Crick Music Symposium ft. Sam Leak

by John J. Williamson on September 16, 2019January 24, 2020

On Friday 11th October, Sam Leak and I will be among the speakers at the Crick Institute Music Symposium. I usually encounter Sam at mutual gigs with Morgan Brothers Big Band or Trevor Mires, or at Sam’s handy Wednesday night at Oliver’s — so this will be a nice change. Sam will present his PhD researching into learning absolute pitch (mega interesting) and I’ll talk about experiences of working in science and music. Check out the poster below for a list of the other talks on offer.

We are top-and-tailing the program before playing a short duo set on double bass and the Crick’s posh grand piano.

To attend the afternoon talks: REGISTER FOR FREE ON EVENTBRITE

To attend the evening music: contact me directly to be registered… jjw (at) fastmail (dot) c o m

PastedGraphic-1

Public talk at The Physics of Life

by John J. Williamson on September 20, 2017January 24, 2020

This Friday (22nd September 2017) I’ll be at a public event hosted by the Institute of Physics — The Physics of Life. If I remember right, this is partly prompted by the IoP’s upcoming move to a location near the Francis Crick Institute, where I work. Many thanks to Toby Shannon from the IoP for getting in touch!

I’ll be considering what we mean by “fundamental” science, how this relates to links between physics and biology, and why the Crick bothers to employ physicists. I’m also really looking forward to seeing Aimee Eckert speak, and she’s a biologist so there’s a nice symmetry to the whole thing. There will be science stalls and demos, and food and drink.

In conversation with Mike Corcoran at Creative Futures 2017

by John J. Williamson on March 23, 2017January 24, 2020

Recently I was very honoured to be invited to Creative Futures 2017 by my old friend Mike Corcoran. Mike is something of a polymath, with a huge variety of interests in the arts, philosophy and science. We originally met at Durham University while queueing for one of the many administrative things that first-year students have to queue for. We were the only two people in the year doing our particular combination of physics and philosophy modules, and remained friends throughout.

We had a discussion about similarities, differences, shared joys and shared troubles in the arts and the sciences. It was a lot of fun and I felt like we could have sat there chatting for hours. A nice video of the talk is available here, made by the people at Filmage.

John Williamson

Public Engagement

Crick Music Symposium ft. Sam Leak

Public talk at The Physics of Life

In conversation with Mike Corcoran at Creative Futures 2017