Information Science

This is an **in-person** **theatre** and **livestream** talk from the **Royal Institution of Great Britain.** Laser expert **Prof Stephen Bown** explores the physics of Photodynamic Therapy, and the new treatments it might unlock. This is a Royal Institution discourse titled: **Photodynamic Therapy: Physicists and physicians unite to heal with light** **ADVANCE BOOKING AND PAYMENT IS REQUIRED FOR THIS TALK.** **More details and booking instructions on the RI web site:** **[https://www.rigb.org/whats-on/discourse-photodynamic-therapy-physicists-and-physicians-unite-heal-light](https://www.rigb.org/whats-on/discourse-photodynamic-therapy-physicists-and-physicians-unite-heal-light)** **SUMMARY** Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) is offering a revolutionary new treatment option for a range of diseases, particularly cancers. By combining the skills of physicists and physicians, PDT uses light to kill living cells without damaging the structural integrity of the surrounding tissue. In this Discourse, laser medicine expert **Stephen Bown** draws on his decades of experience to explain how PDT works. Administering the drugs (photosensitisers) that sensitise tissues to light is relatively straightforward, but getting light to all relevant areas deep within the body is a major challenge. Endoscopes provide access to hollow organs, but ingenuity and detailed understanding of light scattering and absorption within solid tissues is required to deliver appropriate light doses everywhere within a target tissue. Stephen will further describe associated leading-edge developments, including cancer detection by photosensitiser fluorescence, the use of PDT as a “primer” to stimulate immunological responses to cancers and, at a very early stage of development, the concept that PDT might be able to offer a new approach to treating type 2 diabetes. Join us to discover one of the most exciting areas of development in clinical science. This event is in celebration of UCL200. This is a theatre and livestream event for an adult audience, where the speakers and audience in our Theatre are joined by our audience online. **The livestream will go live around 7.20pm, and the talk will begin at 7.30pm. If you register but miss the livestream, the video will be available to you via the same link for two weeks after the event date.** For more information on livestreams, see the information below, or [visit our FAQs page](https://www.rigb.org/whats/faqs-ri-livestreams). Please use the event link you have been provided with. By booking to attend events at the Royal Institution, you confirm that you have read and accept the Ri's [event terms and conditions](https://www.rigb.org/terms-and-conditions). You also agree to abide by [our code of conduct](https://www.rigb.org/about-us/how-were-run/our-code-conduct-ri-visitors), and help to create a great experience for yourself and your fellow participants.

The weather is getting absolutely gorgeous in London ☀️ It has been a long winter, and now it is time to go out and enjoy nature. Join us on this unique UXers Nature Walk and learn about the area we are focused on this year to drive social impact through our [Responsible Design for Change Fellowship](https://www.ux4change.org/responsible-design-for-change-fellowship/). Get a chance to meet our founder, Sandra Gonzalez, and some of the fellows who are currently enrolled in the third cohort of the Fellowship. This is a very lovely opportunity to connect with nature and our community. You are welcome to bring your pet and/or your children, especially if you are juggling half-term at the moment. We will end the walk at the Princess of Wales to share a drink and network a bit. We look forward to spending a lovely afternoon with you.

We are reading Mustafa Suleyman’s The Coming Wave to learn more about AI and tech this month 🤖

Have you ever wanted to get together outdoors and chill out amongst good company whilst being immersed within nature & amazing weather? If so, then this is the right event for you. Welcome to another one of the CHILL events where you have the opportunity to settle in the parks, form friendships, socialise, have a picnic and so much more whilst being immersed within the luscious greenery, botanicals and the gorgeous weather. 

