The Festival of Research 2015 was a great success!!

The Navitas building on the Aarhus waterfront was buzzing with life as scientists from Aarhus University introduced their audience to the technologies of the future at the Festival of Research.


About 1,200 people took advantage of the opportunity to get a taste of the technologies of the future at the Festival of Research, which was held by Aarhus University on Friday 24 April 2015. Participants could listen to speed talks on topics like nanotechnology, 3D printers and telemedicine and take part in workshops and experiments in the lobby - including a special computer game that is helping scientists develop the quantum computer of the future. You could also take a tour of the Navitas building, courtesy of the Aarhus University School of Engineering.

A crowd of curious people attended the Festival of Research in the Navitas building. Photo: Lars Kruse, AU.

“There were lots of visitors to the Festival of Research, and the lecture halls and lobby area were full of people of all ages. Visitors were well-prepared and had checked events off in the programme, which had been distributed door-to-door, and the scientists meet a lot of interested, curious people,” said Charlotte Boel, project manager for the Festival of Research.

Photo: Lars Kruse, AU.

As a new addition to this annual event, business people and upper secondary school students were invited to a special mid-morning presentation of the theme of the festival, the technologies of the future.
I also contributed to the event with a speed talk introducing the importance of chirality in molecules. Below you can find the details.

Title: Molecules are also right and left-handed.


Summary:
Just as gloves and hands come in mirror-image pairs (a left and a right), many molecules can exist in ‘left-’ and ‘right-handed’ forms. This property of handedness is called chirality, and most biological molecules are chiral. Surprisingly, all living organisms contain almost only ‘left-handed’ amino acids and ‘right-handed’ sugars. This exclusive one-handedness has the important consequence that the biological and pharmaceutical activity of many molecules is often directly related to their chirality. Chemistry by means of the chiral synthesis favours the formation of a specific ‘left-’ and ‘right-handed’ molecules.

For more information about the event: http://newsroom.au.dk/en/news/show/artikel/forskningens-doegn-var-en-stor-succes/

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