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A list of talks related to sustainability and the environment
URL: http://talks.cam.ac.uk/show/index/22840
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Mon 02 Mar 14:30: Title to be confirmed

Mon, 01/12/2025 - 13:32
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Mon 23 Feb 14:30: Title to be confirmed

Mon, 01/12/2025 - 13:32
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Mon 16 Feb 14:30: Title to be confirmed

Mon, 01/12/2025 - 13:31
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Mon 09 Feb 14:30: Title to be confirmed

Mon, 01/12/2025 - 13:31
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Mon 02 Feb 14:30: Title to be confirmed

Mon, 01/12/2025 - 13:26
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Mon 26 Jan 14:30: Title to be confirmed

Mon, 01/12/2025 - 13:21
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Wed 28 Jan 14:00: Friends, neighbours and enemies: cell-to-cell communication times of stress

Wed, 26/11/2025 - 15:57
Friends, neighbours and enemies: cell-to-cell communication times of stress

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Mon 16 Mar 13:00: Title to be confirmed

Mon, 24/11/2025 - 17:22
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Mon 24 Nov 13:00: CANCELLED

Mon, 24/11/2025 - 09:21
CANCELLED

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Thu 27 Nov 10:00: URÅNIA: Unique Research Asset for Nuclear Innovative Applications

Fri, 21/11/2025 - 17:03
URÅNIA: Unique Research Asset for Nuclear Innovative Applications

Materials response to harsh irradiation, temperature and corrosive media is hindering the successful realisation of innovative nuclear fusion, advanced fission technologies for sustainable energy production and human exploration of faraway planets. Specifically, materials early failures prevented these scientific longstanding endeavours. The current paradigm is for scientists to focus in understanding the initiation stage of degradation while engineers usually focus on developing mitigating solutions to delay initiation and propagation. But what if we could change the current paradigm and focus directly into understanding the reasons for initiation of materials degradation? URÅNIA shifts the current approach by focusing directly on the incubation stage prior to initiation events thanks to a new sophisticated methodology capable to reveal precursors affecting the transition from incubation to initiation and by linking their nanoscale effect to macroscopic behaviour. URÅNIA aim is to accelerate the development of innovative nuclear technologies tackling materials degradation issues by leveraging a combination of cutting edge analyses thanks to interdisciplinary competences across nuclear, chemistry, materials science and engineering and unique experimental capabilities thanks to a synergistic collaboration with world leading institutions. URÅNIA goal is to unlock our fundamental knowledge of materials degradation so to be able to develop degradation resistant materials that can aid in all those key forefront technologies in energy and space.

Biography

Claudia Gasparrini is a nuclear scientist and Academic Visitor in the Department of Materials & Centre for Nuclear Engineering at Imperial College London. In 2024 she was awarded a 1.5M€ European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant URÅNIA: Unique Research Asset for Nuclear Innovative Applications. She worked in the nuclear industry as Senior Consultant in Jensen Hughes (Energy + Utilities) within JH/EXCEL Services nuclear team on projects internationally, and previously as business development manager. As scientist she worked on projects in both fission and fusion specializing in nuclear materials performance and degradation. She was awarded a EUR Ofusion Grant hosted at Consorzio RFX , Italy targeting materials performance of the Divertor Tokamak Test Facility and ITER Neutral Beam Test Facilities in collaboration with Imperial, UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) CCFE MRF , Bristol University and ENEA . She worked as Research Associate in the Department of Materials at Imperial investigating neutron irradiation embrittlement of nuclear reactors pressure vessel steels in collaboration with the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), Australia and the UKAEA Materials Research Facility (MRF), UK within the Neu Irr Steels programme where she led and supported the shipping of neutron irradiated steels to the MRF and the microscopy analyses across several Universities and development of mechanical testing. She also researched ion irradiated steels in collaboration with ANSTO and collaborated on micromechanical testing development. She obtained a PhD in Ceramics/Nuclear Materials from the Department of Materials at Imperial focusing on oxidation of non-oxide nuclear fuels in collaboration with the UK National Nuclear Laboratory. She collaborated with the Institut de Chimie Séparative de Marcoule, France and the Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), Cadarache, France to use advanced microscopy techniques on nuclear carbide fuels. She kept researching non-oxide nuclear fuels in collaboration with the University of New South Wales (UNSW), Australia and ANSTO . She researched and worked in the field of nuclear waste management and decommissioning with an internship in Hitachi-GE Nuclear Energy, Ltd in Japan and during a MSc research placement in the field of permanent disposal of spent nuclear fuels at Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Sweden. She holds a BSc and MSc from Padua University on Chemical, Materials and Process Engineering and she studied Nuclear Chemistry and Nuclear Engineering at KTH as ERASMUS student.

