Now that you’re over the age of 10 asking ‘silly’ questions about dinosaurs may feel well… a little silly! So we’re offering you the opportunity to ask anything and everything you ever wanted to know about dinosaurs but were too afraid to ask. Need to keep up with your Dino-obsessed son or daughter or just fascinated by all things prehistoric, this is your chance to find everything you need to know. From the simple to the complex; from the strange to the straightforward, come and put your questions to Oxford’s Dr Roger Benson who will be leading this talk on all things Dinosaur.

From the struggle to get up on a Monday morning to coping with jet-lag, the body has to carefully balance our need to be alert or to be at rest. But how does the
brain control this? How much sleep do we really need? Join us to hear Dr Peter Oliver discuss some of the facts and myths surrounding sleep; highlighting new research in this area as well as the role of genetics in the control of circadian rhythms. Plus, why do flamingos sleep on one leg??? Come along and find out!
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Egyptomania: The Allure of Ancient Egypt
With Henrietta McCall, Department of the Middle East, British Museum

2pm Saturday, 11 October 2014 at Ashmolean Museum | Venue Information

Henrietta McCall talks about the enduring appeal of ancient Egypt in western culture. She assesses how it began with Napoleon in the early 19th century; how symbols and imagery from antiquity inspired architecture, gardens, furniture and fashion; and how in the 1920s that appeal reached its climax with the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun.

‘Tutankhamun and Co. Ltd’: Arthur Weigall and the Discovery of Tutankhamun’s Tomb

With Julie Hankey, author of ‘A Passion for Egypt: Arthur Weigall, Tutankhamun and the Curse of the Pharaohs’

Ashmolean Lecture Theatre

Tue 14 Oct, 2.30‒3.30pm

From 1905 to 1912, Arthur Weigall was Howard Carter’s successor as Chief Inspector of Antiquities for Upper Egypt. He used his position to conduct a campaign against government practice of allowing amateur collectors to excavate for private profit. With Tutankhamun’s discovery, Weigall came into open conflict with Carter’s patron, Lord Carnarvon, over his exclusive contract with The Times, and ‒ at a time of political unrest in Egypt ‒ over his assumption of rights to the contents of the tomb.

The Jerash and Decapolis Cities
With Linda Farrar, historian and archaeologist

Ashmolean Lecture Theatre

Thurs 16 Oct, 2–4pm (inc. tea & cake),

Today, the ancient Greco-Roman Decapolis region straddles the countries of Jordan, Israel and Syria. This lecture explores the distinct characteristics of the cities of Jerash, Gedara, Pella and Philidelphian (Aman) and tells the stories of each cities unique role in the development of this historic region.

Discuss the clinal and ethical implications of the 100,000 Genomes Project
An evening event organised by the Progress Educational Trust (PET) in partnership with Genomics England. The event is free to attend, but advance booking is required – please email Sandy Starr at sstarr@progress.org.uk and he will add you to the attendee list. If tweeting about this event, please use the hashtag #100KGP
The 100,000 Genomes Project aims to sequence 100,000 whole genomes from around 75,000 participants by 2017. The project is recruiting NHS patients with common cancers, plus NHS patients with rare diseases and their families. Participation is voluntary, with participants giving informed consent for their whole genomes to be sequenced.
Sir John Chisholm – Chair of Genomics England, the company established by the Government to carry out the project – says that ‘participating patients will have the opportunity to benefit from clinical insights derived from the sequencing of their genome’. But what are these benefits and insights?
Participants will receive feedback from their clinician about their genome sequence, but it is by no means guaranteed that they will receive improved care. Many participants will not receive a diagnosis, but taking part in this project may provide their only hope. With UK Prime Minister David Cameron saying ‘I believe we will be able to transform how devastating diseases are diagnosed and treated in the NHS and across the world’, is there a danger that people will have unrealistic expectations? Could this create an unethical inducement to take part?
The 100,000 Genomes Project is both a research project and a healthcare initiative. This gives the project unprecedented scope to link genetic data with treatment outcomes, but also poses a number of challenges. One such challenge is how best to deal with incidental findings – genomic discoveries with implications for the participant’s health, that are not pertinent to the condition that led to participation in the first place. Who should decide what is fed back to the participant?
The project is currently in its pilot stage, but as it ramps up to capacity, these and other important issues must be addressed. This event will explore what the 100,000 Genomes Project has to offer patients, and what patients have to offer the 100,000 Genomes Project. It will give you an opportunity to put questions and comments to Sir John Chisholm and others involved in the project, and to hear a range of contrasting views on the ethical and practical issues raised.