With this particular chill event, we will be settling at Primrose Hill. Primrose Hill is an iconic landmark which offers us the amazing if not one of the best views of the city skyline. It’s also a cosy spot to settle whilst seeing the sun set and gazing at the amazing view of the city. There is a small twist to it. Since it’s Friday evening, there will be Mauritian music in the background to give us this Mauritian ambiance. Just a chill event with the essences of Mauritius. Depending on the aura and if the event goes well, we may do an aftermath and let democracy decide. My fellow explorers, if you enjoyed the event, I’m more than happy to accept any donations which of course are optional but will go a long way to help me unlock and deliver even more exciting and engaging events and resources: https://www.paypal.me/calvinjoy 

WHAT - Chill at Primrose Hill
WHERE - Primrose Hill
WHEN - 7:20pm - 11pm
MEETING POINT - Primrose Hill
NEAREST STATIONS - Chalk Farm & St John’s Wood Station
REQUIREMENTS - Just your good behaviour is all and whatever is listed above for the walk. Maybe bring your ID if we do an aftermath. Disclaimers: Please be on your best behaviour and respect one another. This group doesn’t tolerate any misbehaviour and misconduct. Should such a thing take place, you will be removed. If you ask a question that either already has the answer to it or doesn’t relate to the event at all, I won’t respond. Whenever an event takes place, I will cut off contact 20 minutes after the event commences. If you message even 1 minute after the cut off time, I won’t be available as I’m conducting the event. There will be photography and videography by myself so if you are photo conscious and/or do not want to be in the video, do kindly inform me and I’ll try my utmost best to not involve you in the picture. Let’s all be responsible but please be aware you come at your own risk. Do be mindful of your possessions, belongings and most importantly, your safety. The ‘London society of explorers’ accept no risk of liability at this event.

**A fresh take on dating for straight and LGBTQIA+ singles in their 30s, 40s and 50s, brought to you by LoMAZ. We visit a different museum on the last Friday of each month, before heading to the pub.** This month, join us for a relaxed evening of conversation and connections at the **[V&A Museum South Kensington](https://www.vam.ac.uk/south-kensington)**. It's just like a usual LoMAZ event except for one thing: everyone there will be single. Come for friendship, come for dates, come along! [https://www.vam.ac.uk/south-kensington](https://www.vam.ac.uk/south-kensington) **HOW DOES IT WORK?** **6:00 pm - 6:40 pm: Meet and greet in the V&A Museum at *Museum Cafe. Look for the LoMAZ sign.*** Address: Cromwell Road, London, SW7 2RL * Look out for LoMAZ hosts wearing a 'host' sticker in a yellow frame and they will welcome you. We will post a note in the comments on Friday. * You can choose to wear a LoMAZ logo sticker (indicating you are straight) or a LoMAZ rainbow sticker (indicating you are LGBTQIA+), or you can wear both stickers. Wearing stickers means everyone can see who is part of the group and helps you find us as we move around the museum. If you see someone with a LoMAZ sticker, feel free to chat to each other. **6:45 pm - 7:40 pm: Explore the museum** * We'll then explore the museum together. Hosts will always be there to chat to, and there will be an optional activity. * Meeting point to go to the pub is by the Cromwell Road exit near the circular reception desk. **8.00pm - late:** **Pub social: *pub tbc*** * We'll carry on the evening in a nearby pub. If there is suitable bar location in the V&A late event we stay there for a bit too. ***Venue tbc in the event comments the day before the event.*** * As this is a free event, we can't afford to book a private space. The pub we are going to does not accept table bookings after 6pm. So please expect some standing and mingling. **TICKETS:** Tickets are free and there is no need to book. **CONTACT ON THE NIGHT:** * **We'll update where the group is throughout the evening in the event comments.** * You can also message a host via Meetup if you have questions or any difficulties finding us. * Lates for Dates events do *not* have a WhatsApp group. **PLEASE NOTE:** * LoMAZ events are hosted by volunteers. Please change your RSVP if you can no longer attend. * This is a mixed orientation event. Let’s keep it friendly and respectful—please report any concerns to the hosts or Meetup. * All attendees at this meetup are coming as individuals and are responsible for their own security, and health and safety. Please check the Meetup Help section and British Museum for their policies. **Thank you for your interest in the LoMAZ and our Museum Lates for Dates event.** Image credit: Photo by J. Knappitsch: https://www.pexels.com/photo/facade-of-the-victoria-and-albert-museum-15302043/

