Studying or working in a science or engineering subject? Interested in how to close the gender gap, and want to hear great role models speak about their experiences?

Join Oxford Females in Engineering, Science and Technology (OxFEST), alongside OxWIB and OxWomIn, on Saturday 18th February for our annual conference at the Oxford Maths Institute! We’ll be hosting inspiring women from industry and academia who are breaking boundaries in their fields. The day will involve talks, workshops on diversity, entrepreneurship and communication, and a panel discussion on promoting women in STEM. Breakfast, lunch, refreshments and prosecco will be provided! This is a great opportunity to be inspired, add to your skills, make new connections and get involved.

We are proud to introduce our first speaker: Anne-Marie O. Imafidon MBE. Anne-Marie is a computing, mathematics and language child prodigy who graduated from Oxford aged 20 and was awarded an MBE for championing women in STEM in her organisation Stemettes. You can read about her recent thoughts on the glass ceiling here: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/…/the-glass-ceiling-is-made…

Like our Facebook page for more updates as we reveal our other amazing speakers: https://www.facebook.com/oxwomanempowerment/

Tickets are heavily subsidised and cost just £8 for the whole-day program and food and drink. Get yours here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/breaking-boundaries-shatteri….

We look forward to welcoming you on the day!

Director and adaptor, Wayne Jordan will be in conversation with Fiona Macintosh, discussing his acclaimed version of Sophocles’ ‘Oedipus’ at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, in 2015. At 2.15pm on Monday 27 Feb. 2017.

Followed by Q&A and refreshments.
Free, all welcome, no booking required.

An APGRD Public Lecture, in the Ioannou Centre at 66 St Giles’, Oxford, OX1 3LU.

Lord Browne of Madingley is presently Chairman of L1 Energy, the Chairman of Trustees of both the Tate and the QEII Prize for Engineering, and Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Blavatnik School of Government at Oxford University.

Guest Speaker: Professor Charles Spence

We all think that we can taste what is on the plate or in the glass, but a growing body of research suggests otherwise. Chefs and restaurateurs are increasingly focusing on ‘off-the-plate’ dining, and the insights gained there are now being applied to enhance the food and drink we experience in the air, in hospitals, and in the home.

For Dr Kanade, good research derives from solving real-world problems and delivering useful results to society. As a roboticist, he participated in developing a wide range of computer-vision systems and autonomous robots, including human-face recognition, autonomously-driven cars, computer-assisted surgical robots, robot helicopters, biological live cell tracking through a microscope, and EyeVision, a system used for sports broadcast. Dr Kanade will share insights into his projects and discuss how his “Think like an amateur, do as an expert” maxim interacts with problems and people.

Dr Takeo Kanade is the 2016 Kyoto Prize Laureate for Advanced Technology.

Oxford International Relations Society has the pleasure of welcoming Lord David Owen CH FRCP to give a talk about his illustrious career in British politics. Foreign Secretary from 1977-1979, Owen was involved in overseeing and developing the creation of independence for certain African states, and in the promotion of human rights. A staunch centrist having held a lot of previous support for the European Union, Owen made headlines when he announced that he intended to Vote Leave in the Referendum of 2016.

In 1981, Owen became one of the ‘Gang of Four’, leaving the Labour Party to found the Social Democratic Party, of which he was leader from 1983-1987 and which eventually transformed into the Liberal Democrats. Made a life peer in 1992, he now sits in the House of Lords, changing his status from ‘crossbencher’ in 2014, to ‘independent social democrat’.

Lord Owen will be sharing his thoughts on ‘Brexit – An amicable divorce from the E.U.?’

This event is FREE for members and £3 for non-members, with a special offer of £20 for lifetime membership of the Society available for a limited time.

A number of developments such as the Arab Spring and on-going famines in Somalia and South Sudan have led to renewed interest among both scholars and policymakers in the role of food insecurity and food-price related grievances as catalysts of conflict. In this lecture Prof Gunnar Sørbø, Senior Researcher at Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI), will address such linkages, using case material mainly from Sudan and Somalia, with a particular focus on food insecurity as a risk multiplier and the implications for choice of interventions.

Featuring Professor Glen O’Hara (Oxford Brookes) and more TBC.

