Airborne Particles (PM10) in Thessaloniki: Myth or Reality?
What is the issue with airborne particles? Are they damaging to our health? What is so distinct about the problems Thessaloniki faces in relation to them?

Join us at this month’s Café Scientifique and find out about a topic of particular interest to residents of Thessaloniki. Our two invited speakers, Professor Marc J. Assael, Deputy-Head of Chemical Engineering at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and Director of the Laboratory of Thermophysical Properties & Environmental Processes, and Dr Konstantinos Kakosimos, Head of the Air Pollution Section of the Laboratory of Thermophysical Properties & Environmental Processes at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, will present and discuss the ourcomes of measurements of the concentration of airborne particles in 20 specific locations in the greater Thessaloniki area. Collected over a one-year period, these measurements are the first-ever taken, aiming to show the real footprint of particle pollution in this area.

In this presentation we will also discuss topics such as the decrease in Thessaloniki's northern wind ('Vardaris'), as well as the sources of particle pollution based on recent simulation studies of these measurements.

In collaboration with the French Institute and the Science Center & Technology Museum NOESIS in Thessaloniki.

	When:			Monday 8 March 2010, 7 p.m.
	Where:			Nautical Club of Thessaloniki, 112 Them. Sofouli Street, 551 31 Kalamaria, Thessaloniki

Admission Free
To reserve a place, please e-mail Chrysoula Melidou at Chrysoula.Melidou@britishcouncil.gr or call 2310 378 314.

Artificial Intelligence: Myths and Realities
Artificial Intelligence experiments with models of human intelligence, and offers systems that act autonomously and resemble humans in their behaviour.

Come along to the Café Scientifique we are organising with Chrissanthi Angeli, Professor of Computer Science at the TEI of Piraeus (DPhil in Artificial Intelligence Techniques, University of Sussex) as our guest speaker, and find out more about artificial intelligence, how it has developed over the course of time, the techniques it uses, as well the difference between its original aims and its real achievements.

	When:			Thursday 18 February 2010, 7 p.m.
	Where:			IANOS Bookshop, 24 Stadiou Street, 105 64 Athens

Admission Free
For further information and to reserve a place, please e-mail Katy Yakoumaki at Katy.Yakoumaki@britishcouncil.gr or call 210 369 2342. Places will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.

Stem Cells: Controversial Cures?
Stem cell research is opening up new medical frontiers with enormous potential for developing new treatments for chronic disease and injuries, and for providing relief from human suffering. Despite such optimism, this potential has yet to be significantly realised and, as an area of research, it continues to provoke controversy.

At this month’s Café Scientifique our invited speaker, Ms Sarah Elliston, Lecturer in Medical Law at the School of Law at the University of Glasgow, will explain the significance of stem cell research and its possible future applications. She will focus on how the use of stem cells from embryos in particular has created legal and ethical debate. She will also explore some of the other important questions that have arisen, such as the ownership of cell-lines developed from stem cells and the use of stem-cells in experimental treatment.

The discussion will be facilitated by Dr Kostas Kampourakis, a biologist and science teacher, who will explore whether these issues can and should be covered in school biology lessons.

	When:			Τuesday 26 January 2010, 7 p.m.
	Where:			IANOS Bookshop, 24 Stadiou Street, 105 64 Athens

Admission Free
For further information and to reserve a place, please e-mail Katy Yakoumaki at Katy.Yakoumaki@britishcouncil.gr or call 210 369 2342. Places will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.

The Dark Side of the Universe: Revealing Dusty Galaxies and Massive Growing Black Holes
For centuries advances in astronomy were made at optical wavelengths. Over the last 50+ years, astronomers have expanded our view of the universe by building telescopes and instruments that can now detect light at wavelengths that our eyes are not sensitive to: gamma ray, X-ray, ultraviolet, infrared, submillimetre and radio.

Using these telescopes we have found that the most exciting and catastrophic astronomical events in the Universe are hidden at optical wavelengths by large amounts of dust and gas – small particles which effectively produce a wall of material and 'hide' any optical light – and only reveal themselves at gamma ray, X-ray and infrared radio wavelengths.

Dr David Alexander, our invited speaker from the Department of Physics at Durham University, will explain how the deepest-ever images of the Universe at X-ray and infrared wavelengths have advanced our understanding of the workings of the Universe. Using these observations, he will discuss with us how galaxies – and the massive black holes that lurk at their centres – grow and evolve in the Universe.

The discussion will be facilitated by Dr. Ioannis Georgantopoulos from the National Observatory of Athens.

	When:			Τuesday 24 November 2009, 7 p.m.
	Where:			British Council, 17 Kolonaki Square, Athens

Admission Free
For further information and to reserve a place, please e-mail Olga Gratsaniti at Olga.Gratsaniti@britishcouncil.gr or call 210 369 2336.

Ultraviolet Light and Health: Recent Scientific Developments in Skin Protection
What are ultraviolet UVA and UVB radiation? How does excessive exposure to the sun damage our eyes and skin? How can we protect ourselves, especially in a country as sunny as Greece? What is the link between excessive exposure to the sun and premature ageing?

Researcher Dr Maria Fousteri, Head of EKEVE Fleming Research Team, will talk about ultraviolet light and discuss with us issues of everyday concern in a simple, accessible, but scientific manner, while addressing recent scientific developments in skin protection. The discussion will be facilitated by Melina Tseliou, journalist (SKAI).

In collaboration with Eugenides Foundation and the French Institute in Athens, supported by Alexander Fleming Biomedical Sciences Research Centre.

	When:			Thursday 28 May 2009, 8 p.m.
	Where:			Eugenides Foundation, 387 Syngrou Avenue, P. Faliro, 175 64 Athens (entrance from 11 Pentelis Street)

Admission Free
For further information and to reserve a place, please call Mrs Nadia Sinopoulou on 210 946 9615.