Cardiff researchers take science to the Senedd

Researchers from the University will today exhibit their research at the National Assembly for Wales as part of the Royal Society of Chemistry's annual Science and the Assembly event.

Now in its twelfth year, the event is designed to build closer links between the Welsh science and engineering community, Assembly Members (AMs), and the Welsh Government.

Through a number of exhibitions and presentations, academics will look to raise awareness amongst AMs of important developments in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in Wales, and how policy issues impact upon these areas.

Dr Michael Harbottle, from the School of Engineering, will be showcasing the Materials for Life project, which aims to develop a new generation of 'self-healing' materials that continually monitor, regulate, adapt and repair themselves without the need for intervention.

The project, which is a consortium from the Universities of Cardiff, Bath and Cambridge, seeks to gain a fundamental understanding of how materials can be manipulated by taking advantage of innovations in a range scientific disciplines.

The theme for this year's Science and the Assembly event will be 'Energy and the Environment' and will consist of a morning of exhibitions at the Senedd followed by a number of scientific presentations at the Pierhead in the afternoon.

Professor Peter Kille, from the School of Biosciences, will be among the principal speakers at the event, which will be chaired by Professor Peter Knowles from the School of Chemistry.

The Royal Society of Chemistry event is organised in collaboration with a number of sister organisations, including: The Royal Society; the Learned Society of Wales; the Institute of Physics; the Society of Biology; the Royal Astronomical Society; the Geological Society; the Campaign for Science and Engineering; and the Society for General Microbiology.