Lecture getting smart with science

A senior academic will use his inaugural professorial lecture to shed light on how Smart Phones and LCD televisions function, 40 years after key materials they contain were first discovered in a laboratory in Hull.

There are more LCDs made every year than there are people on this planet and Professor Doug Cleaver has devoted a large part of his work at Sheffield Hallam University to understanding liquid crystalline behaviour.

He will use part of his lecture, on Wednesday 22 May, to recount how a family of molecules first discovered by Professor George Gray in 1973 contributed to an industry with an estimated global value of £56billion.

Professor Cleaver's research expertise is in the computer simulation of ordered fluids and over the past 25 years, he has developed and applied a range of models and techniques to interrogate such systems, particularly liquid crystals and membranes.

In 2012, he was awarded the Cyril Hilsum Medal of the British Liquid Crystal Society in recognition of his original contributions to the area.

He has taught at all levels at Sheffield Hallam University and, more recently, contributed to the academic management of research degrees across the institution.

Professor Cleaver said: "The lecture will be a lively and fun recap of my career in science which will expose some bits of the science that underpin everyday experience.

"In reality, very few of the things around us are made from the perfect crystals we learn about in school. Real materials, particularly those in living systems, often owe their properties to a hierarchy of structures and compositions - this lecture will show how computer simulation can give insight into these."

The event, in Sheffield Hallam University's Stoddart Building starting at 6.30pm, is free but places must be booked in advance by visiting www.shu.ac.uk/events and clicking on the Public Talks and Lectures button.

For press information contact:Laurie Harvey on 0114 225 2621 or email pressoffice@shu.ac.uk