Materials Girl: Moving around

Posted on behalf of Materials Girl


This is part two of a three-post series

The first day of classes also provides a form of benevolent entertainment. Specifically, spotting students anxiously studying maps and shiny new class planners, as they scurry across the campus’ many acres. (After one quarter, I gave up on remembering to use a planner; instead, scheduling is primarily accomplished via phone and numerous Post-It notes. I’ve also discovered that getting lost on foot is easier than it seems).

Each term of each year in university has had its own challenges, as well as its unappreciated perks – mostly in the form of good professors. Unappreciated is the word, because undergrads typically just recognize that “those guys” are good teachers – or complain about the difficulty of their classes and the resulting loss of sleep. Rarely do they know that some of these individuals not only teach, but also run extensive research groups, publish groundbreaking scientific papers, and write for journals such as Science and Nature.

We take the knowledge and brilliance of many people for granted. (Those eccentric, strange-smelling professors roaming campus with disheveled clothing and starry expressions may not be quite as batty as they seem…). How often do others misjudge us? All that matters is that we strive to meet and rise above any high expectations that are set for our lowly, human selves…

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Second Nature Event: Bluetongue disease special

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This week, the Second Nature events series brings a topical special event on Bluetongue disease.

Hot on the heels of another Foot-and-Mouth disease outbreak, a Bluetongue Disease outbreak was declared in the UK last week. This summer, there have been 3,000 reported cases of Bluetongue in Northern Europe alone. What is Bluetongue? How does it spread, why is it here now and where will it go next? And is it all because of climate change?

Join us for a special session with Professor Philip Mellor from the Institute of Animal Health at Pirbright for a discussion of all the details of Bluetongue, what we can expect from the outbreak and whether global warming is going to result in Bluetongue and other animal diseases becoming the norm.

Title: Bluetongue Disease special

Speaker: Professor Philip Mellor

Location: Second Nature Island

Date: Thursday 4th October

Time: 7am SLT, 10am EST, 2pm GMT, 3pm BST

Contact: Joanna Wombat

More info:

Bluetongue disease and Professor Mellor’s research group

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