Past Events
Claus for Thought: Using Radar to Track Santa
Dates
Wednesday 3 December 2025 (18:00 - 19:00)Location
Chancellor’s Court, University of BirminghamDescription
As part of the University of Birmingham "Christmas on Campus: 125 Edition" celebrations join Prof. Sean Elvidge in a "Claus for Thought".
How do we keep track of someone who travels the whole world in a single night? In this festive talk, we explore the science behind tracking Santa using radar. We’ll look at how ordinary radars can only see as far as the horizon, and how a remarkable layer high above Earth, the ionosphere, lets special ‘over-the-horizon’ radars see far beyond it. Along the way we’ll discover why Santa’s journey is the perfect way to explain how real radar systems work, how we study the upper atmosphere, and how science helps us understand our planet. A fun, accessible introduction for all ages.
SERENE Seminar Series: Space Weather Impacts on a Power Grid
Dates
Tuesday 18 November 2025 (14:30 - 16:00)Location
SoE Building (Y8) - Seminar Room 229Description
Space Weather Impacts on a Power Grid: Planning for a future extreme event, plus update after the "Gannon" G5
Prof. Craig J. Rodger
Department of Physics, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
STFC Summer School - Introductory Course in Solar and Solar-terrestrial Physics
Dates
Sunday 31 August (15:00) - Friday 5 September 2025 (17:00)Location
SERENE, School of Engineering, University of BirminghamDescription
The STFC Introductory Course in Solar and Solar -Terrestrial Physics for 2025 will be held at the University of Birmingham from Monday 1st September 2025 to Friday 5th September 2025. The course will be hosted by Dr Oliver Allanson and the SERENE research group in the School of Engineering.
SERENE Seminar Series: Breast Cancer Decision making under uncertainty with Sandra Chapman
Dates
Tuesday 25 February 2025 (15:00 - 16:00)Location
School of Engineering Building Room 330Description
Breast Cancer- Decision making under uncertainty
Prof. Sandra Chapman CPhys FInstP FRAS
Director of the Centre for Fusion, Space and Astrophysics University of Warwick
SERENE Seminar Series: Data-driven discovery in solar terrestrial physics with Sandra Chapman
Dates
Tuesday 25 February 2025 (11:00 - 12:00)Location
School of Engineering Building Room 229Description
Data-driven discovery in solar terrestrial physics
Sandra Chapman CPhys FInstP FRAS
Director of the Centre for Fusion, Space and Astrophysics University of Warwick
Spring MIST 2023
Dates
Monday 3 April (09:00) - Wednesday 5 April 2023 (12:30)Location
University of BirminghamDescription
The 2023 out-of-town meeting for the UK's Magnetospheric, Ionospheric and Solar-Terrestrial physics community.