UK Science in the Balance?

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UK Science is in the Balance

The 3 Main Facets of Science

J x J y – J y J x = iJ z

Chemistry – all of it - in 30 seconds as easy as 0, 1, 2, 3 ©

Research Strategy ©

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© We have had the three Es

© Now we have the three Cs

3 Crises ©

© Crisis 1 The desperate need to help the public, who do appreciate what science has done for them in the past,

© Crisis 1 The desperate need to help the public, who do appreciate what science has done for them in the past, to appreciate what it can do in the future

© Crisis 1 They must feel that wise decisions are being made at the SET/society interface

Artists and Science © Urania William Blake

Science and the Media ©

NN & Nanoscience Nanotechnology

Nitrosethane Microwave Spectrum

Nitrosoethane Me and my molecules ©

My Dog II ©

Molecular Machines ©

1.00nm What is a nanometer? Hare’s Ratio

Ray Whitby and Kuang Wen Hsu Sussex NNC Insulated conducting wire

Molecular Shock Absorbers ©

The Carbon Construction Kit ©

21 st Century Perspective of Chemistry ©

vega presentation.ppt

Monsieur Jourdain ©

Crisis, Crisis, Crisis © Crisis 2 Are we on the verge of losing 50%(?) of our university science departments

The NSF report that highlighted the relatively good level of well qualified year old scientists must not be taken as an argument for complacency because A-level Chem UG Chem In , In ,

Lott

The combination of the Research Assessment Exercise and the inadequate unit of resource allocation for science undergraduate teaching means that numerous science departments face closure The consequences for the Nation need to be considered

The cost of educating a scientist is much higher than twice that of an arts student The unit of resource factor of 2x is much too low Some of the factors that contribute are: much greater teaching time ( (ca 5x), the need for well equipped labs, major direct and indirect costs eg space charges, greater need for heating, power utilities etc

1.Science education needs experiment

2.Scientific method is not taught

1.Science education needs experiment 2.Scientific method is not taught 3.It is absorbed osmotically from the atmosphere of a research environment

1.Science education needs experiment 2.Scientific method is not taught 3.It is absorbed osmotically from the atmosphere of a research environment 4.Teaching only institutions cannot provide this and will not be accredited

1.Science education needs experiment 2.Scientific method is not taught 3.It is absorbed osmotically from the atmosphere of a research environment 4.Teaching only institutions cannot provide this and will not be accredited 5.This is related to the notion of what a University is

1.The focusing of research into a few top heavy battleships will damage the science base

2.Varied research environments are vital for science teaching

1.The focusing of research into a few top heavy battleships will damage the science base 2.Varied research environments are vital for science teaching 3.Smaller universities are needed to provide the fluidity, range of environment and nurture young scientists who may in time gravitate to the larger institutions

1.The focusing of research into a few top heavy battleships will damage the science base 2.Varied research environments are vital for science teaching 3.Smaller universities are needed to provide the fluidity, range of environment and nurture young scientists who may in time gravitate to the larger institutions 4.Outstanding research groups have historically flourished in the smaller institutions

EXAMPLES HULL First Liquid Crystal Displays LEICESTER Genetic Fingerprinting NOTTINGHAMNMR whole body imaging* KINGSDNA structure* SUSSEXBuckminsterfullerene* *Nobel Prizewinning Discoveries

Two more worrying factors The increase in National Insurance contribution University salary inflation rate has for some time been running at about 3½% whereas allowance for only 2½ has been made

© Crisis 3 The crisis in science education in particular of the age group

Teachers teaching Science to pre 16’s

In a particular LEA, the ratio of teachers with a degree in the subject was Physics/Chemistry/Biology is 1/2/4 In one study sample of 30 PGCE science graduates in 1992 only 2 are still in teaching

Language ©

The Vega Science Trust To insert your company logo on this slide From the Insert Menu Select “Picture” Locate your logo file Click OK To resize the logo Click anywhere inside the logo. The boxes that appear outside the logo are known as “resize handles.” Use these to resize the object. If you hold down the shift key before using the resize handles, you will maintain the proportions of the object you wish to resize. ©

TV (or www) Dinner Approach to the Provision of Teaching Material

1.Vega working to create an Internet teachers’ resource

TV (or www) Dinner Approach to the Provision of Teaching Material 1.Vega working to create an Internet teachers’ resource 2.Accessible free worldwide

TV (or www) Dinner Approach to the Provision of Teaching Material 1.Vega working to create an Internet teachers’ resource 2.Accessible free worldwide 3.Providing the best possible audio-visual teaching material

TV (or www) Dinner Approach to the Provision of Teaching Material 1.Vega working to create an Internet teachers’ resource 2.Accessible free worldwide 3.Providing the best possible audio-visual teaching material 4. Especially helpful for new teachers with limited specific experience

Where do you come from? ©

Algebra It’s as easy as a, b, c ©

Buckyball Workshop for Young Children with Manchester United

Sustainability

dx dy = a

Medical Notes Senior Nurses discussed problems stemming from nurses’ inability to do simple maths

Medical Notes Senior Nurses discussed problems stemming from nurses’ inability to do simple maths … they put decimal points in the wrong place so patients might receive 10 times more or times less medication than intended

If they’re lucky!

