'Telling the time' focus of first 2006 Brewery lecture

Mar 23, 2006

A focus on famous dating controversies was the focus of the first Uni in the Brewery lecture for 2006 held on Wednesday 22 March.

The series of public lectures are co-ordinated by the University of Wollongong's Research and Innovation Division (RAID) and aim to give the public the opportunity to learn about the various research projects conducted at the University of Wollongong (UOW).

This year, RAID has organised four sessions reflecting research in the areas of archaeology, creative writing, genetics and obesity.

The March 22 lecture featured Dr Chris Turney from the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences. Dr Turney discussed the science of when things happen, our obsession with time and our need to know how old things are.

He focussed on famous dating controversies - from the development of the modern calendar to the age of the Earth.

Drawing on extensive experience including the celebrated Hobbit fossil of Indonesia, Dr Turney explained how written records, carbon, constellations, and even tree rings help scientists to 'tell the time' and understand the future.

For his talk, Dr Turney drew upon parts of his new book called 'Bones, Rocks and Stars: The Science of When Things Happened' (due to be published by Macmillan Science on June 13 this year).

The public is encouraged to attend the entertaining series of presentations by leading UOW researchers, and provide feedback and discussion.

Future sessions:

17 May - 'How Not to write a Best Seller' with Alan Wearne and Shady Cosgrove

28 June - 'Rats and Pythons on an Australian Floodplain' with Thomas Madsen

20 September - 'A Critique of the Notion of the Obesity Epidemic' with Jan Wright