 |
the
eleventh moray science festival
8 - 13 March 2004
A week
of talks, activities and enjoyment for all ages
Talks
take place in Elgin, Forres, Duftown and Burghead.
Moray
Science Festival reserves the right to alter, amend or cancel
the contents of this programme at its discretion
or
as circumstances may necessitate.
Moray
Science Festival is organised by Moray College. |
The
8th International Malt Whisky Nosing Competition
(Open
to all over 18.)
runs during
the Festival events from 7pm - 10 pm.
Monday
8th - Elgin Tuesday 9th - Dufftown
Wednesday 10th - Elgin Thursday 11th -
Forres Friday 12th - Burghead
The presentation
to the Malt Whisky Nose of 2004 will be made at 10pm on
Saturday 13th by the Principal of Moray College, Dr Jim Logan |
|
Monday
March 8 - Elgin
|
‘Straight Thinking’
7.00 - 10pm
Venue: Moray College
We all like a challenge
that makes us think ? to solve an existing problem or open up an
innovative line of thought.
Speakers from various
backgrounds describe methods and solutions.
7.00 - 7.30pm
‘Making it Happen’
Ian Ritchie, a
leading figure in the Scottish electronics and software industries,
opens the Festival with a look at the potential of innovation
- and what’s needed to harness it. |
7.30 - 8.15pm
‘So where’s the FORENSIC Science?’
Forensic techniques
are becoming ever more sophisticated, but That’s only part
of the story, says Dr Jim Thorpe, Acting Head of Strathclyde
University’s Forensic Science Unit. The science of the work
is to work out how to deploy the techniques - and to piece
together what the results mean.
Sponsored
by the Moray Branch of the British Association for the Advancement
of Science |
8.30 - 9.15pm
‘The buzz of fuzzy logic’
It uses day-to-day
language to run precision-control systems - in your washing
machine or in advanced robots.
Dr Stanko Blatnik
of IPAK and Andrej Rotovnik of Miel, both from Slovenia, describe
fuzzy logic and a range of innovative applications. |
9.30 - 10.15pm
‘Could computers think like us?’
Computers do many
routine tasks rapidly and superbly. Will they be able to do
everything that we can one day - and how far away is that
day? Dr Alexander Bashlykov, Director of the Tasmo-Bit company
in Moscow, looks at the progress of artificial intelligence
- and some current and future applications in industry. |
|
|
Tuesday
March 9 - Commercial Hotel, Dufftown |
7.30
- 10pm
Venue:
Commercial Hotel,
Dufftown |
‘Spirits and white
wines’ (Over-18s only)
An international mix of
speakers look at white drinks, their production and flavour. Dr Gordon
Steele, the Director of the Scotch Whisky Research Institute, reveals
some flavour secrets of gins and vodkas. Dr Alexander Bashlykov from
Moscow describes the production of Russian vodka. Dr Stanko Blatnik
from Velenje explains about Slovenian white wine and schnapps.
Admission £3
Entry free to IGB Members
Organised by the
Institute and Guild of Brewing and hosted by Dufftown 2000 |
|
Wednesday
March 10 - Elgin |
10am
- 11am
Venue:
Moray College |
 |
‘Art
and symmetry’
Slovenian artist Matjuska
Teja Krasek produces dazzling expressions of abstract mathematical
patterns, working with symmetry as a linking concept between art and
science. She
explains her ideas and their influences, from Escher paintings to
Penrose tilings, from the Golden Mean to quasicrystals.
An exhibition of her
work will be open daily in the Moray College art gallery throughout
the Festival.
|
7.30
- 9.30 pm
Venue:
Moray College |
The Moray
MasterQuiz
Open to teams of
four, with a maximum of one scientist per team.
Topics are quite general,
with the quizmaster’s message being Fun not Frustration, and De-stress
not Distress.
Entries (£1 per
person) to Dave Graham at Moray College on 01343 576426 ordavid.graham@moray.uhi.ac.uk
Proceeds to a local
charity to be selected by the winning team. |
|
Thursday
March 11 - Forres Academy |
7.30
- 8.30pm
Venue:
Forres Academy |
‘Cairngorm tors -
fantastic rock sculpting and super earth science’
From Ben Rinnes to Clachnaben,
millennia of granite weathering have produced the natural sculptures
that are the tors of north-east Scotland. Dr
Adrian Hall has visited every one of them and set up a web site
in their honour, www.fettes.com/Cairngorms
He explains how the
latest dating techniques reveal that the Cairngorm tors are some
of the oldest rock surfaces in the Northern Hemisphere.
Clach
Bhan |
 |
9.00 -
10pm
Venue:
Forres Academy |
‘Living
in the landscape’
Does conservation mean
leaving the landscape frozen in time? Or can it be part of an overall
long-term approach that opens up opportunities for people in a living
landscape? Derek Pretswell of Natural Resources Scotland outlines
a new vision of woodland development, with farm forestry and managed
wildlife providing new employment potential in regenerated rural communities. |
|
Friday
March 12 - Burghead |
7.30 - 9.45pm
‘Mysteries of the Ancient Sea-fort’
Evening in association
with Burghead Headland Trust - all proceeds go to Trust funds.
