For some, the start of the new academic term means pulling on warmer clothes. For us, it's all about the return of our public events programme.

Most students may not return to class for another week or so, but this term’s events at Imperial (pdf) kicked off before teaching started with Science Uncovered 2014 last Friday (26 September) and last Saturday (27 September) with Discover diversity: the planet’s wildlife on your doorstep at Silwood.

Meet our new professors

All our new professors are invited to give inaugural lectures to celebrate their promotion. These events are a great way of getting to know a professor and their area of work in real detail.

Inaugural lectures this term will be given by Professor Rama Cont (Mathematics) on 21 October, Professor Terrence Rudolph (Physics) on 29 October, and Professor Debbie Jarvis and Professor Anne O’Garra (both National Heart and Lung Institute) on 27 November and 10 December respectively.

The first inaugural lecture of the new calendar was on Monday 29 September, when Professor Justin Mason from the National Heart and Lung Institute.

Nobel Laureates

Annual lectures are always very popular here at Imperial, and this year two of these are being given by recent Nobel Laureates.

On Wednesday 12 November, Professor Serge Haroche (Collège de France) – winner of the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physics – gives this year's Schrödinger Lecture, talking about how microscopic quantum physics has a far-reaching effect on our world.  On Thursday 13 November, 2013 Nobel Prize in Chemistry winner Professor Michael Levitt (Stanford University) delivers the Ernst Chain Lecture computational structural biology – modelling the molecules of life.

Before these, another Nobel Laureate, Professor Brian Josephson (University of Cambridge), recipient of the 1973 Nobel Prize in Physics, gives the keynote lecture at an afternoon of discussions and thought-provoking debate about the facets of time on Wednesday 1 October.

Annual lectures

Other annual lectures include the Vincent Briscoe Lecture, hosted by the Institute for Security Science and Technology, with social media expert Jamie Bartlett discussing the ‘dark’ internet, and the EDF Lecture, with EDF Senior Vice President of Human Resources Marianne Laigneau explaining how human and social dimensions are as important as financial objectives in HR Vision 2020.

Academic leaders

Elsewhere this season, our public events programme includes two introductions to senior academics – Professor Tim Green, newly-appointed Director of the Energy Futures Lab, and Professor Paul Matthews (Medicine), Edmond and Lily Safra Chair in Translational Neuroscience and Therapeutics.

Be inspired

And last, but by no means least, our popular Fringe events are scheduled for early November and mid-December. These events are always busy and provide the opportunity for hands-on interaction with some of the College’s experts on a range of research around a topic or theme, so be sure to make a date with discovery at Imperial this autumn and winter.

For more information on events at Imperial, visit the events pages on the Imperial website and sign up for our fortnightly events e-bulletin.

Download the September-December 2014 Events Leaflet here (pdf).