(formerly the Postdoctoral Coffee Talk Society)
| Introduction | Directions | Dinner | Previous talks/events |
Check out the new coffee-talk society in Waterloo, Canada!
Also check out the Cambridge postdoc society PdOC.
Our hominid ancestors arose in Africa and eventually spread to other parts of Eurasia. Our team has been investigating the earliest movements of our ancestors through the Arabian peninsula and on into the Indian subcontinent. Current research indicates that the cognitive abilities of our early ancestors were sometimes quite sophisticated, though certain behaviours appear to be relatively conservative. Our team is studying what happened to these archaic ancestors once our own species, Homo sapiens, arrived in these regions. New archaeological discoveries in India have shown that hominids may have been impacted by the Toba volcanic super-eruption of 74,000 years ago. Many sophisticated behaviours appear after the Toba super-eruption, suggesting that this volcanic catastrophe had a profound effect on the course of human evolution.
The Crosstalk Society is organized by and for postdocs, visiting scholars, fellows, students, and anyone interested in a wide range of topics beyond his or her discipline. We hold informal talks, given by one of us or a guest speaker, about once a month in term time.
A "crosstalk" tries to convey the fascinating aspects of a subject related to the speaker's work, in terms understandable to non-experts and yet on a high level. The talks are usually accompanied and followed by lively discussions and questions, and last about an hour. We try to achieve a balance of science and humanities topics. See the previous talks
We meet in Leckhampton House, the beautiful graduate campus of Corpus Christi College, usually on a Tuesday evening at 8 pm. Those who can come earlier can join us at 7 pm for an informal Leckhampton dinner (details below). The speaker is invited to dinner as a College guest.
Here is a Printable map for getting to Leckhampton.
Coming from Sidgwick Avenue, turn right into
Grange Road. About a block up Grange Road, across from Selwyn Lodge
and just after the entrance to Pinehurst School turn left into a small
private road marked by a low concrete sign `Leckhampton, Corpus
Christi College'; the sign is not lighted and is easy to miss. If you
get to Cranmer Road you have gone too far.
Coming from the north on Grange Road, pass West
Road and then Cranmer Road, and very soon after turn right into the
small private road (see above). If you get to the sign for Pinehurst
school, you have gone too far.
Go down the private road to near the end; on the left, with a small lawn
in front, is a large red-brick house which is Leckhampton. The black front
door should be unlocked, but if not, please ring the bell. At the very end
of the private road is a parking area.
If you plan to come for the talk only, a good time to arrive is between 7.45 and 7.55, as by that time the dinner will have finished and we'll be having coffee and be preparing for the speaker to start at 8 pm.
If you would like to come earlier to join us for dinner in Leckhampton House (2 courses, cost 6 pounds, waiter served, informal, usually quite good - there is also a vegetarian option), please send a brief message to Laurent Seugnet ls226@cam.ac.uk by the day before the talk, because a reservation is needed. Please also specify if you would like the vegetarian option. The dinner menus are usually here.
For the dinner, please try to be there by 6.55pm at the latest, because the dinner starts punctually at 7pm, with a gong.
If you would like to participate, please send a brief message to Tomasz Bak thomas.bak@mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk, so that you are added to the email list - or simply come to the next talk.
Questions about Crosstalk? Suggestions for speakers or social events? Contact any of us:
Peter Wang ran Crosstalk for the last few years. He recently returned to California and is sorely missed. Laurent Seugnet also ran Crosstalk, and is soon going to America. He too is sorely missed.
Browse the previous talks and events.
Don't miss the Cambridge postdoc society PdOC.
Postdoc societies at other places.
Send comments about the web page to Sanjoy Mahajan sm324@cam.ac.uk