Medical Notes Senior Nurses discussed problems stemming from nurses’ inability to do simple maths … they put decimal points in the wrong place so patients might receive 10 times more or times less medication than intended they could not work out dose-to-bodyweight ratios which were particularly important for giving drugs to children

No kid should leave school without being able to expand or reduce an image in one go using a photocopier

3 4 By measuring and determining the ratio 4/3 = 1.33 = 133% 3/4 = 0.75 = 75%

School Arts/Science project ©

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© MU RS.CMMU The Dalton Buckyball Workshop

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Senior Nurses discussed problems stemming from nurses’ inability to do simple maths … they put decimal points in the wrong place so patients might receive 10 times more or times less medication than intended they could not work out dose-to-bodyweight ratios which were particularly important for giving drugs to children

Medical Notes Senior Nurses discussed problems stemming from nurses’ inability to do simple maths … they put decimal points in the wrong place so patients might receive 10 times more or times less medication than intended

EXAMPLES 35% of the GDP tied to Catalysis in some way or other

TV (or www) Dinner Approach to the Provision of Teaching Material

E =mc 2

TV (or www) Dinner Approach to the Provision of Teaching Material E =mc 2 DNA

TV (or www) Dinner Approach to the Provision of Teaching Material E =mc 2 H2OH2O DNA

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Language At a Faraday discussion meeting in Birmingham in 1954 on “The study of fast reactions”, the German scientist Manfred Eigen asked the Oxford don Ronnie Bell how the English language would describe reactions which were ‘faster than fast’. Ronnie Bell replied “Damn fast reactions Manfred and if they get faster than that, the English language will not fail you, you can call them damn fast reactions indeed!”.

Final proficiency in English non-English speaking immigrants to USA Age of arrival 200

According to the Economist 80% of teaching A leveldo Physics do ot The crisis in science education The crisis in the decimation of science at UK Universities The crisis in the level of ignorance of the public over science Engineering and Technolgy

C3C3 ©

Moliére’s Bourgeois Gentilhomme MJ Monsieur Jourdain – PM - Philosophy Master MJI wish to write something to my lady PMThen without doubt, it is verse you will need MJNo - not verse PM Do you want only prose then? MJ No neither PMIt must be one or the other MJWhy?

PMThere is no other way to express oneself other than in prose or verse MJ There is nothing but prose and verse? PMNo sir - everything that is not prose is verse and everything that is not verse is prose JMAnd when one speaks - what is that then? PMProse JM Well by my faith! For more than forty years I have been speaking prose without knowing anything about it. I am much obliged to you for having taught me that

Monsieur Jourdain – Philosophy Master MJ - I agree we have to have SET for the good of society PM - Then it is nanotechnology we need MJ - Non not N&N aaghhhh PM Do you want only High Energy Physics then? MJ No neither PM - It must be one or the other high energy particle physics or low energy – which is (atons stuck together in molecule) schemistry molecule biology and moleculr physics moleules which are Why?

Because that is all there is There is nothing but High and low energy No sir - everything that is not High Energy Physics involves low energy and thus molecule which are nanometer in size and everythinh that is not |N&N is high energy science And when we do Well by my faith for more than forty years I have been using th fruits of N&N withiout knowing anything about it – I am much obliged sir

Science deals with matter either at HIGH (nuclear) energies eg particle physics and cosmological events such as the Big Bang etc or our understanding of how atoms stick together in chemical bonds at LOW energies – around room temperature - what happens when ice freezes we boil water or an egg, take an aspirin etc Indeed anything that happens at nanoscale dimensions is nanoscience and nanotechnolgy (N&N) - so it encompasses all of chemistry - all of molecular physics and all of - molecular biology Is there anything left? – Not much

Moliére’s Bourgeois Gentilhomme MJ Monsieur Jourdain – PM - Philosophy Master MJI wish to write something to my lady PMThen without doubt, it is verse you will need MJNo - not verse PM Do you want only prose then? MJ No neither PMIt must be one or the other MJWhy?

PMEverything that is not prose is verse and everything that is not verse is prose JMAnd when one speaks - what is that then? PMProse JM Well by my faith! For more than forty years I have been speaking prose without knowing anything about it.

HIGH ENERGY MATTER particle physics and cosmological events such as the Big Bang etc LOW ENERGY MATTER Matter at low energies implicitly depends on chemical bonds – nanoscale science Today N&N is arguable all of chemistry together with molecular biology and molecular physics Is there anything left? – Not much

I have woken up in the 21 st Century to discover that I have been doing nanotechnology all my life