Green Hydrogen: Unlocking a Clean Energy Future

Posted on: March 5th, 2025 by mlpEditor

Curious about how we can power our world sustainably? While solar and wind power are making great strides, some industries need additional solutions to eliminate their carbon emissions. That’s where green hydrogen comes in.

 

What You’ll Learn

Join us to discover how this promising technology works and why it matters. We’ll explore:

– How green hydrogen can help decarbonize industries that can’t run on electricity alone, like steel manufacturing and long-distance shipping

– Why current green hydrogen costs more than traditional hydrogen, and the innovative solutions being developed to make it more affordable

– What needs to happen with infrastructure and policy to help green hydrogen reach its full potential

 

About the speaker

Dr Caroline Hargrove is Chief Technology Officer at Ceres Power, a leading developer of green hydrogen technology.

 

Who Should Attend

Through real-world examples and the latest developments, we’ll show how collaboration between industries and governments is helping overcome these challenges. Whether you’re new to the topic or already familiar with hydrogen technology, you’ll gain fresh insights into how green hydrogen could transform our energy landscape.

 

Practical Information

The talk includes a Q&A session. Booking is essential. Lit & Phil members: we recommend logging into the website to make booking your free member ticket quicker and easier.

 

Accessibility Information

Please contact us regarding any specific accessibility requirements you may have by emailing events@manlitphil.ac.uk

Interview with Professor Dame Ijeoma Uchegbu

Posted on: March 5th, 2025 by mlpEditor

Q: What part of your career would have most impressed your teenage self? 

A: The fact that I designed a medicine component from scratch that has now been tested in humans and has the potential to make a difference to healthcare.

 

Q: What has been the most surprising breakthrough in which you have been involved? 

A: The fact that a small chemical change to a protein in our body, changes the way that protein interacts with cells – allowing it to act as a specific drug transporter into cancer cells. This was a surprising finding.

 

Q: What branches of medicine do you think will be most impacted by your team’s work on nanomedicine?

 A: Our focus is now on ophthalmology and so we are hoping to be able to make an impact on eyecare.

 

Q: How hopeful are you that the work of your team will be able to impact global healthcare rather than the healthcare of the most wealthy? 

A: This is something that we are always concerned about and we would hope that our medicines would not be too expensive and thus have an impact on a variety of populations.

 

Q: Your profile shows that you are frequently involved in encouraging diversity in academic study and STEM in particular.  What advice would you have for bright young people who enjoy science but think that academic research might not be for “people like them”?

A: It is always difficult to give advice as an older woman.  I doubt that I would have taken advice from an older academic when I was comparatively young.  Here is the advice I wish I had been given and actually taken: There are no barriers that you cannot break and it would be foolish to assume that barriers do not exist, but we all have one goal – to go out and smash those barriers down by demonstrating our excellence in everything that we do.

 

Thank you to Dame Ijeoma for taking the time to answer our questions.

Professor Dame Ijeoma Uchegbu will be giving her talk – Small Particles, Big Impact: Revolutionising Drug Delivery – at the Renold Building, Manchester, on Thursday 20 March.

How Can We Create a Good Food Future?

Posted on: March 4th, 2025 by mlpEditor

The Food System Challenge

Every day, we encounter diverse and sometimes conflicting advice about what to eat—for our health and for our planet. Our current food system has an enormous impact, consuming vast amounts of fossil fuels, chemicals, and land.

 

Consequences of Our Current Approach

For decades, we’ve focused on maximizing productivity through technology, but this approach has consequences. Our soils are becoming less fertile, threatening future food security, while extreme weather events challenge our food supply’s resilience.

 

The True Cost of Food

Industrial animal farming provides inexpensive meat, but at significant costs to animal welfare, the environment, and public health. New plant-based alternatives offer additional choices, but are they complete solutions? How can nutritious food become accessible and affordable for everyone when fast food is often cheaper than fresh options? And who should take responsibility for making positive changes?

 

Reimagining Food as a Force for Good

If food has such a major influence on our world, how might we transform what we grow and eat into a force for good?

