Peter Beaman's 2016 Report

On Wed 25th May 2016 a coach organised by the event hosts took around 25 Loughborough University Technical Staff to the Biennial Scientific Laboratory Show and Conference at the East Midlands Conference Centre University of Nottingham.

We arrived 9.40am in good time to register, grab a coffee and make it to the first key note speech of the day which started at 10am in the main auditorium. The conference host was Vivienne Parry OBE a well-known media writer and broadcaster that chaperoned the day's proceedings.

Firstly we heard briefly from Professor Ian Campbell the deputy VC at the University of Hertfordshire on the relationship between Science Sport and Exercise Sciences and what they have been doing at their University over the last few decades. This involved supporting sports performance through analysis of training and competition, promoting and researching links between exercise and health, and research in exercise physiology, sports biomechanics sport and exercise psychology.

Then led onto Dr Steve Ingham more extensive talk entitled Targeting Tokyo: Ready for Rio and how to support a champion. A graph was presented showing the + correlation between total funding rise (since 1997) and medals won at previous Olympics since Atlanta (1996). An impressive increase per games!

Next Dr Ingham talked about the amount of time spent for each competitor over a day, week, month, year/s and the teams involved in terms of developing the potential of the athlete to reach their peak. It seems what it takes to win is formed of a complex flow diagram starting with physiology of performance at the top and working downwards through processes like tactical method, preparedness to minimise energy expenditure to aerobic and anaerobic for potential for energy turnover. There were other factors involved but to really appreciate Dr Igham's talk it may be better to signpost his blogpost http://steveingham.blogspot.co.uk/

After a break for coffee I ventured around the Stands located around the centre which proved congestion with over 60 suppliers and manufacturers of lab equipment. One stand stood out for me which was 3B Scientific which produced artificial skeletons, torsos and organ models and had some casts on the stands of early Homo sapiens (i.e. Australopithecus. Erectus and Neanderthals)

There were also some surprises. I came across an area where you could have a free hand massage and/or a nail makeover (long queues) or a wacky photo booth where you could wear different professional hats and props to make you look the part. Also there was Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream with weird flavours (like Raspberry Mojito) being produced.

This year there was also a Professional Development Zone that had professional bodies like Institute of Science and Technology, The Science Council and Science Societies like Biology and Physics. There was a chance here to ask which type of registration/boy would best suit ones' own job role/position.

The Science Council gave 15min master classes on different subjects during the day (a) Keeping your skills up to date during a career break, (b) Writing a first-rate CV, (c) Finding your next job, (d) Professional development for teachers & educators, (e) Getting professionally registered (why it's a good idea), (f) Thinking outside the box for development opportunities, (g) Presenting ideas and information better. I attended the CV session by Alice O'Connor which was very enlightening in the morning giving 10 points to making the best of your CV and getting professionally registered in the afternoon. Both were very well attended showing the interest of these topics and the presenters were also informative of the topics in hand.

In the afternoon I also went to hear the talk by Belinda Phipps CEO of the Science Council on the subject of Trust and professionalism in Science which was a revealing insight to how much trust people have with scientists has changed of late especial after recent emission scandals of certain car manufacturers at one example has shown and previous flawed studies involving Johnson baby powder and infant formulae were highlighted. A complex flow-chart showing the many components of trust including at the top Conduct (openness, honesty, transparency, ethics, integrity) and Competence (skills, knowledge, boundaries). This led onto an obvious plug for the audience to consider being professionally registered with the Science Council that independently recognises a person's achievements and maintains an exacting standard required to join the global community of professional scientists.

The coach reconvened to take us back to Loughborough at 3.30pm. So in all we had 6 hours at the conference/show which I think allowed sufficient time to visit and explore the show and participate in the day's proceedings.

By Peter Beaman
Senior Social Psychology Technician
Dept. Social Sciences
Loughborough University