Blog posts

A celebration of Imperial geotechnics spanning six decades of researchers and staff

By Pishun Tantivangphaisal, Research Postgraduate, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering

On 12th March we welcomed six decades of researchers and staff from the Imperial Geotechnics back to the Civil Engineering department building. With over 100 sign-ups, this highly anticipated event welcomed researchers spanning graduates from the 1970s all the way to current PhD students, post-doctoral researchers, administrative, technical, teaching and research staff. With a long legacy of pioneering research in the section, we felt it was important to maintain and foster links between current researchers with the giants on whose shoulders we now stand.

We showcased on-going research through poster presentations, caught up with our recently graduated friends and established new links with our distinguished alumni, many of whom now hold prominent positions in industry and academia. We also took the opportunity to celebrate the latest achievements in the section, most notably Prof. Zdravkovic as the 62nd Rankine Lecturer.

Figure 1 Imperial College Geotechnics reunion

We welcomed our alumni guests into the Mezzanine lab at 6pm after an afternoon cleaning, clearing and setting up the event space. On arrival, we asked everyone to place a pin on a map of the world (geological, of course) so we could highlight the geographical diversity of the section’s current and former members. We were all pleasantly surprised by how far some have travelled to attend the reunion (and of course the annual Rankine lecture on the next day), with strong showings from Europe, East Asia, and Latin America.

Fourteen research posters, showcasing the forefront of the section’s current research, were pinned up along one wall of the room. These attracted plenty of attention and prompted a host of discussion topics amongst current researchers as well as former members of the section. As many hails from technical roles in industry and academia, soil mechanics and engineering geology are highly relevant disciplines in their day-to-day work which resulted in a healthy cross-pollination of ideas.

Enabled by the support from the Graduate School, a catered fork buffet and a selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks were enjoyed by all in attendance soon after. We (the PhD students) did have to do a few rounds of washing wine glasses (before the event and the morning after!), as budget constraints meant we had to be resourceful with the drinks provision. However, with help from our brilliant technical and administrative staff Prash, Jess, Luke and Piotr, the hard work all paid off in the end with many sending us messages of gratitude after the event.

We rounded off the evening with a presentation of gifts for Prof. Lidija Zdravkovic who had been invited to deliver the 62nd Rankine Lecture the following day. This is the preeminent technical lecture in the geotechnical engineering field, and she follows a long tradition of members of Rankine Lecturers from Imperial College.

Figure 2 Geographic diversity of some of our alumni and current research group

This event brought the whole research section together and provided what felt like a family reunion for many former members of the section! Anecdotes from many former doctoral journeys were fondly reminisced upon over the evening, despite the ample sweat and tears shared with colleagues from years past. For us as the current cohort of researchers, the event was not only an opportunity to showcase our work but also highlighted the myriad possibilities in our own future careers and trajectories.

The Graduate School’s Research Community Fund helped to cover a portion of the costs associated with the research posters and catering. We also received generous funding from the section which enabled us to host such an enjoyable and fruitful evening of discussion and networking.

Figure 3 Happy faces in front of snippets of the geotechnics section’s current research

My experiences from conducting participatory research and as SPP for the Research Impact Programme – and tips to help you create impact from your own research

Blog by Chotiwat Jantarakasem, PhD student from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and winner of Academic Excellence Award from the Anglo-Thai Society.

As a PhD student, I embarked on this journey to turn my research into something helpful for society. To address real-world problems, interdisciplinary work must be undertaken, involving extensive collaboration to translate research output into something practical and meaningful for people. I had planned to do this as part of my PhD, which meant that I had very limited time to make it happen, and I faced struggles and questions from many people who doubted whether what I was doing could be considered as PhD research in Engineering. I was almost ready to give up on my idea to pursue this topic. However, fortunately, I received abundant support from my supportive supervisors and the available resources at Imperial. It is important that you, as a student, know what is available to support you in your work, and be able to leverage this to make the most of your research and its potential benefits to society.

Here, I would like to share my story and key successes to help make your project impactful. Firstly, you have to clearly communicate your goal and firmly stand by your idea if you know that your work has the potential to be very useful for the public. In my case, as a PhD student developing a tool for people in low-resource settings, it is crucial to ensure that the innovation I created during my PhD is practical for people in developing countries. Without launching workshops and participatory programmes, it is almost impossible to gauge the feasibility of the application. Although we may not be able to successfully launch cutting-edge technology, it is still very worthwhile to learn about the limitations of current technology.

