We welcome Dr Hugh Hunt, who will be presenting the lecture from his rooms at Trinity College, Cambridge. Dr Hunt will take us on a journey through his collection of toys, boomerangs, gizmos and oojamaflips, and introduce us to the fascinating physics and engineering behind each. Despite lockdown, there will be interactivity; we will be invited to tinker with various household items (watch this space for a kit list…), as Hugh talks us through the science.
It promises to be an enjoyable hour of learning and discovery, suitable for anyone curious to learn more about the fascinating quirks of science that are hidden within the everyday. No science skill/knowledge will be required to enjoy this talk, although there will be plenty to challenge our Sixth Form scientists.
Dr Hugh Hunt is a Reader in Engineering at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Trinity College. He specialises in the dynamics of vibrations, and is an expert on things that spin - gyroscopes, boomerangs, tippee tops, stunt cars doing loop-the-loops, Barnes Wallis’ bouncing (and spinning) bombs, and more.
He has fronted a number of documentary films, including Dambusters: Building The Bouncing Bomb (which won a Royal Television Society award) and Escape from Colditz (in which he reconstructed the escape glider built in secret by prisoners out of “found” materials - including bed boards, sleeping bags, gramophone springs and porridge!).
He is a terrific and much sought-after speaker (he was one of the last to lecture at The Royal Institution prior to lockdown), and it is a treat and privilege that he will be joining us on Wednesday.
