Imperial Lates returns with five new evenings of discovery

An exploration of infection, a world tour of global science and a date with data form part of the newly announced 2019/20 Imperial Lates series

The 'after work' public science celebrations return this autumn with five new themed evenings following a successful first year attended by over 3000 people.

Members of the public interested in attending can register for any of these upcoming events via the Imperial Lates Eventbrite page.

Imperial staff and students interested in presenting research or projects under any of the themes detailed below can submit their ideas via the Imperial Lates proposals form.

"A great platform": The history of the Lates

Last year, Imperial’s Public Engagement team launched the Lates after refreshing their 'Imperial Fringe' evening events series, which for six years had brought College research to life through the creativity of students and staff. The 'Lates' continued in a similar vein with packed programmes of live demonstrations, creative workshops, interactive experiments and inspiring talks, but aimed at a specifically adult audience.

The first year of Imperial Lates included a science fashion show during London Fashion Week, a festive exploration of maths, and a celebration of pioneering women in STEM to mark International Women’s Day

"The Imperial Lates evening were a great addition to the College public events programme. They provide a unique opportunity for adults to grab a drink with our scientists and enjoy a social, creative evening where they can discuss the latest research coming out of Imperial," says Head of Public Engagement, Vicky Brightman.

“They provide a great platform for students and staff to develop their outreach and engagement skills, and help the College meet its objectives around sharing the wonder of what we do with the wider society.”

Below are the details of the five Lates events to be held during this upcoming academic year. Each of these free events will take place within Imperial's Main Entrance on Exhibition Road and run on a drop-in basis between 6pm and 9pm.

Science without borders – 9^th October 

Our globetrotting, ocean crossing and jungle trekking community of worldy scientists descend on South Kensington to tell stories of exploration and adventure. This is your chance to tour the world of science; from new, low-cost prosthetics engineered in Cambodia and diet monitoring wearable tech trialed in Ghana, to oil-spill clean-up sponges developed in India. In Europe, we will be exploring gardening therapy for patients in Italy and bumblebee surveys in Arctic Sweden, whilst saving a species of apple tree from extinction in central Asia.

Register to attend Imperial Lates: Science without borders

Infectious - 12th November

Join our ‘infectious’ scientists to get hands on with everything from superbugs to a zombie apocalypse and state of the art diagnostics to STIs. Hear stories from the front line of the fight against disease, watch antimicrobial resistance theatre and try not to spend too long in our Infectious Arcade!

Register to attend Imperial Lates: Infectious

Winter Wonderlab – 5^th December

As the nights draw in, we celebrate the chillier side of science. From low-temperature physics and the freezing cold of outer space to arctic surveys and glaciology, via all manner of sub-zero chemistry fun, embrace the cold in our Winter Wonderlab.

Register to attend Imperial Lates: Winter Wonderlab

Future Commuter – 13^th February

If you’ve ever experienced the joys of the London commute or worried about the carbon footprint of a summer getaway, you may have wondered what the future of transport might deliver. Well now is your chance. Travel over to Imperial in February to meet the scientists and engineers exploring the probabilities of our future mobility.

Register to attend Imperial Lates: Future Commuter

Beautiful data – 12^th March

Data, data everywhere but perhaps we should stop and think? This most precious of commodities could deliver breakthroughs in medicine and patient care, help us better understand the universe or make our lives easier by training our household devices to know what we like. But does the data revolution also threaten our personal privacy and how much of a say do we have in how our data is used? Explore both sides of this (bit)coin at Imperial Lates.

Register to attend Imperial Lates: Beautiful data

Volunteering at Imperial Lates

Each year an amazing team of volunteers help us run the Imperial Lates on the night. Without them we wouldn’t be able to inspire thousands of people with our research and our College community.

This year, we want to make the Lates bigger and better, and we need volunteers to help make it happen! These short, fun volunteer shifts are a great opportunity to try something new, meet interesting people and get involved in some of our biggest public events of the year. 

Check out the latest volunteer opportunities and sign yourself up here.