What are the conditions for planet formation and the emergence of life, and how does the Solar System work? These are the questions the European Space Agency’s latest JUpiter ICy moons Explorer (JUICE) mission is seeking to address. In this William Herschel Society lecture, Dr Nigel Bannister, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Leicester, talks about the engineering challenges of mounting a mission to the largest planet in the solar system which is sc...
Nov 22, 2016•1 hr 3 min
The world is facing a major challenge in producing and supplying enough safe and nutritious food for a growing global population. Vaccination plays a major role in combating this crisis by improving animal health and thereby food security. This podcast from Dr Jean van Den Elsen looks at how our research is improving vaccination against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB). We're developing a unique adjuvant protein with the potential to provide easier delivery, increased safety and more accessible v...
Nov 22, 2016•49 min
In this IPR Public Lecture, University of Bath honorary graduate and Lenfest-Earth Institute Professor of Natural Resource Economics at Columbia University Scott Barrett discusses his work on international agreements. Known for his cross-cutting research, which combines economics and game theory with international politics, Professor Barrett here examines the relative success of climate deals over the last 25 years. This IPR Public Lecture took place on 12 October 2016.
Oct 19, 2016•1 hr 20 min
In this IPR Research Seminar, Dr Malcolm Torry - Director of the Citizen's Income Trust - gives an introduction to the concept of universal basic income, and discusses its feasibility with reference to trials around the world. This IPR Research Seminar took place on 11 October 2016.
Oct 19, 2016•1 hr 45 min
In this lecture, Professor Colin Fox, presents a history of the Bayesian inference and subjective probability, as viewed by a Bayesian Physicist.
Oct 18, 2016•1 hr 3 min
Musculoskeletal disease is responsible for the majority of the global health burden, yet receives little national or international attention in terms of media awareness. This podcast from Professor Richie Gill describes some major challenges for global healthcare provision and give an overview of the research work being performed at the University of Bath to meet these challenges.
Oct 11, 2016•40 min
The Cabinet Office was created exactly 100 years ago and is the beating heart of the British state. It ensures the Cabinet and Whitehall run properly, that Britain survives military and economic crisis, overseas intelligence and security, and liaises with Europe, the Commonwealth and the G7/8/20. This podcast, from the 46th Gerald Walters Memorial Lecture, lifts the lid on what happens inside the Cabinet Office. Sir Anthony Seldon’s book on the Cabinet Office 1916-2016 is published in December 2...
Oct 03, 2016•53 min
In this IPR Public Lecture, Lord Kerslake explores the constitutional crisis that the UK faces following the EU referendum in June. His suggestions for electoral reform and greater devolution together form a broad-reaching plan for how Britain can meet the challenges of the future. This IPR Public Lecture took place on 15 September 2016, as part of the symposium Evidence and the Politics of Policymaking: where next?
Sep 28, 2016•31 min
In this IPR Public Lecture, the Rt Hon Douglas Alexander - former Shadow Foreign Secretary and Secretary for International Development - discusses politics, policy and his own career with IPR Director Professor Nick Pearce. This IPR Public Lecture took place on 14 September 2016, as part of the symposium Evidence and the Politics of Policymaking: where next?
Sep 28, 2016•47 min
In this IPR Public Lecture, noted philosopher Professor Nancy Cartwright of the University of Durham takes a serious look at the meaning of 'evidence', and how a case for effective policy can be built from it. This IPR Public Lecture took place on 14 September 2016, as part of the symposium Evidence and the Politics of Policymaking: where next?
Sep 28, 2016•45 min
In this IPR Public Lecture, Professor of Industrial Strategy at the Aston Business School David Bailey considers what Brexit might mean for the UK automotive sector, and in turn for industrial policy in the UK. This IPR Public Lecture took place on 07 September 2016
Sep 28, 2016•1 hr 40 min
Daphne Jackson Trust Fellows carry out novel research at post doctorial level across a wide spectrum of sciences and engineering disciplines. This conference showcased the fellows’ research and findings.
Aug 12, 2016•1 hr 56 min
In the lecture, Right Reverend Peter Price - the 78th Bishop of Bath and Wells - spoke of his experience of peace and reconciliation including in the Middle East, Central and South America and Northern Ireland.
Aug 12, 2016•53 min
In this IPR Public Lecture, Mr Stephen Kelly - CEO of Sage and former COO of Her Majesty's Government - shares the lessons he’s learnt from his time reforming and digitally transforming the civil service, and how he’s applied these in both public and private sectors. The talk centres around three key themes: the power of technology to change lives; the importance of connecting to stakeholders; and, finally but perhaps most importantly, making it meaningful. This IPR Public Lecture took place on ...
Aug 01, 2016•54 min
Postgraduate students from Faculty of Science showcased their research at a Research Afternoon on Monday 6 June 2016. Students presented a series of ten minute talks and two-minute 'lightning' talks on topics ranging from the spread of information, to vaccines and MRSA.
Jul 25, 2016•2 hr 25 min
In this IPR Public Lecture Professor Janine Wedel - IPR Global Chair and Professor in the School of Policy, Government, and International Affairs at George Mason University - introduces a new breed of influence elite that has emerged over the past several decades. In contrast to the 'power elites' described by sociologist C. Wright Mills a half century ago, she argues, the muscle of today’s influence elites resides at least as much in social networks as in command-and-control bureaucracy. These ...
