Autumn 2011 Autumn science inside Kavli Royal Society International Centre The Society’s second home is open for business and inspiring new ideas Achieving excellence The Society announces the winners of its 2011 medals, awards and prizes Fundraising news Throughout its history, gifts from Fellows and friends have helped the Royal Society to maintain a degree of financial independence and react quickly to immediate challenges. From its earliest legacy gift of £400 from John Wilkins in 1675, to the success of the £100 million 350th Anniversary Campaign, gifts and legacies from Fellows and friends have built the Society’s endowment and helped maintain its independence. Many of the Message from the Society’s core activities such as prize lectures, discussion meetings, independent policy advice, prizes and research grants would not have been Executive Director possible without such gifts. Your support will help maintain the Society’s outstanding work and allow future generations of scientists to make their own The Society marks its anniversary each year on Anniversary Day history at the Royal Society. in November and this is a good opportunity to reflect on the year’s achievements. It is also when the Society formally recognises the For more information about regular giving to the contribution of excellent scientists, several of whom tell us about Society or remembering us in your will, please the importance of these awards in this issue. contact Alison Pemberton on 020 7451 2666 or email [email protected] Our Charter says that the Society should work towards “extending the boundaries of the arts and sciences” with the result that “such studies may shine conspicuously You can also make a gift online at among the people”. This was true at the Society’s inception, and today it is royalsociety.org/support-us especially evident in the Summer Science Exhibition which shares the scientific endeavour with wide audiences, inspiring them in a broad range of sciences. This year’s exhibition was a great success, with record numbers coming through the Royal Society’s doors. Did you know? The public has an important role to play in science, something which is being Research published in Proceedings of the Royal explored in a new study from the Society’s Science Policy Centre. Science as a Society B shows that soldiers wearing armour in Public Enterprise, launched earlier this year and will tackle the important question the middle ages used more than twice as much of how, and by whom, scientific data should be accessed in the future. energy as their peers who went without heavy protection. The new research is the first clear In this issue, we also hear from more of our early-career stage researchers who experimental evidence that wearing medieval share their experiences about the impact of the Society’s funding schemes on armour may have limited a soldier’s performance, their careers. Ranging from fellowships promoting international collaboration to and could help historians better understand the the more recently established Education Research Fellowships, which support outcomes of crucial medieval European battles evidence-based education research in STEM (science, technology, engineering such as the Battle of Agincourt. and mathematics), these funding schemes are enabling young researchers to become leaders in their fields. The research team included academics from the Universities of Leeds, Milan and Auckland along Whilst the Society’s anniversary provides a time for reflection, it also offers the with experts from the Royal Armouries in Leeds. opportunity to look towards the challenges that lie ahead. The Society’s strategic Researchers worked with highly skilled fight review will be reaching a conclusion over the next few months and will offer a fresh interpreters from the Royal Armouries Museum, perspective on the Society’s goals for the coming years; I look forward to sharing who wore exact replicas of four more information about this with you in future issues of Inside Science. different types of European armour. They undertook a range of walking and running exercises, during which their oxygen usage and breathing patterns were measured, providing researchers with a picture of Dr Julie Maxton, Executive Director how much energy was being used by the participants. 2 Inside Science – Autumn 2011 Supporting education research Education Research Fellowships support evidence- based education research in STEM (science, technology, Education Research Fellow Dr Ian Jones, engineering and mathematics) from Loughborough University With support from the Ogden Trust, the Worshipful Education Committee, and have attended Advisory Committee Company of Actuaries and the Shuttleworth Foundation, on Mathematics Education (ACME) events focused on GCSEs the Royal Society provides outstanding early-career education and assessment. Recently, I was involved in a two day seminar researchers with the opportunity to become leaders in their on the relationship between education research, policy and field. The aim is to develop and support robust, evidence- practice organised by the Society. I have also been invited based research that can inform national education policy and to join the Society’s ‘Vision’ Committee for Science and practice, and to this end, the current Education Research Mathematics Education 5-19 which will analyse the current Fellows have close links with the Society’s Education Team. landscape and make recommendations for future directions. Dr Ian Jones, from Loughborough University, was one of the These opportunities have immeasurably enhanced my current inaugural recipients of the Fellowship in 2009: research as well as my future career prospects beyond the “My research project is called ‘Reducing the mismatch duration of the fellowship.” between intentions and outcomes in GCSE mathematics’. A recent award holder, Dr Judith Hillier from Oxford University, It is widely acknowledged that GCSE exams are poor at has a project entitled ‘Developing an explanatory framework assessing higher order mathematical thinking skills, and that for key physics concepts’: this has a detrimental impact on teaching and learning in classrooms. I am investigating the reasons for the dubious “I am really excited and grateful for this fantastic opportunity validity of current exams, and testing alternative models that to research this fascinating aspect of physics education. can help improve the situation by putting expert judgment at I know it will be of great benefit to me, not only as a physics the heart of mathematics assessment. educator, but also in helping to establish my research career in this field.” My award runs until 2014 and it enables my current research and provides invaluable further opportunities. Each year, Find out more at royalsociety.org/education I present my findings to the Royal Society’s influential A voyage around the brain Almost 2,000 students aged 14-19 visited the Society for this year’s Summer Science Exhibition and many attended the schools show to learn about the amazing capabilities of the brain. There, they made model brains from plasticine and learnt about brain function by investigating the sensory abilities of their skin. They also explored their own hearing thresholds and tested their short term memory. The show was led by Dr Holly Bridge, a Royal Society University Research Fellow from the University of Oxford, whose research looks at how visual information is processed in the brain: “It was a great honour to be asked to give the schools show this year and trying to create a show to keep up to 100 teenagers at a time engaged gave me lots to think about. However, watching the students enthusiastically (and generally noisily!) participate in the show was incredibly rewarding. Additionally, the silence that descended on the room as I presented different types of brain damage was very powerful. It was a great experience and I have already planned to give similar talks elsewhere in the autumn.” A webcast of the show can be watched at royalsociety.org/events/human-brain Inside Science – Autumn 2011 3 Growing ideas The Society’s second home in North Buckinghamshire has been inspiring collaboration and new ideas during its first year of operation Since opening in June 2010, The Kavli outlines some of the reasons for the Royal Society International Centre has venue’s success: been establishing a reputation as a “With the help of The Kavli Foundation, home for innovative thought. Positioned we have been able to provide an within eighty acres of grounds which atmosphere conducive to constructive include formal gardens and a lake, discussions around important the Centre provides a unique space scientific developments, and to assist for academic reflection and discussion. in formulating solutions to multi- Furthermore, the range of lecture disciplinary problems. theatres, meeting rooms and facilities meeting rooms to large lecture rooms make it a choice conferencing venue for The Kavli Royal Society International for up to one hundred participants and a wide variety of audiences. Centre provides superb facilities for we of course provide delicious onsite a multitude of future events and is Sir Peter Knight FRS, who took up catering.“ available for meetings and workshops post as the Centre’s Principal from any part of the academic and The Centre hosts part of the Society’s in October 2010, scientific community. scientific programme including Royal Society Theo Murphy international We offer a number of flexible