Aside from social events and guest lectures we have a wealth of leading academics presenting at the June weekend. This year’s Alumni Weekend is about returning to Edinburgh and sharing memories of your time here with friends and former classmates. Student Union Revisited, the Alumni Weekend Ceilidh and the Old College Afternoon Tea Party will give you plenty of opportunity to revisit the social aspects of university life. A weekend of discovery The weekend is also going behind the scenes and providing you with something to think about this summer. Hear from world leading academics as they share some of their ideas and innovations. We haven’t space to feature all our academics but to provide a taster, here are a few of the leading figures who form part of our programme. Dr Rory Hadden Image Forty Years of Fire Safety Engineering at Edinburgh: Past, Present and Future Friday 5 June, 12pm -1pm, James Clerk Maxwell Building, King's Buildings Dr Rory Hadden is Rushbrook Lecturer in Fire Investigation. He will discuss the role of Fire Safety Engineering in the built environment, highlight key milestones in the development of the department, and ponder how an evolving urban landscape is shaping the future of Fire Safety Engineering. Read an interview with Rory from the Tomorrow’s Engineers website Dr Stephen Brusatte Image Tyrannosaur Discoveries: The Newest Members of the Tyrant Dinosaur Family Tree Friday 5 June, 12pm -1pm, James Clerk Maxwell Building, King's Buildings Dr Stephen Brusatte is a vertebrate paleontologist and evolutionary biologist and Chancellor's Fellow in Vertebrate Palaentology. He will invite you to meet ‘Pinocchio rex’ and other newly-discovered tyrannosaurs, and learn how palaeontologists discover fossils and use cutting-edge techniques to study dinosaur evolution. Watch Steve’s 2014 lecture entitled, Tyrannosaur Discoveries Professor Margaret Frame Image Edging towards Beating Cancer Friday 5 June, 3:30pm-4:30pm, 50 George Square Professor Margaret Frame, Science Director of the Edinburgh Cancer Research Centre, and Chair of Cancer Biology, will discuss how she and her team are tackling challenges in cancer treatment. Read an interview with Professor Margaret Frame from the last edition of Friends magazine Professor Sethu Vijayakumar Image Robots that Learn: Spills, Thrills and Challenges! Friday 5 June, 5pm - 6pm, James Clerk Maxwell Building, King's Buildings Professor Sethu Vijayakumar, who holds a Personal Chair in Robotics, School of Informatics, and is Director, Edinburgh Centre for Robotics, will explore the scientific challenges in the exciting domain of ‘interactive, autonomous robotics’ and show some of the cutting edge research that is aimed at making robots as versatile, safe, reactive and adaptive as us humans. Watch a BBC video about the work being done at the Edinburgh Centre for Robotics Professor Charlotte Clarke Image The Spice of Life: Understanding Living with Dementia Friday 5 June, 5pm - 6pm, 50 George Square Professor Charlotte Clarke, Head of the School of Health in Social Sciences, will explore some of the research into ‘silent harms’ and the ‘contested territories of everyday life’ as people seek to maintain identity, purpose and meaning in their lives. Professor Clarke will also explore some of the reasons why care staff and organisations find risk taking difficult and some ways to support positive risk management to enhance quality of life. Watch Professor Charlotte Clarke’s Research in a Nutshell video Further information For more information about how to reserve your place at any of the events at Alumni Weekend 2015, please visit the website or contact the alumni office on alumni@ed.ac.uk or 0131 650 2240. Publication date 20 May, 2015