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Wed 03 Dec 14:00: Heterogeneity and seasonal cycle of eddy-sea ice interactions (Josue Martinez) if you wish to attend and are external to BAS please let the organisers know ahead of time so they can let you in at reception

Thu, 20/11/2025 - 14:15
Heterogeneity and seasonal cycle of eddy-sea ice interactions (Josue Martinez)

Sea-ice ocean interactions occur at a diverse range of temporal and spatial scales; here I will focus on the mesoscale and sub-mesoscale ranges of motion. The first part of this seminar will explore the sea ice roughness dependence on the presence of eddies by using an idealised re-entering channel simulation (NEMO + SI3 ). An increase in the strength of the eddy intensity leads to a more spatially variable sea-ice cover during the freezing period, and it is capable of modifying the variability of the ice thickness over winter. Then, the second part will explore the seasonality of the kinetic energy on sea ice-cover oceans and the seasonal modulation of the oceanic scales of motion by sea ice.  Overall, the impact of eddies on the sea ice heterogeneity and their seasonality are processes that will become more important as the Arctic transitions towards a summer ice-free regime.

if you wish to attend and are external to BAS please let the organisers know ahead of time so they can let you in at reception

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Thu 27 Nov 11:30: Developing high performance materials for hydrogen production

Wed, 19/11/2025 - 11:31
Developing high performance materials for hydrogen production

Abstract not available

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Fri 23 Jan 17:30: Notes and noises in nature: not a swan song?

Tue, 18/11/2025 - 16:59
Notes and noises in nature: not a swan song?

Abstract

Nature is full of music, from tiny birds with melodious songs and elaborate repertoires to majestic whales with inaudibly low voices propagating around the globe. As far as we can tell, however, the music is not often just for pleasure and has evolved serving a purpose. Animals are almost continuously busy with their sonic flirts and fights, whether we hear them or not, in air and water, day and night. The acoustic ecology of species-specific habitats has shaped this music over evolutionary time. The circumstances, however, for the function and evolution of animal communication have changed in air and in water, with the global spread of noisy human activities. In the Anthropocene, we can even speak of ‘acoustic climate change’ and attention and action is required for moderating the acoustic future of the earth for the sake of animal song persistence and our own physical and mental health.

Biography

Hans Slabbekoorn is professor in Acoustic Ecology & Behaviour. He did his BSc and MSc in Biology at Utrecht University (1988-1994), and received his PhD at Leiden University (1994-1998). After post-doctoral positions at San Francisco State University (1998-2001) and back at Leiden University (2001-2004), he stayed in Leiden at the Institute of Biology and became Assistant Professor in 2004, Associate Professor in 2012, and Full Professor in 2022. He has been away for brief periods as visiting professor, at Paris Nanterre, France (2011), NFU , Harbin, China (2015), FUB , Salvador, Brazil (2017), and Anton de Kom University of Suriname, Paramaribo (2025). Over the years, he has worked on plants, primates, birds, fishes, marine mammals, and invertebrates. In recent and ongoing projects, he is investigating the effects of noise and light pollution in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and he is particularly interested in applying the one health concept to urban ecology and providing fundamental knowledge to ecological impact assessments of the offshore wind energy transition. Besides research, he is dedicated to teaching and has been responsible for courses on: Behaviour & Conservation, Trends in Behaviour & Ecology, Animal Behaviour and Experimental Design, Advanced Academic Skills, Urban Ecology & Evolution, and seminar series on Human Evolution and Animal Personality.

