Station
Mar 17 Hilary Naylor – Astronomy: What the Very Small can tell us about the Very Large
Apr 21 Steve Coles – Human Genome research: it's impact on current understanding of disease
May 19 Bob Speer - Listening in on the Universe A Demonstration Lecture.
June 16 Tony Fitzpatrick - The Importance of the Minus Sign
Jul 21 Kevin Benfield – Perception – The Science of Seeing
Sep 15 Steve Coles – Senile Dementia
Oct 20 Jim Wiles – How to MoT a Nuclear Power Plant
Nov 17 Richard Pinion (Sidmouth U3A) – The Science of Christmas
2018
Jan 19 Joss Kent - Airborne research undertaken by the Met Office
Feb 16 Geoff Townson: Two Billion Years - Four Snapshots & a Projection
Mar 16 Richard Doney - To Boldly Go
Apr 20 Steve Coles - Antibiotic resistance
May 18 Bob Speer - Gold and Platinum (a talk with demos)
Jun 15 Nicola Tee - Automotive power systems - past, present and future.
Jul 20 Richard Pinion (Sidmouth U3A) - Tommy Flowers, The Man who Changed the World
Sep 21 Ros Cole - Slime Moulds
Oct 19 Kevin Benfield - Consciousness
Nov 16 Richard Doney - The Gaia Survey
2019
Jan 18 Bob Speer - A Pound of Paper. Treasures from the Book World. With demos!
Feb 15 Guy Hayden - Why can I still see when I'm 40? ... and other marvels of ophthalmology
Mar 15 Sugendran Govender - The Future of Dentistry
Apr 12 Steve Coles - Sleep
May 17 Brian Young - Meteorology
Jun 21 John Marriage - Electrochemistry
Jul 19 Kevin Butcher (Weymouth U3A) - SONAR - SOFAR 50 years of UK sonar development
Sep 20 Paul Bridge - Why is Penicillin called Penicillin?
Oct 18 Ros Cole - Fungi - Rotters, little and large
Nov 15 Maurice Liddiard - Waterwheels + Fred Humphrey - Sundials
2020 |
|
Jan 17 |
Bob Speer - Solar Eclipses 1850-2500 |
Feb 21 |
Colin Osborne - Bees |
Mar 20 |
[Covid-19 - No Meeting] |
Apr 17 |
ONLINE - Steve Coles - Infections of the Respiratory Tract |
May 15 |
ONLINE - Six short talks by members on a variety of topics |
Jun 19 |
ONLINE - Prof. Chris Paul - Geological clocks |
Jul 17 |
ONLINE - The Doney Family - Vitamin D & "So you think ..." |
Sep 18 |
ONLINE - Steve Coles - COVID-19 update Plus Dr Keith Jones - Invasive Aliens (Plants!) |
Oct 16 |
Hilary Naylor - Norman Lockyer |
Nov 20 |
ONLINE - Steve Coles - COVID-19 update (vaccines) Plus Robin Brand (Weymouth U3A) - The Skylark Rocket |
2021 |
|
Jan 15 |
Richard Doney - Life on Venus - or not? |
Feb 19 |
Barry Zussman - The igNobel Awards |
Mar 19 |
Steve Coles - Vaccines |
Apr 16 |
Ruth Worsley - Grey Long-eared Bats |
May 21 |
Ian Black - Lucretius |
Jun 18 |
David Croman (Bridport) - Dorset Reptiles |
Jul 16 |
Leigh Edwards (Exeter) - Artificial Intelligence |
Sep 17 |
Barry Zussman - Little Wonders of Evolution |
Oct 15 |
Max Beran - Benford's Law |
Nov 19 |
Paul Hearn - Radio Astronomy and the Contribution of the Independent Researcher |
2022 |
SciTec Group Programme |
Jan 16 |
John Marriage - Blowing Hot and Cold in the 1980s |
Feb 18 |
David Youll - Introduction to Quasars |
Mar 18 |
[cancelled - speaker has Covid-19] |
Apr 22 Move to Woodmead! |
Dave Farrier - So you want to develop an onshore windfarm? [note the now-revised date avoiding Good Friday] |
May 20 |
Richard Doney - Crystals and Chips |
Jun 17 |
Bob Speer - Adventures in Solar Physics With demonstrations |
Jul 15 |
Peter Williams - Exoplanets |
Sep 16 |
Steve Coles - Our Microbiome |
Oct 21 |
Ray Helm - Technical developments in the world of humanitarian aid. |
Nov 18 |
Richard Doney - The James Webb Space Telescope |