Seven days in science - 3 June 2010

As the World Cup is set to kick off, the legacy of former FA chairman Sir Harold Thompson FRS will be discussed at the Society next Friday (11 June).

President Martin Rees explored the challenges facing science in the modern world in the first of the 2010 Reith Lectures ‘The Scientific Citizen’ - a podcast of the lecture is available now. The second lecture in the series will air on Tuesday (8 June) at 9am on BBC Radio 4.

The Society’s new exhibition ‘The Royal Society: 350 Years of Science’ opens to the public on Monday (7 June). Visitors will see an array of important historical pieces - including Robert Boyle’s 17th century scientific wishlist and Isaac Newton’s reflecting telescope – and encounter major scientific personalities and discoveries as they tour the Royal Society’s Carlton House Terrace. Go to royalsociety.org/350-years-exhibition for more details.

St Paul’s Cathedral - whose architect was Royal Society Fellow Sir Christopher Wren - is holding a special evensong in celebration of the 350th anniversary of the Royal Society on Wednesday (9 June). For more details on the evensong, visit www.stpauls.co.uk.

Eight scientists were today (3 June) awarded the million-dollar Kavli prize for discoveries that have dramatically expanded human understanding in the fields of nanoscience, astrophysics and neuroscience. British scientist Raymond Wilson of the European Southern Observatory was among the winners in the field of astrophysics. For more details go to kavliprize.no.

This week the Society announced that it is to publish a new guide to the science of climate change. The purpose of the guide, which is due to be published in the summer, is to help the public gain a better understanding of the issue of climate change.

Chicheley Hall, home of the Kavli Royal Society International Centre for the Advancement of Science, opened its doors on Tuesday (1 June) - visit the new website for more information: www.chicheleyhall.co.uk.

The Sir Jagdish Chandra Bose Memorial Lecture, presented this year by Prof K. VijayRaghavan, Director of the National Centre for Biological Sciences in Bangalore, takes place on Tuesday (8 June). In his lecture ‘Genes and behaviour’ Prof VijayRaghavan will talk about the research undertaken in his institute and  how the biological sciences in India have developed over the years.

The BBC Sea Drifters slideshow, featuring images from Richard Kirby URF of the University of Plymouth, will be playing throughout the day on Saturday (5 June) on the Big Screen in Plymouth City Centre as part of the International Year of Biodiversity. You can watch the slideshow on the BBC website.

The Local Heroes talk How Galileo copied the telescope: technology and transfer in baroque Venice takes place at Edinburgh University next Thursday (10 June).

Tickets are now available for See Further: The Festival of Science + Arts, a unique ten-day summer festival at Southbank Centre in celebration of the Royal Society’s 350th anniversary. The festival will explore a range of science and technologies, links between the sciences and arts, and our human impulse to understand the world we live in. A host of cross-disciplinary collaborations, scientific and artistic events will also feature.

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