Speakers:

Ivor Crewe (Master, University College, Oxford)

Anne Deighton (Emeritus Professor of European International Politics, St Antony’s College, Oxford)

Stephen Fisher (Associate Professor of Political Sociology, Trinity College, Oxford)

Iain McLean (Emeritus Professor of Politics, Nuffield College, Oxford)

Chair

Ben Jackson (Associate Professor of Modern History, University College, Oxford)

All are welcome.

Join renowned chef Tom Kerridge and nutrition scientist, Susan Jebb, to discuss connections between emotions, food and weight. Tom explores how a diet of meat, eggs, fish, nuts and dairy can help us lose weight. Tom and Susan will discuss how the type of food on our plates affects our health and the tips and tricks that can help us to lose weight – and keep it off.

Tom Kerridge is a Michelin-starred chef appearing on Great British Menu, MasterChef and Saturday Kitchen. Between 2013 and 2016, Tom lost 11 stone (70 kg.) By developing and following a diet designed to boost dopamine levels, the reward hormone responsible for making us happy, Tom was able to maximize his enjoyment of food and so satisfy his appetite while eating less.
Susan Jebb is Professor of Diet and Population Health at the University of Oxford and a former government advisor on obesity and food policy. Her research puts different types of diets and behavioural techniques to the test. She was featured in the BBC Horizon series What’s the Right Diet for You?

A quirky theatrical evening of drama, discussion and disease.
Killer germs, superbugs, pestilent plagues and global pandemics have fascinated writers, musicians and thinkers for centuries. As diseases spread through a population, likewise myths and ideas travel virally through film, literature, theatre and social media.
Join a cast of actors, scientists and literary researchers for an inventive illustration of
infectious extracts from plays and music, past and present.

Sally Shuttleworth is Professor of English Literature looking at the inter-relations between
literature and science, including the project Diseases of Modern Life: Nineteenth-Century
Perspectives.
Kirsten Shepherd-Barr is Professor of English and Theatre Studies, interested in the relationship between modernism, science and theatrical performance.
John Terry is Artistic Director of Chipping Norton Theatre known for ambitious and adventurous theatre work, usually script based but with a strong visual and physical tilt.

A one-off screening of recent documentary release Citizen Jane: Battle for the City. The film will be followed by a panel discussion featuring four local experts talking about how the themes in the documentary relate to issues for our own city — both past and present.

The panel is made up of four women who will discuss the issues raised in the film from four different perspectives — urban planning, architecture, local history and art.

Dr Sue Brownill, an urban policy expert at Oxford Brookes University, will chair the discussion and will be joined by: Dr Annie Skinner, local historian and author of ‘Cowley Road: a History’; Dr Igea Troiani, Senior Lecturer in Architecture at Oxford Brookes; and Rachel Barbaresi, an artist with interest the social aspects of urban space whose work is currently on show at Modern Art Oxford’s Future Knowledge exhibition.

Isabelle Torrance (Associate Professor at Aarhus University) delivers an APGRD Public Lecture on Tom Paulin’s adaptation of Aeschylus’s Prometheus. Free, all welcome. No booking required.

This lecture is at the conclusion of day one of the annual APGRD/RHUL postgraduate symposium on the theory and performance of ancient drama. Attendance at the symposium is not necessary – but you are quite welcome to join us: http://www.apgrd.ox.ac.uk/events/2017/02/postgraduate-symposium-2017

We are delighted to be welcoming Sir Tom Stoppard to St Catz to deliver his inaugural lecture as the 26th holder of the Cameron Mackintosh Visiting Professorship in Contemporary Theatre.

Join us for what promises to be an amazing evening filled with passion and opportunity to have fun!

The evening will feature a panel discussion on the experiences of the generation that became known as the Windrush generation.
The experiences from post-Windrush generations in the United Kingdom will be discussed by Professor Patricia Daley, Nigel Carter, Junie James and Hannah Lowe.

This will be followed by an evening of celebration of culture including African dance, Asian drums, poetry from Siana Bangura and spoken word including creative work from Brookes students.

Food and refreshments freely available.

Book here or contact Pam Fortescue pfortescue@brookes.ac.uk to register your interest.

Join Sir Tim Rice for dinner on Thursday 19th October at Banbury Club for a meander through his magical, musical world! After a champagne reception, guests will join Sir Tim for a delicious four course dinner before he shares some stories of his two great loves – music and cricket.

At this exclusive evening there is no stage and no audience, guests will be joining Sir Tim for the whole evening.

