New podcast offers monthly slice of life at Imperial

Digital magazine explores College news and activities - <em>News Release - 5 February 2007</em>

For immediate use
Monday 5 February 2007

A snapshot of work and play at Imperial College London will be available in monthly instalments, thanks to the College's new podcast launched today.

Available on the first working day of every month, each edition will supply a roundup of Imperial's latest news, findings and events, providing listeners with a taste of life at the College and the scientific and academic work it carries out.

The podcast is presented by Gareth Mitchell , a lecturer on Imperial's Science Communication MSc course and the presenter of the World Service's Digital Planet programme. In the launch edition, he explores topics including new breakthroughs in reducing heart attack risks and the next steps in computer-generated art with the scientists who are leading the research. Also included is a report from Imperial student Alex Johnson on her day out with Jezebel, Imperial College Union's 1916 fire engine maintained by successive generations of students. Gareth says:

"This is a great opportunity to take Imperial's ground-breaking work to a wider audience so that people with an interest in science can hear the voices of our researchers directly. As a practising science journalist, I'm treating contributors as I would do on any other radio programme - drawing out their stories but also challenging them and being irreverent. Hopefully what emerges is a real sense of what's going on at the College."

The monthly podcast is the latest addition to Imperial's ongoing commitment to new media, with video podcasts and video streaming of special lectures already taking place.

Imperial's podcast can be downloaded at: www.imperial.ac.uk/aboutimperial/pressoffice/podcasts

Video podcasts and videos of special lectures are available at: www.imperial.ac.uk/aboutimperial/events/onlinelectures

For further information contact:

Abigail Smith
Imperial College London Press Office
Tel: 020 7594 6701
Email: abigail.smith@imperial.ac.uk

Notes to editors:

About Gareth Mitchell

Gareth Mitchell joined the Science Communication Group at Imperial in 1998 as a lecturer in broadcast and written journalism on the Science Communication and Science Media Production MSc courses.
He is a working science journalist, presenting the weekly technology programme Digital Planet on the BBC World Service and contributing regularly to science programmes on BBC Radio 4. He also acts as the technology expert in BBC Focus magazine's Q&A pages.

About Imperial College London

Rated as the world’s ninth best university in the 2006 Times Higher Education Supplement University Rankings, Imperial College London is a science-based institution with a reputation for excellence in teaching and research that attracts 11,500 students and 6,000 staff of the highest international quality.

Innovative research at the College explores the interface between science, medicine, engineering and management and delivers practical solutions that improve quality of life and the environment - underpinned by a dynamic enterprise culture.

With 62 Fellows of the Royal Society among our current academic staff and distinguished past members of the College including 14 Nobel Laureates and two Fields Medallists, Imperial's contribution to society has been immense. Inventions and innovations include the discovery of penicillin, the development of holography and the foundations of fibre optics. This commitment to the application of our research for the benefit of all continues today with current focuses including interdisciplinary collaborations to tackle climate change and mathematical modelling to predict and control the spread of infectious diseases.

The College's 100 years of living science will be celebrated throughout 2007 with a range of events to mark the Centenary of the signing of Imperial's founding charter on 8 July 1907.

Website: www.imperial.ac.uk