University of Western Australia
Perth pub patrons with be able to order a pint, a parmi and a side order of lively discussion as some of Australia’s top researchers share their knowledge in The University of Western Australia’s Raising the Bar event.
The group of 10 researchers, with expertise in everything from cryptocurrency and the philosophy of psychedelics to space law, burns and understanding human faces, will give talks in five Perth bars on Tuesday 25 October.
UWA’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Research, Professor Anna Nowak, said Raising the Bar was an exciting way of taking innovative, creative research out of laboratories and lecture theatres to accessible venues.
“We’ve found at Raising the Bar, people are really keen to learn about the latest research and love that they can do it in a casual environment and ask questions and engage in discussions,” Professor Nowak said.
“You can go out for a meal and a drink and during the night, find out about the deepest sea beds around Australia, what the James Webb Space Telescope has discovered and the big questions of what it means to be human.”
This year’s speakers are:
Dr Todd Bond
The Globe, Wellington Street
Exploring the flats and cracks of Australia’s deep sea.
The search for the deepest location on Earth has been a pursuit spanning many years but Australian waters have their own largely unexplored deep-sea habitat teeming with life.
Amanda Hamilton-Hollaway
The Globe, Wellington Street
Lost (and found?): Language endangerment in the global century.
Our collective linguistic heritage is in crisis. Up to 90 per cent of languages face a real risk of not being spoken by the end of the century. How does this affect all of us, no matter which language or languages we speak?
Dr Ana Manero
Market Grounds, Telethon Avenue
Surfing Economics: what is the value of a wave?
Surfing waves are a valuable natural resource providing financial and personal benefits to millions of people around the world. How can governments measure and protect surfing values?
Professor Fiona Wood
Market Grounds, Telethon Avenue
Burn injury: It can happen to anyone.
For some people burns are a life-altering event leaving visible and invisible scars. Science and technology are driving ground-breaking therapies and Professor Wood, a former Australian of the Year, is at the forefront.
Dr Erika Techera
The Shoe Bar, Yagan Square
Space law: making it fit for purpose.
Space is not a lawless frontier. International laws adopted in the 1970s established fundamental principles that remain relevant today but with new space ventures are these laws equipped for the future?
Professor Simon Driver
The Shoe Bar, Yagan Square
How you began: A 13 billion year journey unveiled by the James Webb Space Telescope
The James Webb Space Telescope is our window into the early universe and Professor Driver takes his audience through planets, supernova, stars and galaxies to explore the origins of the universe.
Dr Chris Letheby
Varsity, Aberdeen Street
Philosophy of psychedelics.
Psychedelic drugs are being re-explored for therapeutic uses but do the sick and dying gain real knowledge from such therapeutic uses? Dr Letheby puts on his philosopher's hat in addressing this question.
Professor Rob Wilson
Varsity, Aberdeen Street
What is a person? And, who’s asking?
We know what a person is, or do we? Professor Wilson takes a deep dive into a question philosophers, anthropologists, economists and others have answered in different ways.
Associate Professor Romina Palermo
Durty Nelly’s Irish Pub, Murray Street
Fabulous facts about faces.
We often identify people from their faces and use their facial movements to help understand how they’re feeling. Associate Professor Palermo shares interesting facts and answer questions, such as why some people find it more difficult than others to recognise faces and whether the COVID pandemic has affected our face perception skills.
Professor Dirk Baur
Durty Nelly’s Irish Pub, Murray Street
Cryptocurrencies: Facts and fictions.
More than one million Australians own cryptocurrencies and they are gaining in popularity but how do you sort the facts from the promotional fiction?
For tickets to the event click here.