Posts by Simon Harper
“It’s 2050 in Birmingham. Are we happy and well?” #TNOfood
Creating Stories From the Future: Food Scenarios for Birmingham 2050
A dozen participants in the Creating Stories From the Future workshop at Birmingham Leadership Foundation introduce themselves to each other in small groups – but introducing themselves to each other as their 2050 self. Fast-forwarding 38 years, they’re talking about what their future self is doing and what they’re eating.
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A final round-up of great blogposts from Blog Action Day #BAD11
Here’s one last round-up of fascinating blogposts which we didn’t get chance to share on the day itself:
- atlantablog.foundationcenter.org: Elyse Klova talks about food deserts and how urban agriculture can help to tackle the health effects caused by them.
- sworegonarchitect.blogspot.com: Randy Nishimura takes a look at the relationship between food and architecture, and says that architects have a big role to play especially when it comes to vertical farms.
- thegreenmarket.blogspot.com: Richard Matthews talks about how soy bean farmers are aiming to increase yield while using less energy.
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Birmingham on brink of a new era in generating electricity
Birmingham City Council has plans to generate its own electricity. Harking back to the days of Joseph Chamberlain, the idea is supported by deputy council leader Paul Tilsley, who says that the use of solar panels could make this a reality.
There are already more concrete plans to generate power going on next to the Sack of Potatoes pub in Gosta Green. And I mean ‘concrete’ both metaphorically and literally.
Few people appear to have heard of this exciting development. Yet with £16.5M of EU money, our very own Professor Andreas Hornung is pioneering a revolutionary carbon-negative process under the auspices of the European Bioenergy Research Institute (EBRI).
He’ll soon be in charge of an industrial-scale demonstrator power plant actually being
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Face to Face with the New Optimists: Roslyn Bill talks about healthy ageing
It’s been a busy week for Dr Roslyn Bill. Head of the Aston Research Centre for Healthy Ageing, at Aston University, Ros spoke to us earlier this week to tell us all about what’s happening at ARCHA, including the showcase event they held last week.
Not only that but she’s also joined the ranks of Birmingham Post bloggers, writing a blog about the research centre. You can read more from Ros and the other New Optimists here.
Birmingham Post Science blog round-up 27-09-2011
Want to know what the New Optimists have been blogging about recently over at the Birmingham Post Science blog? Here’s a quick recap of the interesting stuff you can find over there:
- Chris Dyke looks at how science can be applied to ceramics to create new materials which can be used in healthcare and technological fields
- Russell Beale reflects on the career of former Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs, and the innovations realised during his tenure
- Lucy Harper talks about the effect that microbes can have in cancer patients receiving treatment
- Kenny Webster asks, ‘What is colour?’
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Science Capital: Innovation Healthcare
We were excited to see two of the New Optimists at Science Capital’s Innovation Healthcare meeting on Wednesday. Charlie Craddock and Paul Moss were among the speakers at the event, which brings together the science community and businesses to identify investment opportunities and new developments.
There were some fascinating talks on a range of topics and activities, and you can read more about the evening Science Capital Press Release 260911.
You can see a video of Charlie Craddock above and the presentations made by each of the speakers can be found here:
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Experts & the public head to Aston University to take on ageing
Experts from around the UK are at Aston University today to exchange ideas as part of a one-day conference tackling ageing. The conference is organised by Aston Research Centre for Healthy Ageing (ARCHA), which is led by New Optimist Dr Roslyn Bill.
She says: “This showcase is about exchanging ideas, as well as looking for practical solutions to a major challenge for all of us. We hope those who attend will go away having been inspired after hearing about the huge amount of cutting edge research carried out here at Aston University.
At ARCHA, we’ve always said that we want our research to have real impact on the lives of older adults. We are keen for the public to come along to see what we are doing, and also so we can find out what matters to them. If we don’t know what affects their lives we can’t help them as well. We are looking for volunteers, and there will be opportunities to take part in our many research studies.”
As well as Roslyn, other New Optimists involved in leading this event include Helen Griffiths, Julia King, Peter Lambert, James Wolffsohn, Brian Tighe and Robert Berry.
You can read more about the event here. Look out for our interview with Roslyn Bill very soon.
Midlands universities leading the way in drug discovery
The latest Science Capital event is held this evening and sees ninety academic and business leaders heading to Birmingham to showcase investment opportunities and reflect on medical research successes in an effort to make them become clinical practice.
Universities in the West Midlands are at the heart of this, forging relationships with industry to develop improvements in patient care. This is the subject of Science Capital’s Innovative Healthcare Meeting at Hotel du Vin, which looks to explore scientific advances and how to make them a commercial reality.
Michael Overduin, CEO of Science Capital, is one of the New Optimists and the event will also be attended by his fellow New Optimists Paul Moss, head of the Cancer Research UK Centre at the University of Birmingham, and Charles Craddock, who is Director of the Blood and Marrow Transplant Unit at Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
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Face to Face with the New Optimists: Lawrence Young talks about challenging cancer
Professor Lawrence Young, Head of the College of Medical and Dental Sciences at the University of Birmingham, is the latest in our Face to Face series of interviews with the New Optimists. He’s recently contributed to the Challenging Cancer Kindle book, and in the video above he talks to us about what he’s optimistic about.
He also touches on the work of the College, which areas of scientific research he’s most excited by at the moment, and the future developments that he believes could help us combat the scientific challenges we’re facing right now.
You can see more from our Face to Face series here or by visiting the New Optimists YouTube channel.