 

Join the Conversation

In this session, Dr. Mitchell invites us to explore our power as both consumers and citizens to shape a new future for food and farming. Together, we’ll navigate the complex challenges facing our food system and discover how we can create our own “good food future”—one that helps restore nature and climate while ensuring healthy food is available to all.

Join us on this journey of exploration as we reimagine our relationship with food!

 

Practical Information

The presentation will include time for questions and discussion.

Booking is essential. Lit & Phil members: we recommend logging into the website to make booking your free member ticket quicker and easier.

 

Accessibility Information

Please contact us regarding any specific accessibility requirements you may have by emailing events@manlitphil.ac.uk

Small Particles, Big Impact: Revolutionising Drug Delivery

Posted on: January 7th, 2025 by mlpEditor

Imagine a future where medicines work better and cause fewer side effects. Join us to hear from pharmaceutical pioneer Professor Dame Ijeoma Uchegbu, President of Wolfson College, Cambridge, as she explores the future of medicine through nanotechnology.

Ijeoma and her team are developing groundbreaking nanoparticle technology that delivers drugs precisely where they’re needed in the body. It’s a fascinating breakthrough that anyone interested in technological innovation needs to hear more about.

 

The Challenge in Drug Development

What if we told you that for every successful medicine, 4,999 candidates fail? Drug development is a complex journey, with only 1 in 5,000 molecules making it from concept to market, at a cost of $1 billion per success. Even in clinical trials, 90% of drugs fall short, often because they can’t reach their target effectively.

 

Patient Challenges: A Call for Better Solutions

Ever wondered why half of patients with chronic conditions struggle with their medication? More often than not, it’s fear of unwanted side effects that holds them back. But what if we could direct medicines to focus on diseased areas while sparing healthy tissue?

 

A Breakthrough Approach

This is where the story gets astonishing. Scientists are developing nanoparticles – tiny carriers just a thousandth the width of a human hair – that can guide medicines to where they’re needed most.  Professor Uchegbu’s flagship development, Envelta™, represents a breakthrough in pain management. As a non-addictive alternative to opioids, it addresses a critical need: every year, 80,000 Americans lose their lives to opioid poisoning, while in the UK, 40 families face such tragedy weekly.

 

Building on this success, her team’s research extends into cancer treatments and therapies for sight-threatening conditions, with new discoveries emerging through Nanomerics Ltd., recipient of the 2024 King’s Award for Enterprise for Innovation. Some of these potential therapies are in clinical trials. Join us as we explore the possibilities of this truly revolutionary approach to medicine.

 

About the Speaker

Professor Uchegbu is a pioneer in pharmaceutical nanoscience and a champion of scientific innovation. As UCL’s Professor of Pharmaceutical Nanoscience and Chief Scientific Officer of Nanomerics Ltd., she has successfully translated laboratory discoveries into clinical applications.

 

About the venue

Sister is Manchester’s new innovation district, where people come together and great ideas flourish.

Formerly known as ID Manchester, Sister is a joint venture between The University of Manchester and Bruntwood SciTech that will see the University’s former North Campus transformed into a world-leading innovation district and welcoming new neighbourhood. Sister will be home to the discoveries, technologies and businesses that shape our future and transform the way we live.

A global hub for science and technology, and a community for entrepreneurs, professionals, families, scientists and creatives alike, Sister represents a new way of thinking about innovation. One based on collaboration, not competition.

Sister provides the perfect conditions for ideas to spark, for collaboration to thrive, and for world-changing innovations to scale.

 

Practical Information

The talk includes a Q&A session.

Booking is essential. Lit & Phil members: we recommend logging into the website to make booking your free member ticket quicker and easier.

 

Accessibility Information

Please contact us regarding any specific accessibility requirements you may have by emailing events@manlitphil.ac.uk

 

 

Overcoming the challenges of global decarbonisation

Posted on: December 9th, 2024 by mlpEditor

The global drive toward decarbonisation has reached a pivotal moment. While we’ve made impressive progress in some areas – particularly in renewable energy and electric vehicles – we now face our greatest challenges. This talk by specialist Chris Goodall explores how we can tackle the most difficult aspects of decarbonisation: from transforming heavy industry and modernizing our infrastructure to ensuring a fair transition for all.

