Nutrition science studies how micro-organisms, plants and animals gather together the atoms that they need to fulfil the genetic potential for a life that was created at their conception. The talk begins with a consideration of the evolution of atoms. More than 40 different atoms are needed to construct a human being. Life is an oxidation process, a slow-burning fire. Throughout life, we are constantly exchanging our atoms with their opposite numbers in our environment. It is unlikely that any human is materially older than 10 years: only our basic design persists. At death, all our atoms are returned to the environment; our acquired experiences appear to be lost; our designs are temporarily lost until our genomes evolve again on other planet Earths across the universe. If energy can neither be created nor destroyed, existence is an eternal phenomenon. This talk will show that every atom matters.

The mid 20th century saw the introduction of revolutionary drugs, most notably chlorpromazine (Thorazine®), that resulted in the emptying of the large mental asylums. However, there remains a significant unmet need for new and improved therapies, whether that be greater effectiveness, reduced side effects or both. In the 1990s and 2000s, the UK led the world in the search for new treatments for mental health disorders but the reprioritisation of drug company £££s away from the complex area of mental health towards better-understood therapeutic areas resulted in the pendulum swinging away from this area of research. However, Cardiff University’s Medicines Discovery Institute (MDI) have remained focussed on the treatment of mental health disorders. This talk will describe how Professor Atack and his colleagues within the MDI use the pioneering Cardiff University-led research into mental ill-health and translate that into novel drugs aimed at delivering patient impact in this largely under-served area of research.

Forests today are regarded as a vital part of the Earth system, contributing to atmospheric chemistry, the hydrological cycle, floodplain stability and establishment of terrestrial habitats. Therefore the origin of the earliest trees and forests in the Devonian period (420–360 million years ago) was a key step towards the modern planet. Innovations in plant morphology and anatomy led to the appearance of familiar plant tissues and organs such as wood and leaves, and increased size. Using hard-won field evidence, from steaming jungle to arctic tundra, in this talk we will explore how spectacular fossils can help us reconstruct long-extinct trees which lack modern analogues, and how in recent years extremely rare fossil forests have enabled us to reconstruct and visualise the development of Devonian forests’ ecosystems for the first time.

This lecture will be delivered virtually via Zoom and a link will be sent to members. Please do not turn up to the lecture theatre.

Black holes were predicted a hundred years ago by Karl Schwarzchild on the basis of Einstein's General Theory of Relativity. For most of that time, they were solutions looking for a problem: it was not clear whether nature actually made black holes. Now we know that supermassive black holes are made by matter merging into compact lumps in the middle of galaxies, and stellar-mass black holes are made by nuclear explosions in supernovae (exploding stars). Additionally, small black holes might have been made in the Big Bang, although by now, they will have evaporated. Since they no longer exist, we will have to look back in time to see any evidence for them, far, far away. I will describe the current state of knowledge about all these channels of black hole manufacture and I will look forward to the forthcoming search for the small ones. In 1971, with his colleague, Louise Webster, Paul Murdin found the first crucial evidence for the existence of stellar-mass black holes.

The conversion of chemicals to useful cleaning agents using light and photocatalysts presents a green alternative to traditional, thermal catalysis pathways and is showing great promise in disinfection and chemical remediation of wastewater streams. We have investigated how graphitic carbon nitrides can be used to produce H₂O₂ (a potent biocide) from water and air, without the need for molecular H₂. A further use for these photocatalysts ties closely with improving population health by reducing infection spread. On exposure to water, air and sunlight photocatalysts will generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) that have high oxidising potentials. These ROS can be used in a range of innovative cleaning applications — reducing viral and bacterial loads on surfaces, fabrics and in water. This talk will summarise our advances in creating new solutions for disinfection and cleaning, using just sunlight air and water.

What is the biggest number you’ve ever heard of? A trillion? A quadrillion or even a quintillion? Well, let me introduce you to Graham’s number, a number so large that if you thought about it the wrong way, your head would collapse into a black hole. In this talk, inspired by my book, Fantastic Numbers and Where to Find Them, I will take you on a head-twisting cosmic tour, using some extraordinary numbers to explore the deepest and most fundamental truths in our universe. As well as Graham’s Number and the curse of Black Hole Death, we will encounter a googolplex and the gigantic googolplician universe, so big that it contains exact copies of each and every one of us. And I really mean an exact copy, stood somewhere far away in the cosmos, reading an abstract for a popular science talk. This might sound like science fiction but it is not. It is physics at the cutting edge.