Prof Peter Visscher, Professor and Chair of Quantitative Genetics, Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland

Driven by advances in genome technologies, the last 7 years have witnessed a revolution in our understanding of complex trait variation in human populations. Results from genome-wide association studies and whole-genome exome studies have shown that the mutational target in the genome for most traits appears to be very large, such that many genes are involved in explaining genetic variation. Genetic architecture, the joint distribution of the effect size and frequency of variants that segregate in the population, is becoming clearer and differs between traits. I will show new results from disparate complex traits including height, schizophrenia, motor neurone disease and gene methylation, to illustrate polygenicity and the power of experimental sample size.

“Everywhere the Glint of Gold”: Colourising Tutankhamun’s Tomb
With Liam McNamara, Ashmolean Keeper for Ancient Egypt and Sudan and co-curator of ‘Discovering Tutankhamun’ exhibition

Ashmolean Lecture Theatre

Sat 18 Oct, 2‒3pm

Howard Carter’s evocative description of the ‘wonderful things’ he saw upon entering Tutankhamun’s tomb continues to capture the public’s imagination. The excavation of the tomb and its contents were documented in black and white photographs taken by Harry Burton. This talk explores the various methods by which the excavators – and their successors – sought to ‘colourise’ the contents of the king’s tomb, from 20th-century gouache paintings on ivory, to the latest in 21st-century digital imaging techniques.

The first speaker in Oxford Females in Engineering, Science and Technology brand new speaker series ‘Inspiring STEM’ promises a fascinating talk on her research and personal experiences in combining professional career and personal life, do not miss out:

Professor Helen McShane is a Professor of Vaccinology and Wellcome Trust Senior Clinical Fellow at Oxford University, where she leads a programme of research to develop a new vaccine for Tuberculosis (TB). The BCG vaccine currently administered to children has been around for 90 years and shows only a limited and short-lived effect. Crucially, it does not offer protection against pulmonary TB, which is the most common form of the disease. TB remains a major killer worldwide with 1.4 million victims a year, and resistance has evolved to many drugs used to treat it, so new ways of preventing the disease are badly needed.
Helen originally planned to become a GP, but after 6 months in practice decided to embark on clinical medicine and PhD research into infectious diseases. By the time she arrived at the defense of her thesis, she had been pregnant with her second child and she has successfully juggled home and work life ever since (now, a mum to 3 children).

‘Inspiring STEM’ series of talks aims to bring together Oxford’s Women in STEM, showcase the research performed by the very best scientists and engineers, and inspire the audience to realize their potential. It reflects the academic aspect of OxFEST while providing a glimpse into possible career paths that we can take.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1918280418310524/

Tutankhaten ‒ Prince and King
With Dr Marianne Eaton-Krauss, independent scholar

Ashmolean Lecture Theatre

Tue 21 Oct, 2.30‒ 3.30pm

The name of Tutankhamun is familiar throughout the world, yet academics continue to dispute not only the identity of the boy king’s parents, but also the meaning of the name he was given at birth, Tutankhaten. This lecture explores these questions and examines objects that document his life up until the moment the decision was taken to alterhis name to Tutankhamun, marking the conclusion of a campaign to restore the god Amun to his traditional place at the head of the pantheon from which he had been toppled by the heretic pharaoh Akhenaten.

