Imperial Festival 2016

The Livingston Group from the Department of Chemical Engineering at Imperial College London perform research on the fabrication and application of molecular separation membranes with the overarching aim to reduce energy costs and increase efficiency of chemical separations in industry. At Imperial Festival 2016 the group demonstrated the power of membranes to purify water by comparing the bicycle driven energy needed to purify water through distillation vs membrane purification ... the membrane bike won! Find out more at

The MME group ( held a stand at Imperial Festival 2016. The stand displayed genetically modified microorganisms engineered to produce aromatic molecules that naturally accumulate in plants. Visitors were asked to compare the smell of wild-type strains with those engineered and describe what aroma character they perceived. This opened the discussion. Why? How? Following this we offered popcorn sprinkled with commercial algae powder and algae dissolved in algae-containing commercial smoothies. Algae are also food and it is more resource-efficient and environmentally friendly to produce protein with algae than cows. The question though is what does it taste like? Here was a chance to try. The commonality between the two exhibits was sustainability. Sustainable production of chemicals, fuels and other high-valued chemicals (e.g. food, fragrance, medicine, etc..). Sustainable production of protein for a continually expanding planet. We also pointed out that to achieve the outcome shown here

Explosions can cause life-threatening injuries in multiple body parts that create complex challenges for health care providers. Squadron Leaders Claire Webster and Phill Pearce and Dr Hari Arora explain the nature of blast injuries and describe the engineering solutions Imperial College researchers propose to both mitigate and treat them. About Imperial Festival 2016 Imperial Festival is the College's flagship public event, with interactive hands-on research demonstrations, music, dance and exhibitions across the South Kensington Campus. Interact via the hashtag #impfest and register online for a chance to be our guest of honour and officially open the 2016 Imperial Festival.

China’s enormous market is moving from imitation to innovation. Professor George Yip describes how China’s business environment fosters this innovation, how foreign companies could participate and what they might learn. The talk draws on four years of research and is the subject of an eye-opening new book. About Imperial Festival 2016 Imperial Festival is the College's flagship public event, with interactive hands-on research demonstrations, music, dance and exhibitions across the South Kensington Campus. Interact via the hashtag #impfest and register online for a chance to be our guest of honour and officially open the 2016 Imperial Festival.

Faster, cheaper computers, greater connectivity and much more sophisticated trading algorithms have transformed global financial markets in the past two decades. The benefits are lower transactions costs, faster executions and greater trade volumes. But, like any technology, trading this way can have unintended consequences. Dr Andrei Kirilenko explores technology versus stability in financial trading. About Imperial Festival 2016 Imperial Festival is the College's flagship public event, with interactive hands-on research demonstrations, music, dance and exhibitions across the South Kensington Campus. Interact via the hashtag #impfest and register online for a chance to be our guest of honour and officially open the 2016 Imperial Festival.

100 million years ago a collision between the African and European tectonic plates began. It created the stunning Alpine mountain chain and tectonic forces continue to influence earthquakes and volcanic activity in Italy today. Dr Lidia Lonergan (Earth Science and Engineering) describes how the internal forces of our planet have formed the majestic pinnacles of the Dolomites and the lunar landscape of Vesuvius. Biography Being half-Italian, Lidia has a life-long interest in Italian culture, food, scenery and geology. Her PhD research was on the tectonics of southern Spain and the western Mediterranean and the geological evolution of Italy and surrounding seas inspired some of her research. Since then she has maintained an active interest in Italian geology, leading undergraduate student field trips across the Apennines and supervising students undertaking mapping projects in the Alpe Apuane, the Alps, and researching land sliding in southern Italy. About Imperial Festival 2016 Imperial

Last year media reports suggested cancer might all just be bad luck, but is this really true? Professor Elio Riboli will explore differing views on cancer prevention and screening and reveal and how his group’s work is at the forefront of public health research. About Imperial Festival 2016 Imperial Festival is the College's flagship public event, with interactive hands-on research demonstrations, music, dance and exhibitions across the South Kensington Campus. Interact via the hashtag #impfest and register online for a chance to be our guest of honour and officially open the 2016 Imperial Festival.

Join us to explore the outer limits of science and fiction. A panel of eminent scientists and science fiction writers ask ‘what are science and science fiction imagining today that might be possible in the future?’. Together they will boldly explore some of the technologies that may materialise and discuss how themes in science fiction influence scientific thinking today. About Imperial Festival 2016 Imperial Festival is the College's flagship public event, with interactive hands-on research demonstrations, music, dance and exhibitions across the South Kensington Campus. Interact via the hashtag #impfest and register online for a chance to be our guest of honour and officially open the 2016 Imperial Festival. (Image credit: Willrow Hood / Shutterstock.com)

In 2012 the World Economic Forum voted a new form of engineering the second most important new technology for economic growth. Synthetic biology creates new biological systems that could be used to make new medicines, to clear pollution and even generate new fuels. Join Professor Paul Freemont to discover why synthetic biology is so important to the growing bioecomony. About Imperial Festival 2016 Imperial Festival is the College's flagship public event, with interactive hands-on research demonstrations, music, dance and exhibitions across the South Kensington Campus. Interact via the hashtag #impfest and register online for a chance to be our guest of honour and officially open the 2016 Imperial Festival.