How X-ray crystallography saved your life and sent you to the moon

Dr David Cole has been awarded £56K by the Wellcome Trust to develop a public engagement programme with Techniquest science museum in Cardiff Bay, in collaboration with Eisteddfod, Diamond light source and Cardiff University.

This public engagement activity will comprise of a mobile planetarium show (how small is small and how do T-cells work), workshops (solving a crystal structure and helping T-cells to fight cancer), two standalone table-top exhibits and a series of public lectures aimed at a more adult audience.

These activities will demonstrate why X-ray crystallography is such a powerful technique, and how it can be used to learn how our immune system functions (leading to new medicines). The main aims are to provide young researchers with experience and training of public engagement, and inspire the next generation of UK scientists.