Remember to always seek help and support – this is the most important thing. Creating impact from your PhD research takes time and effort. At Imperial, many resources could help you transform your research into something impactful. There is a team helping you go through ethics preparation before submitting your work to the Ethics Approval Team. There is a Social Engagement team that organises masterclasses to help you learn about social engagement and how to conduct participatory research. The Enterprise Lab also has several programmes that could accompany you and help you cultivate the idea and turn it into something profitable via incubation and start-up competitions. Most importantly, for those who have no idea about what to do and where to start, the Graduate School has created the Research Impact Programme, which will teach you to understand what Research Impact is and why it is very important for PhD students.

The Research Impact Programme offers a wide range of courses to equip students with business skills, social engagement, and policymaking knowledge. I joined this programme because I know these courses are invaluable for PhD students who aspire to make a difference but may not know where to start. Thankfully, I participated in FUMO+ and attended courses under this programme. Now, I’m here to ensure that the programme can offer something to meet your expectations. Just like you, I’m a PhD student with ambitious dreams! I understand the challenges we face, but with the unwavering support of the Graduate School, my passion resonates, enabling me to effectively communicate my work to various stakeholders.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned after working closely with Imperial staff, it’s that they always listen to students’ voices. This isn’t just applicable to academic staff but also includes support staff. Imperial offers supportive staff who provide almost real-time assistance, which you can access by scheduling 1-1 coaching sessions.

I firmly believe that many PhD students at Imperial are pursuing high-impact research topics. By connecting and deploying with the various available resources offered by the Graduate School, you’ll be able to turn your project into something beyond what you can imagine. I have faith in my ability to make a difference, and I believe in yours too. Please access the links for further information on what the Graduate School can offer you and how to sign up for courses on the Research Impact Programme.

I have support as a Student Programme Partner from the Graduate School and received boundless support from Dr Victoria Crossley.

Vaccine Chronicles: Experiences from Imperial’s Vaccine Student Research Network Seminar

On January 15th, we had the pleasure of hosting the Vaccine Bioscience Seminar, part of the Winter Seminar Series. This was the first event we organised—a kick-off for the Vaccine Student Research Network. Our aim was to provide an interdisciplinary perspective on vaccine research for postgraduate students and offer a first glimpse into the breadth of science taking place at Imperial.

While the COVID-19 pandemic now seems to be behind us, this seminar helped us to reflect on these years and the crucial role of vaccine technology. Throughout the afternoon, we discussed public health and pandemic management through various lenses.

The event drew big name speakers, each of whom contributed a significant piece of a big-picture discussion. To start, Dr. Ferdinando Insalata presented the mathematical foundations of the SIREN study, a unique and powerful UK-led clinical study that helped inform policymakers about COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness. Then, Dr. Zoltán Kis shared insights into building sufficient production capacity for the next pandemics. Zoltán introduced digital tools to facilitate knowledge sharing among vaccine developers and manufacturers. His vision of distributed manufacturing to enhance vaccine supply in low- and middle-income countries was undoubtedly inspirational for many of us. Following this, we had the chance to listen to Dr. Simon Barton from the NHS, who delivered a thought-provoking talk on how we can learn from the HIV experience for future vaccine development. He emphasised the essential role of public health behaviours in limiting transmissions. In a hopeful concluding note, Prof. Robin Shattock showcased in his keynote presentation the potential of self-amplifying RNA technology to address many unmet medical needs. At the end of the sessions, Imperial students seized the opportunity to discuss the future of vaccine research with our panel of experts: upcoming vaccines in clinical pipelines, future regulatory challenges, and improved vaccine accessibility.

Overall, we are proud to have organised such an event, attracting over 100 attendees from various departments. We all felt that we learned something valuable about vaccine technologies and vaccine innovations. It was wonderful to see how the UK ecosystem, especially the diverse Imperial community, is a vibrant place for concrete and impactful vaccine research. We are now even more excited about our upcoming seminars organised for the large postgraduate student’s community from across four faculties at Imperial. We are also looking forward to inviting you to our annual conference in September. Stay tuned and check out our network’s website!

