T-rex: the star of Jurassic Park. Photograph: imdb.com
Among the many ideas put forward by universities, experts and ministers to revive interest in science, watching the film Jurassic Park is probably not among them.
But the film, and its star villain, the Tyrannosaurus rex, provide a great entry point into biomechanics, and the study of how organisms move, support themselves and develop.
It is this idea that the University of Manchester hopes will win students back to the study of physical sciences with its new biomechanics master's degree, beginning in September.
Dinosaur locomotion expert McNeill Alexander is helping to launch the course today, and will talk about his own research that dismisses the notion that T-rex could chase down fast-moving motor vehicles, as Jurassic Park would have us believe.
The University of Leeds zoologist, who also pioneered computer models of animal locomotion and athletic performance in humans, says T-rex had the mobility of "an asthmatic elephant" with a top speed of no more than five miles per hour.
"If it were lucky enough to corner you", he says, "it would probably be too out of breath to kill you".
Manchester hopes the degree, which will be taught out of its faculty of life sciences, will give students training in both the physical and biological sciences.
The university says that a multidisciplinary approach may help to buck the trend of many universities that are dropping physical sciences.
"Our new master's degree in biomechanics will be crucial in helping us to develop the next generation of scientists able to apply multidisciplinary approaches to the biomedical and scientific questions of the future," said Roland Ennos, who will head up the new degree course.
Last year the university opened the £38m Manchester Interdisciplinary Biocentre - a cross-discipline institute that brings together experts from a wide range of subjects in order to tackle major challenges in quantitative, interdisciplinary bioscience.
Attracting Professor Alexander to the launch of project is a boost for the university.
"Professor Alexander has long been the leading figure in comparative biomechanics," Dr Ennos added.
"His research has shown how and why animals walk and run, while his textbooks have influenced generations of researchers and students. [His] talk will take an overview of the future direction of research in this most interdisciplinary of fields."
Now, who's for King Kong?
