Northumbria unveils public lecture programme

The lecture series has been expanded for the new academic year to include a selection of inaugural lectures by Northumbria professors which are of interest to the public.

The programme begins on 11 October with an inaugural lecture entitled The Question of Design, by Steven Kyffin, Dean of the School of Design.

Professor Dame Carol Black, the UK National Director for Health and Work, who is currently chairing an independent review on sickness absence, will visit the University on 24 October.

Joanne Roberts, Professor of International Business in Newcastle Business School, will deliver her inaugural lecture, which asks if Wikipedia is a new form of international productions, on 31 October.

The President of the YouGov opinion polling organisation, Peter Kellner, will deliver a talk on 14 November. Peter writes for a variety of broadsheet newspapers and is a regular guest on BBC2’s Newsnight.

Professor Steven Cummings of Northumbria University’s School of Life Sciences will look at ‘the dark matter of biology’ in his inaugural lecture, which is held on 12 December.

The first speaker in 2012 is Shami Chakrabarti, Director of the human rights organisation, Liberty. A trained barrister, Shami speaks widely on human rights values and the essential components of a democratic society. She will deliver her public lecture on 26 January.

Professor Robert Miles, an expert in solar cell devices from Northumbria University’s School of Computing, Engineering and Information Sciences, will look at photovoltaic materials and devices for the 21st century in his inaugural lecture, which is scheduled for 1 February.

The lessons social networks can teach us about building design will be analysed by Professor Ruth Dalton of Northumbria University’s School of Built and Natural Environment in her inaugural lecture on 25 April. Professor Dalton specialises in the use of virtual environments to research how people interact in building spaces.

British art is under the spotlight in Professor Craig Richardson’s inaugural lecture on 31 May. An expert in contemporary art and a new addition to Northumbria University’s School of Arts and Social Sciences, Professor Richardson will consider the contemporary benefits of the term ‘British art’.

The lectures are all held in the early evening on Northumbria University’s city campus. Entry is free of charge, though seating is limited and anyone wanting to attend is asked to book a place.

For further details and to book a space at any lecture, contact nu.events@northumbria.ac.uk, call 0191 227 3025, 0191 227 4480 or visit www.northumbria.ac.uk/publiclectures