*IPLUK Fun Friday Socials* *Booking link* 🔗 https://buytickets.at/indianprofessionalslondonuk/2215641 IPLUK Board Games Night 📍*Draughts Waterloo,* *London SE1 7NN* Friday, 29th May - 6 to 9 PM Price: £10.99 - Gaming Entry *Because adulting is hard. Fridays should be fun.* 🎲 It's the last Friday of May and we're taking over one of London's most iconic board game bars Draughts Waterloo for a night of games, laughs, and the kind of energy that only happens when IPLUK community gets together in one room. ✨ *What to expect* 🎲 Access to 1,000+ board games 🧠 A games guru to guide your picks 🍹🍔 Food & drinks - PAYG Grab your ticket now and lock in your Friday night. You can sort the rest of the week later. 😄 Host: Lovina Shenoy - 07570766017 Email: hello@indiansinlondonuk.com

Hi ladies and gentlemen! My name is Ken and I am the organizer of this group. My birthday party is coming up on the 30th May at 7 p.m in 100 Queens Gate Hilton Hotel in South Kensington. I would like to invite my dear friends from the book club to join my special day. Unlike the usual events I organize, there will be special rules and restrictions for this one. You will not be able to enter if you don't fulfill these requirements. 1. Since the venue is a 5 star hotel, an appropriate attire is required. Smart casual or smart is preferred. If you are underdressed, you won't be able to enter. 2. You have to be a person who knows me and came to my events before. If I dont recognize you, you will not be accepted. 3. This is an obvious thing but you will have to bring a birthday present no matter how small or big to be able to enter. I want to make sure that everyone who comes will have a great time including myself. I am very excited for it and want to share my joy with you.

Inviting all women and non-binary NSLondoners to a relaxed Sunday morning coffee social ☕️😌 Feel free to bring an app or code project to show and talk about, but no pressure if you’d rather just come along for a chat and to meet others in the community! Please RSVP on Meetup if you’re planning to come. Looking forward to seeing you there! All attendees are expected to follow our [code of conduct](https://nslondon.com/coc.html).

Join our Sunday Improvers Flamenco Classes at Danceworks with Maika Jimenez Blanco — a welcoming and energetic space to continue developing your flamenco technique, artistry and confidence. These classes are designed for students who already have some flamenco experience and would like to deepen their understanding of flamenco technique and choreography in a supportive and encouraging environment. Each session includes: * Footwork technique (zapateado) * Arm and hand technique (braceos y floreos) * Turns, coordination and posture * Flamenco rhythm and musicality * Choreography work * Expression, confidence and performance skills We work on traditional flamenco styles while also building strength, elegance and stage presence. The atmosphere is friendly, motivating and inclusive, with attention to both technique and enjoyment. Current choreography work includes Tangos de Triana and other exciting flamenco repertoire throughout the year. Whether you want to improve your dancing, reconnect with your creativity, or simply enjoy the passion and energy of flamenco every Sunday, you will be very welcome. 👠 Flamenco shoes recommended. 💃 Taught by internationally experienced flamenco teacher and founder of Flamenco with Maika, Maika Jimenez Blanco “Flamenco for everybody” ✨ When? **Every Sunday** Time: **11:00 - 12:00** Where? **Danceworks** 16 Balderton St, London W1K 6TN Studio 4 Nearest Tube stations: **Bond St.** Marble Arch Cost? £13 per class. **Book here:** https://danceworks.com/london/classes/timetable/ Class bookings become available 7 days in advance. Online bookings close 15 minutes before the class starts but you can book in person up to the start time. **Waiting lists are available.** ***About Maika:*** Maika is a flamenco and Spanish dance teacher with more than 19 years of experience, teaching adults and children in Spain, the United States of America, Mexico, Canada, and UK. She also led flamenco classes at Rey Juan Carlos University from 2013 to 2018. Born and raised in Madrid (Spain), she began studying ballet and Spanish dance at the tender age of nine. Maika studied at Karen Taft Dance Academy and Flamenco Centre “Amor de Dios”, majoring in Spanish Dance at the Conservatory of Dance in Madrid. In 2003, she was awarded a Teaching Methodology Applied to Spanish Dance certificate and then focused her career on dance education. Maika has continued her professional training alongside teachers including Antonio Canales, Alfonso Losa, La Lupi, Rojas and Rodriguez. Maika co-founded the company Spanish Flamenco Tour, based in Miami (USA), a business dedicated to promoting flamenco and Spanish culture, to a local audience. Adding more strings to her bow, Maika embarked on a Master´s Degree in Leadership and Management of Cultural Projects at the Institute of Dance “Alicia Alonso”, Rey Juan Carlos University. Her final master’s project was based on promoting Spanish dance, receiving a First-Class Degree. Maika’s classes are designed to extract every student’s natural ability to dance and show them how wonderful and fun, this art form is.