Join Sir Tim Rice for dinner on Thursday 19th October at Banbury Club for a meander through his magical, musical world!

Tickets cost £75 with champagne reception and four-course dinner included. All proceeds will go towards Oxford Children’s Hospital – 10th Anniversary Appeal and the Horton General Hospital.

For more information or to purchase a ticket please call 01865 743444 or email charity@ouh.nhs.uk

A lecture-performance by APGRD Artists in Residence, Paul O’Mahony and Out of Chaos theatre company, on the development of their new version of the ‘Aeneid’, entitled ‘Crossing the Sea’. Free, all welcome, no booking required.

TOAST is a great story as well as a great beer – join us at Oxford Hub for a lunch time drink and some social enterprise conversation with Rob Wilson, entrepreneur and Chief Toaster.
Rob will be telling us more about his quest to end food waste, one beer at a time, telling us more about the TOAST rev-ALE-ution and sharing his advice for budding social entrepreneurs in Oxford.
Feel free to bring your own lunch for this talk at the Oxford Hub living room in Turl Street.
Price of ticket includes a TOAST ale to enjoy with lunch or take home!

A juggling demonstration with hilarious explanations of the mathematical details of the practice.

Juggling has fascinated people for centuries. Seemingly oblivious to gravity, the skilled practitioner will keep several objects in the air at one time, and weave complex patterns that seem to defy analysis.

In this talk the speaker demonstrates a selection of the patterns and skills of juggling while at the same time developing a simple method of describing and annotating a class of juggling patterns. By using elementary mathematics these patterns can be classified, leading to a simple way to describe those patterns that are known already, and a technique for discovering new ones.

Those with some mathematical background will find plenty to keep them occupied, and those less experienced can enjoy the juggling as well as the exploration and exposition of this ancient skill.

Free for OUSS members; £2 for non-members.
Membership can be bought on the door: £10 for a year or £20 for life. Includes membership of Cambridge University Scientific Society.
Refreshments will be served afterwards.
Contact oxforduniscisoc [at] gmail [dot] com with queries.
See you there!

A lost play, remixed…

A sharing of ‘Fragments’, a new play-in-development inspired by fragments of Euripides ‘lost’ play Cresphontes, followed by a post-show panel discussion to discuss tragic fragments, ideas of fragmentation in perception and memory, and the making of the show. With co-writers Laura Swift and Russell Bender, and members of the creative team.

This play is currently in development and we warmly welcome audience feedback.

*This event complements an earlier event at 5pm that evening hosted by Archive of Performances of Greek and Roman Drama with poet and translator Josephine Balmer. For details of that event please visit: http://www.apgrd.ox.ac.uk/events/2017/08/josephine-balmer-a-reading

Between the rush to keep up with the latest miracle ingredient, anxiety about E-numbers, and demonization of gluten/dairy/sugar, many of us are left in a virtual panic in the supermarket aisle. Tabloid headlines, ‘free-from’ labels and judgemental Instagram hashtags hardly help matters – so what should we be buying?

Join James Wong, scientist, TV presenter and author of How to Eat Better as he strips away the fad diets, superfood fixations and Instagram hashtags to give you a straight-talking scientist’s guide to making everyday foods measurably healthier (and tastier) simply by changing the way you select, store and cook them.

No diets, no obscure ingredients, no damn spiralizer, just real food made better, based on the latest scientific evidence from around the world. James will show us how to make any food a ‘superfood’, every time you cook.

Waterstones will be selling copies of his book, How to Eat Better and James will be signing.

Science Oxford presents in partnership with University of Oxford Botanic Garden. Proceeds from the event will be donated to UNICEF.
Suitable for ages 14+

Abstract: This presentation will consider the ethical dimensions of Brexit. Specifically the case will be made that there are profound ethical questions posed by Brexit that have not properly been considered. The focus of the public debate has been largely on the pragmatic, economic and political reasons for and against Brexit. It is important to supplement these with a consideration of the ethical questions raised by it. In a book he edited entitled Political Restructuring in Europe: Ethical Perspectives (1994) Chris Brown made a case for constitutive theory as a way of approaching the ethical issues involved in proposals for restructuring Europe in the wake of the break-up of Yugoslavia. In this talk his analysis will be extended, illustrating how constitutive theory produces surprising, enlightening and important results that have so far been absent from the debate. The insights point to a set of political imperatives that ought not to be ignored.

