Wilkinson seminar (December 2018)
Wilkinson Seminar
(or back to the Physics seminars page)
- What? Medical to forensic research: it’s all the same physics.
- Who? David Wilkinson – web & mail.
- Where? Wulfruna building (city campus), room MA030
- When? Wed 12th Dec, refreshment are available from 7.00pm, lecture start at 7.30pm, we finish by 9.00pm.
- Why? Our first IOP sponsored event, by the charismatic Midlands regional manager.
- How? The talk is one hour and open to questions — refreshments will be served.
- Chair: Fabrice Laussy
- Registration: (optional but recommended) Book me a seat.
Abstract: Having attended medical school and then graduated with a degree focussed on hospital-based physics, David got his first job in police technology research and thought he’d be leaving the medical aspects behind. However, in everything from drugs investigation to less lethal weapons, he worked with trauma specialists, medical physics departments in hospitals and universities and researched the effects of various police equipment and their implications on the human body. Through several examples, this lecture will show how a degree in physics prepared him for work in all kinds of unexpected areas.
About the Speaker: David graduated from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne in 2001 with a degree in physics with medical applications. He immediately went to work for the Home Office as a government science in what was then called the Police Scientific Development Branch. He became a project manager in the less-lethal weapons programme and ran the scientific assessment of TASER technology before its introduction to the UK in 2005. He then moved to drugs detection where he worked with University College London on a project using low-angle X-ray scattering. In 2007 he became the Midlands Regional Officer for the Institute of Physics and has subsequently gained Chartered Physicist status and been appointed a visiting fellow at Nottingham Trent University. David is also a published science fiction author, his second novel having come out this year.