This event is Sponsored by the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Robert Hooke was a curator of experiments at the Royal Society, the Gresham Professor of Geometry, the Surveyor of the City of London after the Great Fire, and an important architect who was considered to be “England’s Leonardo”. Hooke’s book Micrographia: or Some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies Made by Magnifying Glasses was published in 1665 by the Royal Society. It was the first book to illustrate insects and plants as seen through microscopes, and also the first scientific best-seller, which inspired wide public interest in microscopy. Additionally, Hooke was the first to use the biological term “cell" in that work. Since 1665, microscopes have evolved from simply using visible light and glass lenses, with the consequent limitations on resolution and depth of focus, through to electron microscopes capable of very high magnifications, to X-ray tomography systems that now allow us to look at structures in 3D. This talk will look at how microscopy with light, electrons, and X-rays has evolved since Hooke, and will illustrate how the techniques can be applied to understanding advanced materials. It will also show how the use of micro X-ray computed tomography was used to analyse the remains of Richard III, another example of where microscopy has gained wide-scale public interest.

Professor Sarah Hainsworth OBE FREng is Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Executive Dean for the School of Engineering and Applied Science at Aston University.