What is it like to be a brain surgeon? How does it feel to hold someone’s life in your hands, to cut into the stuff that creates thought, feeling and reason? How do you live with the consequences of performing a potentially life-saving operation when it all goes wrong? In neurosurgery, more than in any other branch of medicine, the doctor’s oath to ‘do no harm’ holds a bitter irony. Operations on the brain carry grave risks…

Henry Marsh will be discussing his book, ‘Do No Harm’.

cycle BOOM: Investigating how cities and bicycles shape older peoples’ experiences of cycling.

cycle BOOM is a 3-year study by Oxford Brookes to understand cycling among the older population and how this affects independence, health and wellbeing. The ultimate aim is to advise policy makers and practitioners how our environment and technologies can be designed to help people to continue to cycle in older age or to reconnect with cycling.
Ben Spencer will talk about the project and share some of the early findings from the first wave of research this summer.

Eating Restoration Glue to Stay Alive: A History of Hermitage
With Dr Rosalind P. Blakesley, University of Cambridge

Ashmolean Lecture Theatre

Wed 22 Oct, 11am–12pm

The Hermitage is an institute like no other,
 housing over 3 million objects in buildings as iconic as the Winter Palace, seat of the Romanov dynasty until its spectacular fall from grace in 1917. As the Hermitage celebrates its 250th anniversary, Dr Blakesley charts its history from the lavish patronage of Catherine the Great to the unparalleled acquisitions of Impressionist and Post- Impressionist works.

The Sick Rose is a beautifully gruesome and strangely fascinating visual tour through disease in an age before colour photography. This stunning volume, combining detailed illustrations of afflicted patients from some of the worlds rarest medical books, forms an unforgettable and profoundly human reminder of mankinds struggle with disease. Incorporating historic maps, pioneering charts and contemporary case notes, Richard Barnetts evocative overview reveals the fears and obsessions of an era gripped by epidemics. Richard will be accompanying his talk with a slide show presentation of the books illustrations in all their glory – not for the squeamish!

Tutankhamun and Revolution
With Dr Paul Collins, Jaleh Hearn Curator for Ancient Near East and co-curator of ‘Discovering Tutankhamun’

Ashmolean Lecture Theatre

Sat 25 Oct, 2‒3pm

This talk considers three historical periods when the image and idea of Tutankhamun became a focus for revolution both in Egypt and beyond. Starting in the ancient world, the revolutions of the Amarna age, into which Tutankhamun was born, witnessed a transformation in the concept of kingship. In the early 20th century, as Egypt claimed independence from British control, Tutankhamun became a symbol of opposition to imperial rule. Finally, in recent years, Egypt has faced political upheaval and revolutionaries
have again employed the image of Tutankhamun.

The Time of the Gods: Myths from Ancient Egypt (STUDY DAY)
With Dr Garry Shaw, Egyptologist and author

Tue 28 Oct, 10.30am‒4pm

An introduction to Egypt’s creation myths and a history of the reigns of these gods on earth. This study day will cover myths, both well-known and the more obscure, related to notable deities such as Re, Amun, Osiris, Horus and Isis.

Unwrapping Tutankhamun
With Dr Christina Riggs, Senior Lecturer, School of Art History and World Art Studies, University of East Anglia

Ashmolean Lecture Theatre

Tue 28 Oct, 2.30‒3.30pm

After three years of work in the tomb, Howard Carter and his team were ready to reveal the body of Tutankhamun. Using photographs and diaries from the excavation, this illustrated lecture follows Carter’s work in stages as they worked through the layers of wrappings around Tutankhamun’s body, and considers what else we can learn from the unwrapping of other materials in the tomb.

Fit for a Pharaoh: The Authorised Facsimile of Tutankhamun’s Tomb
With Adam Lowe, Director and Founder of Factum Arte
Gallery 21, Ashmolean Museum
Wed 29 Oct, from 6.30pm

The ticket price includes: a talk by Adam Lowe of Factum Arte; a tour of the Discovering Tutankhamun exhibition; and a drink at a special wine reception in the Ashmolean’s vaulted café.