Mervyn Frost is Professor of International Relations in the Department of War Studies at King’s College, London. Publications include: Towards a Normative Theory of International Relations (CUP, 1986), Ethics in International Relations (CUP, 1996), Constituting Human Rights: Global Civil Society and the Society of Democratic States (Routledge, 2002) and Global Ethics: Anarchy, Freedom and International Relations (Routledge, 2009). He edited a 4 volume reference work entitled International Ethics (Sage 2011). His recent work, with Dr Silviya Lechner, is focused on the “practice turn” in International Relations. Their book Practice Theory and International Relations is to be published by CUP in 2018.

The contemporary market for the consumption of real lives has led to an increasing demand for performers to play or impersonate real people. In this presentation, Professor Mary Luckhurst will explore the ethical issues inherent in the staging of real lives. Mary Luckhurst is Professor of Artistic Research and Creative Practice at the University of Melbourne. She is a theatre director, writer, theatre historian and a pioneer of practice as research. She is a world expert on dramaturgy and on analysing and articulating the applied processes writing, acting and directing in theatre-making. She is a specialist in modern drama and her many books include Dramaturgy: A Revolution in Theatre; On Acting; On Directing; Theatre and Celebrity, and Playing for Real, as well as two Blackwells Companions on British and Irish Theatre.

The Oxford Fabian Society host the Fabian Society regional conference.

Embracing Change: Socialism for a Brave New World

Outline programme

9:00-9:30: registration

9:30: Welcome: Oxford and the Fabian Society. Michael Weatherburn (Secretary, Oxford Fabians)

9:45-10:15: Opening plenary. Kate Green MP (Chair, Fabian Society) and Andrew Harrop (General Secretary, Fabian Society)

10:15-11:15: Panel 1, Taking Our Place: workers affecting workplace change. Annaliese Dodds MP (Oxford East), Melanie Simms (Leicester University), & Caroline Raine (Area Organiser, UNISON). Facilitator: David Yates (Vice-Chair, Oxford Fabians)

11:45-12:45: Panel 2, New Channels of Influence. Shaista Aziz (journalist, writer), Ann Black (Labour NEC), Richard Fletcher (Reuters Institute, Oxford University), Dan Iley-Williamson (Labour city councillor, Holywell & Oxford Momentum). Facilitator: Nick Fahy (Oxford Fabians).

12:45-13:30: Lunch (not provided)

13:30-14:30: Panel 3, The Defence of the Realm. Alex Donnelly (Changing Character of War Programme, Oxford University), Sophy Gardner (RAF, Exeter University), Michael Pryce (Centre for Defence Acquisition, Cranfield University), Chris Williams (Open University). Facilitator: Rosemary Preston (Oxford Fabians).

14:45-15:45: Discussion, Does Socialism Need Patriotism? Facilitated by the Young Fabians.

15:45-16:45: Panel 4, The Local Elections, May 2018. Shaista Aziz (2018 Labour candidate, Rose Hill), Steven Curran (Labour councillor, Iffley Fields), Alex Donnelly (Labour candidate, Hinksey Park 2018), Bob Price (Labour councillor, Hinksey Park), Martyn Rush (Labour candidate, Barton and Sandhills 2018), Christine Simm (Labour councillor, Cowley and Deputy Lord Mayor). Facilitator: Elsa Dawson (Oxford Fabians).

16:45-17:00: Closing remarks, Oxford: Local Politics, Big Picture, 1980-2050. Bob Price (Leader of Oxford City Council, Leader of the Labour Group, and Labour Councillor, Hinksey Park).

The Oxford constituency of the Spanish Researchers in the United Kingdom (SRUK) is holding a discussion panel entitled “Women in science and the glass ceiling” where three invited speakers will give a short talk about the topic, followed by a discussion where the attendees can actively participate.

The invited experts will highlight how the world of science needs to become accessible for everyone, women and girls. The discussion will cover the earlier stages of education, where children become interested in science, to the later stages of the scientific career, where excellent science and innovation require the talents of both women and men. We will evaluate why women’s progress in research is slow and why there are too few female scientists occupying top positions in scientific decision-making, limiting the important potential of highly skilled human capital.

The event will take place on the 18th of November at the The Jam Factory (Hollybush Row, Oxford, OX1 1HU) and it will start at 10:30AM.

This is a free event and open to the public, but registration is needed via Eventbrite.