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Wed 19 Nov 17:30: Nuclear Medicine in Practice: Protons vs Cancer One of three speakers presenting

Mon, 17/11/2025 - 11:32
Nuclear Medicine in Practice: Protons vs Cancer

What is radiotherapy and how do we harness the proton to help battle cancer? I’ll try and shed some light on exactly what we do in a radiotherapy department, how proton therapy converts a particle accelerator into a tool to fight cancer, and what a physicist does day to day in a hospital. I’ll try and give a quick virtual tour of the deepest proton therapy centre in the world, at University College Hospital (UCLH); cover some of the new and upcoming clinical trials and development we are involved in, and maybe show how it’s not that far removed from your own work here at Cambridge.

Andrew Gosling is a senior clinical physicist at the University College London Hospitals (UCLH) Proton Therapy Centre (one of two NHS proton therapy centres in the UK). I joined UCLH in the early stages of the project and has been involved in the preparation, development, commissioning, and now clinical roll out of the proton therapy project at UCLH .

His primary work areas are the proton system dosimetry and commissioning of the treatment planning system, alongside the development of an independent Monte Carlo dose verification system. He has helped develop many of the treatment techniques within UCLH , am involved in various clinical trials, joint first author of the CTRad UK consensus guidelines for reporting proton and photon plans for clinical trials, and is actively developing Python and ESAPI scripts for data analysis and plan assessment.

I previously completed a PhD in Astrophysics at Oxford and worked as a post-doctoral researcher in Oulu (Finland) and Oxford as well as a telescope support astronomer.

One of three speakers presenting

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Wed 19 Nov 17:30: Nuclear Medicine in Practice: From Primary Standards to Primary Care - Metrology in Nuclear Medicine One of three speakers presenting

Mon, 17/11/2025 - 11:31
Nuclear Medicine in Practice: From Primary Standards to Primary Care - Metrology in Nuclear Medicine

Nuclear Medicine brings together functional Biology and Physics through the use of radioactivity, creating a powerful diagnostic and therapeutic tool. The National Physical Laboratory (NPL) is the UKs National Metrology Institute and is responsible for the traceability of measurements made in all aspects of daily life. Measurement is at the core of many processes and by improving the metrology surrounding nuclear medicine, diagnostic and therapeutic outcomes in the clinical environment can become more effective leading to earlier diagnosis of disease and more effective treatments. This talk will take you on a tour of NPLs current research in nuclear medicine and its application in the real world incorporating the importance of fundamental physics research, traceability, uncertainty and accuracy. Andrew Fenwick received a B.Sc.(Hons) in Physics from the University of Wales, Aberystwyth in 2007 before joining the National Physical Laboratory. Andrew studied part-time at the University of Surrey to achieve an MSc in Radiation Detection and Instrumentation in 2012. His PhD thesis entitled ‘Traceability of 89Zr in Positron Emission Tomography’ was accepted at Cardiff University in 2022. Andrew has worked in a range of fields at NPL including decommissioning, nuclear decay data and standardisation but has specialised in nuclear medicine metrology since 2012. He contributes to the primary standardisation of radionuclides, undertakes nuclear decay data measurements and evaluations, and undertakes research on metrology for imaging and dosimetry in nuclear medicine. He works closely with clinical partners and academia to ensure metrological research is disseminated to users around the world. Andrew is currently leading a European Project to establish traceability in nuclear medicine across Europe (Euramet – ETrain) as well as leading PET /CT projects at NPL . Andrew has contributed to more than 70 peer reviewed articles, with over 550 citations. Andrew is a scientific committee member of the International Committee for Radionuclide Metrology (ICRM) and is a member of the Institute of Physics (IoP), the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine (IPEM), the British Nuclear Medicine Society (BNMS) and the European Association of Nuclear Medicine (EANM).

One of three speakers presenting

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Wed 19 Nov 17:30: Nuclear Medicine in Practice: Transition of operations from HFR to PALLAS One of three speakers presenting

Mon, 17/11/2025 - 11:31
Nuclear Medicine in Practice: Transition of operations from HFR to PALLAS

The current High Flux Reactor in Petten is approaching its end of economical life. As this reactor produces nuclear medicine used for 30.000 patients per day, it needs to be replaced to ensure uninterrupted supply to hospitals. For this the new PALLAS reactor is currently being constructed and an overlap in the operational life of both reactors is foreseen to enable this uninterrupted supply. The transition of operations should allow for commissioning, product validation and ramp up to reliable production. This has an impact in many fields, for instance production processes, staffing, training, waste management and required utilities. This presentation will focus on the current insights planning and preparing for this transition.

