Public Programme


We are delighted to offer a series of free events for members of the public to share in our excitement about our research. 

Date: Sunday 13 July
Time: 19:00 - 20:00
Location: Building, Lecture Theatre 222, University of Glasgow

Dr Erin MacDonald Public Lecture - Spacetime in Star Trek 

Join LIGO alumna and current Star Trek science consultant Erin Macdonald for a journey in the applications of general relativity in science fiction. We will look at the presentation of warp drives and wormholes, as well as time travel, subspace, and all sorts of spacetime "anomalies". Erin will also share some of the specific storylines she has been involved in, and try to explain why the presentation of gravitational waves in Star Trek is less than ideal! Finally, she will also share how she ended up in this unique career path after leaving LIGO over a decade ago! 

We are very excited that Erin will be giving a public lecture the evening before the conference. Erin is a renowned science communicator, writer and scientific consultant, she did a PhD at the University of Glasgow on the detection of continuous gravitational waves from the Crab Pulsar, transitioning into science communication through multiple outlets including the YouTube channel Dr. Erin Explains the Universe she has also endeavored to bring scientific accuracy to Hollywood and worked as scientific consultant for Star Trek, and making cameo appearances. We are delighted to welcome Erin back to Glasgow for what will be a fantastic talk. 

Book Tickets for this public lecture


Date: Wednesday 16 July
Time: 19:30 - 20:30
Location: The Clyde Auditorium, SEC

Prof. Carole Mundell Public Lecture 

Carole Mundell, the Director of Science at the European Space Agency (ESA), will be delivering a public lecture on the Wednesday evening of the conference. An undergraduate student at the University of Glasgow, Carole completed her PhD at Manchester University working at Jodrell Bank Observatory, after several prestigious fellowships, awards and founding an Astrophysics group at the University of Bath she joined ESA where she is now Director of Science. With such a fascinating career of research, communication and innovation where she has done it all from theory to observation and technology innovation covering the astrophysics of gamma-ray bursts, black hole formation, robotic telescope automation, amongst a long list, we are excited to hear what she has to tell us.  

The public lecture will be accompanied by an exhibition of educational resources and astrophysics demonstrations. Researchers attending GR–Amaldi from across the world will be bringing their favorite science demonstrations for the public to see, hear, touch and learn more about the complex world of gravity, astrophysics and gravitational waves. This exhibition will be in the entrance foyer before and after the public talk, so remember to arrive early. 

Registration coming soon!


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