Departments

Famous big-head solves co-fossil mystery
A detailed digital 3D model of a colossal skull has been created – and the creature it came from is the key to unlocking one of the UK’s longest standing dinosaur mysteries.

The magic of Christmas – let’s get physics-al
Santa is real… but he does have to obey the laws of physics. That’s according to Dr Rob Appleby, lecturer in high energy particle physics at The University of Manchester.

Bright sparks and Black Swans: protecting energy networks in the face of disaster
If 2018 is remembered for anything (and a lot has happened this year), it will be the extreme weather. This was the year the UK experienced its longest sustained heatwave for 12 years, beginning just three months after the spring cold wave known as the Beast from the East froze our toes. Swapping from thermals […]

Cracking stuff: how Turing beat the Enigma
More than 70 years after the Enigma was cracked by Alan Turing and his colleagues at Bletchley Park, innovative technology housed at The University of Manchester has provided a detailed peek beneath the bonnet of the German wartime cipher machine. A deadly weapon The German Enigma machine was integral in providing the Axis powers with […]

Manchester’s most important brain
The University of Manchester has an impressive track record when it comes to computer science. After all, this is where the world’s first stored-program computer, Baby, was created. And in the year that Baby turns 70, our scientists have given birth to yet another marvel of computing. Last week, the one-millionth processor core of this […]

A bright spark AND a diamond – the HV Lab turns 60
Lightning doesn’t strike twice – unless you happen to be stood in the High Voltage (HV) Lab at The University of Manchester, that is. On Sunday, this institution – officially named the National Grid Power Systems Research Centre – celebrates its Diamond Anniversary. We take a look back at its history and the achievements recorded […]

Why ‘Phantom’ Archaeopteryx discovery has scientists in a flap
Since its discovery 150 years ago, scientists have heralded Archaeopteryx as the ‘missing link’ in the evolution of dinosaurs to modern birds. A transitional fossil, the species was commonly referred to as Urvogel – meaning “first bird”. But as is so often the case, once something reaches such lofty heights, it’s human nature to want […]

Meet Manchester’s most inspiring alumni
When it comes to science and engineering, Manchester has an illustrious heritage. If you’ve joined the Faculty of Science and Engineering this week, read on to see in whose illustrious footsteps you’re following. Dr Bachir Ismaël Ouédraogo Burkina Faso’s Minister for Energy completed his PhD here at The University of Manchester, and he hopes that […]

The very rocky horror show
When an event is known as the ‘Great Dying’, you know it’s fairly serious – as in, the end of almost all life on Earth serious. That was the extent of the damage wrought by the End-Permian Extinction, which wiped out 70 per cent of species on land and up to 96 per cent of […]

Great balls of fire
Goodness gracious – two great balls of fire have been spotted in the skies over Manchester. But there’s no need to run for higher ground quite yet – while fireball events aren’t always caught on camera, they are fairly common. In the last month alone, a brand new meteor camera located here on The University […]