Agile Rabbit

Fifty percent of the world’s population who make it to middle age and beyond will experience menopause, but talking about it, understanding it, and knowing how to manage it are only gradually becoming more commonplace. So how can we have more open conversations about individuals’ experiences?

Mainstream narratives on the menopause often contain a dizzying report of weight gain, brain fog, joint pain, anxiety, depression, dry skin, and hot flashes. Dr. Tina Cartwright joins us from the University of Westminster to chat about what perimenopause and menopause actually are and how they manifest in women differently.

Tina talks about recognising your symptoms to help you ask for the right support – whether from your employer or your GP. We also look at how exercise, CBT, yoga, and cold water swimming can support wellbeing during this time of transition.

How does the human immune system react to viruses, bacteria, or fungi invasions? Microbial life doesn’t just become visible under the microscope. During the Covid-19 pandemic, for example, it completely changed our lives.

Professor Robin May from the University of Birmingham Robin is fascinated by how microbes cause diseases. He takes us on an investigative safari to take a closer look at what happens when so called pathogens enter the human body.

ROBIN MAY

School of Biosciences

University of Birmingham

Robin is Professor of Infectious Diseases at the University of Birmingham and succeeded Sir Chris Whitty last year as the 39th Gresham Professor of Physic. He is currently serving as Chief Scientific Adviser to the Food Standards Agency, where he provides independent science advice to the UK Government on food policy.

Join Dr. Diana Tingley, from the University of Exeter for a walk and talk around Ludwell Valley Park

New laws say that housing developments must leave the natural environment in a better state than beforehand, known as Biodiversity Net Gain. We discuss whether the current legislation can work well for people and nature at the same time, and whether it goes far enough. We also talk about the benefits to people from being able to access nature and whether social justice has a role to play in all of this.

Dr. Diana Tingley

Diana works at the cross section between academia, business, policy and public engagement as a Senior Research Fellow in the Land, Environment ,Economics and Policy (LEEP) Institute, University of Exeter. Her current research focuses on public preferences for how Biodiversity and Environmental Net Gain can be delivered in practice.

With contributions from:

Professor Ian Bateman: Co-Director LEEP , University of Exeter.

Chris Moulton: Nature Reserve Officer, Devon Wildlife Trust.

Sara Eppel: Nature And People Foundation

Members of the public at the 'walkie talkie' event, Ludwell Park 2024

Further information: https://www.exeter.ac.uk/research/leep/

This work is supported with funding from the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.

Celebrating Ada Lovelace Day and the pioneering research of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. A discussion with world leading scientists and thinkers on Artificial Intelligence and equality.

From benefits to healthcare and the environment, there is a lot that is exciting about AI and its contribution to our society. However, the risks – including algorithmic bias, invasion of privacy, and the power of big business – are well versed. So how can we ensure that data science and AI is working for and not against us?

Hear about how ideas from computer and data scientists – particularly women – are empowering diversity, cooperation and prosperity for all. As many of us turn to generative AI to increase productivity at work, how can we be sure that the everyday tools we use are ethical and fair?

This event is for The Joint Centre for Excellence in Environmental Intelligence.

SPEAKERS

JUDY WAJCMAN

Principal Investigator for Women in Data Science and AI

Alan Turing Institute

Judy Wajcman is Principal Investigator for Women in Data Science and AI at the Alan Turing Institute. She also is Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the London School of Economics (LSE). Her previous positions include the Anthony Giddens Chair in Sociology at the LSE and Professor of Sociology in the Research School of Social Sciences at the Australian National University. She has also held posts in Cambridge, Edinburgh, Manchester, Sydney, Warwick, most recently holding the Mellon Fellowship at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University. Judy has published widely in the fields of science and technology studies, feminist theory, work and organisations, and is probably best known for her analysis of the gendered nature of technology. Her books include The Social Shaping of Technology, Feminism Confronts Technology and TechnoFeminism.

ANNA BALDYCHEVA

Assistant Professor (Senior Lecturer) in Electronic Engineering

Department of Engineering

University of Exeter

REBECCA KESBY

Journalist

BBC

EKATERINA HERTOG

Associate Professor in AI and Society

Oxford Internet Institute

University of Oxford

From naked mole rats and their teeth digging skills to kickboxing secretary birds, get ready to get your freak on.