Before Egypt’s recent political revolution, the tomb of Tutankhamun was viewed by up to 1,000 visitors per day. This had a dramatic effect on the tomb, which resulted in a deterioration of the structure of the walls. Using digital technology to record the tomb’s interior in unparalleled detail, Factum Arte produced a full-scale facsimile that can be visited at Luxor, thus relieving pressure on the actual tomb. Adam Lowe explains the process behind the production of the facsimile and explores current debates about the creation of replicas to preserve the world’s cultural heritage for future generations.

Japonism and the Impressionists
With Julian Heslewood, art historian

Ashmolean Lecture Theatre

Thurs 30 Oct, 2–3pm

During the Renaissance, the new science of perspective allowed western artists to create art that depicted the world in a realistic way, showing perspective, depth and volume like never before.
In the 19th century western artists discovered that Japanese print makers had used other techniques to depict the real world. Monet, Van Gogh and many others adapted these discoveries in to their own methods creating an unconventional and exciting visual experience.

Dress up to party like it’s 1922 and discover the decade’s fascination with Ancient Egypt at an evening of Jazz Age performances, workshops and talks.

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FREE ENTRY
7 – 10.30pm
Halloween night: Friday 31 October 2014

The Rooftop Bar and Vaulted Café will be serving drinks until 10.30pm.

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For programme news see:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1445682889032169/
or
http://www.ashmolean.org/livefriday

The Innovation Forum, a student led, UK-wide network, invites all medics, entrepreneurs, scientists and coders to connect at our Oxford Launch event and to find out about “Digital Health: Opportunities and challenges in Oxford”. Our experienced panel of 4 speakers will cover a range of topics but we envisage touching upon core themes such as:

• What is digital healthcare?
• What opportunities exist in Oxford for talented coders/entrepreneurs etc. to connect with the medical community?
• What issues exist with access and use of data? How can students/interested people navigate this

Sherpa Adventure Gear presents the BMC Club Autumn Lecture series! The Oxford University Mountaineering Club will be hosting Neil Gresham and Kenton Cool to speak at the Oxford Maths Department (Mathematical Institute, Woodstock Road, Oxford, OX2 6HD) on Wednesday the 5th of November at 7:30pm. Doors open at 7pm, there will be a raffle in the interval, with the final lecture finishing at 9:30pm. Tickets for this exciting event will cost £8, and can be purchased here or on the door.

Neil is one of Britain’s most well known all-round climbers and is one of the few climbers in the world to have climbed E10. He is also the UK’s most experienced climbing coach, and is the training columnist for Climber magazine and Rock & Ice magazine.

Kenton is the holder of the British record for most Mount Everest summits, recently completing the ‘Triple Crown’ of Everest, Nuptse and Lhotse in three days. He is also a Piolet d’Or nominee for a route on Annapurna III and was the first British person to complete a ski descent of an 8,000m peak.

The 35th Annual Barlow Lecture
Yongle to Zhengtong: Fifty Years that Changed Chinese Art?
With Professor Craig Clunas, University of Oxford

Friday 7 November , 5-6 pm, Ashmolean Lecture Theatre

Sir Alan Barlow (1881-1968) was a leading 20th-century collector of Chinese and other eastern ceramics. Deeply committed to public education, he left the collection as a trust to be used in universities and museums by the widest possible audience and it is now on loan in the Ashmolean museum, where pieces can be seen throughout the Chinese displays and in the Islamic gallery. This year’s lecture focuses on the British Museum’s autumn blockbuster show Ming: 50 Years that changed China and is delivered by the exhibition’s co- curator Craig Clunas.

Free, booking required. Contact:

T 01865 288001
E eastern.art@ashmus.ox.ac.uk

Department of Eastern Art,
Ashmolean Museum,
Oxford OX1 2PH

Childhood in a New Age:
Adults Look at Children, Children Look at Themselves in Russia, 1890‒1920

With Professor Catriona Kelly, University of Oxford

Saturday 8 November, 11am–12pm
At the Ashmolean Museum – Lecture Theatre

During the late 19th and 20th centuries, the Russian Empire underwent a period of hectic change at every level. This talk, based on the literature and visual arts of the period, as well as journalism, family history and the writings of children, explores how the massive changes of the era affected the Empire’s youngest citizens.

