The University of Hull has been changing the world and changing lives since 1927. In a rapidly altering world, our research is responding to some of the biggest global challenges. Our current work ranges from health to habitats, food to flooding and supply chains to slavery.
We have appeared twice in Universities UK’s list of ‘100 discoveries by British universities that have changed the world’. Once for our globally renowned breakthrough in liquid crystal displays (facilitating the technology for screens on mobile phones, TVs, laptops and tablets); and once for our pioneering work on a bone density scanner for the earlier detection of osteoporosis. Our Wilberforce Institute has also won the Queen’s Anniversary Prize in recognition of its work combatting modern-day slavery.
We’ve been recognised for our academic impact: the University was named in the top 50 UK institutions for research power by Times Higher Education, based on the most recent Research Excellence Framework 2014.
The University’s collaborations are shaping the future. Building on the success of Hull’s reign as City of Culture, in which the University was a Principal Partner, the University is pleased to be bringing the best of British Science to Hull and the Humber in September 2018 by hosting the British Science Festival, giving the opportunity to showcase nationally the region’s significant contribution in this field.
The destruction caused by the lava of Kilauea are grabbing the attention of the international media. Last week, footage showed this eruption claiming its first house in Pahoa and people began to question…
The drama of Philae’s slow fall, bounce and unfortunate slide into hibernation was one of the most thrilling science stories of a generation. But what in its short 60 hours of life on Comet 67P did it…
The history of science is full of episodes when a seemingly ludicrous theory is ridiculed, but then slowly gathers evidence and support to move from the fringes to the heart of the scientific consensus…
Let’s start with a quiz… How many senses do you have? Which of the following are magnetic: a tomato, you, paperclips? What are the primary colours of pigments and paints? What region of the tongue is responsible…
Development of new drugs for treatment of disease is an expensive, time-consuming and labour-intensive effort for both pharmaceutical companies and academics. For the past 15 years, “cost per approval…
The Nobel Prizes in the sciences have been announced to much celebration around the world. And this year, unlike most years, controversies were largely avoided. And yet, the relevance of the Nobel Prize…
Robert Hooke was a pioneer of microscopy, when back in the 17th century he drew stunning images of insects, plant cells and fossils. Since then microscopes that use light to magnify things we can’t see…
Mount Ontake, Japan’s second-highest volcano, erupted killing at least 31 people on September 27. Since then, there has been feverish speculation about why tourists were on an active volcano and why the…
If you stop and think about it for a moment, you will realise what an astonishing feat of precision engineering your colour printer is. It can take the primary colours – cyan, yellow, magenta and black…
With the gay pride season coming to a close, here is a question: have you withdrawn money from a multi-coloured gAyTM this summer? Or have you even tucked into your Burger King Pride Whopper? And if you…
For more than 100 years, scientists have “peered” at atoms in a crystal by analysing the way they scatter X-rays. This process, known as crystallography, reveals the chemical structure of compounds in…
All too often the use of the word “chemicals” in the news, in advertising and in common usage has the implication that they are bad. You never hear about chemicals that fight infections, help crops grow…
It may seem a little strange to some, but currently there are two rival Jungle Book films planned. Idris Elba is to voice Shere Khan in a Disney remake, potentially along with Scarlett Johansson and Lupita…
Chemists have long protested the use of the term “chemical-free” in marketing, particularly when used to promote organic produce. This can be seen in the continuing complaints to the advertising standard…
Students in the UK are now paying annual fees of up to £9,000 – and they expect more for their money. This is a radical change from the situation a couple of decades ago when student grants provided the…
UNESCO has declared 2014 as the International Year of Crystallography. But why? Quite simply because the science of crystallography has revolutionised how we live – and yet few people know about it. Crystallography…
Around 100 years ago a father and his son in north England conducted an experiment that would revolutionise the way scientists study molecules. A refined version of their method still remains one of the…
In January 2011, aboard a scientific drilling ship in the Pacific Ocean, I witnessed an enigmatic green flash before sunrise. This optical phenomenon has been recorded to occur if the conditions are just…
The UK’s largest medical charity, the Wellcome Trust, has made its vast database of images freely available to all. The collection holds photos of hundreds of years worth of medicine, instruments and scientific…
This week Fred Sanger died at the age of 95. His name is probably unfamiliar to most, but he is considered one of the greatest chemists of our age. He is the only person to have won two Nobel prizes for…