Venue: Burghead Community
Hall Admission £3.
|
| 7.30
- 8.15pm |
‘Ground
Force meets Time Team? New excavations in Burghead’
A team of Edinburgh University
archaeology students, funded by the Burghead Headland Trust, had the
opportunity to excavate some gardens in the town in September 2003.
What survived there,
and what light might be thrown on the great Pictish fort?
Professor Ian Ralston reports.
Grant
Street, Burghead |
 |
| 9.00
- 9.45pm |
8.45 -
9.30pm ‘By ruined towers and breaking waves’
Everything about the Picts
seems a mystery. They seem to suddenly appear in history, and then
just as suddenly disappear. Some writers tell us they come from Orkney,
others that they are from the East. Howie Firth suggests that the
various contradictions do fit a pattern - and that a vital clue can
be found in Burghead. With
traditional music from local group Saut-Herrin. |
|
Saturday
13 March - Elgin |
Family Day - 10 am
- 4 pm
Admission: Adults
£2 Concessions £1
Entry thereafter
to talks & shows marked *
is by free ticket
(available
2 hours before the individual start times.)
A choice
of activities for all ages at Moray College |
The Multi-coloured Flashing
Beeping Electronics Workshop is here!
And so is Satrosphere’s
Scottish Rocks and Geology Workshop.
See the air sizzle in
Ken Skeldon’s famous Arcs and Sparks* show! (at 10.30, 12.00,
2.00, 3.00).
Hear how musical instruments
work in Louise Reynolds’ Sound and Music* show (at 11.00,
12.30, 2.00 and 3.00).
See dazzling skyscapes
with  (Moray’s
Astronomy Club),
on The Bizarre Universe*
with Richard Pearce at 11.30am, taking you on a journey through
space
from our own Earth out
to the furthest galaxies. stopping to look at some of the strange
-
and often staggering
- facts along the way; and on The Journey*
with Ian Brantingham at 2.15pm,
following a stream of
solar particles from the centre of the sun to the explosive brilliance
of the aurora.
Dr Lyndsay Fletcher
of Glasgow University joins them at 3pm for Return to the Red
Planet* - new images and
science from Mars.
Travel all day in deep
space with the Cosmic Dome*,
to see the night sky and distant galaxies.
Build a spaghetti
tower with Moray BA Branch. Use natural materials like seaweed
and driftwood to create
unusual mobiles, with Science Designs. Build and run a
model hydrogen fuel cell car,
with Sigen and the
IEE. Play the Watt Family Energy Board Game with SCARF,
who’ll also give you
a free energy-saving light bulb. And take up the Waste
Busters Challenge with SWAG.
Speak to the world
on the airwaves with Moray Firth Amateur Radio Society’s radio
station.
Explore the power
of advertising and the Cola Tasting Challenge. Can you
tell the difference?
Are you in the right
job? - try some Psychometric testing!
Make sunshine
photographs, visit the Learning Resource Centre
to see the J D
Yeadon’s science book exhibition and to access the libraries
of the world.
For gardening members
of the family, there’s Donnie McBean’s Plant Workshop and Great
Spring Plant Sale. And there are also Hairdressing and
Beauty and Complementary Therapies, including massage, aromatherapy
and reflexology (£2 per treatment).
It's a day for the whole family
to enjoy! |
|
Saturday
13 March - Elgin |
International Evening
7.30 - 10.00 pm
With a sample of some of the food,
culture and music from several countries.
In association with Moray Twinning
Association
Admission by donation
Venue: Moray College |
| 7.30pm |
A musical welcome
with songs by Lynne MacKenzie
from Forres and piano accompaniment by Gavin Currie |
| 7.45
- 8.30pm |
‘From
the North Sea to the Baltic’
Elmer Gade, Principal
of Herning College in Denmark, describes the landscapes and seascapes
of Denmark, and some of the art and music and writing that they have
stimulated. Aurelija
Cepiene from Vilnius College in Lithuania gives a picture of a land
of lakes and forests and songs from ancient times. |
| 9.00pm |
‘Blowing Bubbles’
Dr Ian Adams on a journey
through the French countryside, with a flavour of the sparkling wines
and champagne that the land produces. |
Moray Science Festival
Sponsors
|
Moray College |
Moray, Badenoch
and Strathspey Enterprise |
Scottish
Executive |
|
British
Association for the Advancement of Science |
Careers
Scotland |
|
ASDA |
Gleaner
Oils |
McDonald
and Munro |
|
J D Yeadon |
Institute
of Physics |
Institute
and Guild of Brewing |
|
National
Science Week |
Scottish
Qualifications Authority |
|
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