The Imperial Vaccine Student Network Committee

(Authors: Simon Daniel and Tom Kitto)

Crick PhD Student Summer Symposium 2023

Blog by Sophie Kraunsoe, Research Postgraduate, Department of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction

On the 10th of July, for the second year running, the Francis Crick Institute hosted the Crick-partner Universities PhD Student Summer Symposium providing an opportunity to bring together biosciences students from across London. Students from all stages of their PhDs from first years to final years presented their science and had a chance to network with peers across multiple universities including Imperial College London, UCL and King’s College London.

We kick started the day with a series of excellent mini symposia on topics ranging from neuroscience to cancer and immunology. Talks were contributed by students from all universities and year groups giving the chance to practice communicating science and giving feedback in a supportive and encouraging environment. The breath of topics covered was very impressive and displayed the full range of exciting science that PhD students in London are researching. Discussions were continued after the talks with two poster sessions where more students were able to share their work and network with peers.

The symposium had an additional focus on wellbeing in academia supported by a panel discussion of experts chaired by Fryni Panayidou (Crick student support and wellbeing lead) and including Crick group leader, Jeannine Hess, Imperial faculty of medicine senior tutor, Jeffrey Vernon, PhD student and researcher of the impact of loneliness/mental health on postgraduate student, Luqmaan Waqar and University of Surrey lecturer, Cassie Hazell. All the invited panellists gave a short talk detailing their insights into the problems and possible solutions to tackling how to improve wellbeing in an academic context. This was followed by an engaging discussion based on questions submitted by the audience; there were so many questions that these are being followed up beyond the symposium with an email due to be sent to all attendees with comments on the questions we didn’t have time for on the day.

Following on from the panel discussion, we welcomed keynote speaker, Professor Molly Steven from Imperial College London who gave an inspiring talk on the use of bioengineering tools to address challenging problems in healthcare from diagnostics to therapeutics. Seeing how such a multidisciplinary lab conduct their research was hugely inspiring for our audience.

The day concluded with a networking social of wine, cheese and jazz music providing the ambience and atmosphere to relax and socialise after a long day of science. Prizes were awarded for the best poster and talks in each year group as well as an overall prize after attendees voted for their favourites throughout the day. Hopefully, attendees left feeling more connected to the PhD student community in London having had an opportunity to learn about each other’s research and meet each other in person!

We are very grateful to the Postgraduate Community Fund for their support in organising this event.

——————————————————————————————————————————

Find out more about the Postgraduate Community Fund

PhD Summer BBQ event in Faculty of Natural Sciences

Blog by Xinyi Guo, Doctoral Student, PG Academic and Welfare Officer of FoNS, Centre for Environmental Policy

On the balmy afternoon of 13th July, the venue of Beit Quad played host to a remarkable gathering of academic brilliance and camaraderie – the PhD Summer BBQ event.  Approximately 100 passionate PhD students came together to celebrate a day filled with laughter, learning, and the joy of forging new connections. Free food and drinks were provided on the day of the event for all PhD students who attended. As the scent of sizzling barbecues filled the air, so did the atmosphere with an unmistakable sense of excitement and enthusiasm. The event was a melting pot of diverse research interests and backgrounds, sparking captivating conversations and intellectual exchange.

The PhD summer BBQ ran last year and was well-received, with more than hundred students attending. This year, the FoNS team was more ambitious, determined to create an even more unforgettable experience. Xinyi Guo, the Event’s organizer, acknowledged the challenge of reaching out to all postgraduate students effectively, but the team was determined to surpass expectations. Since the team knows that many students from the previous year would be eager to enjoy the activity within faculty, along with a host of new faces. The response exceeded all expectations, with tickets selling out two weeks before the event and a flood of emails from people seeking spare tickets leading up to the big day. The overwhelming demand validated the team’s efforts and confirmed the genuine excitement surrounding the event.