Dr. Steve Portugal from the Centre of Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour at the Royal Holloway University of London, has long been interested in the curious and peculiar behaviours of our fellow earthly inhabitants.

STEVE PORTUGAL

Steve Portugal is a comparative ecophysiologist. The common theme of his work focuses on how animals adapt their behaviour and ecology to the challenges of their environment, within the constraints of their own physiological and anatomical limitations. Such questions are particularly important in the light of global environmental change and exploitation of natural resources, in the emerging field of conservation physiology.

From September, Steve will commence his new position as Associate Professor of Animal Behaviour at the University of Oxford and St Hugh’s College.

The man behind much meaningful analysis of election statistics visits the South West for an exclusive event with Agile Rabbit. Sir John Curtice is in conversation with former Radio 4 presenter Ritula Shah. Using the latest poll data, Sir John will be sharing potential outcomes and reflecting on the implications for both politicians and the electorate. Sir John famously provides poll analysis on election nights for the BBC and is a regular contributor across the media.

20th June 2024

Nathan Lepora, Professor of Robotics and AI at the University of Bristol, shares his vast knowledge on most recent robotic developments. Professor Lepora is interested in the intersection of artificially embodied intelligence and neuroscience and how, in turn, this manipulates how we perceive our surroundings, learn, and interact with one another.

He is the leader of the Dexterous Robotics Group in Bristol Robotics Laboratory, a collaborative research group that investigates and develops dexterous robots with a human-like sense of touch that can intelligently interact with their surroundings. Together with his research group, he has pioneered the use of 3D-printing for easy fabrication of tactile sensors, leading to multiple benefits from open-sourcing the technology to the integration into robot hands and grippers.

Professor Sabina Leonelli, Professor Seán Ó hÉigeartaigh, Professor Anthony King, Rebecca Kesby.

Whether it’s a deepfake of Taylor Swift or Rishi Sunak’s summit at Bletchley Park, news about Artificial Intelligence seems unescapable. And it’s accelerating at an unprecedented rate. With a group of world experts, we’re getting behind the headlines to look at what’s really happening in AI safety, particularly the role that law and politics play in providing regulation and reassurance.

The AI landscape is complex, ranging from positive impacts such as healthcare advances to those more negative that affect real-life opportunities and services. So, what are the risks of AI as well as the transformative opportunities?

This event was part of AI UK Fringe and in partnership with the University of Exeter’s Institute for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence and the Alan Turing Institute.

Professor Penelope Endersby FREng, Hon FInstP, Professor Hywel Williams, George Monbiot, Professor Seth Bullock, Professor Sarah Hartley, James Coomarasamy

Artificial Intelligence enables us to track environmental footprints, extreme weather events, carbon emissions, and biodiversity loss. But can it help us to find solutions to tackle some of our society’s most pressing environmental issues? AI has a staggering carbon footprint itself – but can it help us find solutions in a rapidly changing climate?

The UK’s leading data scientists and environmental thinkers joined us for this special fringe event as part of AI UK Fringe, at Dartington Hall. We heard about how scientists and companies focus their efforts and research on how AI can support communities to navigate their water supply, what the technology can tell us about our changing weather, and whether it can increase harvest globally.

This AI UK Fringe panel was for the University of Exeter's Institute for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence and in partnership with the Alan Turing Institute.

What fills the space between stars in our universe? Pure nothingness?

After sparking interest with our curious audience at Standon Calling, Tessa Baker visited us in Exeter. She discusses how space, in fact, isn’t empty and still, but can twist and stretch like a piece of elastic. And when it does, it produces special ‘sounds’ called gravitational waves, which we can hear with some incredible instruments.

Tessa Baker is Professor of Cosmology and Royal Society University Research Fellow at the University of Portsmouth. She take us on a journey through outer space, black holes, and the most violent events in the universe, to explain one of the most exciting scientific discoveries of the century, and what it means for our understanding of the cosmos.