Located in Great Baddow, the Chain Home Tower which helped provide early warning of Luftwaffe attacks during the Battle of Britain has been Grade II listed by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).
It is the only complete tower of its kind surviving in the British Isles.
Read more: Essex Battle of Britain Radar Tower Given Protected Status
Welcome to our 2020/21 season – our centenary year – and the Essex 2020 Autumn programme. We will be starting with a celebration event on our 'birthday' itself...
On 13 October 2020, CSES turns 100, and we are delighted to be holding a virtual conversation evening to celebrate this milestone and to look forward to what the next 100 years might bring. Please join us to talk about the past, the present and the future as our panel of guest contributors explore the pressing issue of sustainability.
And on 14 October, CSES will be taking part in the Big Education Conversation as we ramp up the Essex 2020 autumn programme.
We hope to see you there!
From their base in Tollesbury, SEA-KIT International have successfully controlled their uncrewed surface vessel (USV) Maxlimer on a 22 day mapping voyage in the Atlantic Ocean. Using a multi beam ultrasonic sounder, the vessel mapped around 1000 km² of continental shelf to a depth of up to 1 km.
Maxlimer is a demonstration of over 'Over-the-horizon' control technology with the aim of showing that it is safe and practical. The boat was connected to the Tollesbury base via satellite where operators could see images from onboard cameras, listen in to its surroundings and access data from thermal imaging cameras and radar. The vessel was initially developed for the Shell Ocean Discovery X-Prize which it went on to win.
More information can be found on the article from BBC news here. A talk from Ben Simpson, managing director of SEA-KIT and original designer of the vessel gave a talk for CSES in early January 2019 when the craft was competing in the Shell X-Prize Competition.
Showcasing women in STEM and engaging children through music and song
Are you interested in learning more about incredible local women from the past and present working in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine industries? Chelmsford Theatres have teamed up with Electric Voice Theatre to bring you eight FREE weekly sessions with historian Dr Fara and a modern-day scientist, starting from Monday 27 July.
Essex Cultural Diversity Project has teamed up with Chelmsford City Council, to create an opportunity for artists to creatively respond to the rich story of Chelmsford as a city and district, its heritage and ambitions for the future.
A key aim of this place-based commission is to celebrate diversity, as well as harness and explore digital innovation as part of Essex2020 – Year of Science and Creativity. We are particularly interested in looking at Chelmsford’s rivers and waterways; how they connect people and places, and form an integral part of the area’s environment and cultural, agricultural and industrial history.
UPDATE: We are delighted to announce that artist Sian Fan has been appointed for the Chelmsford & Essex2020 Artist Commission, a partnership between Chelmsford City Council and Essex Cultural Diversity Project.
Read more: Chelmsford Essex2020 Artist Commission: Calls for Proposals
We know that CSES events matter to our members, and that it is especially important to keep our community alive and connected during these unusual times.
We are therefore moving many of our planned events to a virtual setting, and will reschedule the remainder. Our partner organisations are doing the same.
Please keep an eye on the events section for the revised programme. Members who are subscribed to email updates will continue to receive these as usual.
If you have any queries, please do get in touch via the usual channels. All administrative operations continue as normal and the committee is continuing to hold its monthly meetings virtually.
Thank you for your understanding and best wishes for the coming months. Stay safe!
Featuring Chris Neale and Alan Pamphilon (CSES and Chelmsford Civic Society)
CSES and Chelmsford Civic Society have recorded a podcast for Essex 2020, part of a series which goes behind the scenes of the UK's biggest celebration of science and creativity. In each episode, Essex 2020 project director Richard Freeman meets some of the brilliant people and organisations who are working to create, inspire and discover Essex's past, present and future.
Read more: Essex 2020 Podcast: Marconi and The Making Of Chelmsford
Essex 2020 is officially launched with address from CSES
At the Essex 2020 launch event, held at Teledyne e2v on 20 January 2020, CSES Vice President Adam Wood talked about 20 surprising and inspiring inventions from Essex.
As well as the big names there are some things that you may not know came from Essex, and we are pleased to promote these in collaboration with Essex 2020 and BBC Essex. The diversity and significance of these, and other, inventions from our county is truly both surprising and inspiring!
Read on to be fascinated by the list of 20 inventions. If you know of any others, please tell us as we are collecting a catalogue of Essex inventions throughout 2020.
Read more: 20 surprising and inspiring inventions from Essex
Essex 2020: A Year of Science and Creativity
CSES celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2020. To mark the occasion the Society, in partnership with Anglia Ruskin University, bid to host the British Science Festival. We were successful in bringing this international festival to Essex for the first time its 189-year history.
The occasion inspired Essex Partners to launch Essex 2020 – a Year of Science and Creativity to mark this prestigious event.
The British Science Festival has been postponed until next year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however we are pleased to advise that we will be holding many of our Essex 2020 (and regular) events online. The rest are being rescheduled to our next (2020-21) season.
Read on or see our events pages to find out what we've got planned.
Essex 2020: A Year of Science and Creativity
The coming year (2020) is a big one for CSES: it's our centenary. It also marks the 100th anniversary of the first radio entertainment broadcast by Dame Nellie Melba from the Marconi works at New Street, and the exciting news that Chelmsford will be hosting the 2020 British Science Festival.
All of this is brought together as Essex 2020: A Year of Science and Creativity.
CSES will be holding its usual programme of talks, socials and school activities, but look out for more events throughout the year as the celebrations take place. With our partner organisations we will be holding special events, some of which will continue in the future.
Our events pages have all the details.
- The first talks include electromagnets, space/time and Big Data.
- We have scheduled a full social programme including Café Scientifique and the annual Christmas Party.
- We will be taking part in PhysicsFest in October.
- My Smarter Essex is back. We will be running this in early 2020: please look out for further details.
- Female Students Enrolled in Science Programmes in Steady Increase
- Essex Record Office Engagement Fellowship
- Now taking bookings for the Annual Dinner 2019
- Chelmsford Science Festival 2019
- Images from space – with technology from Chelmsford
- The 2018-2019 season begins...
- Café Scientifique: July 2018
- Photos from Lord Rayleigh's Laboratory
- Social meals and drinks 2018
- Notice of Extraordinary General Meeting