Basic Ideas: 🌞 📚☕ Any books sitting there collecting dust? Some holiday gifts? Or it’s a book that has changed your life that you want to share? Feel free to bring book(s) to discuss or swap, we usually have more books than people in the end, so feel free to pop along just to have a chat as well. Aiming for every 4 weeks book swap meetup. Note: The event is free to attend, so the only cost for you will only be buying a drink at the location, so coffee/tea/beer etc.

Join us for our monthly series where **Offline Women Explore the Royal Parks**, visiting one of the eight different royal parks each month. The fourth walk in this series will be through **Greenwich Park.** This is a dedicated, phone-free, quiet space where you can disconnect from digital distractions and reconnect with nature and each other. It is a simple way to enjoy the park and engage in real conversation. We will have plenty of time to talk, share stories, and get to know one another without any digital interruptions. Leave the event feeling energized and refreshed, with a heart full of good conversation and the peaceful feeling of a walk spent in great company. Follow us on [WhatsApp](https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbCZyvCD38CTaXBpQ72V) to get early tickets for our upcoming events.

**The Behavior Gap: Where Products Win or Lose** Teams today have more data than ever, and yet many still struggle to understand why customers adopt, engage with, or abandon their products. Teams sprint, ship faster, and chase more signals… all while metrics stall and confidence drops. The missing piece isn’t more data. It’s often the behavioral insight between the metrics, explaining why the numbers move in the first place. Dashboards can tell you what customers did, but understanding why they did it (and how to influence what they do next) requires a deeper blend of insights. This session is about closing that gap. Drawing from real-world experience designing and scaling products as [ZoCo Design](https://zocodesign.com/)’s CEO, [Lacey](https://www.linkedin.com/in/laceypicazo/) will share how to cut through the noise and identify the insights that actually change behavior—moving people, and moving metrics. You’ll learn: * Why understanding customer behavior is a quant and qual challenge * How to spot the signals that actually predict behavior change * Where AI accelerates insight, and where it creates distraction * How to get meaningfully closer to customers, without adding more tools This talk reframes how to evaluate performance and identify what levers actually improve it, helping your team to make smarter bets with greater confidence. Every meaningful outcome is driven by behavior change. And when you know how to design for behavior, you stop guessing, and start building things that work. **About Our Speaker** [Lacey Picazo](https://www.linkedin.com/in/laceypicazo/) is the Founder and CEO of ZoCo, a healthcare product studio that turns complex, high-stakes ideas into products that drive real-world adoption. She partners with healthcare organizations to uncover critical care delivery insights, focus product strategy through behavior design, and build solutions that patients and providers actually use. Thanks to our 2026 sponsors: [Clarivoy](https://www.clarivoy.com), [What Box Consulting Group](https://www.whatboxconsultinggroup.com), [Conductrics](https://www.conductrics.com), and [Piwik PRO](https://piwik.pro) More info at [cbusdaw.com](https://cbusdaw.com)

**Latest Dojo Location!** **Knotty Pine Brewing** 1765 W 3rd Ave, Columbus, OH 43212 We're going to try a new dojo location for a few weeks and see how it works Dojos are informal Python group study sessions where everyone interested in Python gathers to learn about Python, help others with Python, or just hang out. Everyone is welcome from Python beginners to experts. Bringing a laptop is encouraged (we'll have extension cords and power strips). If there's something you want to learn leave a comment on this invite so we can plan ahead. We're looking for speakers for our Monthly Meetups! Fill out the form if you are interested in presenting to the Python Community. https://forms.gle/ehSfUAC2WgR34Crq9

