Ig Nobel Tour of the U.K. 2006
March 10-17, 2006 for National Science Week
Co-sponsored by the British Association for the Advancement of Science and by The Guardian
ATTENTION members of the Luxuriant Flowing Hair Club for Scientists (LFHCfS): please see special notice at bottom of this page.
A few accounts of the tour: Kees Moeliker's diary before and after; blogged accounts by Sun, Graham Clark, Limpingdog.
| March 10, 2006, Friday, 7:30 p.m. | Oxford University. Martin Woods Theatre, part of the Physics Department, adjacent to the Clarendon Laboratory on Parks Road at the corner with Keble Road. Free, and you can turn up on the night, but to guarantee a seat you MUST book in advance. | Featuring: Marc Abrahams / Ig Nobel winners Pek Van Andel, Chris McManus, Kees Moeliker / Robin Abrahams / John Hoyland / The Great Intelligence Debate [part 1] / "The Count of Infinity" starring Sarah Redmond, Dan Gillingwater & Alice Redmond / and more |
| March 12, Sunday, 2:30 p.m. | Edinburgh. National Museums of Scotland, Chambers Street. Free, but seating is limited so please try to arrive early. | Featuring: Marc Abrahams / Ig Nobel winners Pek Van Andel, Kees Moeliker, Charles Paxton, Claire Rind & Peter Simmons, Ben Wilson, Max Whitby & Fiona Barclay [collaborators of Theo Gray] / Robin Abrahams / Jonathan Rees / The Great Intelligence Debate [part 2] / "The Count of Infinity" starring performers from the Edinburgh University Savoy Opera Group / and more. The Edinburgh show is co-sponsored by The Royal Society and by Edinburgh Neuroscience. |
| March 13, Monday, 7:00 p.m. | University of St. Andrews, North St., St. Andrews. Lower College Hall. Free. To guarantee a place you MUST have booked in advance, and this event is now fully booked.... However, it's likely that a few people will fail to claim their reservations. Thus, you are welcome to turn up on the night, on the chance that some seats will become available at the last minute. | Featuring: Marc Abrahams / Ig Nobel winners Pek Van Andel, Kees Moeliker, Charles Paxton, Ben Wilson, Fiona Barclay [collaborator of Theo Gray] / Robin Abrahams / The Great Intelligence Debate [part 3] / "The Count of Infinity" starring Imogen Howes, Robert Brignall & Emma King / and more |
| March 15, Wednesday, 7:00 p.m. | CCLRC Daresbury Laboratory, Warrington, Cheshire. Keckwick Lane. In the Merrison Lecture Theatre. Tickets are free, but please book in advance on 01925 603040 or email (dltalkingsci AT cclrc.ac.uk). This event will be webcast live at http://www.liveconf.dl.ac.uk/. | Marc Abrahams / Ig Nobel winners Pek Van Andel, Kees Moeliker, Fiona Barclay [collaborator of Theo Gray] / Robin Abrahams / The Great Intelligence Debate [part 4] / "The Count of Infinity" starring Sarah Midgley, Bex Smith, Al King, and Janet Archer from the Manchester Universities Gilbert & Sullivan Society / and more |
| March 16, Thursday, 7:00 p.m. | Guardian Newsroom Archive & Visitor Centre, London. 60 Farringdon Road, EC1R 3GA. Free -- but to guarantee a place you MUST have booked in advance, and this event is now fully booked.... However, it's likely that a few people will fail to claim their reservations. Thus, you are welcome to turn up on the night, on the chance that some seats will become available at the last minute. | Featuring: Marc Abrahams / Ig Nobel winners Pek Van Andel, Chris McManus, Kees Moeliker, Fiona Barclay [collaborator of Theo Gray] / Robin Abrahams / John Hoyland / The Great Intelligence Debate [part 5] / "The Count of Infinity" starring Sarah Redmond, Dan Gillingwater & Alice Redmond / and more |
| March 17, 2006, Friday, 1:10 p.m. | London. Science Society of the City of London School. | Special Ig Nobel talk for students. |
| March 17, 2006, Friday, 7:00 p.m. | London. Imperial College. Lecture Theatre 1 (G16), Sir Alexander Fleming Building, South Kensington campus. This event is already fully booked. | Featuring: Marc Abrahams / Ig Nobel winners Pek Van Andel, Chris McManus, Kees Moeliker, Max Whitby & Fiona Barclay [collaborators of Theo Gray] / Robin Abrahams / John Hoyland / The Great Intelligence Debate [part 6] / "The Count of Infinity" starring Bethany Burrow, Robin Adams & Harriet Petherick Bushman / and more. This show is co-sponsored by the Imperial College Graduate School of Engineering & Physical Science (GSEPS) and the Graduate School of Life Sciences & Medicine. |
What: The shows feature Marc Abrahams, organizer of the Ig Nobel Prizes, editor of the Annals of Improbable Research, and Guardian columnist, together with a gaggle of Ig Nobel Prize winners and other great scientists, musicians, and other thinkers. Includes the Great Intelligence Debate -- each debater explains why he or she is the smartest person in Britain. Most (perhaps, just perhaps, all) events will include a performance of the mini-opera The Count of Infinity.
History: Click here for glimpses at the 2005, 2004, and 2003 tours.
Who: Here are some of the Ig Nobel Prize winners, and other distinguished persons, who will appear in one or more of the 2006 Tour events:
- Marc Abrahams, organizer of the Ig Nobel Prizes, editor of the Annals of Improbable Research magazine, and weekly Guardian columnist.
- Robin Abrahams, psychology editor of the Annals of Improbable Research and "Miss Conduct" etiquette columnist.
- John Hoyland, editor of the "Feedback" and letters sections of New Scientist magazine.
- Chris McManus (Ig Nobel Medicine Prize winner, 2002 and 2003 Aventis Prize winner). Scrotal Asymmetry in Man and in Ancient Sculpture
- Kees Moeliker (Ig Nobel Biology Prize winner, 2003). The First Scientifically Recorded Case of Homosexual Necrophilia in the Mallard Duck. He will also discuss his involvement with the recent Dutch "dominoes murder victim" sparrow.
- Charles Paxton (Ig Nobel Biology Prize winner, 2002). Courtship Behaviour of Ostriches Towards Humans Under Farming Conditions in Britain.
- Jonathan Rees, Professor of Dermatology at the University of Edinburgh, will explain "Why blondes will survive."
- Pek Van Andel (Ig Nobel Medicine Prize winner, 2000). The first MRI pictures taken of a couple's sexual organs while those organs were in use. He will also discuss Serendipity.
- Max Whitby and Fiona Barclay collaborate with 2002 Ig Nobel Prize winner Theo Gray. Construction of the periodic table table.
- Ben Wilson (Ig Nobel Biology Prize winner, 2004). The discovery that herrings apparently communicate by farting.
Press contacts: Craig Brierley (+44) 020 7019 4947 (craig.brierley AT the-ba.net); or Marc Abrahams (+1) 617-491-4437 (marca AT chem2.harvard.edu).