The Oxford University Scientific Society (OUSS)
is a student scientific society at the University
of Oxford.
It was founded in 1882 as the Oxford University
Junior Scientific Club.
It is one of the oldest undergraduate science
societies in the world.
It organizes talks on scientific subjects
on a weekly basis.
Former speakers include Nobel prize laureates
(John E. Walker, Peter Mansfield) and other
well-known scientists (Roger Penrose).OUSS
also organizes visits to places of scientific
interest, which have included tours of the
Bodleian Library, Museum of the History of
Science, TOAD distillery in Oxford, the Joint
European Torus project, and the National Space
Centre in Leicester.
In April 2012 they held a large-scale debate
on gerontology at the Sheldonian Theatre between
Aubrey de Grey and Colin Blakemore, chaired
by Sir Richard Peto.
== History ==
Oxford University increased its provision
for science in the second half of 19th century,
with the first scientific degree awarded in
1850.
A number of scientific ventures were undertaken,
including the building of the Pitt Rivers
Museum and the Clarendon Lab, and the proportion
of undergraduates doing a scientific degree
increased every year.
Oxford University Junior Scientific Club was
founded in November 1882.
At that time there were around 25 students
admitted to a scientific course every year
(they accounted for 7% of the student body)
and most of them soon joined the newly formed
society.
Edward Poulton and Halford Mackinder were
among its founders.
The Club aimed to "bring together undergraduate
and bachelor of arts members of the University
for the discussion of scientific matters".
After one year four fifths of students doing
studying science were members of the club,
and it also attracted members studying non-scientific
disciplines.
Graduates often stayed connected with the
club after leaving the university.
In 1889 it had 102 members, and in 1894, around
200, and this number stayed approximately
the same until the First World War.
During first 30 years of its existence the
club served as a platform to integrate science
undergraduates as well as recent graduates
and allowed them to present their original
research.
Although the society invited senior university
members and distinguished academics to speak
during so-called "special meetings", its main
events were the fortnightly "ordinary meetings",
in which papers about recent developments
in science or about original research were
read.
Originally around half of those papers were
read by current undergraduates, although it
changed with time in favour of the graduate
speakers.
With no research degrees in Oxford, the ordinary
meetings were one of the few opportunities
for graduates to arouse interest about their
scientific work.
Famous students involved in those early years
of the Junior Scientific Club include Nevil
Sidgwick, Frederick Soddy, Henry Moseley and
Julian Huxley.
Special meetings with distinguished academics
developed into an annual series of "Boyle
Lectures", endowed and published from the
society's subscription.
Among the people who delivered those lectures
were William Ramsay, Lord Kelvin and Henry
Acland.
Some of those lectures have been subsequently
made into books.
Once every two years the Club organized science
festivals, called "conversaziones", in the
Pitt Rivers Museum.
Conversaziones comprised popular-level lectures
and exhibitions in Pitt Rivers.
They attracted around 1000 people from around
Oxford.
One of such conversaziones was described in
the journal Nature from 6 July 1936.The club
published its own journal, the Journal of
the Oxford University Junior Scientific Club.
It was edited every term from 1887 to 1912
and also after the First World War.
Its style and composition were similar to
other contemporary science periodicals, with
some numbers containing as many as 100 pages.
The articles were devoted to the papers read
at the society's meetings or to general scientific
developments.
The journal also contained notes about current
and former members of the club.
In 1897 it was renamed Transactions of the
Oxford University Junior Scientific Club.
By the beginning of the 20th century some
specialized scientific societies were set
up in Oxford and they were better suited for
presenting undergraduate's research work.
The quality of postgraduate teaching also
improved.
Those changes brought forth a shift in the
activities of the Junior Scientific Club in
1920s.
It concentrated mainly on inviting high-profile
scientific speakers.
This has remained the society's activity up
to the present day.
The society's archives are largely available
in the Bodleian Library.
== People ==
The Senior Member is Professor Kay Davies,
FRS (Genetics).
The following are patrons:
Peter Atkins (Chemistry)
Colin Blakemore (Physiology)
Marcus du Sautoy (Mathematics)
Sir Roger Penrose (Mathematics
