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Dr. Lewis Dartnell
Subjects covered:
Life processes and living things, Physical processes
Description:
I am a young research scientist at University College London, and also write regular freelance articles in newspapers and magazines. In 2007 I published my first popular science book, 'Life in the Universe: A Beginner's Guide'.
I offer a number of popular science talks that I have presented many times at schools, science festivals, the Royal Institution, and even for passenger entertainment aboard cruise ships! I also present at science careers events. Details on my various talks are here:
1) The Search for Life beyond Earth
- 'Astrobiology' is a brand new field of science, encompassing research into the origins and limits of life on our own planet, and where life might exist beyond the Earth. But what actually is 'life' and how did it emerge on our own world? What are the most extreme conditions terrestrial life can tolerate? And what would an alien actually look like - how realistic are the life-forms envisaged by science fiction novels and films over the years? Join Dr. Lewis Dartnell on a tour of the other planets and moons in our solar system which may harbour life, and even further afield to alien worlds orbiting distant stars, to explore one of the greatest questions ever asked: are we alone...?
2) Hacking the Brain: What optical and auditory illusions can tell us about how the mind works
- Our brain runs as an organic computer to allow us to see and hear the world around us. Optical illusions 'hack the brain' to disrupt this process and so allow us to understand how the brain works. With live demonstrations of a great variety of optical and auditory illusions, this talk will reveal the inner workings of the mind. Warning: you may begin to see the world in a whole new way!
3) A Scientist goes to the movies
- There’s much more science in the cinema than you might have thought. Either subtly incorporated into the storyline or used explicitly as in sci-fi, science is woven into many popular films, but not all of it very convincingly! Which famous romantic comedy gets its teeth into the weirdness of quantum mechanics, and in which clangers are the laws of science apparently different in Hollywood from the rest of the Universe? Bring your popcorn and settle comfortably into your seat as we take a humorous look at some of the greatest Hits and Misses of science in the movies.
4) Alien Evolution
- 'Astrobiology' encompasses research into the origins and limits of life on our own planet and where else this marvellous phenomenon might have emerged. On some worlds the conditions could be stable enough to allow life to progress beyond microbes. These alien plants and animals would be subject to the same physical constraints as life on Earth, and so certain features might be universal throughout the galaxy, whereas other alien features would have evolved as ingenious solutions for survival in environments very different to Earth. So what might an alien actually look like? Building on firm scientific foundations, where evolutionary biology, astrophysics and planetary science overlap, we’ll see just how plausible are the aliens that populate our sci-fi films and TV shows.