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Terra Australis Incognita: Captain Cook's Dismissal of a Southern Continent
Lauren Arnold
For centuries, many believed that a southern continent, Terra Australis Incognita, must exist to offset the landmasses in the Northern Hemisphere. In the late 1700s the British Admiralty sent Captain James Cook on his second voyage aboard the HMS Resolution to search for this southern continent. During this expedition, Cook became the first explorer to cross the Antarctic Circle, as he navigated through the high latitudes to find evidence of land. After repeated encounters with pack ice over the three years, he concluded that if a continent existed, it was inaccessible and of no commercial value. This conclusion brought British Antarctic exploration to a halt until the 1820s.
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Design of a 1940s British Lunar Space Suit
Evan Champney
In the late 1940s, long before the eventual Apollo program was developed across the pond, a group of space enthusiasts gather in a small house in London to discuss a new design for a space suit designed to allow an individual to live and work on the moon. Harry Ross’s design shows that consideration was given to a number of possible issues that would be faced by a lunar astronaut. Temperature extremes on the surface of the moon vary from 248 °F at noon to -238 °F at night. Several precautions were taken to protect the explorers from these extremes, including reflective materials designed to keep heat away and a black chest piece designed to radiate it out. As the moon has no breathable atmosphere, air supply was another vital concern. Oxygen was to be stored in onboard tanks, and carbon dioxide removed by a special sodium peroxide scrubber. The reaction of this chemical with CO2 would produce breathable oxygen, limiting the need for onboard oxygen storage. This chemical removal method parallels the eventual designs found in the Apollo Lunar Module, which used Lithium Hydroxide for this purpose. The outer surface of the suit was to be made of a layered composite. Outwards in layers of closely woven cloth, a heat resistant material such as kapok or wool, an airtight sheath of fabric backed rubber, and an interior lining for comfort. A dual walled design limited conduction of heat into and out of the suit, similar to how a thermos keeps a beverage warm. In the center of the chest a small airlock was placed to allow an object of scientific interest to be placed inside and inspected more closely by the wearer.
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Cholera in London's Soho Neighborhood
Jake Davis
By 1831, the neighborhood of Soho in London was plagued with Cholera. The real problem, though, was not how deadly this disease was; it was how much medical misinformation was spread. My project is to analyze the effect this misinformation had and why such drastic measures were necessary for John Snow to take.
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Louis Wain and the Popularization of House Cats in England
Madison Fama
Louis Wain (1860-1939) was a British artist who changed the public's perspective of house cats. Wain was an incredibly talented artist who attended the prestigious West London School of Art and went into work as an illustrator. In 1884, he married a woman named Elizabeth Richardson and together they had a house cat named Peter. However, Elizabeth developed breast cancer and passed away shortly after their wedding. In her sickness, Wain drew pictures of Peter to raise her spirits. He used Peter as a muse after her passing, and his art of cats quickly got incredibly popular. Wain illustrated his cats in an anthropomorphic style, giving them large eyes and human clothes. In Wain’s later years, his health quickly deteriorated. He was committed to a mental hospital when he was 63 years old and lived out the rest of his life in various hospitals.
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Maude Valérie White During the British Musical Renaissance
Hannah Kelley
Despite the societal and professional constraints placed on female composers during the British Musical Renaissance, Maude Valérie White navigated these challenges by adapting her compositions to commercial expectations while maintaining artistic integrity.
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Katherine Parr: More Than Just the One Who Survived
Ashton Lucky
Katherine Parr is often remembered merely as the sixth and final wife of King Henry VIII, known for being the one to survive the infamous monarch. Yet, condensing her legacy to this one role overlooks her impact on our history. Parr was a devoted scholar, profound author, beloved stepmother, advocate for education, and avid Protestant reformer. Her contributions, rooted in her beliefs, make it clear that she is perhaps one of the most influential queens in history.
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European Launcher Development Organization (ELDO): Predecessor to ESA
Erissa Morin
I researched the European Launcher Development Organization (ELDO) and the UK’s contributions to this organization. ELDO was formed on April 30, 1962 by Australia, Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.
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Differing Views on the East India Company
Jillian Northern
There are two sides to every story, and the rise of the East India Company offers a clear example of how global commodities like tea can both enrich a culture and hide exploitation. Tea’s global importance—especially in relation to British imperial power—reveals both the celebrated and troubling aspects of the 18th and 19th centuries. While tea became a symbol of British refinement, its path from plantation to teacup was steeped in colonialism, coerced labor, and conflict. This project uses visual and historical sources to explore tea’s dual legacy within the context of British imperialism.
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The Global Extent and Impact of Kew Royal Botanic Garden's Research and Exploration
Kaleb Rasmussen
By the late 18th and 19th centuries, Kew Royal Botanic Gardens established itself as a leading hub for botanical science. This global standing was influenced by British imperial expansion, enabling collections, classifications, and plant exchanges from practically every continent. With the work of individuals like Joseph Banks and J.D. Hooker, Kew’s status bolstered as a renowned botanical garden and scientific institution.
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From Manuscript to Machine: AI-Driven Transcriber
Elijah Shannon
A significant bottleneck in the research process of the pre-digital era is accessing the necessary documents to perform said research. The obvious answer is digital documents; however, the process of digitization and transcribing takes time and manpower. This poster presents an AI-backed process for converting documents from physical pages to a digital text.
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Sylvanian Families and Cultural Storytelling: A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Toys as Educators
Karlie Sikorski
Sylvanian Families toys serve as cultural educators, reflecting and reinforcing societal values through culturally specific playsets in the UK and Japan.
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A Monstrous Reflection: Frankenstein as a Mirror of Mary Shelley's Life
Sophia Vanderwaal
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is intertwined with the personal struggles and passions that defined her life. Shelley’s complex relationships and social defiance played a pivotal role in shaping her greatest literary achievement. The novel’s exploration of isolation, creation, and the consequences of unchecked ambition reflects Mary’s experiences with personal loss, social rejection, and the struggle to find her place within a society that often sought to suppress her. In this way, Frankenstein serves as a personal reflection of Mary’s inner world.
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Marjorie Stephenson: Bacterial Biochemist & Fellow of the British Royal Society
Miranda Van Rensselaer
Marjory Stephenson (born January 24, 1885 – December 12, 1948) was one of the most influential scientists of her time, known for her pioneering work in the newly emerging fields of chemical microbiology and bacterial biochemistry. Being one of the first scientists to work with and recognize bacteria as a model organism in her laboratory in Cambridge, she laid the foundation for studying the processes of bacterial metabolism (particularly enzymes), forever changing how scientists study microorganisms. Because of her many contributions to microbiology research, she was one of the first two women ever (the other being Kathleen Lonsdale), to be inducted as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1945.
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