York academics take part in Science Museum Lates

Posted on 24 June 2015

Scientists from the University of York will take part in the Science Museum's 'Lates' event this week.

Dr Elva Robinson, Research Fellow in the Department of Biology, and Professor Jon Timmis, Professor of Intelligent and Adaptive Systems in the Department of Electronics, will run events on the collective brain-power of ants and how biology can help inspire robotic design.

The Science Museum’s Lates, hosted in collaboration with the Royal Society, is a free night for adults taking place on the last Wednesday of the month at the Science Museum, London.

Dr Robinson said: “The Science Museum Lates events are an exciting opportunity to present science to a 'grown-up' audience, but with a big emphasis on fun as well as engaging with ideas. I'm looking forward to the opportunity to share my enthusiasm about ants and the clever things they get up to, and hoping to get round some of the other exhibits too.”

Professor Timmis said: “Our display will allow the chance for people to have some hands-on experience with robots, and even pitch themselves in a competition against a robot solving a Rubix cube. This is an exciting opportunity to showcase our work to the general public. Outreach such as this is vital to the long-term success of science and engineering and we are thrilled to have been selected to be part of the Lates event.”

This month’s Science Museum Lates takes place on Wednesday 24 June from 6.45pm - 10pm.

Further information:

For further information about Science Museum Lates, visit: sciencemuseum.org.uk/Lates
For more information about the University of York’s Department of Biology, visit: http://www.york.ac.uk/biology/
For further information about the University of York’s Department of Electronics, visit: http://www.york.ac.uk/electronics/