Wanted: Physicists for the Future

Physics at Work Exhibition starts at Cambridge University

Have you ever wondered how to design a training shoe, or what kind of things you need to know before you can build an airport?

Physics plays a part in each of these processes and, this week at the University of Cambridge's Cavendish Laboratory, schoolchildren are being invited to come and find out more about how physics affects our lives.

The annual Physics at Work exhibition, from 18 to 20 September 2001, is one of Cambridge's most successful educational events. This year, more than 20 different groups will be at the laboratory to talk to pupils about physics and explain how important this branch of science is.

Highlights include demonstrators from Cooke Associates, who will explain how sports engineers design Olympic swimming pools, slower tennis balls, and sports shoes; Team Crocodile, who will demonstrate how they designed a fuel efficient car to take part in this year's Shell eco-marathon; British Antarctic Survey, who will describe how holes in the ozone layer are measured; and the Cavendish Astrophysics Research Group, who will be tackling some of the universe's largest questions, such as "where did the stars come from?" and "Will the universe ever end?"

Brenda Jennison, the event's organiser, said: "Many of the pupils in the past who have visited Physics at Work exhibitions have taken up physics-based careers in industry, commerce and research. Even those who don't plan to take up science as a career find it fascinating to find out more about the scientific discoveries that have already affected their lives, and to take a look at the next generation of scientific achievements."

This year's exhibitors are:
British Antarctic Survey
Cambridge Consultants
Cambridge Ultrasonics
Cavendish Laboratory:
Astrophysics
Fuel Efficient Car
Microstructural Physics
Physics and Chemistry of Solids: fracture
Optoelectronics
Polymers and Colloids
Safety Officer
Semiconductor Physics
Superconductivity
Cooke Associates
Domino Printing Services
Ford
Health and Safety Executive
Open University
Rolls-Royce plc
Stansted Airport
The Technology Partnership
University of Cambridge:
Department of Chemical Engineering
Department of Earth Sciences
Wolfson Brain Imaging.

The event is expected to attract over 2,000 teenagers, aged 15 and over. For more information contact Brenda Jennison, on 01223 337224