Broaden your mind: 2007 Discovery Days

Is it illegal to kill whales? Is time-travel really possible? And were school break-times a recipe for disaster or success?

These are among the many topics that experts from across all faculties of the University will discuss at the 2007 Discovery Days - a showcase of the leading-edge research being undertaken by some of the University's top minds.

"It is now three years since our very first Discovery Days presentation in January 2004. By the end of the 2007 programme almost 100 academics will have brought the excitement of their work to a wider audience through this compelling journey," University Principal Sir Alan Langlands said.

"This year we extend the trail into European Philosophy, witness protection, whaling, creative writing, crime and design, anatomy, healthcare, the world's water crisis and many other important and topical issues."

Each expert will present for only 15 minutes, allowing for two dynamic days that provide a unique snapshot of the broad range and scope of expertise the University has to offer.

The 2007 Discovery Days will take place at the D'Arcy Thompson Lecture Theatre in the Tower Building on Thursday 11 and Friday 12 January. Admission is free and all are welcome to attend. A full programme is available at http://www.dundee.ac.uk/principalsoffice/discoverydays2007.html.

Session 01 Thursday 11 January 1:30pm-2:50pm
Chaired by journalist Magnus Linklater
Featuring presentations by:
Anne Anderson OBE: Reading the signs - visual and verbal signals in communication
Mike Press: Design against crime
Janet McLean: Who is the state? Power and Responsibility
Ian Parkin: Anatomy: cornerstone, arch or both?
Gary Mires: Training tomorrow's healthcare professionals: magic or mystery?

Session 02 Thursday 11 January 3:35pm-4:50pm
Featuring presentations by:
Kirsty Gunn: Letting words go
Peter McEleavy: Localising the international family
James Williams: Another resturn to time travel: the arts and humanities as time-machine
Andreas Melzer: The power of imaging in a vision for medical technologies
Gavin Renwick: The cultural imperative of self-determination

Session 03 Friday 12 January 11:00am-12:00pm
Chaired by Chief Scientific Advisor for Scotland Professor Anne Glover
Featuring presentations by:
Kathryn Findlay: Architecture alive!
Ruth Freeman: Tooth decay, obesity and healthy eating: a recipe for success or disaster
Robin Churchill: Is it illegal to kill whales?
Sara Marshall: Genetic clues to systemic inflammatory diseases

Session 04 Friday 12 January 1:30pm-2:50pm
Featuring presentations by:
Daan van Aalten: Sugars - structures, strengths and signals
Paul Wyatt: Drug discovery in a University: who needs it?
Sonja Gallhofer: Accounting for wellbeing
Philip Andrews-Speed: Energy policy: why is it important and why is it difficult?
Nicholas Fyfe: Cast into a world of strangers: witness protection

Session 05 Friday 12 January 3:35pm-4:40pm
Irene Leigh OBE: Mending sick skin
Jeremy Wyatt: How will the internet change health care?
Aleksandar Jovanovic: How to survive when the blood doesn't flow
Patricia Wouters: Addressing the world's water crisis: water law, water leaders