Please find below details of the upcoming Inaugural lecture at Glyndŵr University, by Professor Paul Rees, Professor of Optics: Metrology and Technology.

The lecture is free to attend and open to all, and will be followed by a drinks reception where you can meet the speaker and discuss the topic in more detail.

Places are limited and are available on a first come first served basis, so booking is recommended -please email lectures@glyndwr.ac.uk or call 01978 293466 to book.

Scientific and Technological Symbiosis: An Optical Perspective Inaugural lecture by Professor Paul Rees,
Professor of Optics: Metrology and Technology, Glyndŵr University

Thursday, 2nd May 2013, 7pm
Catrin Finch Centre, Glyndŵr University, Mold Road, Wrexham, LL11 2AW

The technologies developed to improve people’s eyesight are the same as those used to develop the first optical scientific instruments: the microscope (around 1590) and the telescope (around 1600). In today’s world, it is impossible to fully appreciate the scientific, philosophical and social impact of these two instruments, especially in the hands of Robert Hooke and Galileo Galilei.

Since the time of Galileo and Robert Hooke, advances in our understanding of optics, and our technological application of this understanding, have been at the very heart of a remarkable 400 years of scientific discovery. Often the technological advances have been driven by defence and consumer pressures, not scientific need. Nevertheless, the effect of this symbiotic relationship between technological development and scientific discovery has been to utterly change our understanding of the world around us. This change shows little sign of slowing down.

Today, optical technology or photonics is universally present in our lives. This is no less the case in science. What were the milestones from the time of Galileo to the present day that had the greatest impact and why? What can we expect from the scientific application of optical technologies in our lifetimes?

Professor Paul Rees is Professor of Optics: Metrology and Technology in the Institute of Arts, Science and Technology at Glyndŵr University. He obtained his BSc and his PhD in Astronomy at University College London, completing his PhD in 1990. His early research work was on high resolution spectroscopy of the interstellar medium, before he moved to writing astronomical software systems at University College and then Rutherford Appleton Laboratory. This work led him to the Software Group at the Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes, supporting the operation of the UK telescopes on the Spanish island of La Palma in the Canary Islands.
In 1998 Paul returned to the UK to assist in the start-up of Telescope Technologies Limited, a company created by Liverpool John Moores University to design and build a new generation of research-class robotic telescopes, which includes the Liverpool Telescope and the Faulkes Telescopes. In 2008 Paul joined the team at OpTIC developing large optics fabrication methods for the ESO Extremely Large Telescope. Since then, he has built up and led the optical metrology effort at OpTIC as part of the Ultra Precision Surfaces programme.