Monday 18 May at 17:30 in the colloquium room at Nikhef.
Lecture in english.
Some scientific studies make people laugh, and then think. The most surprising and amusing ones win an Ig Nobel Prize. Highlights from 35 years of this prestigious award include research into ‘Why woodpeckers don’t get headaches’, ‘How a roller-coaster ride cures asthma’, ‘Pressure produced when penguins poo’, ‘Creating diamonds from tequila’, ‘Airborne wasabi as a fire alarm’, ‘The effect of country music on suicide’ and ‘Self-colonoscopy in the sitting position’.
Kees Moeliker explains what it takes to win this much-coveted prize and what it means. He will elaborate on his own Ig Nobel winning achievement – discovering and documenting the first case of homosexual necrophilia in the mallard duck – and how this dead duck turned him into a global expert on animal behaviour that textbooks politely ignore. He will also discuss how certain dead animals can unexpectedly become stars of science communication, such as the marter that short-circuited the CERN accelerator in November 2016.
Featuring special performances by Tristan du Pree (particle physicist) and Tess Heeremans (2024 Ig Nobel Chemistry Prize winner, for ‘using chromatography to separate drunk and sober worms’).