 

Our Journey So Far: Early Signs of Progress

We’re witnessing remarkable progress in our global efforts to tackle climate change. Look at China, where electric vehicles have captured the imagination of the world’s largest car market, now representing over 50% of new sales. In northern European homes, heat pumps are becoming the new normal for heating, showing how quickly we can adapt when solutions make sense. These developments tell us something exciting: the first steps of our energy transition are not just possible – they’re happening.

 

Powering Tomorrow: The Rise of Clean Energy

As we explore the foundations of this transition, we’re seeing renewable energy evolve in fascinating ways. Wind and solar power are becoming more powerful and reliable, while battery technology keeps surprising us with new possibilities. One of the most intriguing developments is how we’re learning to use hydrogen – making it when we have surplus renewable electricity and using it to power our grid when we need it most. What other innovative storage solutions might we discover as we continue this journey?

 

Cracking the Code: Industry’s Next Chapter

Now we’re entering more challenging but exciting territory. How do we transform industries like steel, cement, and fertilizer production that can’t simply plug into the electricity grid? We’re discovering that hydrogen might be key for cement production and high-temperature processes. The transport sector is opening up new frontiers too, exploring synthetic fuels made from captured CO2 and hydrogen. These solutions might play an even bigger role than we currently imagine – what other breakthroughs might be just around the corner?

 

Growing Together: Challenges That Unite Us

As we dig deeper, we find that decarbonisation isn’t just about new technologies – it’s about reimagining our whole society. Here’s what we’re learning:

  • Resource Innovation: How can we get smarter about using and reusing our raw materials? We’re seeing exciting developments in recycling technology every day.
  • Investment for All: While the transition needs significant funding – about 3-4% of GDP over two decades – we’re discovering new ways to make this work for both developed and developing economies.
  • Building Support Together: Perhaps our most interesting challenge is creating change that works for everyone. How can we design carbon-reduction policies that benefit all members of society, especially those most vulnerable to rising costs?
  • Grid Evolution: We’re learning that modernizing our electricity networks isn’t just about technology – it’s about working with communities to create solutions that work for everyone.
  • Food System Transformation: We’re discovering new approaches to agriculture that could help both our planet and our health, from changing what we eat to finding better ways to care for our soil.

 

Moving Forward Together

The path to full decarbonisation is one we’re still mapping out, but it’s filled with possibilities. Every day brings new insights, technologies, and ways of working together. While the challenge is urgent, we’re learning that when we combine our creativity and commitment, solutions emerge that we might never have imagined.

 

Practical Information

The presentation will include time for questions and discussion. Supporting slides will be provided to help understand technical concepts. Light refreshments can be purchased from the venue’s bar.

Booking is essential. Lit & Phil members: we recommend logging into the website to make booking your free member ticket quicker and easier.

 

Accessibility Information

The venue is wheelchair accessible with an accessible toilet on the ground floor. Please contact us regarding any specific accessibility requirements you may have by emailing events@manlitphil.ac.uk

Forever chemicals: what are we actually exposed to in the UK?

Posted on: November 4th, 2024 by mlpEditor

Environmental pollution is making headlines, but are we focusing on the right risks? Dr David Megson reveals the hidden story of chemical pollution in the UK, exploring the invisible toxic substances that have become part of our daily lives.

 

Why This Matters

While plastic waste and sewage pollution capture public attention through visible evidence, Dr Megson suggests that less visible chemical pollutants may pose greater risks to our health and environment. This talk explores the science behind these “forever chemicals” and their impact on our lives.

 

Key Terms Explained

‘Forever Chemicals’ are defined as substances that persist in the environment and human body for extended periods. These toxic chemicals are carcinogenic (meaning they can cause cancer), mutagenic (meaning they can cause genetic mutations), and teratogenic (meaning they can harm fetal development).

 

Topics Covered

In this comprehensive presentation, Dr Megson will explore the contrast between visible pollution and hidden chemical threats in our environment. He will discuss common sources of toxic chemicals found in everyday products and explain why certain harmful substances remain in use despite known risks. The talk will examine the complex balance between chemical benefits and risks, including historical “miracle chemicals” and their lasting legacy. Current research on chemical exposure in the UK will be presented, along with information about steps being taken to manage chemical risks.