Jul 22, 2016•48 min
In this IPR Public Lecture, Dr Jo Farrar - Chief Executive of Bath and North East Somerset Council - examines the changing nature of public services and how the transformation efforts of recent government administrations play out in the delivery of local services. She also considers how innovative use of data and technology can improve the performance of public services at a time of unprecedented budget reductions. Finally, Farrar discusses new approaches to the reform of local public services i...
Jul 22, 2016•38 min
In this IPR Public Lecture, the Rt Hon Lord David Willetts updates the analysis in his book 'The Pinch', presenting the latest data on the widening gap between the baby boomer generation and their children. He also discusses various policy measures to redress the imbalance between the generations. This IPR Public Lecture took place on 20 April 2016
Jul 22, 2016•47 min
In this IPR Public Lecture, former Government Chief Scientific Adviser Sir John Beddington contests that, though change in the 21st Century is both fast and dramatic, some problems for the next few decades are both predictable and inexorable. Significant challenges exist driven by population growth, complex demography, urbanisation and increasing prosperity, all with a background of significant poverty. Climate change is happening, will continue and is a major risk multiplier. This lecture cover...
Jul 22, 2016•1 hr 10 min
In this IPR Public Lecture, Professor Allyson Pollock - Professor of Public Health Research and Policy at Queen Mary University of London - shows how the government has abolished the NHS. She explains how the new structures will operate, what this means for patient access and what needs to be done about it. This IPR Public Lecture took place on 01 May 2014
Jul 22, 2016•1 hr 26 min
The way that knowledge is structured has implications for the way we teach. Where the information that is presented in lectures fails to represent the knowledge structure of the discipline, then students have to resort to rote learning of materials. Where the curriculum structure aligns with the structure of the discipline, then students will be learning in more authentic ways and will have access to powerful knowledge. To get to this point, teachers first need to consider the structure of their...
Jul 18, 2016•51 min
Increasing numbers of internationally branded schools serving local [rather than predominantly expatriate] populations and Ministries of Education engaged in educational reform, are adopting what they perceive as international best practice. This raises a number of questions and issues explored in this lecture. Is there such a thing as international best practice? Does globalization imply the need for a common curriculum and pedagogy in order to prepare students for the modern world? Should curr...
Jul 18, 2016•44 min
Cellulose, one of nature's most abundant polymers, is produced in significant quantities in many farmed crops. Yet it is not a human food source - so the use of cellulose in high value materials does not compete with, but potentially complements, food production. This lecture covered work afoot at the University's Centre for Sustainable Chemical Technologies into processing cellulose into high value materials that gives access to renewably-derived recyclable materials with a range of diverse app...
Jul 15, 2016•48 min
Dr Momna Hejmadi, Dr Andrew Chalmers and Dr Lorenzo Caggiano summarise some of the latest developments in cancer research. This lecture was delivered as part of our MOOC (Massive Open Online Course), 'Inside Cancer: how genes influence cancer development'. https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/inside-cancer
Jul 15, 2016•52 min
Roger Martin, Chair of Population Matters, delivers a lecture for the Institute for our Institute for Sustainable Energy & the Environment considering population growth and the environment.
Jul 15, 2016•37 min
In this Inaugural lecture, Professor Simone Fullagar offers a sociocultural perspective on health, sport and active embodiment, to consider why and how the promotion of certain ideals of physical and mental health are not always 'good' for us. At the heart of this lecture are biopolitical and feminist questions concerning the complex effects of power relations (inequities relating to gender, class, ethnicity, sexuality, age, disability) on our embodied experiences health and well-being. How migh...
May 19, 2016•51 min
In this Inaugural lecture, Professor Simone Fullagar offers a sociocultural perspective on health, sport and active embodiment, to consider why and how the promotion of certain ideals of physical and mental health are not always ‘good’ for us. At the heart of this lecture are biopolitical and feminist questions concerning the complex effects of power relations (inequities relating to gender, class, ethnicity, sexuality, age, disAbility) on our embodied experiences health and well-being. How migh...
May 18, 2016•51 min
In this IPR Public Lecture, Professor Robert H. Wade - Professor of Political Economy at the LSE - builds on Supreme Court judge Louis Brandeis' dictum "We must make our choice. We may have democracy or we may have wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both". Professor Wade reports on recent evidence on the degree of income concentration at the top of OECD countries and the political costs of inequality, and asks: how should social democratic movements appeal for public su...
May 16, 2016•1 hr 1 min
In this inaugural lecture, Professor Nigel Wilding explores the computer simulation of changes of state in models for atoms and complex molecules. Predicting the phase behaviour of a material is a central goal of condensed matter science, and a pre-requisite for designing new materials with tailored or novel phase behaviour. Professor Wilding’s lecture outlined how computer simulation of phase behaviour now stands shoulder-to-shoulder with traditional approaches of experimental and analytical th...
May 16, 2016•52 min
In this IPR Public Lecture Professor David Stasavage - Julius Silver Professor and Chair in the Wilf Family Department of Politics at New York University - discusses his latest book: Taxing the Rich: A History of Fiscal Fairness in the United States and Europe. The book, and the lecture, draw on unparalleled evidence from 20 countries over the last two centuries to provide the broadest and most in-depth history of progressive taxation available. Stasavage explores the intellectual and political ...
May 04, 2016•40 min
