The first three speakers participating in the Lancaster 50th anniversary public lecture series have been announced. Described as being “three leading names in their own, very different fields”, the speakers do indeed come from a wide range of backgrounds, yet are all connected by Lancaster.
The lecture series will begin during the 50th Roses weekend with Olympic gold medalist and Lancaster alumnus Jason Queally on Saturday, Week 2 (May 3rd). Queally, born in Staffordshire, attended the Lancaster Royal Grammar School and studied a BSc in Biological Science at the University – as well as representing Lancaster and other British Universities in water polo tournaments. He plans to talk about his journey into cycling and will be taking questions from the public at the Sports Centre on Saturday afternoon; after taking part in the Roses Ride 2014 – hosted by LUSU – which will bring together members of the University and the community in a major cycling event.
The second speaker will be Lancaster’s own Chancellor, Sir Chris John Storey Bonington, known for his love of mountain-climbing and astounding climbing career which has included 19 expeditions. He is also honorary president of Lancaster University Mountaineering Club and has a boat named for him amongst the Boat Club’s fleet. His lecture will be taking place on Monday, Week 2 in the Management School – where he will be talking about the leadership and motivational techniques he used in his 1985 Everest expedition.
The third speaker will be lecturing Tuesday, Week 4, at the Storey Gallery in the city centre. Dr. Fran Bagenal, Professor of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences at the University of Colorado, and Lancaster alumna will be sharing her experiences as co-investigator and team leader on NASA’s New Horizons mission to Pluto. Bagenal has worked on a number of planetary science missions and is a researcher in the fields of space plasmas and planetary magnetospheres.
Registration for these events can be found at the Lancaster University 50th anniversary website. More speakers are to be announced in the coming weeks.