Roland Ruiterman, 48, did his master’s at Delft University of Technology. His career started off as a commissioned officer in the Royal Netherlands Navy. After this he switched to the nuclear industry, working at the Doel NPP and for the last 13 years at NRG PALLAS , mainly in management positions for the High Flux Reactor. His current role is to ensure that the new PALLAS reactor will seamlessly fit into the supply chain, while at the same time phasing out the HFR towards decommissioning.

One of three speakers presenting

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Wed 19 Nov 16:30: Nuclear Medicine in Practice: From Primary Standards to Primary Care - Metrology in Nuclear Medicine One of three speakers presenting

Thu, 13/11/2025 - 16:36
Nuclear Medicine in Practice: From Primary Standards to Primary Care - Metrology in Nuclear Medicine

Nuclear Medicine brings together functional Biology and Physics through the use of radioactivity, creating a powerful diagnostic and therapeutic tool. The National Physical Laboratory (NPL) is the UKs National Metrology Institute and is responsible for the traceability of measurements made in all aspects of daily life. Measurement is at the core of many processes and by improving the metrology surrounding nuclear medicine, diagnostic and therapeutic outcomes in the clinical environment can become more effective leading to earlier diagnosis of disease and more effective treatments. This talk will take you on a tour of NPLs current research in nuclear medicine and its application in the real world incorporating the importance of fundamental physics research, traceability, uncertainty and accuracy. Andrew Fenwick received a B.Sc.(Hons) in Physics from the University of Wales, Aberystwyth in 2007 before joining the National Physical Laboratory. Andrew studied part-time at the University of Surrey to achieve an MSc in Radiation Detection and Instrumentation in 2012. His PhD thesis entitled ‘Traceability of 89Zr in Positron Emission Tomography’ was accepted at Cardiff University in 2022. Andrew has worked in a range of fields at NPL including decommissioning, nuclear decay data and standardisation but has specialised in nuclear medicine metrology since 2012. He contributes to the primary standardisation of radionuclides, undertakes nuclear decay data measurements and evaluations, and undertakes research on metrology for imaging and dosimetry in nuclear medicine. He works closely with clinical partners and academia to ensure metrological research is disseminated to users around the world. Andrew is currently leading a European Project to establish traceability in nuclear medicine across Europe (Euramet – ETrain) as well as leading PET /CT projects at NPL . Andrew has contributed to more than 70 peer reviewed articles, with over 550 citations. Andrew is a scientific committee member of the International Committee for Radionuclide Metrology (ICRM) and is a member of the Institute of Physics (IoP), the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine (IPEM), the British Nuclear Medicine Society (BNMS) and the European Association of Nuclear Medicine (EANM).

One of three speakers presenting

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Wed 19 Nov 16:30: Nuclear Medicine in Practice: Protons vs Cancer One of three speakers presenting

Thu, 13/11/2025 - 16:32
Nuclear Medicine in Practice: Protons vs Cancer

What is radiotherapy and how do we harness the proton to help battle cancer? I’ll try and shed some light on exactly what we do in a radiotherapy department, how proton therapy converts a particle accelerator into a tool to fight cancer, and what a physicist does day to day in a hospital. I’ll try and give a quick virtual tour of the deepest proton therapy centre in the world, at University College Hospital (UCLH); cover some of the new and upcoming clinical trials and development we are involved in, and maybe show how it’s not that far removed from your own work here at Cambridge.

Andrew Gosling is a senior clinical physicist at the University College London Hospitals (UCLH) Proton Therapy Centre (one of two NHS proton therapy centres in the UK). I joined UCLH in the early stages of the project and has been involved in the preparation, development, commissioning, and now clinical roll out of the proton therapy project at UCLH .

His primary work areas are the proton system dosimetry and commissioning of the treatment planning system, alongside the development of an independent Monte Carlo dose verification system. He has helped develop many of the treatment techniques within UCLH , am involved in various clinical trials, joint first author of the CTRad UK consensus guidelines for reporting proton and photon plans for clinical trials, and is actively developing Python and ESAPI scripts for data analysis and plan assessment.

I previously completed a PhD in Astrophysics at Oxford and worked as a post-doctoral researcher in Oulu (Finland) and Oxford as well as a telescope support astronomer.

