Explore innovation, learning, and fun at The Scientific Laboratory Show and Conference 2024

Feb 16 2024

Mark your calendars for the much-awaited Scientific Laboratory Show and Conference 2024! Scheduled for Wednesday 22nd May 2024, this prestigious event, hosted by Scientific Laboratory Supplies (SLS) - the UK's leading supplier of laboratory equipment, consumables and chemicals, promises to be a remarkable meeting of science, technology, and innovation at the East Midlands Conference Centre in Nottingham from 9.00am to 5.00pm.

Prepare to immerse yourself in the Professional Development Zone, a dynamic space offering an array of lectures, workshops, seminars, and masterclasses. This zone features demonstrations from names like Eppendorf, Corning, Ohaus and Mettler Toledo. Three prominent keynote speakers - Helen Czerski, Adam Rutherford and Robin Ince are sure to deliver engaging and thought provoking talks.

Helen is a physicist, first and foremost, but she’s acquired a few other labels along the way including oceanographer, presenter, author and bubble enthusiast. She studied Natural Sciences (Physics) at Churchill College, Cambridge, finishing with a first class degree. A year later, she returned to Cambridge to study for a PhD in experimental explosives physics, motivated by the opportunity to use high-speed photography to explore the physical world further.

After her PhD, she looked around for another subject that would allow her to continue to build that sort of experiment, but with an application in the natural world. That’s when she found out about bubbles and oceans. The Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego was her door into that world, followed by a postdoc at the Graduate School of Oceanography in Rhode Island.

Since 2011, she has presented many BBC science documentaries on a wide range of subjects, mostly on everyday physics or atmospheric and ocean science. She is also a regular presenter for the Fully Charged Show, a very familiar face on the Cosmic Shambles Network, and hosts an ocean podcast for the Bertarelli Foundation called Ocean Matters.

Adam Rutherford is one of BBC Radio 4’s most pre-eminent broadcasters, with his six-part series Bad Blood: The Story of Eugenics, recently winning the audio Kavli AAAS Science Journalism Gold Award.

Adam also presents Radio 4’s flagship programme Start the Week and was the host of the BBC’s flagship programme Inside Science for eight years. His popular series The Curious Cases of Rutherford and Fry has been on air for a decade. Adam is also a regular guest on Lauren Laverne’s BBC 6 music show, and the Infinite Monkey Cage with Brian Cox and Robin Ince.

Adam’s background is in genetics and evolution. He did a PhD at the Institute of Child Health and Great Ormond St Hospital, studying the role of genes in the development of the eye. He worked as an editor at the science journal Nature, during which time he launched and presented the award-winning Nature Podcast, and he has produced and directed many short films, including a music video tribute to the retiring Space Shuttle.

Completing the keynote line up and also acting as the shows MC, Robin Ince is many things. A comedian, an author, a broadcaster and a populariser of scientific ideas. He is probably best known as the co-host of the Sony Gold Award winning BBC Radio 4 series The Infinite Monkey Cage with Professor Brian Cox. He also co-hosts the podcast Book Shambles with Josie Long, An Uncanny Hour and Science Shambles with another keynote speaker Dr Helen Czerski. All three are a part of The Cosmic Shambles Network, which he also co-created. His most recent book, I’m a Joke and So Are You, was described by Chortle as ‘one of the best books ever written about what it means to be a comedian’. He also wrote the book, The Bad Book Club.

As a stand-up he has toured the world and won three Chortle Awards, the Time Out Outstanding Achievement Award and was nominated for the British Comedy Awards Best Live show. He has created, curated, pioneered and hosted numerous nights mixing science, music and comedy at some of the most celebrated venues around the world from the Hammersmith Apollo and the Royal Albert Hall in London to the Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto and The Opera House in Wellington. His brainchild Nine Lessons and Carols for Curious People continues to sell out theatres every year, over a decade after its first appearance, and in 2022 he embarks on a world tour of arenas with Professor Brian Cox. He has received an Honorary Fellowship of UCL, an honorary doctorate from Royal Holloway College (University of London) and is a fellow of the British Science Association. You don’t want to miss out on these remarkable speakers!

The conference schedule is complimented with an exhibition hall demonstrating the latest in laboratory instrumentation, technology and sustainable laboratory solutions. The exhibition hall will feature quality products and services from some of the world’s most recognisable brands in science including Eppendorf, Corning, Ohaus, Kimberly Clark, Smiths Scientific and Sartorius to name a few. Over 70 exhibitors will be showcasing the newest products and latest technological advances available to the UK laboratory market, allowing delegates to find every brand all in one place.

The Scientific Laboratory Show and Conference is not all serious science! It also packs a punch with fun activities. Attendees are automatically entered into a prize draw for a chance to win £250 in Amazon vouchers whilst being able to win more prizes at the SLS Arcade Olympics! Try your hand at virtual reality gaming and enjoy liquid nitrogen ice cream, perfect for injecting some fun into your day.

The Scientific Laboratory Show and Conference is more than an event; it's a celebration of the scientific community. It's an opportunity to network with peers, gain insights from expert speakers, and discover the latest lab products and techniques. A day inspired by scientists for scientists promoting innovation and discovery awaits.