Lectures for Schools

• Computer Science

  Women in Computer Science

  Although people often think Computer Science is only for men, women have played a pivotal role in the subject and continue to do so. This talk covers pioneers like Ada Lovelace and Grace Hopper as well as the work of some of the current major female players in academia and industry.

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  Where’s my ROBOT? Probability, algorithms and computer science

  Reasoning with probabilities is central to many applications in Computer Science, for example allowing robots to cope with the uncertainty of the real world. We demonstrate and explain one example of a probabilistic algorithm - to solve the problem of localisation - using a Lego robot. We explain why similar techniques are important commercially.

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  The mind of the machine: Artificial intelligence?

  We all know the movie plot — evil robots and computers taking over the world, but what is the reality? This talk looks at artificial intelligence research, the field of science that tries to build 'thinking machines'. How are they built? What can they do? And, as importantly, what can't they do? We will also ask some interesting questions about a particularly well-known 'thinking machine', you!

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  The magic of Computer Science

  This interactive 1 hour magic show exposes how fundamental computer science methods are the real power behind some cunning effects. Participants can get involved in the show, try to figure out the secrets, and learn some great tricks and some exciting computer science. This activity appeals to a wide audience, and provides an event that highlights how maths and computer science make the 'magic' of modern technology work. This show is also available in a longer more challenging two hour format for suitable audiences.

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  Should we trust computers?

  Computers now control planes, trains, cars and medical equipment. Is it a good idea to trust computers with your life? This talk examines this issue by looking at accidents caused by computers and why it is unlikely that computers can ever be bug free. We will also show that the problem isn't just to do with computer software and that, even with a few bugs, software can still make the world safer.

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  Let’s talk about the weather

  Thanks to satellites and the Internet we have an even greater opportunity to play the nation's favourite game: moaning about the weather. We will talk about how the information travels from a satellite in geo-stationary orbit to a webpage on your laptop and how you can build simple systems to measure your local weather conditions. This talk is for future webpage designers, engineers, geographers and anyone interested in what information we have, how this information travels in networks and how we can best display it.

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  Saving lives with Human-Computer Interaction

  Everyone makes mistakes sometimes, even experts. If the design of a computer system doesn't take this into account then people can die: for example, if pilots make mistakes planes can crash, if nurses do a patient may be given an overdose. In everyday situations human error can lead to us losing money on e-commerce sites or to security problems if we mistakingly divulge a password. Bad design can leave people feeling they are "useless with technology". In this talk we explore how computer science and psychology research is helping designers solve the problems.

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  Humans vs. machines: The Sodarace story

  Sodarace (www.sodarace.net [New window]) is an online Olympic game pitting the best of human creativity against machine intelligence. In this talk we will cover some of the fascinating stories from Sodarace, explain how it is being used in schools worldwide and even how it came to be part of the Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines movie website!

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  Computers aren’t typewriters

  For many people, computers are chained to desks, locked in offices and forced into a life of drudgery and spreadsheet processing. In this talk we explore another side of computing where computers are squeezed, hugged and caressed in order to create new user experiences involving touch and music in a range of environments

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• Electronic Engineering

  Where’s my ROBOT? Probability, algorithms and computer science

  Reasoning with probabilities is central to many applications in Computer Science, for example allowing robots to cope with the uncertainty of the real world. We demonstrate and explain one example of a probabilistic algorithm - to solve the problem of localisation - using a Lego robot. We explain why similar techniques are important commercially.

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  Women in Electronic Engineering

  Electronic engineering is just for boys who want to build circuit boards, right? WRONG! This talk covers the history of women in electronic engineering and the outstanding contributions currently being made by women in the field. We'll show how the stereotypes around gender and electronic engineering are outdated and what the future looks like with women becoming more visible, building the electronic and computer systems that are changing the world.

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  The rise of digital music

  Fascinated with music technology? We will show how the electronic engineering route to a music career gives you the knowledge and skills to build tomorrow's exciting new audio and multimedia tools for music, gaming, television and cinema. Electronic engineering fuses a passion for audio with technical skills to produce cutting edge music tools and audio effects. Based on the experiences of researchers from the internationally renowned Centre for Digital Music, the talk will show that there is more to music technology than just using equipment.

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  The magic of Harry Potter! Can we make Cloaking a reality?

  Harry Potter can make himself invisible just by pulling on a cloak. Science Fiction? Even in Harry's world it takes powerful magic. Could it ever be made a reality? This talk is about the work of the electronic engineers who are applying their physics and engineering skills to create new kinds of materials that make objects invisible. Invisibility may even be a possibility for humans too. With the help of electronic engineering, Harry Potter's style of magic may one day be science fact.

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