The University of Aberdeen is next week holding a day to remember the Tsunami tragedy- a day for the community to come together, attend a very special lecture, and raise funds in aid of the Tsunami Earthquake Appeal.
All staff, students and members of the local community are invited to attend Tsunamis, a presentation being given on Ash Wednesday, February 9 between 12.30pm and 1.30pm in the King’s College Centre by world-renowned expert on Tsunamis, Professor Alastair Dawson.
Professor Albert Rodger, Head of the College of Physical Sciences will introduce Professor Dawson as the guest speaker and a warm welcome will be given by Easter Smart, Chaplain to the University.
Professor Dawson, who has recently been appointed as Senior Research Fellow within the Aberdeen Institute for Coastal Science and Management and is an international expert in coastal processes, will give a 45-minute presentation on tsunamis.
He explained: “The Indian Ocean tsunami of Boxing Day 2004 has raised awareness of the destructive capacity of tsunamis. This lecture is intended to provide an introduction to the science of tsunamis.
“The risk posed by tsunamis exists around all the world’s oceans and not just in the Indian and Pacific Ocean. I hope to describe the various mechanisms by which tsunamis are generated and also to show examples of large tsunamis that have taken place in history and prehistory.”
Professor Dawson has served on the International Tsunami Commission as the UK representative for many years and has written numerous papers. He has also participated in the only two European-funded tsunami projects throughout the 1990s.
Professor Rodger will host a Q&A with the audience and Professor Dawson before closing the event.
Envelopes marked ‘Tsunami earthquake appeal’ will be on all seats within the King’s College Centre, and we hope to raise a significant amount of funding for the appeal from those attending by asking them to donate their lunch money.
Professor Rodger added: “Wednesday, February 9th is an appropriate day for the University community to focus on the Tsunami and to better understand such a phenomenom. It also gives us a chance to do something together to help those that have suffered.”
Easter Smart explained: “February 9th also happens to be Ash Wednesday. Although the first day of Lent, the themes of Ash Wednesday are ancient and reverberate through nearly all cultures and faiths. Ash Wednesday, as the name suggests, is a day when we are called to engage with the painful things life brings. It was a day when people marked themselves with ashes and fasted. It was a day to atone for wrongdoings, a day to show compassion for those whose lives have been crippled by injustice, pain, debt or loss.
Here are four things that the University community can do together on February 9th:
· Attend the lunchtime lecture being given by Professor Dawson in the King’s College Centre.
· Fast over lunchtime to show solidarity with those who have little.
· Donate your lunch money to the Tsunami earthquake appeal.
(Envelopes will be provided in the King’s College Centre and the Student Association will have collection points around the King’s College and Forresterhill Campuses throughout the day).
· Write your prayers, hopes, feelings in a book, which will be located in the James Mackay Hall all week.
Everyone is welcome to attend. To book your place at this special, one-off lecture, please contact: Fiona Reid, Communications Office, on: (01224) 273726, email: events@abdn.ac.uk, or book online at http://www.abdn.ac.uk/tsunamis/