King’s College London: King’s researchers celebrate the International Day of Light at Science Gallery London
Organised by Dr James Millen from King’s Department of Physics, Megan Grace-Hughes (London Centre for Nanotechnology) and curator Dr Shelley James (Age of Light Innovations), the programme comprised of an exhibition, speakers and panel events, and the chance for members of the public to make glass with portable furnaces.
Participating researchers are all members of the London Institute for Advanced Light Technologies (LIALT) a virtual research centre between King’s College London, Imperial College London and University College London, with a mission to provide an interdisciplinary and collaborative environment to explore new opportunities for growing London-based research into light and its applications.
The project encouraged early career photonics researchers from LIALT to design art installations which would explain the complicated ideas, themes and techniques they work with to members of the general public.
Dr Jess Wade from Imperial College London opening the event with an inspiring and topical keynote talk about ‘Light and the pandemic’
A panel discussion with Professor Bob Schroeder from UCL, art publisher Kailas Elmer and glass artist Katharine Coleman discussing how the power of light and glass can express symmetry and pattern at different scales
Physicist Professor Riccardo Sapienza from Imperial College London in discussion alongside holographer Pearl John and light artist Liz West, considering how time and space shape our experience of colour
Professor Helen Fielding from UCL, lighting designer Mark Major and glass artist Matt Durran sharing different perspectives on light and form, from the nano to the architectural scale
Award-winning lighting designer Paule Constable on ‘The Poetry of Light’, and how lighting is used in theatre
Pulling glass
Over seventy people signed up to pull their own strands of glass with the UK’s only portable furnaces designed and operated by Mini-Melt. Each piece of glass was collected and transported into the gallery to make an art installation that showed how light travels through glass.