The atmosphere at the PhD Summer BBQ and drink event was nothing short of exuberant, with PhD students from diverse disciplines coming together to revel in the festivities. Laughter echoed through the air as intellectual conversations seamlessly merged with moments of relaxation. The delightful aroma of grilled delicacies mingled with the clinking of glasses, creating a harmonious symphony of enjoyment. As the day unfolded, the students were seen engaging in animated discussions, sharing their research insights, and exchanging ideas. Amidst the camaraderie and good cheer, new friendships were forged, and academic connections strengthened.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, signalling the end of the PhD Summer BBQ and drink event, there was a sense of fulfilment and camaraderie that lingered in the air. Beyond the delicious food and vibrant ambiance, the event achieved something far more profound – it brought together a community of kindred spirits, united by a shared passion for knowledge and research. Throughout the day, intellectual discussions flowed freely, creating an environment that fostered collaboration and learning beyond the confines of lecture halls and laboratories. The joyous spirit of the occasion was palpable, as the students immersed themselves in the celebration, leaving behind the rigors of their studies for a while. The PhD Summer BBQ and drink event proved to be an enchanting blend of academic camaraderie and social bliss, leaving all participants with heart-warming memories to cherish.

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the Graduate School for their generous support as sponsors of the PhD Summer BBQ and drink event.  Their contribution has enabled us to create an inclusive and enriching experience for PhD students, strengthening the bonds of camaraderie and fostering intellectual exchange.

——————————————————————————————————————————

Find out more about the Postgraduate Community Fund

A Delicious Reunion, Pizza, and Physics Adventures!

Student Research Seminar Series 2022/23

by Giorgio Mentasti, Research Student, Department of Physics

Hey there! Welcome to our super exciting blog post, where we spill the beans on our epic return to the good old days before COVID hit. We’re a bunch of theoretical physicists who’ve weathered the storm, working on mind-boggling equations from our cozy abodes. But guess what? We’re finally back to the normal times together, ready to rock the scientific world.

Picture this: our research group, scattered and isolated during the pandemic, suddenly coming together like the Avengers assembling for a grand mission. The highlight of our triumphant reunion? You guessed it—pizza! And not just any pizza, my friend. Our Italian comrades made sure to choose the most delectable slices in town. It was like a cheesy, tomatoey celebration of life, reminding us that some things never change, no matter the circumstances.

But hey, let’s be real. Our journey back to normality wasn’t a walk in the park. We found ourselves in uncharted territory, trying to navigate the treacherous waters of hybrid meetings. You see, blending in-person and online interactions was like juggling quarks—tricky, to say the least. Our trusty computer systems decided to give us a hard time, playing pranks and causing hilarious technical hiccups. We laughed, we facepalmed, but we soldiered on, determined to make our meetings kick some serious scientific butt.

And guess what? We didn’t just stick to our cozy little bubble. Oh no, we went big! We managed to bring in some stellar speakers from other universities, all through the magic of the digital realm. Can you imagine the excitement? We sat on the edge of our seats, diving into mind-bending talks that expanded our universe even further. From mind-blowing calendars and categories to dynamical massive gravity (seriously, that’s what one of us does for a living), we explored the cutting edge of physics with gusto.

The excitment became a challenge where the phd group had the chance to choose a topic and two of the bravest phd decided to prepare a seminar in 24h!

As we wrap up this rollercoaster of a year, we can’t help but feel a renewed sense of purpose and camaraderie. Our reunion wasn’t just about pizza and shenanigans (although they played a major role, let’s be honest). It was about reigniting our passion for unraveling the secrets of the cosmos. We faced the challenges head-on, adapting and innovating like true science warriors. And you know what? We came out stronger, wiser, and more connected than ever before.

So, what was there on our mind-bending agenda? Well, the variety of topics was only limited by a finite number of time slots. We kept pushing the boundaries of knowledge, armed with quirky titles like:

  • “The Leggett-Garg Inequalities & Tests of Macrorealism”
  • “A Non-Local Vacuum for Curved Spacetime”
  • “Riding on Regge Slopes”
  • “The Hubble Tension and how the Astro+Theo Community can (try to) solve it”
  • “Dynamical Massive Gravity; or What I Actually Do For A Living”
  • “Does this theory smell off to you? EFTs and amplitudes”
  • “The weak field limit of classical-quantum gravity: We’ll dive into mind-boggling bi-form symmetries and charges in gravity, because, hey, why not? The universe is our playground, and we’re ready to rock it!”

We’d like to give a massive shout-out to the Graduate School for being our partners in crime throughout this epic adventure. Their support and sponsorship have made all of this possible, and we’re forever grateful for their commitment to fostering a vibrant and collaborative research environment.

