Meet the experts

Each week a different group experts will be online to answer questions on the 2017 CHRISTMAS LECTURES: the language of life

Sophie Scott

Presenter of the 2017 CHRISTMAS LECTURES and Professor at UCL
My special interest is in researching the neuroscience of voices, speech and laughter. 

Active: Roaming expert, available to drop in during any week

Week 1: 8th–14th January

Wendy Grossman
Advisory Council member, Open Rights Group

Open Rights Group is the UK’s digital campaigning organisation working to protect the rights to privacy and free speech online.

Suzanne Harvey
 Exhibit Explainer for ZSL London Zoo

My PhD research is on the evolution of language, which often involves following baboons around the forest with a microphone…

Nadine Lavan
Lectures contributor and Postdoctoral Researcher, Royal Holloway, University of London

My research focusses on voice processing, with a particularly interest in non-verbal vocal signals, such as laughter and crying.

Ioannis Dimitrios Zoulias
Lectures contributor and Postdoctoral research assistant, University of Reading

I study the human brain and its connections to the body and use this knowledge to make machines to help people get better (for example after a stroke), or allow severely disabled people to communicate with others.

Freya Wilson
PhD Student, University of Leeds

I am making a new way of sending secret messages so that not even the best hackers could figure them out!

Daniel Mills
Lectures contributor and Professor of Veterinary Behavioural Medicine, University of Lincoln

 I am particularly interested in how animals communicate their emotions and the value that companion animals bring to society and to human well-being.

Carolyn McGettigan
Professor in Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London

I research what’s going on inside people’s brains when they listen to speech and produce it.

Alyssa Alcorn
Lectures contributor and Postdoctoral researcher, UCL

I work on a project (DE-ENIGMA) about teaching children on the autism spectrum to recognise facial expressions and emotions.

 

Week 2: 15th–21st January

Yasamin Motamedi
Research Associate,  UCL

My research concerns how the way we communicate and learn from each other has shaped and continues to shape language, both in development and evolution.

Suzanne Harvey
 Exhibit Explainer for ZSL London Zoo

My PhD research is on the evolution of language, which often involves following baboons around the forest with a microphone…

Phillip Burnett
Lectures contributor, ZooLab UK

I head up a national team delivering Animal Handling & Lifelong Learning workshops.

Oliver Musgrove-Wethey
Software developer, Mayden

I’m working on building web-based mental health applications for the NHS.

Lloyd and Rose Buck
Lectures contributors, Bird handlers and specialists

We have our own family of birds that we work with exclusively for documentaries, film , drama, commercials and photography projects.

Ioannis Dimitrios Zoulias
Postdoctoral research assistant, University of Reading

I study the human brain and its connections to the body and use this knowledge to make machines to help people get better (for example after a stroke), or allow severely disabled people to communicate with others.

Freya Wilson
PhD Student, University of Leeds

I am making a new way of sending secret messages so that not even the best hackers could figure them out!

Eloise Ainger
Research Assistant, UCL

I work on the EU funded DE-ENIGMA project focusing on using a humanoid robot to teach social and emotional skills to autistic children.

Carolyn McGettigan
Professor in Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London

I research what’s going on inside people’s brains when they listen to speech and produce it.

Week 3: 22nd–28th January

Zafeiros Fountas
Lectures contributor and Research Associate, Imperial College London and Emotech

 I am designing the A.I. system of a personal robot called Olly, which is designed to understand and have its own human-like behaviour, emotions and personality.

Sarah Knight
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Royal Holloway, University of London

My research investigated the role of rhythm in persuasion oratory, with a particular focus on its ability to influence people’s memory for speech and social judgements of the speaker (e.g. trustworthiness).

Nayeli Gonzalez-Gomez
Early Career Research Fellow, Oxford Brookes University

I am a member of the Brookes Babylab. My research focuses on understanding the roots of language acquisition, by exploring speech perception in infancy.

James Maclaine
Lectures contributor and Curator at the Natural History Museum

My principal role is to curate and manage the Fish Collection and its digital catalogue and to assist people wishing to use them

Hannah Little
Lecturer in Science Commmunication, University of the West of England

I research science communication and the evolution of structure in human speech and I am interested in public engagement with digital rights and the problems that occur when policy to protect civil liberties does not keep up with the growth of technology.

Damien Hall
Lecturer in French Linguistics, Newcastle University

I interview people and analyse the sounds, and that helps us find stuff out about the people and the society they live in.

Catriona Silvey
Postdoctoral research fellow, UCL

My research focuses on how we agree on what words mean, and how these meanings change as languages are learned and used for communication.

Jason Nurse
Research fellow, University of Oxford

Research on cybersecurity for computer systems, including Internet of Things (IoT) devices like Alexa or smartfridges.

 

Week 4: 29th January–4th February

Ricci Hannah
Lectures contributor and Research Associate, UCL

Interested in brain stimulation and motor control, like when we move our muscles to make sounds

Nayeli Gonzalez-Gomez
Early Career Research Fellow, Oxford Brookes University

I am a member of the Brookes Babylab. My research focuses on understanding the roots of language acquisition, by exploring speech perception in infancy.

Nadine Lavan
Lectures contributor and Postdoctoral Researcher, Royal Holloway, University of London

My research focusses on voice processing, with a particularly interest in non-verbal vocal signals, such as laughter and crying.

Mike Simmons
Lectures Contributor and Director, A World of Wings

I manage a team of people and birds that work together in the production of free flight bird shows.

Martin Stevens
Professor in Sensory and Evolutionary Ecology, University of Exeter

Animal vision, camouflage, and information use in nature through coloration.

Justin Sulik
Research Associate, Royal Holloway, University of London

I’m studying language evolution, particularly how humans communicate in non-conventional ways (e.g. Pictionary, Charades) by using their shared world knowledge, their understanding of other people’s minds, and their shared environment.

James Maclaine
Lectures contributor and Curator at the Natural History Museum

My principal role is to curate and manage the Fish Collection and its digital catalogue and to assist people wishing to use them

Cat Hobaiter
Lectures contributor and Lecturer at University of St Andrews

I study the evolution of communication and social behaviour, in particular through long-term field studies of wild chimpanzees.

The CHRISTMAS LECTURES Production Team — Active throughout January

Nathan Budd
Series Producer for the Lectures, Windfall Films

Natasha Simons
CHRISTMAS LECTURES Assistant, The Royal Institution

I am a science presenter and demonstration builder, and I worked as the Christmas Lectures Assistant for the 2016 and 2017 Christmas Lectures.

Woody Clarke
CHRISTMAS LECTURES Intern, The Royal Institution