 

What You’ll Learn

Understanding chemical pollution goes beyond visible environmental damage. You’ll discover how these substances enter our lives through everyday products, from food packaging to furniture, and learn about current scientific efforts to understand and manage these risks.

 

About the Speaker

Dr David Megson is an expert in environmental forensics whose research focuses on identifying and understanding chemical pollutants in our environment. His work helps inform policy decisions about chemical safety and regulation.

 

Content Notice

This talk discusses environmental pollution and health risks from chemical exposure. While technical terms will be explained, some content may be concerning to those worried about environmental health issues.

 

Practical Information

The presentation will include time for questions and discussion. Supporting slides will be provided to help understand technical concepts. Light refreshments can be purchased from the venue’s bar.

Booking is essential. Lit & Phil members: we recommend logging into the website to make booking your free member ticket quicker and easier.

 

Accessibility Information

The venue is wheelchair accessible with an accessible toilet on the ground floor. Please contact us regarding any specific accessibility requirements you may have by emailing events@manlitphil.ac.uk

 

Further Information

For those interested in learning more before the talk, we recommend looking at Imperial College’s Environmental Research Group website pages.

Interview with Professor Dame Athene Donald

Posted on: November 4th, 2024 by mlpEditor

Q: What were your most significant personal experiences that prompted you to write your book ‘Not just for the boys: why we need more women in science’?

A: Although I went to university many years ago, it has been depressing to see that the number of girls studying Physics has increased so little, and hardly at all in the last decade or so.

“During my career I have too often been the only woman in the room, the only woman put on some committee or other and had too many people express surprise that I, a woman, am a physicist. It is a ridiculous waste of talent to let this situation persist for another fifty years.”

 

Q: How optimistic are you that educational institutions and policy makers are taking seriously the removal of barriers to the promotion of women to senior positions in STEM?

A: Institutions certainly play lip service to this, but there can be significant differences between policies in educational institutions and actual implementation. I suspect this is often true in businesses too.

“Additionally, we still have an environment which favours certain styles of behaviour – e.g. being more focussed on grant income than supporting students, for instance – which is a stereotypically male way of doing things.”

There are subtle and not-so-subtle ways in which certain, not necessarily ideal behaviours are rewarded. As for policymakers, I don’t think they are particularly interested in this in the abstract.

 

Q: In your book, you write that gendered perceptions of being a scientist have their foundations in many cases in the home and in the early years of education. Do you have a wish list to fix this?

A: Probably the easiest place to start would be with teacher training. I don’t think teachers are actively encouraged to think about the problems of stereotypes and often inadvertently propagate them in the way they interact with children in the classroom – or indeed earlier in nurseries.

“Girls should be encouraged to build things and boys to play with dolls and play out being nurses. Otherwise, we will continue to see gendered professions.”

The media and our screens also have a crucial role to play in encouraging all children to believe all options are open to them. The current situation is as bad for boys as for girls. Our whole culture has to recognize that pushing children into the pink or blue aisles (figuratively as well as literally) is not healthy for society.

 

Q: What would be the main gains for society in having more equal representation of gender (and diversity in general) across STEM careers?

A: We are losing talent by not ensuring all who want to pursue the STEM subjects are encouraged to do so. This means there are shortages in some technical areas where there is a crying need, and we lose innovation opportunities which is also bad for the economy.

 

Thank you to Dame Athene for taking the time to answer our questions.

Dame Athene Donald will be giving her talk – Not just for the boys: why we need more women in science – at Friends’ Meeting House, Manchester, on Thursday 14 November.

Not just for the boys: why we need more women in science

Posted on: August 20th, 2024 by mlpEditor

Pioneering physicist Professor Dame Athene Donald wrote her book Not just for the boys: why we need more women in science not simply for those practicing science, male or female, but for the wider public, educationalists and policy-makers.

Despite it being many years since the formal barriers to women pursuing the STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) being removed, and there being many more women entering universities around the world to study them, still there are fewer and fewer women working in these areas as they move up the career ladder.

