Engineering enthusiast Dr Nina Baker will be leading two guided ‘Geek Walks‘ around Glasgow on Saturday 15th June and shedding some light on the importance of engineering for the city…
Who are you and what do you do?
I am a research administrator who does research into engineering history in my spare time. I am also a Glasgow City Councillor, for the Scottish Green Party.
What brings you to Glasgow Science Festival this year?
I developed the Geek Walk as the first output from a wider project called “Dr Baker’s Geek Guide to Glasgow” which is being sponsored by the Glasgow City Marketing Bureau. I thought it would be good to get it a bit of publicity by doing the walk as part of Glasgow Science Festival and in fact there is so much demand that extra time slots are being added.
When you think of Glasgow, what are the first 3 words that come to mind?
Varied, optimistic, interesting.
If there was a zombie apocalypse, where would you hide?
Let us for the sake of the argument assume the ZA is happening on a certain day not far from Halloween – I would hide in amongst the annual Zombie Lurch parade in Kelvingrove park, suitably attired of course – the ‘real’ zombies wont be able to tell who to gnaw on and who to leave alone!
What’s your favourite park or nature spot in Glasgow and why?
The river because it is still quite unused and so the wildlife isn’t afraid – we sometimes get seals and dolphins come up right into the city.
Impress us with your favourite science fact
James Watt not only invented the condenser that made steam engines truly practical, he also perfected the ball-governor that controls their speed. You can see him leaning on the former in the old Royal Technical College building at the University of Strathclyde and with the latter on his knee on the facade of the Athenaeum building in Nelson Mandela Place.
Join Nina outside the City Chambers on 15th June and open your eyes to engineering in the city. Walk times are:
11:00-11:30 (SOLD OUT)
12:00-12:30 – Tickets available – Book online
Glasgow Science Festival 