Civil & Environmental Engineering’s PhD Day Trip to Bath

by Mohamed El-Zeadani, PhD student, Department of  Civil & Environmental Engineering

Thirty-two of us, all PhD students from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, visited the city of Bath on the 29th of April 2023. Our journey started by assembling in front of the College’s main entrance on Exhibition Road at 7:00 am. Half an hour later, we started the 97 miles journey west of London by coach. It took us about three hours to get there and the weather could not have been any better as cheerful lines of sun rays welcomed us as soon as we arrived.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the coach preparing to head to Bath

We hurried to enter the Roman Baths to avoid missing the timeslot for our pre-booked tickets. Soon after, we dispersed in that Saturday morning crowd and spent the next two hours roaming around. Aquae Sulis, as Bath was known back then, was one of the Roman settlements established after 60 AD. The baths were designed for public bathing and were used until the end of Roman rule in Britain in 500 AD.

Walking along the terrace facing the Great Bath, we were greeted by a collection of statues standing one next to the other. One of those was Julius Caesar (100 BC – 44 BC), who made the initial attempts to conquer Britain. Beside him stood other famous Roman emperors and generals including Claudius (10 BC – 54 AD), Hadrian (76 AD – 138 AD), and Constantine (272 AD – 337 AD).

The Great Bath

Julius Caesar (Centre) and Claudius (Right)

 

Navigating the walkways of the Roman Baths we saw the Frigidarium (cold pool), Hippocamp mosaic and the more famous Gorgon head. The latter has over the years become the symbol of the city. We also walked on the grounds of what was previously an indoor gym. A projector showed images of Romans clad in gym clothes exercising. Who would have thought that they had their own Ethos back then!

Gorgon Head

 

Before leaving the Roman Baths, we tried the spring water from a fountain towards the end of the museum. The Romans drank from this same water and believed it had healing powers. The water tasted a bit metallic, which turns out to be due to its high sulphur content.

In front of Bath Abbey after leaving the Roman Baths

 

We then decided to grab something to eat and made our way to Sally Lunn’s Eating House to get some of the famous buns sold there. After having lunch nearby, we walked around the city centre for a while and then headed to the Jane Austen Centre. The writer of Sense and Sensibility (1811) and Pride and Prejudice (1813) lived in Bath between 1801 and 1806. Unbeknownst to us, as we walked into the centre, we were treated to a journey back in time where all staff could have been mistaken for characters from the movie Pride and Prejudice. A young lady dressed in Regency costume, speaking as if in the movie with the constant “my dear” acting as a full stop to every third sentence, gave us an informative background about Jane’s family and upbringing.

Outside Sally Lunn’s Eating House

 

We then walked around the centre, seeing some of Jane’s portraits and trying some of the games she played. Apparently, Jane enjoyed the cup and ball game which she could do for a100 consecutive times without a mistake! There was also a chance to try some of the Regency costumes available on display.

Inside the Jane Austen Centre

 

An hour and a half later, we left the Jane Austen Centre and walked around for a bit to eventually stop at Pulteney Bridge. We enjoyed the tranquil scenery of water running under the bridge and birds peacefully flying around it. Clouds soon began to form as if anticipating our daytrip is nearing its end, bidding us farewell with the occasional drizzle. We headed to the coach and at 5:30 pm sharp we started our journey back to London.

Pulteney Bridge

 

Our group was diverse, covering different research sections in our department, including transport, environmental and water resources, geotechnics, structures, fluid mechanics and materials. The daytrip was a perfect opportunity to socialise outside the department and get the know each other a bit better. We are grateful to Graduate School for the Postgraduate Community Fund which covered some of the transportation costs for this trip. We also thank our department for their generous support.

Group picture in Bath Before Leaving

 

The Young Entrepreneurs Scheme (YES) competition: developing skills for enterprise

By Katherine Davis, PhD student in the Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology (DIDE)

During the 2020/21 academic year, I took part in the Young Entrepreneurs Scheme (YES) competition, which aims to raise awareness about how ideas can be commercialised. In the competition, teams of postgraduate students, technicians, or early career academics prepare a business plan for a hypothetical company and pitch to win prizes. In this blog, I will briefly explain how I got into the YES competition, how I found taking part in the competition, and my advice for people considering competing.

Getting into the YES competition

In the summer of 2020, I saw a post about forming a team for the YES competition on my department’s Teams channel. From the description, the competition seemed like a great opportunity to learn new skills and meet interesting people. We had been in lockdown for a while and I was looking for something fun and different to do, so I quickly decided to join the team.

