Ada Lovelace Day Live 2013

This annual celebration of women in science, technology, engineering and maths on 15 October is hosted this year by Imperial College London and features a stellar line up. With live demos, biomedical wonders, neuroscience, inspiration, laughter and song, Ada Lovelace Day Live is an event not to be missed!

Our amazing performers include:

  • Fran Scott, a science communicator who designs demos for CBBC, live stage shows and the Science Museum.
  • Prof Molly Stevens, a leading bioengineer from Imperial College London whose work includes growing human bones in the lab.
  • Hazel Gibson, a geologist studying how geological processes affect our lives, and who is out to prove that women and geology is a combination that rocks!
  • Chi Onwurah, engineer, MP for Newcastle, and Shadow Cabinet Office Minister with responsibility for cybersecurity.
  • Leila Johnston, a comedy writer, technologist, maker and broadcaster who encourages us to ‘do things we’re not supposed to’.
  • Prof Sophie Scott, a cognitive neuroscientist and standup scientist who studies laughter, from brain scanners to comedy clubs.
  • Dr Bernadette Byrne, a molecular membrane biology researcher at Imperial College London, who is exploring the science of our own cells.

The evening will be compered by comedian and geek songstress Helen Arney, who has pledged to use her physics degree and ukulele only for good. After all, with great power comes great responsibility.

The evening starts at 6pm with a reception, including cash bar and entertainment. The main performance begins at 7pm and there will be an after-party from around 9.30pm.

Try your hand at table-top experiments performed by Imperial’s very own science buskers during the reception and interval, or browse the books on sale. Also on display will be a series of photographic portraits from the ‘100 Women – 100 Visions’ exhibit, celebrating women scientists and engineers from all academic levels at Imperial College London.

This event is part of a network of events across the globe, from personal blog posts about women in STEM to Wikipedia edit-a-thons to Ada Lovelace-themed tea parties and conferences.

Ticket Price: From £5 for concessions, £15 for general entry. More details available from http://ald13.eventbrite.co.uk/.
Date: Tuesday 15 October 2013
Time: 6.00pm
Venue: Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ

Get your tickets now!

Ticket sales end at 8pm, Monday 14 October. Tickets will be available on the door (cash only) until just before performance begins at 7pm.

Reception and cash bar

Doors open at 6pm for the reception in the Queen’s Tower Rooms where you can enjoy a relaxed drink before the performance in the Great Hall. There is a cash bar for the General, Friends of Imperial College London and Concession ticket holders, whilst all Reception and Donor tickets include drinks.

Join us after the performance

The performance begins at 7pm and will run until approximately 9.30pm. Afterwards, there will be a party, with a cash bar for all ticket types, in the Queen’s Tower Rooms until 11pm.

Introducing this year’s partners

This year, we’re joined by two new partners, the Biochemical Society and Imperial College London. The Biochemical Society works to promote the molecular biosciences and support those who work in the sector. It is part of an interdisciplinary group at Charles Darwin House, striving to create and promote collaboration amongst biologists. Imperial College London is a world leader in research and education in fields including science and engineering and aims to train scientists today to deal with the quickly-developing challenges of the future.

Thanks also go to our other partners – Texas InstrumentsElement 14LibertineI’m A ScientistWho Made Your Pants?, and Wikimedia UK – for supporting Ada Lovelace Day and making this event possible.

Sponsorship

We have a number of sponsorship options available for both this event and our webiste for companies or philanthropists who would like to support our work. Please do get in touch if you are interested.

Speakers

Helen ArneyHelen Arney
Helen is a comedian and geek songstress. Using both her physics degree and a ukulele, she writes original and unusually funny songs inspired by science, appears on Radio 4 and 6Music, tours the UK as one third of Festival of the Spoken Nerd.

Web – Twitter

Hazel Gibson
Hazel is a geologist and science educator, currently investigating what people – especially those who live near geological industrial works such as mines and quarries – understand about geology and geological processes, and asking: “why should I care about geology?”

Web – Twitter

Fran ScottFran Scott
Fran is a science translator and demonstration developer, drawing on her knowledge to present science in a jargon-free, accessible and accurate way. She’s designed demos for BBC live stage shows, DK books and the Science Museum. Currently, she regularly presents science on CBBC – and loves it

Web – Twitter

Sophie Scott
Sophie is a cognitive neurobiologist, standup scientist and Wellcome Trust senior fellow at UCL working on the neurobiology of speech perception.  She is interested in how we understand all kinds of information from the voice, including emotion, and she studies laughter – from brain scanners to comedy clubs.

Web – Twitter

Leila JohnstonLeila Johnston
A published author, comedy writer, technologist, counter-cultural journalist and broadcaster, Leila is fascinated by contemporary maker culture and espouses ‘doing things you’re not supposed to’ with ideas, words and systems. She speaks regularly on everything from Making Things Fast to the philosophical legacy of the Millennium.

Web – Blog – Twitter

Molly Stevens
Molly is a leading bioengineer whose work at Imperial – including growing human bones in the lab, and designing bioactive materials to help in the early detection of disease – brings hardcore, cutting-edge science to the development of practical, tangibly useful applications that promote global health.

Dr. Bernadette Byrne

Dr. Bernadette Byrne
Bernadette is a biochemist with a main research interest in the structural and functional investigation of challenging proteins. Her group are involved in the development of methods to stabilise membrane proteins and also provide insight into how these proteins work.

Chi Onwurah MP

Chi Onwurah MPChi is MP for Newcastle Upon Tyne Central, and the Shadow Cabinet Office Minister with responsibility for cyber security and digital democracy.  She’s also a Chartered engineer, the former head of telecoms technology at Ofcom, and a longstanding advocate, in Parliament and out, for women in STEM.

Photo from chionwurahmp.com

Web – Twitter

…more details to come…

FAQs

Can I bring my children?
Ada Lovelace Day Live! 2013 is suitable for children aged 12 or over.

I’ve got a Reception ticket. Are drinks included in my ticket price?
The cost of your ticket covers three drinks – wine, beer or soft drinks – during the pre-event reception, but not drinks at the afterparty. You will be able to buy drinks at the cash bar.

I’ve got a Donor ticket. Are drinks included in my ticket price?
The cost of your ticket covers any drinks during the pre-event reception, interval and at the afterparty.

Is there food?
We had hoped to be able to give people the option to pre-order food, but unfortunately our sponsors for that option withdrew so we are no longer able to provide food on the night. Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience.

I want to donate, but I hear Eventbrite doesn’t process payments until after the event. Can I donate directly?
You’re quite right – Eventbrite doesn’t process the money from ticket sales or donations until five days after the event is over, and it takes another five or so days for that money to hit our bank account. If you’d like to support us in the run-up to Ada Lovelace Day – which is when we most need it! – then please get in touch with Suw Charman-Anderson directly.