The Exeter Show
WHEN/WHERE: March 16, 2004, Parker Moot Room, Amory Building,
Exeter University
 |
Faces
in the crowd. |
MASTER OF CEREMONIES: Marc
Abrahams (organizer of the Ig Nobel Prizes, and editor of the Annals
of Improbable Research).
IG NOBEL WINNERS: Several Ig Nobel Prize-winners
gave five-minute talks/demonstrations and took questions. Among them: Pek
Van Andel, Harold Hillman and Kees Moeliker. (See below
for a brief description of what each did to win an Ig; for more detail,
click here.)
 |
Ig
winners Harold Hillman (left) and Pek Van Andel watch 2003 Biology
Prize winner Kees Moeliker give his five-minute lecture/demonstration. |
 |
Act
2 of the nano-opera "Atom and Eve." |
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE: The event included a performance
of the Ig Nobel mini-opera "Atom
and Eve," starring singers Richard Pratt and Elizabeth Ballantine
and pianist Sean Brown, under the inspiration of Ian
Mitchell, the university's Director of Music,
 |
Harold
Hillman explains his research (and much more), as Pek Van Andel assists
with the equipment. |
COMPETITIONS: There were two competitions (for details
click here):
Science
Limerick Contest (the winner received a free trip for two to
the 2004 Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony at Harvard!).
Science-Barnet-of-the-Year
Competition (conducted in stylish cooperation with the Luxuriant
Flowing Hair Club for Scientists. The winner received a free makover
at a posh London Hair Salon!).
ORGANIZERS: Stuart Franklin and Annette Smith
PHOTOS: The photographs shown here were taken by Ig Nobel
winner Kees Moeliker
 |
The
thrilling conclusion -- too fast for the camera to adequately capture
-- of the nano-opera. |
SPONSORED BY: The Times Higher
Education Supplement and The British
Association for the Advancement of Science.
2004 Ig Nobel U.K. / Ireland Tour Events
Thu 11th March, OXFORD: Martin
Wood Lecture Theatre, Clarendon Laboratory, OXFORD UNIVERSITY,
8:00 PM
Fri 12th March, NOTTINGHAM: John Clare Lecture Theatre
6, Clifton Campus, Clifton Lane (A453), NOTTINGHAM
TRENT UNIVERSITY, 7:00 PM
Sat 13th March, BELFAST: W5@Odyssey
2 Queen's Quay, 3:00 PM
Sun 14th March, DUBLIN: Royal
Dublin Society, Ballsbridge, 3:00 PM
Mon 15th March, GLASGOW: Royal
College of Physicians and Surgeons, 232-242 St Vincent Street, 7:00
PM
Tue 16th March, EXETER: Parker Moot Room, Amory Building,
EXETER UNIVERSITY,
7:00 PM
Wed 17th March, MANCHESTER: Staff House Lounge, Refectory
Building, Burlington Street (off Oxford Road), UNIVERSITY
OF MANCHESTER, 7:30 PM
Thu 18th March, LONDON: Institute
of Electrical Engineers, Savoy Place, 6:30 PM
Mon 22nd March, WARRINGTON, CHESHIRE: CCLRC
Daresbury Laboratory, Keckwick Lane, Daresbury, nr Warrington, 7:00
PM
Winners on the Tour
Here are some of the Ig Nobel Prize winners who appeared at one or more
Tour events.
Charles Deeming (Biology Prize 2002), Courtship Behaviour
of Ostriches Towards Humans Under Farming Conditions in Britain
Chris Frith, (Medicine Prize, 2003), The Impressive Brains
of London Taxi Drivers
David Gadian (Medicine Prize, 2003), The Impressive Brains
of London Taxi Drivers
Andrey Geim (Physics Prize, 2000), Using Magnets to Levitate
a Frog
Harold Hillman (Peace Prize, 1997), The Possible Pain
Experienced During Execution by Different Methods
Chris McManus (Medicine Prize 2002), Scrotal Asymmetry
in Man and in Ancient Sculpture
Kees Moeliker (Biology Prize, 2003), The First Scientifically
Recorded Case of Homosexual Necrophilia in the Mallard Duck
Charles Paxton (Biology Prize 2002), Courtship Behaviour
of Ostriches Towards Humans Under Farming Conditions in Britain
Karl Schwärzler (Economics Prize, 2003), How to
Rent the Entire Country of Liechtenstein for Corporate Conventions, Weddings,
and Bar Mitzvahs
Pek Van Andel (Medicine Prize, 2000), Magnetic Resonance
Imaging of Male and Female Genitals During Coitus and Female Sexual Arousal
For more details about any of them, see the list of all Ig
Nobel Prize Winners
