Swansea researchers celebrate science in S4C’s new Dibendraw series

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Researchers from Swansea University’s College of Science feature prominently in S4C’s new science series Dibendraw (the Welsh for ‘infinite’), which began on Wednesday, January 15.

LHC CERNThe five-part series is made by Swansea-based television production company Telesgop. The first and second programmes featured the work of CERN – the European Organisation for Nuclear Research – and the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) project.

Elin Rhys, series producer and managing director of Telesgop, said: “There is a strong history of collaboration between Swansea University and CERN since the 1950s/60s, when Professor Colyn Grey-Morgan first began sending Swansea University students, including the late Dr Eifionydd Jones from Morriston.”

Among those featured in the first programme was one of Swansea University’s most distinguished graduates and Honorary Fellows, Professor Lyn Evans BE FRS, who led the international project to build the LHC at CERN.

Professor Evans graduated from Swansea University with a first class degree in Physics in 1966 and his PhD in 1970.  As Project Leader of the LHC he was at the centre of operations during the construction and commissioning stage, through to the LHC’s start-up on September 10, 2008.

Also featured was the scientist who designed the instrumentation for the LHC, Dr Rhodri Jones, also a Swansea University graduate, who has worked at CERN since graduating 17 years ago.

Prof Peter HiggsThe second programme, on Wednesday, January 22, again featured the work of CERN and the Higgs boson, which the LHC was built to find.

Professor Peter Higgs (pictured), the scientist who gave his name to the Higgs boson particle, has strong ties to Swansea University and in July 2008, he was awarded an Honorary Fellowship.

Professor Higgs returned to Swansea University in July 2012, to give a talk to more than 100 scientists from around the globe at the 10th International Conference on Strong and ElectroWeak Matter, in the wake of the exciting announcements from CERN about the discovery of the Higgs boson.

And in October 2013, he was named as the joint winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics, along with Francois Englert of Belgium.

The programme featured current Swansea physicists working at CERN, including Research Officer Dr Aled Isaac, part of a team of scientists from the ALPHA (Antihydrogen Laser Physics Apparatus) collaboration at CERN who are working towards the understanding of the behaviour of antimatter.

The aim of the ALPHA experiment at CERN, which brings together scientists from eight countries including the UK, USA, Canada, and Japan, is detailed studies of anti-hydrogen atoms – the anti-matter counterpart of the simplest atom, hydrogen.

By precise comparisons of hydrogen and anti-hydrogen, the ALPHA team hope to study fundamental symmetries between matter and antimatter and cast light on the puzzling absence of bulk anti-matter in universe today.

Dr Siwan Davies1The series also featured the work of Professor Siwan Davies (pictured) on Wednesday, January 29, focussing on her research into volcanic ash in the study of climate change.  

Professor Davies currently leads an ambitious £1.2 million five-year research project entitled Tephra constraints on rapid climate events (TRACE), funded through one of the European Research Council’s Starting Grants, which are designed to support promising researchers in Europe who have the proven potential of becoming research leaders.

The research aims to unlock the secrets of past climate change, by examining microscopic layers of volcanic ash deposited in ancient ice and marine sediments.

Professor Davies’s team employ a pioneering approach, using the microscopic traces of ash left from volcanic eruptions to precisely match Greenland ice-cores, which provide a record of atmospheric variability, with North Atlantic marine records, depicting changes in the ocean circulation system.

The research ultimately aims to answer the key question of whether the ocean drives or merely amplifies atmospheric temperature jumps.

"The scientists themselves will be telling the stories," said Elin Rhys.

"There's a nice quote that someone says during the series; 'Wales is a nation of poets and singers, but we're also a nation of scientists,' and it's so true. We have a tendency to forget that."

Originally from Pembrokeshire, Elin has been excited about all things scientific for as long as she can remember.

She graduated from Swansea University with a degree in Biochemistry and worked as a scientist for Welsh Water before venturing into the world of television.

Elin added: "I hope people will be enthralled by the programmes. I decided to work in television to make programmes about science and to show people that it's not always hard, but it is always fascinating!

“I hope that Dibendraw inspires people, and shows some of the great work being done by Welsh scientists here and all over the world."

Watch the episodes again on S4C Clic at http://www.s4c.co.uk/clic/e_level2.shtml?programme_id=511634293, and for more details on the new Dibendraw series visit http://www.s4c.co.uk/ffeithiol/e_dibendraw.shtml.