Tickets are £5/£4 concessions and booking is recommended as places are limited.
Visit http://www.ashmolean.org/events/Lectures/?id=132

The Colloquium is a seminar series at Kellogg College, Oxford.

Poppy is a 2nd year DPhil student at the department of Oncology. She completed her BSc Biochemistry at the University of Southampton and did a ‘sandwich’ year at AstraZeneca working on pre-clinical cancer drugs which is where she became fascinated by cancer biology. Poppy is also Secretary of OxFEST which supports women in STEM.

What lifestyle changes are you willing to try in order to reduce your carbon footprint? Walking or cycling to work? Taking less long haul flights? How about going vegan? A new study suggests that greenhouse gas emissions associated with vegan diets are about half that of a meat-based diet, and the difference in a year amounts to an individual flying from London to New York and back. Join us to hear Dr Peter Scarborough discuss the role of meat in sustainability and dietary health and find out whether cutting back on meat could make you and the planet more healthy. Free event.

Public Seminar: Thinking About the Brain

With speakers: Professor Chris Kennard; Professor Glyn Humphreys; Professor David Lomas; Dr Joshua Hordern; Dr Ayoush Lazikani; Dr Matthew Broome; Dr Chrystalina Antoniades

Thursday 20 November, 5.30-8.30pm
Ashmolean Education Centre

The evening will offer an opportunity to explore current research into the brain and the mind from a wide range of perspectives, from medieval literature to contemporary art and neuroscience.

Thinking About the Brain is a public seminar, forming part of the developing collaboration between the Ashmolean Museum’s University Engagement Programme and Oxford’s Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences. It is being co-organised by Dr Jim Harris, Andrew W Mellon Foundation Teaching Curator at the Ashmolean, and Dr Chrystalina Antoniades, Lecturer in Medicine at Brasenose College and Senior Research Fellow in the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences.

Open to all and free of charge. To ensure a place, please follow this link to e-mail Dr Jim Harris (at jim.harris @ ashmus.ox.ac.uk), or telephone 01865 288 287.

A History of Ancient Greece in Fifty Lives
With David Studdard, historian

Saturday 22 November, 2–3pm
Ashmolean Museum Lecture Theatre

David Studdard creates a vivid picture of life in all arenas of the Ancient Greek world. Delve into the worlds of mathematics, geography, rhetoric, historiography, painting and sculpture; explore the accounts of historians, mystics, poets, dramatists, political commentators and philosophers; and travel through the ancient realms of Sicily, Afghanistan, Macedonia and Alexandria.

Tickets are £5/£4 concessions and booking is recommended as places are limited.
Visit: http://www.ashmolean.org/events/Lectures/?id=132

Interested in nano research combining physics, chemistry, engineering and materials science? The following talk may be of interest:

Nanoscience is the science of the very small. But why is that interesting? Alexandra Grigore and Tarun Vemulkar, both PhD students at ‘the other place’, will talk about their experience working in this multidisciplinary field and what the future could hold for someone working in the area. Things that they will talk about will include DNA origami and nanopores for faster genetic sequencing, nanomagnetic devices, photonic structures in butterfly wings, latest solar cell technologies, 3D metamaterials and more. If you are considering a PhD, this is also a chance to ask them questions about their interdisciplinary 4 year MRes + PhD programme at the Nano Doctoral Training Centre (NanoDTC) in Cambridge, in addition to your other questions about nanotechnology.

Magic Textiles (In association with the Oxford Asian Textiles Group)
With Dr Susan Conway, Research Associate, School of Oriental and Asian Studies

Wednesday 26 November, 6–8.30pm
Ashmolean Museum Education Centre

Dr Conway studies the culture, arts and crafts of Asia, specialising in Thailand and the Shan States of Burma. Following the September launch of her new book, ‘Tai Supernaturalism’, at the Royal Geographical Society, she will speak about textiles with supposed mystical and magical properties.

Tickets are £3 on the door, no advance booking is required. OATG members go free. Entry via St Giles Street.