We will hold a number of Little Lectures as part of our 525th anniversary events.
The lectures are a great opportunity for you to get to know the experts from the University of Aberdeen and cover a range of topics.
Keep an eye on the webpage for new lectures being announced.
You can also view lectures from the previous Little Lectures series.
View Previous Little Lectures
- Archaeology
-
Previous Little Lectures
Exploring Prehistory with Ancient DNA
Presenter: Dr Linus Girdland
- Biological Sciences
-
Previous Little Lectures
Decadal Changes in Attitudes to Scottish Marine Mammal Populations
Presenter: Professor Paul Thompson
Changing fish distributions challenge the effective management of European fisheries
Presenter: Professor Paul Fernandes
Understanding how soil microbiomes can help sequester carbon to mitigate climate change
Presenter: Dr Ashish Malik
Using computer models for predicting and managing species’ responses to environmental changes
Presenter: Dr Greta Bocedi
- Business
-
Previous Little Lectures
Economics at Aberdeen: The Legacy of Sir Thomas Jaffrey
Presenter: Professor Keith Bender
- Divinity, History and Philosophy
-
Previous Little Lectures
'Viking' HumourPresenter: Dr Hannah Burrows
Do we share a sense of humour with Vikings? Explore what puns, jokes, insults, and satire can tell us about early Scandinavian culture and social concerns in this mini-lecture with Dr Hannah Burrows.
The Scottish Diaspora: A Brief IntroductionPresenter: Dr Marjory Harper
This mini-lecture will highlight key themes in the history of Scottish emigration since medieval times, but with a particular focus on the centuries after 1700. Professor Marjory Harper will be addressing the emigrants’ motives, the mechanisms by which they implemented their relocation, the attitudes of donor and host countries and communities, the impact of permanent settlement and temporary sojourning, and the long-term legacies of emigration.
Knowledge in Society
Presenter: Professor Jesper Kallestrup
This mini-lecture offers an overview of key themes in social epistemology, with a particular focus on how knowledge is transmitted in modern society. Professor Jesper Kallestrup will address how we all depend on experts or other epistemic agents, as well as technological devices, for the acquisition and preservation of knowledge.
- Engineering
-
Previous Little Lectures
Towards 100% Renewable Energy & Opportunities and Challenges in the Hydrogen Economy: Power to Molecules
Presenter: Dr Davide Dionisi/Dr Alfonso Martinez-Felipe
Advances in Prosthetics for Upper Limb Amputees
Presenter: Dr Ed Chadwick
- Geoscience
-
Previous Little Lectures
UAVs to Visualise the Coast - A Scottish Example
Presenter: Dr David Green
Energy Transition
Presenter: Dr Tavis Potts
- Law
-
Previous Little Lectures
Climate Change and the Law
Presenter: Dr Daria Shapovalova
Power, rights and benefit: intellectual property rights
Presenter: Professor Abbe Brown
Presenting to Persuade: How should it be done?
Presenter: Professor Derek Auchie
- Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition
-
Previous Little Lectures
How can we achieve a sustainable and healthy diet
Presenter: Professor Alex Johnstone
Introducing new imaging equipment and technologies into healthcare settings - what is required?
Presenter: Professor Andy Welch
The forgotten, the ignored and the under-served
Presenter: Professor Shaun Treweek
Making Medicines
Presenter: Professor Heather Wallace
- Natural and Computing Science
-
Previous Little Lectures
Team Collaboration in Software Development
Presenter: Dr Bruce Scharlau
From Data to Knowledge
Presenter: Professor Marco Thiel
Deep Learning, from Theory to Practice
Presenter: Dr Georgios Leontidis
Infrared Spectroscopy – adding analytical value by using it as a quantitative technique
Presenter: Dr Alan McCue
- Language, Literature, Music and Visual Culture
-
Previous Little Lectures
Writing the Self (English Literary Studies)
Presenter: Dr Elizabeth Elliott
This mini-lecture offers an overview of key issues in thinking about life writing, inviting you to consider what might distinguish life writing and autobiography, and what the variety of methods we use to represent our life experiences might have to tell us about the way we think about ourselves.
What are ‘materials’ in language teaching and why do we need them? (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages)
Presenter: Dr Vincent Greenier
Dr Vincent Greenier will be talking about language learning materials and will explore various examples of materials that can be used in the classroom. He will explain both the benefits and challenges of using existing EFL/ESL materials and designing your own and will highlight some basic principles of materials development.
The Sound of the 70s (Music)
Presenter: Dr Jonathan Hicks
What do you think of when you think of the 1970s? Which musical artists spring to mind? What sound technologies or production effects seem to belong to that decade? Just as importantly, where do you think of when you think of the 1970s? Dr Jonathan Hicks will address these questions and will explore how we might acknowledge and analyse diverse forms of sonic and musical practice using the example of a single decade.
- Psychology
-
Previous Little Lectures
Ambiguity in communication and how to avoid it
Presenter: Dr Sandie Cleland
Is politeness a universal concept?
Presenter: Dr Amy Irwin
Why is it so hard to find my keys?
Presenter: Dr Amelia Hunt
We explore the world around us by moving our eyes around to pick up information. Eye movements determine what we see: two people in the same environment can have completely different experiences if they focus on different aspects of it. Being able to predict where people will look (or not look) can help inform the design of better interfaces and applications. In this Little Lecture Dr Amelia Hunt will talk about how psychologists measure eye movements and use this data to understand our perception, our habits and our priorities. She will describe her ongoing research project exploring how we search for objects, what kinds of errors we make and what we can do to be better at it.
- Social Science
-
Previous Little Lectures
Who’s Afraid of Digital? (Anthropology)
Presenter: Dr Jennifer Walklate
Strategic Studies - Strategy and national security
Presenter: Professor James Wylie