Category Archives: Science

Library STEM Subject Guides

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Finding the right sources of information for any subject can be tricky, given the vast amount of resources there are available to you via our vast range on online resources. This is especially true of the Science, Technology, Engineering and Medicine (or STEM) disciplines. With that in mind, our Academic Librarians have created a set of online guides tailored to these subject areas.

You can find the complete A-Z list of all the guides by following this link:

http://www.lboro.ac.uk/services/library/subjectguides/

Each link gives you a concise run-down of everything you need to know about finding information for your subject, including the contact details for the Academic Librarian responsible for the School/Department concerned.

Be sure to visit and bookmark the links for future reference – you’ll certainly find them useful!

Pioneering Women of Loughborough for British Science Week 2019

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This week is British Science Week, and to mark the occasion
the Women’s Engineering Society at Loughborough University have launched a poster campaign across campus utilising images and information courtesy of our very own archives.

A Pioneering Woman of Loughborough showcases the life and work of two remarkable Alumni who both graduated from the then Loughborough Engineering College in 1922 – Verena Holmes and Claudia Parsons.

Verena Holmes became the first woman to be elected to the prestigious Institute of Mechanical Engineers in 1924, and was President of the Women’s Engineering Society in 1931.

Along with Verena Holmes and Dorothea Travers, Claudia Parsons was one of the first women to be admitted to the Loughborough Engineering College, and went on to become the first woman as well to circumnavigate the world in 1938.

In her honour, the University launched a series of Memorial Lectures aimed at raising the profile of women working in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, given by such luminaries as
Maggie Aderin Pocock, Kate Bellingham, Helen Czers and Jessica Wade, who delivered last year’s lecture.

The University further honoured Claudia by naming its newest Hall of Residence (to be opened this September) after her.

The photographs and accompanying information detailed for the campaign were provided by the University Archivist Jenny Clark, who is based here in the Library.

STEAM Week on Campus 11th-19th March

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Need to let off a bit of STEAM before the end of term? Look no further!

STEAM is a week of inter-disciplinary adventures, involving Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths. From creating your own light-work, artist talks and a games jam to building a Future Machine and experiencing an Algoraves electronic music and light pojections night in LSU.

All these events are FREE but workshops must be booked in advance. For booking information and full timetable of events, visit this link.

World Space Week 2018

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Boldly going where no one has gone before, it’s World Space Week, the annual celebration of mankind’s exploration of outer space.

Each year, the World Space Week Association (WSWA) selects a theme for the upcoming World Space Week (WSW) to provide a focus of the activities and events that take a place throughout the world, during 4th-10th October . The 2018 theme is Space Unites the World, which celebrates the role of space in bringing the world closer together.  The theme is inspired by UNISPACE+50, an historic gathering of world space leaders which will occur in 2018. UNISPACE+50 will promote cooperation between spacefaring and emerging space nations and help space exploration activities become open and inclusive on a global scale.

Launched specifically on 4th October by the UN General Assembly to mark the successful launch of Sputnik 1, the first man-made satellite, in 1957, and the signing of the ‘Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies’ on October 10th 1967, World Space Week has been held every year since 1999, and seeks primarily to educate people about the positives of space exploration and encourage better public understanding and support for space programmes.

We have many and various astronomical and astronautic resources in the Library, including access to the  National Geophysical Data Centre database, which provides the latest satellite geophysical data from the Sun to the Earth and Earth’s sea floor and solid earth environment, including Earth observations from space, and the NASA Scientific & Technical Information database, which includes up-to-date information about NASA’s space projects. We also hold a good selection of books about space & space exploration in general.

To find out more about World Space Week, visit their website here:

http://www.worldspaceweek.org/

Claudia Parsons Memorial Lecture 2018

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The University is holding its annual Gender Equality Claudia Parsons Memorial Lecture on Wednesday 18th April at 1.30pm, West park teaching hub. It will be followed by a Research Showcase celebrating Loughborough’s gender research.

Dr Jess Wade will deliver the lecture who will share stories from “Hidden No More”, a US State Department exchange program where she joined 48 women from 48 countries to review international policies that champion women in science. As Jess also loves new materials, her lecture will also explore her work making flexible devices in the Centre for Plastic Electronics and the contributions made by women throughout history.

Details for the lecture can be found here:

http://www.lboro.ac.uk/news-events/events/claudia-parsons-memorial-lecture-2018.html

The lecture will be followed by a research showcase comprising lightening talks on gender delivered by a mix of Loughborough’s researchers from across campus.

Stephen Hawking 1942-2018

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Visionary scientist Stephen Hawking has died aged 76.

