MECD – the clever new kid on the block
On the block between Grosvenor Street, Upper Brook Street and Booth Street East, a huge construction project is underway. It’s difficult to tell right now, but when the work is complete, it will cover the space of 11 football pitches. In fact, the main building, MEC Hall, could house a sandwich made from Beetham Towers […]
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 […]
In the pipeline – how graphene could reduce corrosion
A new breakthrough means that the inclusion of graphene in the manufacture of underwater oil and gas networks could be in the pipeline. Corrosion is not only very expensive to fix, but it can also lead to “catastrophic failure” when not addressed. However, graphene could act as the perfect barrier to the problem. A paper […]
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 […]
Unicorns, pulsars and graphene – just a typical day at Bluedot
Fiona Porter, Postgraduate at the School of Chemistry, and Sebastian Leaper, Postgraduate at the School of Chemical Engineering, are both Outreach Representatives for the Graphene NOWNANO Centre for Doctoral Training. Bluedot 2018 was their final event. They share their experiences of working at the festival below: Fiona Porter: “For the 2018 Bluedot Festival, a team of […]
The bone of contention in the evolution of vertebrates
It takes backbone to try and tackle one of the age-old mysteries of the evolution of life, but a researcher at The University of Manchester has proven he’s certainly not too spineless to take on the challenge. Just like close to ten per cent of all life on Earth, we humans are vertebrates – meaning […]
Shitsukan – how we make sense of our material world
The human brain is a miraculous thing. Take a moment to look out of the window at the nearest plant or tree and you immediately know what it is thanks to your brain’s understanding and processing of all the microscopic bits of information you collect through your senses. It’s not only the shape and colour […]
The wonder stuff: why graphene’s everywhere this summer
While Andy Murray may be missing from the courts at Wimbledon this summer, another British legend has made a return appearance – graphene. The advanced material, first isolated here at The University of Manchester, is featured in the design of certain tennis racquets and helps players add power to their play. The inclusion of graphene […]
One small step for man, one giant leap for Manchester
Like the plot of a movie, a team of students from across the Faculty of Science and Engineering have overcome some serious odds to claim victory at an international space probe competition in Texas. The fourth annual American Astronautical Society CanSat Competition took place at Tarleton State University; with a team from The University of […]