Thanking all Malvern bloggers
A great deal happened in 2012. CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) announced the discovery of the Higgs Boson, London hosted a spectacular Olympics and the Malvern blog notched up its 2nd birthday! From lasers and light scattering to viscometers and volcanoes, it was an incredible year at Malvern. So, as we begin 2013 I’d like to say a big thank you to all the authors who have contributed to our blog and to making it such a success. I’m looking forward to reading more this year, from the serious to the quirky, from technicalities to trivia! It all has a place. I’m sure you have your own favorites, but here’s 5 of mine from the past 12 months:
Understanding rheological properties – did they do it better in the Sixties??
There’s something hugely appealing about the 1960’s rheology lectures featured in Steve Carrington’s blog “Understanding rheological properties – did they do it better in the Sixties??” Watch the original MIT Rheology lectures on Youtube recorded more than half a century go. With a wonderful selection of handmade instruments, MIT lecturer Hershal Markovitz gives an incredibly entertaining lecture on some fundamental rheological concepts, proving that non-Newtonian fluids and bow ties have been cool for decades!
Things got a little hairy at Malvern during November when 30 members of the team grew an impressive array of “Movember” moustaches, raising awareness and money (£1180) for prostate and testicular cancer research. Check out Neil Flanagan’s touching entry for a display of some of the finest upper lip topiary that Malvern, or “Movern”, could offer.
Extreme makeover for The Statue of Liberty
La Liberté éclairant le monde, otherwise known as The Statue of Liberty, closed last year for renovations after celebrating its 125th anniversary. But what does particle sizing have to do with the restoration process? Lisa Makein’s insightful entry shows how renovating a 200 metric tons, 90 meter high cultural icon can rely on the investigation of the smallest particles.
Paris to London – 410 kilometres in 10 days
We’ve seen a fair few feats of endurance over the years but supporting service manager Christophe Lasne’s 410 kilometers run from Paris to London’s Olympic Stadium has to be among the most impressive. UK-based members of the Malvern team joined Christophe and his runners for the last 10 kilometers through London and, despite a slight loss of direction along the way, made it to the stadium in one piece, raising 6,200 Euros for “Aide de Action” in the process.
And finally Joe Wolfgang’s entry shows the lengths that the Malvern team will go to satisfy customer needs (and making a sale!) when challenged to use a Spraytec system to measure the water droplets in sneezes. I’ll not ruin the story before you get a chance to read it only to say it results in snorting pepper, unimpressed lab workers and a great deal of cleaning!
There are so many excellent entries, why not have a look around the site and find a few favorites of your own. Happy reading and, of course, Happy New Year!