Famed for his study of black holes and relativity, he wrote several best-selling science books including most notably A Brief History of Time, which sold over ten million copies worldwide.

At the age of 22 he was given only a few years to live after being diagnosed with a rare form of motor neurone disease, which left him confined to a wheelchair and unable to speak except through a voice synthesiser, but he defied the odds and overcame his disability to become the scientist widely regarded as the greatest since Albert Einstein.

He gained immense popularity outside the academic world, including appearances in popular TV shows including The Simpsons and Star Trek: The Next Generation. In 2014, he was portrayed by Oscar-winning actor Eddie Redmayne in The Theory of Everything, a dramatic reconstruction of his early life and struggles.

We have several works by and about Stephen Hawking in the Library, including A Brief History of Time – you can find them here – http://bit.ly/2p8Nfqi

World Space Week 2017

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This week is the start of World Space Week, the worldwide annual celebration of the marvels and mysteries of astronautics, astronomy and all things galactic. And, fittingly enough for the start of a new academic year, the theme is one of exploration!

Launched specifically on 4th October by the UN General Assembly to mark the successful launch of Sputnik 1, the first man-made satellite, in 1957, and the signing of the ‘Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies’ on October 10th 1967, World Space Week has been held every year since 1999, and seeks primarily to educate people about the positives of space exploration and encourage better public understanding and support for space programmes.

This year’s theme is Exploring New Worlds in Space. From the first race to the South Pole, and first solo flight accross Atlantic, to the opening of a sea route from Europe to the East, exploration and adventures have always defined our very existence as inhabitants of planet Earth. World Space Week celebrations in 2017 will open-up avenues to improve the vast human knowledge and awareness of the clear benefits of space technology and its applications. This will also illustrate that our exploration potential has no end, and that the sky is not the limit for the many wonders of human discovery.

We have many and various astronomical and astronautic resources in the Library, including access to the  National Geophysical Data Centre database, which provides the latest satellite geophysical data from the Sun to the Earth and Earth’s sea floor and solid earth environment, including Earth observations from space, and the NASA Scientific & Technical Information database, which includes up-to-date information about NASA’s space projects. We also hold a good selection of books about space & space exploration in general.

To find out more about World Space Week, visit their website here:

http://www.worldspaceweek.org/

Robots at the Cope Auditorium

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To mark UK Robotics Week next week the Cope Auditorium is opening its doors for an evening of cybernetic discussion under the banner Robots at the movies: The portrayal of robots and androids in contemporary films.

Automata, robots and androids have been a creation and fascination for humans over centuries. From Maria (Metropolis, 1927), R2D2 and C3PO (Star Wars, 1977), WALL-E (2008), The Terminators (1984, 1991, 2003) to Transformers (2007), they have been portrayed as our friends, adversaries, alien to almost human, invaders and enslavers or as our saviours and trusted companions.

These portrayals in the movies have reflected and perhaps influenced our opinion of them. Join us for an amusing evening reviewing our relationship with these technologies as reflected in their portrayal in the movie industry.

The discussion runs from 6pm – 7.30pm next Thursday (28th June) in the Cope and is brought to you by the Centre for Doctoral Training in Embedded Intelligence in support of the UK Robotics Week 2017. The event is free, but booking is necessary – visit the link below to do that.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/robots-at-the-movies-the-portrayal-of-robots-and-androids-in-contemporary-films-tickets-31961461592

World Space Week 2016

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wsw16This week is the start of World Space Week, the worldwide annual celebration of the marvels and mysteries of astronautics, astronomy and all things cosmic.

Launched specifically on 4th October by the UN General Assembly to mark the successful launch of Sputnik 1, the first man-made satellite, in 1957, and the signing of the ‘Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies’ on October 10th 1967, World Space Week has been held every year since 1999, and seeks primarily to educate people about the positives of space exploration and encourage better public understanding and support for space programmes.

This year’s theme is “Remote Sensing: Enabling Our Future,” an inward looking theme which celebrates Earth Observation from Space for the betterment of the human race, highlighting a host of classic Earth Observation missions such as the U.S. Landsat mission, the work of intergovernmental groups such as GEOSS Group on Earth Observations and emphasizes applications such as environment and agriculture monitoring, land use mapping and new uses such as location based services.

Fittingly, we have access to the National Geophysical Data Centre database, which provides the latest satellite geophysical data from the Sun to the Earth and Earth’s sea floor and solid earth environment, including Earth observations from space, and the NASA Scientific & Technical Information database, which includes up-to-date information about NASA’s satellite projects. We also hold a large number of books about satellite communications & navigation among our collection, along with a good selection of books about space & space exploration  in general.

To find out more about World Space Week, visit their website here:

http://www.worldspaceweek.org/