“Semiconductors” are often synonymous with “Silicon Chips”. After all Silicon underpinned the computing technologies that changed life in the 20th century. But Silicon is reaching fundamental limits, and already many of the technologies we now take for granted are only possible because of Compound Semiconductors (CS). These technologies include The Internet, Smart Phones, GPS and Energy efficient LED lighting! CSs are also at the heart of the technologies of the next few years, including 6G wireless, ultra-high speed optical fibre connectivity, LIDAR for autonomous vehicles, high voltage switching for electric vehicles, the IoT and high capacity data storage; and are critical for energy efficiency and net zero. CSs have been made in relatively small quantities, and manufacturers have put together functionality by assembling discrete devices. But the new applications require much larger volumes and integration along the lines of the Silicon Chip. This talk will describe the scientific challenges of large-scale manufacturing, the route to large-scale integration and the opportunities for generating new sustainable technologies.

Forensic ecology requires a very wide knowledge of organisms and their environments. I will give an introduction into the scenarios, organisms, habitats, and sub-disciplines involved in this very specialised area of forensic science. I will then present a number of case histories demonstrating how the knowledge of ecology, botany, palynology, and mycology can help the investigator: (a) to understand events that have happened at a crime scene, (b) how to demonstrate contact of an offender with that crime scene, and (c) how it is possible to predict the location of clandestinely hidden human remains. Another very important need for the investigator is estimates of the timings of events such as death and the sequences of events surrounding criminal activity. Plants and fungi can provide even more accurate evidence than forensic entomology, and examples of this will be given. Forensic ecology is a multi-faceted discipline and every case presents different puzzles to solve. I will outline some of these puzzles and their solutions.

Human sewage tells no lies, offering a unique chemical and biological fingerprint of community behavior. It reveals patterns in illicit drug use, disease prevalence, and even daily habits like coffee consumption. During the COVID-19 pandemic, wastewater analysis tracked SARS-CoV-2 infections and emerging variants, capturing about 70% of Wales’ population. Our programme has since expanded to monitor a wide range of public health indicators, including bacterial, fungal, and viral pathogens, as well as pharmaceutical and drug consumption. This wastewater-based epidemiology approach provides valuable insights that would be difficult to obtain otherwise. It has proven to be a robust, cost-effective tool for comprehensive health and environmental monitoring. The talk will showcase how our work has been used to help inform government policies and public health strategies both nationally and internationally.

Offshore renewable energy (ORE) has long been recognised as having huge potential. The UK has the second-highest tidal range in the world and there are estimates that around 50% of Europe’s tidal energy resources and 35% of European wave resources lie in UK waters. The UK’s offshore wind infrastructure contributed over 10% of the UK’s power in 2020, and the offshore wind capacity target is 50GW by 2030. The Crown Estate’s current leasing round of 4.5GW Floating Wind development in the Celtic Sea by 2035 is expected to be followed by a further 12GW. Professor Deborah Greaves will outline the key areas of research in developing our ORE and the challenges and opportunities in meeting the potential. She will introduce the Supergen ORE Hub’s research landscape and activities and discuss groundbreaking work at the University of Plymouth’s COAST laboratory. From harnessing the relentless power of the ocean winds, waves and tides, the future of sustainable energy sources has never looked more promising.

The Amazon rainforest is a haven of unparalleled insect biodiversity, housing an estimated 2.5 million species, many of which remain undiscovered. This vast ecosystem supports a staggering array of insects ranging from the formidable army ants, known for their massive swarms and predatory behavior, to the elusive vulture bees, which feed on decaying flesh rather than pollen. Between these extremes lie countless other insect species, each with its niche and contribution playing crucial roles in pollination, decomposition, and food webs, from the forest floor to the canopy, that sustain the entire forest ecosystem. Threats to insect biodiversity in the Amazon include habitat destruction due to deforestation, climate change affecting temperature and precipitation patterns, increases in forest fires and environmental contamination due to illegal mining. Conservation efforts are essential to preserving this rich insect diversity, not only for the Amazon’s ecosystem but also for global biodiversity and ecosystem stability.

Nuclear technology has played a major role for nearly a century now in the progress of clean energy, medicine, space, water purification and many other areas. This lecture will look at the benefits of nuclear technology, together with some of the challenges being faced. It will talk to the science and technology being progressed together with the role universities can play in shaping future policy. In addition, it will address the skills challenges being encountered as the growing demand for this technology increases in the U.K. and internationally. The role of professional institutions, like the Nuclear Institute, in enabling a robust skills base will also be discussed.