To get started, my team met on a video call. There were four of us: three PhD students from the Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology and one from the Department of Surgery and Cancer. We found that we got on well and decided to apply together for the competition. Fortunately, the application process was quite simple. You don’t need to have a business idea or business experience at the start of the competition, so the information that we needed to provide was straight forward.

Taking part in the competition

It wasn’t long before we got the news that our application had been successful and began to attend online YES training sessions and have meetings with experts from industry. The training and meetings provided a crash course in entrepreneurship and business, which introduced us to topics like sourcing and managing funding, protecting intellectual property, and marketing our products. This was very useful, and we learnt a lot that isn’t typically taught to PhD students.

As a team, we also met once a week to start developing an idea of our own. It was fun to get together, chat, and consider how we could approach the competition. At the beginning we had a lot of different ideas, and it was difficult to decide which we should take forwards. We ended up having a mini-pitch competition just to select our final concept!

With an idea chosen, it was time to take roles within our business. Each of us took charge of one key area and we started setting out our strategy. I really enjoyed seeing our business plan become more real as we built our pitch deck, and it was great to have something new to look at during our meetings each week.

When our training period ended, it was time for the final three-day competition. The first two days were set aside to make last minute changes to our pitch deck, meet with experts, and rehearse. We were quite busy, and the time quickly disappeared, leaving us to face the judges. Our pitch to the judges included a presentation, followed by a question-and-answer session. It was a nerve-wracking experience, but it was also great to see our hard work pay off! We received some excellent in-depth questioning from the judges, and we were very proud of how far we had come as a team. While we didn’t win the competition, we received useful feedback and had a lot of fun.

Advice for students considering competing

Having finished the YES competition, I would like to share some advice for students who might be considering applying.

  1. Go ahead and apply 😊

The YES competition is an enjoyable and different experience, so I would really encourage you to apply.

  1. Make the most of expert advice.

The YES competition experts have years of combined experience and can help your idea to stand out from the crowd. Try to make the most of the time you have with them.

  1. Be organised.

Time flies by in the competition, so try to ensure that you stay on top of what needs to be done. If your team meets regularly then it’s easier to keep track of what’s happening and help each other. This makes life a lot simpler from day one to the final pitch.

Non-academic Careers Event for MRes students

I’m on the MRes in Biomedical research course and many, if not all, of the career talks, resources and email adverts are all veering towards academia. Not to say this isn’t a good thing, many of us want to go down the academic route. However, my fellow reps and I have identified that there is a sizeable proportion of our course who do not want an academic career or are yet to be successful in securing one.

With that in mind, we planned a careers event and an informal reception not catered to academia. We scouted and contacted people from our course and allied courses who are in industry, public health, or alternate careers such as consulting. This led us to our 6 brilliant panellists who happily came to our event to share their wisdom and inspire us.

Post-panel we had a reception where we all drank, ate, and mingled with our panellists as well as each other.Networking
Thirty-one students attended the event and kindly provided us with feedback post-reception. All students were grateful to find out more about other career pathways and are now feeling more hopeful about their futures.

Quotes from our peers included: “It was really interesting to know the various sectors you could go into after graduating from the course” “I loved how honest the speakers were about struggles in their career journey and it gave me a lot of confidence going forward in my career”

Our degree provides us with many transferable skills which can allow us to break into many other sectors outside academia; however, this can be challenging if this field is unknown! My fellow reps and I, with the support of our course management team, were honoured to be able to give our peers a space to open the discourse whilst having fun.Careers Event

 

“Beauty of a more colourful world” – CEP X Dyson X ICBS PhD Flash Mob #1

Blog by Yurong Yu, PhD student from the Centre for Environmental Policy

In response to the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) and the environmental crisis, we, a few of PhD students from Centre for Environmental Policy (CEP), Dyson School of Design Engineering (Dyson) and Imperial Business School (ICBS), initiated the event, “Beauty of a More Colourful World”. The event brought together 12 PhD students from 6 departments to showcase how their research ties into addressing environmental problems. 

Students are waiting to sign in (photo credit to Yunwan Tao)

The event took place on Wednesday 1st of December 2021 and was a cross-departmental initiative, aiming to create a unique opportunity to gather researchers and wider college community with shared interests in conservation, biodiversity, sustainability, and climate change & the environment more broadly. The 12 PhD student presenters ran 9 stalls with different topics in the Queen’s Tower Rooms. The detailed topics can be found in the map below.

