30 August 2012
A century of scientific breakthroughs celebrated in exhibition and talks
An evening celebrating the centenary of Dundee playing host to a hugely significant international science conference will take place at the University of Dundee next week.
In September 1912, the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BA), now the British Science Association, held its most successful conference to date, with record ticket sales and a series of related events taking place in the city. The BA's annual meetings were the most important scientific conferences of the time.
Almost 2,500 leading international scientists descended upon various venues in Dundee to discuss the latest theories across a wide range of disciplines, including Mathematical & Physical Sciences, Geology, Zoology, Engineering, and Agriculture at a time of unprecedented scientific change and development.
Those attending included future Prime Minister Ramsay Macdonald, Flinders Petrie, the great archaeologist, Alexander Siemens, director of the famous electrical company, Sir Ernest Rutherford, Nobel Prizewinner and father of nuclear physics, and Frederick Lindemann, who would later become Churchill's chief scientific advisor during WWII.
It was at this forum that the renowned geologist Benjamin Peach presented findings from his studies into rock formation in northern Scotland that provided evidence for the revolutionary theory of continental drift first proposed by Alfred Wegener earlier that year.
An exhibition marking the centenary of the 1912 meeting runs at Dundee Central Library until September 29th. An evening of short talks based on presentations made at the conference, and examining the legacy of theories espoused and debated there will take place at the University of Wednesday, 5th September.
Professor Rob Duck, Dean of the School of the Environment at Dundee, will be talking about the significance of Peach's presentation, while Professor Brian Hudson, of the School of Education, Social Work and Community Education, will examine the changes in teaching that have taken place in the century since the BAAS meeting.
Exhibition curator Matthew Jarron said, "This exhibition looks back at Dundee a century ago and explores some of the scientific issues being discussed at the 1912 meeting," he said. "This, and the evening of talks allow us to look back at an historic conference, which Dundee proved to be the perfect host for.
"The meeting was a triumphant success, and was not short of controversy. In his lecture, BA President, E A Shafer tackled the nature and origin of life, something which caused a sensation at the time. He was later to engage with another of the big issues of the day when he publicly stated that women should have equal voting rights with men during a special meeting with the Dundee Women's Suffrage Society.
"The theory of continental drift was a hot topic at the meeting - Alfred Wegener had proposed it in Germany earlier that year though it was not widely known about at the time. Both Benjamin Peach and William Spiers Bruce, in the Antarctic science part of Geography section, put forward important evidence to support it.
"The Antarctic science discussion was particularly controversial because of the dislike of Bruce by Scott's patron Clements Markham, who also spoke and who basically rubbished everyone except Scott.
"He spent some time talking about the important work that Scott was then doing and what a great welcome he would get on his return - little realising that Scott was already lying dead near the Pole, his body yet to be discovered. As it turned out, one of the geological specimens found with Scott's body was also of importance in supporting the theory of continental drift."
The exhibition has been timed to coincide with this year's British Science Festival, which is taking place in Aberdeen from September 4th-9th - exactly the same dates as the Dundee meeting 100 years ago.
The 1912 meeting was the most successful that the BA had ever held, with a record number of ticket sales. Local jute millionaire James Caird opened the meeting by announcing a donation of £10,000 - then the largest gift the Association had ever received. The meeting was accompanied by various special excursions, social events and a major art exhibition at the Albert Institute, now The McManus: Dundee's Art Gallery & Museum.
The exhibition tells the story of the meeting and focus on some of the scientific topics discussed, showing how they relate to current research - for example work on fruit growing, pollution, numeracy and Antarctic discovery. The displays will also explore what Dundee was like in 1912, with dozens of rarely seen photographs on show.
It has been created by the University of Dundee Museum Services and the Tayside & Fife branch of the British Science Association, with contributions from the University of Dundee Archive Services, the Local History Centre, Dundee Central Library and the Tayside Medical History Museum.
'An evening of short talks based on the 1912 Dundee meeting' takes place in the D'Arcy Thompson Lecture Theatre on Wednesday, 5th September. Admission is free and open to all.
On the afternoon of Saturday, 1st September, local scientists will be in attendance at the exhibition to give informal talks about the various subjects covered.
For media enquiries contact:
Grant Hill
Press Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384768
E-MAIL: g.hill@dundee.ac.uk
MOBILE: 07854 953277 |
