Bright Lights and Dinosaurs

What do extinct birds, the first life on Earth, dinosaurs, and particle accelerators have in common? The advent of synchrotron-based imaging and x-ray microtomography has revealed a new and rapidly developing area of science that unites these diverse areas of research. The application of technology to unpicking the disjointed sentences that comprise the fossil record is now permitting scientists to reconstruct past worlds in high fidelity. Over the course of this Fellowship, Dr. Phil Manning aims to develop public engagement programmes at the University of Manchester by working between the School of Earth, Atmospheric & Environmental Science and The Manchester Museum to highlight synchrotron light sources and prehistoric life. The Bright Lights and Dinosaurs project aims to use his research on synchrotron-based imaging and x-ray microtomography of past life in order to help explain the methods and technologies used to study samples ranging from plants to dinosaurs. This unique and inspiring area of science is generating a whole new research area within the field of palaeontology.

This research is undertaken at the University of Manchester in collaboration with the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL, USA), Diamond (Oxford), and the Henry Moseley X-Ray Imaging Facility (HMXRI: University of Manchester). In the course of the proposed engagement, you might see Phil giving live lectures via the web at SSRL and/or Diamond, or even join him placing dinosaur brain-cases in the high-powered CT scanners of the HMXRI.

Bright Lights and Dinosaurs aims to engage with a large and diverse audience to help explain how chemistry can define the origins, synthesis, function, and subsequent alterations/modifications of both inorganic and organically derived molecules. The molecules that Phil and his team track down will come from some of the most iconic species to have walked, swam, crawled, slithered, slimed, flown, or jumped on Earth. Through a series of public lectures, museum-based events, school outreach visits, and media (web, augmented reality, etc.), this project is dedicated to raising the profile of key STEM subjects to core STFC audiences.

This synchrotron-based research has already grabbed the attention of the international media by being widely reported in over 1000 media outlets (Wogelius et al., 2011.Trace metals as biomarkers for eumelanin pigment in the fossil record. Science). It is clear that the public has a great interest in understanding both palaeontology and the techniques that are allowing scientists to look beyond the bare bones. The potential for these techniques to gently un-pick the chemistry of long extinct species is quite breath-taking.

You might have heard Phil talking about dinosaurs on the radio or seen him on TV documentaries, as he has explored the globe from China, Europe, North Africa, Australia, North and South America, and even the azure shores of the Isle of Wight in pursuit of dinosaurs and other extinct beasties. The BBC, Channel 4, Discovery Channel, History Channel, and National Geographic Channel often follow Phil's exciting exploits.