Each year, the Fairbrother showcase celebrates excellent doctoral research from across the university. This year, two of our brilliant doctoral researchers, Luke Walters and Dr Anne Jeavons, presented their work at the event, held at the Reading Biscuit Factory, an independent cinema and community space in the town centre. Here, Luke and Anne reflect on their experiences.

Luke: It was an absolute pleasure to showcase some of my research at the University of Reading’s annual Fairbrother Lecture last week, and it’s always fascinating to see a small snippet of some of the research that is being undertaken across all disciplines. This year, the lecture was given by Reyk Börner of the Department of Mathematics, during which he discussed climate tipping points, which are thresholds which mark drastic changes in the earth’s climate. Specifically, Reyk showcased his fascinating research on the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). From the highly impressive and detailed statistics and the showing of Diane Tuft’s short film Coastal Requiem, Reyk presented a fascinating paper which will assuredly stay with the audience.

This year marked a change in tradition. Rather than holding the event on campus, it was instead presented on the top floor of the Reading Biscuit Factory. I admit that I have never frequented the establishment before but have been told many good things and suffice to say, I shall certainly be visiting again. The atmosphere was friendly and artistic, and I look forward to heading into town in the future and studying in the in-house students’ lounge. The PhD showcase towards the end of the event was also a definite highlight. From medieval medicines, the identification and preventing of floods, and the negative effects of poor air quality, it was great discussing with some of my fellow doctoral students on their fascinating, and imperative research. My own subject concerns the role that early modern pirates played in the passing of early British imperial policy. I conclude that in their terrorising of the trade routes, pirates became unwitting instigators in the construction of imperial oceanic spaces. Pirates played their parts well, but when they became too noisy, the empire had to intervene. The responses I received were both heart-warming and inquisitive, and it was great to see that the audience enjoyed my showcase.

The 2024 Fairbrother Lecture like all those before it, was a resounding success. It really does demonstrate that doctoral researchers here at the University of Reading are not afraid to tackle the difficult subjects and is a testament to their ingenuity and determination. I look forward to next year’s!

Anne: It was great to see so many people out at the Biscuit Factory on Tuesday night for the Fairbrother lecture, with several members of the public coming out who had no previous connection with the university. Reyk’s presentation of his research was nuanced, compelling and concerning for all those  who live on this planet.

I particularly enjoyed meeting the other presenters, Sharon, Marta and Luke, and finding out more about pirates in the seventeenth century from Luke. It was also good to meet members of many other university departments and share ideas: amongst others, I met meteorologists, biologists and Tolkien enthusiasts.

The Tolkein fan was interested to know about the problems apparently caused by elves in Old English medical texts that I researched. I was pleased to be able to debunk some myths about medieval medicine: the Church facilitated, rather than hindered, the development of naturalistic medicine at this time; much of it was humane, and some of it might even have been effective. I gave out some remedies for the problem of lovesickness to people who might need them, as well as several stems of  periwinkle, said to avert demon possession. A generally good night out.

You can find Anne and Luke’s work in the most recent issue of the Doctoral Research Highlights. You can view past Fairbrother Lectures on YouTube – from History, we have Chessie Baldwin and Liz Barnes.