One of three speakers presenting

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Wed 19 Nov 16:30: Nuclear Medicine in Practice: Transition of operations from HFR to PALLAS One of three speakers presenting

Thu, 13/11/2025 - 16:29
Nuclear Medicine in Practice: Transition of operations from HFR to PALLAS

The current High Flux Reactor in Petten is approaching its end of economical life. As this reactor produces nuclear medicine used for 30.000 patients per day, it needs to be replaced to ensure uninterrupted supply to hospitals. For this the new PALLAS reactor is currently being constructed and an overlap in the operational life of both reactors is foreseen to enable this uninterrupted supply. The transition of operations should allow for commissioning, product validation and ramp up to reliable production. This has an impact in many fields, for instance production processes, staffing, training, waste management and required utilities. This presentation will focus on the current insights planning and preparing for this transition.

Roland Ruiterman, 48, did his master’s at Delft University of Technology. His career started off as a commissioned officer in the Royal Netherlands Navy. After this he switched to the nuclear industry, working at the Doel NPP and for the last 13 years at NRG PALLAS , mainly in management positions for the High Flux Reactor. His current role is to ensure that the new PALLAS reactor will seamlessly fit into the supply chain, while at the same time phasing out the HFR towards decommissioning.

One of three speakers presenting

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Mon 17 Nov 14:30: Luca Guglielmi-Modelling Neuronal Morphogenesis Across Species: a Purkinje Cell’s Journey to Utmost Complexity; Susannah McLaren-Spatially organised cell behaviours in morphogenesis and symbiosis

Thu, 13/11/2025 - 09:07
Luca Guglielmi-Modelling Neuronal Morphogenesis Across Species: a Purkinje Cell’s Journey to Utmost Complexity; Susannah McLaren-Spatially organised cell behaviours in morphogenesis and symbiosis

Name: Luca Guglielmi

Affiliation: Postdoc at MRC LMB

Title: Modelling Neuronal Morphogenesis Across Species: a Purkinje Cell’s Journey to Utmost Complexity

Abstract:

The human cerebellum contains approximately 80–90% of all neurons in the adult brain. During evolution, its expansion contributed substantially to the remarkable size of the human brain and to the emergence of complex behaviours such as tool-making and language. Species-specific differences are particularly evident in cerebellar Purkinje cells (PCs), the largest and most elaborate neurons in the human brain, which display disproportionate dendritic complexity compared to other species. However, the mechanisms underlying PC scaling remain poorly understood, as reproducing advanced stages of cerebellar development in vitro has remained a major challenge. By balancing self-organization with guided differentiation, I have established a new in vitro model of cerebellar development that enables the study of late gestational stages previously inaccessible. Under these conditions, PCs undergo conserved morphogenetic transitions across distinct developmental phases in vitro, progressing on species-specific timescales that closely mirror in vivo trajectories. By combining quantitative morphometry with cross-species comparisons, I am investigating the human-specific mechanisms driving disproportionate PC morphogenesis and their contribution to cerebellar growth and evolutionary scaling.

Name: Susannah McLaren

Title: Spatially organised cell behaviours in morphogenesis and symbiosis

Abstract: How do different organisms interact to unlock new possibilities for life? The symbiosis between cnidarians, including corals and sea anemones, and algae provides a striking example. Algae residing inside the host’s cells provide key nutrients derived from photosynthesis, enabling survival in nutrient-poor environments and unlocking the existence of the planet’s most biodiverse ecosystems – coral reefs.

This photosynthetic symbiosis is highly sensitive to the physical environment. Many symbiotic partnerships break down under light and heat stress in an event called ‘bleaching’, where algal symbionts are lost from the host. However, some partnerships can persist under environmental change, raising the question – how do corals and algae build a symbiosis for survival in a given environment?

Using high-resolution imaging, molecular biology approaches and physical perturbations we are exploring how multicellular cnidarians and their single-celled algal partners interact to build a symbiotic relationship as the host develops from a ball of cells into an adult polyp. We reveal that symbionts are not passively accommodated but dynamically patterned within the host during morphogenesis and show that this organisation can be remodelled under environmental change. Overall, our work aims to reveal fundamental principles of how interacting organisms dynamically shape each other’s biology to survive in challenging ecological niches.

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