Science in London ‒ DAY 2

Wow, it’s hard settling down to write this post after so much learning, networking, and experiencing the second day of LIYSF! We started off with one of those everything-looks-so-good-you-scoop-in-too-much-and-can’t-hope-to-finish breakfasts where I sat with two Irish lasses, one Texan, and a fine young man from Israel – what a combination! The Opening Ceremony was approaching at 11am and we were all eager to represent our countries by dressing smartly. Unfortunately, I was no match for the Brazilian team who obviously take their suits seriously:

As we sat down in the grand hall, my neighboring seats were occupied by three girls from Kuwait in cultural dress who thought the 30C weather was refreshing. It was very moving to watch the flag-bearing ceremony and take a tour of the 64 represented countries all around the world. Following some inspirational words in the opening address, we sat through rather a technical lecture on particle physics and the progress of CERN by Dr. Peter Jenni:

I learned (among other things) that the ATLAS detector at CERN weighs as much as the Eiffel Tower!

Boy, the next thing I was eager for after this address was to get some deodorant so I walked to a store and got my 8£ of essentials.

The free time saw us wandering through London’s marvelous streets and getting to know one another’s cultures and interests:

There’s also a large team from Australia some of which are seen above. Double-deckers are everywhere! Here’s Brodie from Australia and I.

 

Back for a second lecture at around 3:30, we learned about the rising use of  antibodies in the battle against cancer. Dr. Richard O’Kennedy demonstrated how the body’s own defense mechanism can be set to work against tumor growth through some protein engineering and stressed the importance of early and accurate diagnosis via smart sensors called biochips.

Dinner was a little more conservative than breakfast but just as delicious:

I met a great chap (left) named Andrew from Siberia with a thick accent, an Intel ISEF participant named Perry (middle) from USA, and UK’s own Jagon (right). The upcoming event now was the welcome party at 8:30pm, so we headed back to the residence and passed this weird and wonderful thing:

 

Maybe England’s fabled reserve of canned spam and eggs?

To top this day off, we all headed to a grand hall for the welcome party and celebrated our privilege to attend such a jolly good forum!

 

Etienne