Topic to be announced. **THANK YOU** *Franklin University* for hosting our meetup! To learn more about *Franklin University*, please visit their website: https://www.franklin.edu/ **DIRECTIONS** Franklin University Fisher Hall 300 E. Main St, Columbus, OH 43215 Map: https://maps.app.goo.gl/jxjBA2hUmS5qrvhq8 Parking is FREE! Please park in Lot C in front of Fisher Hall. See attached map. NOTE: Map the address only. When mapping with Google Maps it may use the Fisher Hall at OSU, which is NOT correct. **Want to sponsor the pizza and/or bar tab?** Please contact me if you would like to sponsor this meetup's pizza and/or bar tab: angelo@mandato.com

QA or the Highway is a one-day, affordable, regional, professional conference featuring real-world experience and thought leadership in the QA and testing industry. This is a ticketed event please register here: https://www.qaorthehwy.com/ Featured Keynote Speakers: **Matthew-Hope Eland** **(Wizard at Leading EDJE)** \- An AI Specialist and Wizard at Leading EDJE who is known to teach software engineering\, AI\, and data science concepts in the most ridiculous ways possible\. Matt has used machine learning to settle debates over whether Die Hard is a Christmas movie\, reinforcement learning to drive the behavior of digital squirrels\, data analytics to suggest improvements to his favorite TV show\, and AI agents to play board games and create an AI agent with the personality of a dog\. Matt is the author of "Data Science in \.NET with Polyglot Notebooks" and "Refactoring with C\#" as well as several LinkedIn Learning courses\. Matt helps organize the Central Ohio \.NET Developer Group\, runs several blogs and a YouTube channel\, has a Master’s of Science in Data Analytics\, and is a current Microsoft MVP in AI and \.NET\. **Tatyana Arbouzova** **(CEO at Innovate QA)** \- Tatyana Arbouzova is an engineering and business leader with a strong background in Quality Engineering across multiple industries\, including Big Tech\, Healthcare\, and Entertainment\. She has held leadership roles at world\-class companies such as Microsoft\, VMware\, Disney\, and The Pokémon Company International\, where she focused on building quality\-driven cultures and scaling teams to deliver high\-impact products\. With decades of experience\, Tatyana has helped organizations transform their quality practices so teams can deliver software efficiently\, confidently\, and with measurable business outcomes\. Today\, Tatyana advises software companies on adopting AI to optimize quality practices and improve how software is delivered at scale\. She is also a passionate community builder and the founder of Innovate QA\, a thriving Seattle\-based community and conference for quality professionals\.

Bienvenue! We host a twice-a-month French conversation club at La Chatelaine on Lane. All levels welcome! Whether you're new to French or running for Président de la République you are welcome here! We often read plays together, play vocabulary games, and generally enjoy the delicious food available at La Chatelaine! We will be at the long table in the back of the restaurant. A bientôt!

Couldn't make Knowledge? Or want to debrief the dancing robots or Autonomous Workforce? Join us for a Knowledge '26 recap, insights sharing, a couple rounds of golf, and fun at Topgolf. As always, drinks and food will be provided. More details to come — mark your calendar, RSVP, and save your spot today!

By popular demand, the group wanted to read and discuss the semi-autobiographical novel by Henri-Pierre Roche, that inspired the Truffaut movie we watched last year. The book is available through the Columbus Library's interlibrary loan system. They reported there are twenty-eight copies available in the state of Ohio. If you have a library card, you can file an interlibrary loan request here: https://www.columbuslibrary.org/library-services/ . There are also used copies available on Amazon and eBay for under twenty dollars. You may want to rewatch the movie after reading the book, so we can compare and contrast in our discussion. The Columbus Library has four copies on DVD, and it's streaming on HBOMax.