6 Nov 2017

Royal Arch, and other lost monuments, brought back to life for NEoN

Artists from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design have used the latest technology to bring Dundee’s much-missed Royal Arch back to life for this year’s NEoN Digital Arts festival. Dr Alice Watterson and Dr Kieran Baxter combined their archaeological and animation skills to recreate the Arch in digital form. The meticulously reconstructed models can be viewed on the site of the original Arch at Slessor Gardens by anyone who downloads the Zappar app on their mobile device and then scans the engravings in the paving slabs marking the original footprints of the Arch. NEoN Digital Art...

1 Nov 2017

Students to display work inspired by D’Arcy Thompson

He has already inspired generations of scientists, artists and thinkers including Alan Turing, Richard Dawkins and Claude Levi Strauss. Now the work of biologist and mathematician D’Arcy Thompson, has prompted a new exhibition of work from the new generation of Graphic Design and Illustration students at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design. ‘Exponential Growth’ will open in the Tower Building Foyer on Saturday 4 November and is in place to celebrate 100 years since D’Arcy Thompson’s influential book, ‘On Growth and Form’ was first published. He held...

1 Nov 2017

Dundee-China links strengthened with guest professorship

The University of Dundee has formed a new link with China, with Professor Daan van Aalten from the School of Life Sciences being appointed a guest professor at Xiangya Hospital at Central South University in Changsha, China. Professor van Aalten is a Wellcome Trust Investigator in the Division of Gene Regulation and Expression in the School of Life Sciences. He is one of the world’s leading authorities on the role of the enzyme O-GlcNAc transferase in neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseases. He is an author on over 170 scientific papers, the latest being a major breakthrough in identifyin...

30 Oct 2017

Edible experiments expected to wow

Bubbling beverages, insect cookies and ice cream frozen by liquid nitrogen are on offer this week as researchers at the University of Dundee swap the lab for the kitchen to cook with chemistry.  Featuring tasty treats from local companies including the world-famous Jannettas Gelateria, scientists at the University’s School of Life Sciences are inviting people to come and try surprising snacks as part of this year’s Dundee Science Festival. Ali Floyd, Public Engagement Manager, said, “We will creating a perfect pairing of food and science and exploring the links between bacteria and...

30 Oct 2017

Strength in Silence – The Margaret Harris Lecture on Religion

A man who spent 14 years in institutions for people with profound learning and physical disabilities after contracting a brain infection will share the story of how he battled back to health at this year’s Margaret Harris Lecture at the University of Dundee. At the age of 12, Martin Pistorius began developing symptoms that included losing the ability to move by himself. The South African later fell into a vegetative state that lasted four years. By the time he was 19 he had regained full consciousness, but was unable to tell anyone. It was only when a therapist noticed that he was reactive to speci...