Join us on Friday 1st December as our speaker panel explores the world of the much loved beverage, beer. We will be joined by a line-up of highly acclaimed experts in the Beer Industry who will be discussing their specialty and what to them defines a good beer.

Pete Brown is the author of ‘Miracle Brew’ and four other bestselling beer titles around the observation and history of beer. He was once named joint-37th most influential person in the British pub industry. ‘Miracle Brew’ explores how Beer is traditionally made from four natural ingredients: malted barley, hops, yeast and water, and each of these has an incredible story to tell.

Melissa Cole is an award winning Beer and Food writer, her book ‘The Little Book of Craft Beer’ combines good-quality brews and delicious food. It celebrates over 100 of the world’s most innovative and tastiest beers and helps point you in the right direction to find the perfect brew for you.

Ruth Mitchell is a Certified Cicerone, qualified Beer Sommelier and Multiples Account Manager for West Berkshire Brewery.

Roger Protz has written many bestselling books, with his latest publication ‘IPA’ focusing on the rebirth of IPA or India Pale Ale as one of the most popular styles in today’s craft beer revolution. Roger is also the editor of the yearly CAMRA Good Beer Guide.

This event is supported by West Berkshire Brewery who will be on hand to offer a taste of their delicious brews, giving the opportunity to sample their beer (which is included in your ticket!). West Berkshire Brewery is known for their award-winning range of traditional cask ales and bottled beers having won more than 40 awards since they struck their first brew in 1995. They champion traditional brewing techniques and showcase British hops to produce high quality, distinctive and award-winning real ales.

For all enquiries please email events.oxford@blackwell.co.uk

We, the Oxford University Swiss Society, are delighted to host Mr Ambassador Alexandre
Fasel, who is the new Swiss Ambassador in the UK since September 2017.

He will give a talk on Monday, January 15th, at 6pm in the Oakeshott
room in Lincoln college. This will be followed by drinks in the adjacent
Langford room, where it is possible to interact with him and ask
him questions.

Registration is not required – everyone is welcome.

The OSS team,
Anita, Camille, Claudia, Fabian, Jasmin, Lisa, Matthias, Philippe, Seb,
Tiziana, Vincent

A Panel Discussion with Professor Ruth Harris, Shrimati Kajal Sheth and Professor Sir Richard Sorabji

This event marks the UK-India Year of Culture, which will be celebrated in the Oxford Town Hall on 24 January with the award-winning Indian play, Yugpurush: Mahatma’s Mahatma, on the relationship between Mahatma Gandhi and his mentor, Shrimad Rajchandra.

Sponsored by The Asian Studies Centre, St Antony’s College, The Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, and The Oxford India Society.

A free lecture by Robert O. Ritchie of Lawrence Berkeley (USA). Free pre-lecture drinks and nibbles and free post-lecture buffet and drinks (please email lorraine.laird@materials.ox.ac.uk to reserve a place). Abstract:
The ability of a material to undergo limited deformation is a critical aspect of conferring toughness as this feature enables the local dissipation of high stresses which would otherwise cause fracture. The mechanisms of such deformation can be widely diverse. Although plasticity from dislocation motion in crystalline materials is most documented, inelastic deformation can also occur via in situ phase transformations in certain metals and ceramics, sliding of mineralized collagen fibrils in tooth dentin and bone, rotation of such fibrils in skin, frictional motion between mineral “platelets” in seashells, and even by mechanisms that also lead to fracture such as shear banding in glasses and microcracking in geological materials and bone. Resistance to fracture (toughness) is thus a compromise – a combination of two, often mutually exclusive, properties of strength and deformability. It can also be considered as a mutual competition between intrinsic damage processes that operate ahead of the tip of a crack to promote its advance and extrinsic crack-tip shielding mechanisms that act mostly behind the crack tip to locally diminish crack-tip stresses and strains. Here we examine the interplay between strength and ductility and between intrinsic and extrinsic mechanisms in developing toughness in a range of biological and natural materials, including bone, skin and fish scales, and in certain advanced metallic alloys, including bulk-metallic glasses and high-entropy alloys.

It seems like everywhere we look computers are running more and more of the world around us. In healthcare, we have seen an astounding level of hype surrounding the use of artificial intelligence in image recognition, personalised treatment, form filling in and diagnostic technologies. What are the potential applications for AI in health and life sciences, but also the barriers to its adoption and practical implementation?

Further information and registration: https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/event/2521