In Biology, for instance, the numbers starting a university course in the discipline may well be dominated by women, but by later career stages the numbers are barely better than in Athene’s own subject of Physics, where (in England) still less than 25% of the A Level cohort are girls.

Some of the reasons for the dearth of women are subtle, but many are not. Somehow society is still stuck in a time warp, where women are generally expected not to get their hands dirty on a construction site or in labouring at a lab bench. This is despite many recent examples – something particularly noticeable during the Covid pandemic, where the role of women in developing vaccines and contributing to public health was so prominent – indicating just how old-fashioned these views are. The problems start early in life, when school, parents and the wider world of media all too often stereotype what are girls’ and boy’s subjects and correspondingly suitable career aspirations.

It is arguably too easy to say the problems lie simply in the fact that women want families, although too often that excuse is rolled out. The reality is, almost from birth, children receive messages steering them in particular directions. This can be as bad for boys (too often deterred from subjects such as Psychology and Languages) as for girls, who feel computing or engineering are not for them. Policymakers do not seem to worry about this in the context of school inspections or teacher training.

Dame Athene wants the next generation of would-be female scientists not to continue to face the same obstacles. She firmly believes that society will be the stronger for it if we welcome these women into the scientific world; diversity improves outcomes, as business has begun to recognize. It is time for our laboratories and industries to do the same.

Don’t miss this inspiring and important talk by this multi-award-winning female scientist.

Manchester’s Cancer Research Innovations: Embracing Patient Complexity and Team Science approaches

Posted on: July 30th, 2024 by mlpEditor

The Manchester Cancer Research centre is a hub of scientific innovation in research, driving decades of practice-influencing cancer care. One of the mainstays of the innovative approaches employed is Team Science, where scientists, clinicians and patients come together in joint sessions. These sessions lead to new research ideas within scientific “Town Halls”.

But despite the increasingly sophisticated technologies available for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, a crucial factor is still being ignored: patient complexity. This omission is leading to unrepresentative research in the lab and inappropriate design of clinical trials. What can be done to fix this?

Led by Robert Bristow, Cancer Research UK’s unique mission in Manchester is to provide “Precision Cancer Medicine for All”. This approach contrasts to studies that are highly selective of patients from Eurocentric backgrounds and/or may be relatively healthy.

The Manchester research centre also recognises the importance of addressing the needs of medically and socially complex patients, many of whom are currently excluded from UK and global precision oncology trials. Manchester has numerous underserved populations secondary to socioeconomic hardship who have multiple health problems.

As patients age, other non-cancer health conditions invariably develop with new medications used for their diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and arthritis. These factors can affect therapy side effects and treatment success, including a patient’s response to immunotherapy.

Manchester’s approach is to recognise and work within the diverse populations in Greater Manchester and in so doing, ensure the research is equitable, diverse, and inclusive (EDI). With an EDI lens, specific exemplars will be presented that use scientific and public engagement across these populations for the design of new clinical trials. This will exploit opportunities to drive innovative care changes that will impact our patients in the UK and worldwide.

Join us to find out more about the innovative methods employed by Manchester Cancer Research from Robert Bristow, a multi-award-winning Research Scientist and Scientific Advisor.

Reducing your Carbon Footprint – Effective Carbon Offset

Posted on: June 20th, 2024 by mlpEditor

This is a recording of an online seminar that explains how you can offset your own personal carbon footprint, both ineffectively and effectively.

It begins with an introduction to the carbon offset methods available to the public and their efficacy.

After the introduction, Dr Jan Huckfeldt, Chief Commercial Officer of Climeworks, the largest Direct Air Capture (DAC) organisation on the planet, gives a presentation. Jan describes the role that atmospheric CO2 (the largest greenhouse gas contributor to anthropogenic climate change) plays in climate change. He explains the reality of what this really means, and the science and practice of DAC on the journey to scale the operation to gigatonne capability.  There is also a discussion on the economic challenges that have to be overcome.

Maybe you want to know more about ‘greenwash’? Or better understand the relative scale of the challenge we face to restore atmospheric levels of CO2 to what is considered a safe level.  Whatever your interest, watching this seminar with give you an understanding of what you can do in reality to correct excess levels of CO2 that is already present in the atmosphere.

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