Event map (created by Judy Xie)

A general public audience from across Imperial were invited to this event. They were encouraged to learn about all 9 different projects and could take part in quizzes with questions spanning each stall to demonstrate their newfound knowledge and win prizes. It was a fun and immersive event which saw high turnout, with attendees enjoying the stalls, snacks, drinks and, of course, prizes!

The prize for quiz winners (photo credit to Yunwan Tao)

As the organizers initiating this event, we (Yurong Yu and Neel Le Penru), realized the complexity of environmental problems requires interdisciplinary collaboration, so interdepartmental communication among researchers is critical. More importantly, it is crucial for junior researchers to learn how to communicate their research to a lay audience, to achieve a great impact. After some discussion, we came up with the idea of inviting interactive and entertaining presentations from multiple departments, using the formats of demos, prototypes, installations, games,  and so on, to inspire members of our Imperial community.  

Yurong and Yuruo played a video of training students to plant coral reef in Hainan, China, as well as a PowerPoint presentation to explain the whole project, receiving great feedback from the audience. This project is part of Yurong’s PhD research of how to increase public awareness of conservation, which can further lead to a fundamental behaviour change.

One group of the presenters, Yurong Yu (CEP) and Yuruo Lin (Department of Life Sciences) are explaining their research on coral reef conservation to the audience (photo credit to Yunwan Tao)

Neel’s presentation featured  a ‘listening station’ with sounds and images from the Bornean rainforest.  His research group  explore EcoAcoustic Monitoring, which involves listening to the natural environment’s soundscape to infer metrics of ecosystem health. They designed and deployed a network of low-cost, open-source field recorders to passively and continuously monitor various environments. They then analysed this data with techniques including machine learning (for predicting aspects of ecosystem health) and, more recently, spatial audio analysis (for locating sounds). As part of the Stability of Altered Forest Ecosystems (SAFE) project, they are specifically using EcoAcoustic Monitoring to explore how human pressures are impacting globally vital rainforest ecosystems by analysing soundscapes across a habitat degredation gradient from primary rainforest to oil palm plantations in Malaysian Borneo.

Neel Le Penru (Dyson & Department of Life Sciences) is playing sounds from the tropical rainforest for an attendee (photo credit to Yunwan Tao)

Francesca Lugaresi and her colleagues from Department of Mechanical Engineering are part of Imperial Hazelab, the research group studying heat transfer, combustion and fire science. Francesca’s research is on improving the façade of a building, to increase its sustainability performance and reduce energy use.  

Francesca Lugaresi (Department of Mechanical Engineering) is explaining the lab work of her research group

Matilde Faralli is a second-year PhD student from Department of Finance, ICBS. Her research is about preserving financial stability. To achieve this, a key part is to understand how to correctly assess and price climate-related risks.  Her work studies: how to incorporate natural hazards such as wildfires, flooding, etc. into expectations and forecasts; how climate risks shape public perception of future natural disasters and the associated economic damages; and, how to forecast adjustments following climate events. 

Matilde Faralli (Business School) is presenting her research about climate risks in daily financial decisions

The event received great feedback from our audience. Professor Mark Burgman, the Director of CEP commented, “It is a very well-organized event, with impressive attendance across Imperial. I enjoyed these presentations very much.” Kevin Sum, our volunteer journalist, interviewed a few attendees on the day, and heard from  Xilan, an MSc student from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering,  that the event made her realize there are so many disciplines at Imperial that are environment–related, and that they are all so fun!

Some prize winners at the end of the event (photo credit to Yunwan Tao)

Many presenters found the interaction with the audience was beyond their expectations too. Sander Valk (Dyson) found it pleasant that so many students and faculty members are interested in learning his climate change related card game. Victoria Hoare (CEP), Riqi Zhang (CEP), Karina Corada Perez (CEP), Erika Piroli (CEP) and Ric Zhang (Dyson) all found the format of this event very engaging. The quiz competition “nudged” the audience to approach presenters and ask more questions about their research. Sander said, “I loved the format of the event!” 

Please read more about all presentations here: tinyurl.com/cepflashmob1  

Last but not least, we are grateful for the generous financial support from the Graduate School and Centre for Environmental Policy for this event.