Third John Brown Memorial Lecture

The University, with the Royal Astronomical Society, hosted the third John Brown Memorial Lecture on the evening of Jan 16th 2026.

This year’s sell out lecture was Songs from the Cosmos: Sound and Vision Using Muons a musical performance from BAFTA-winning artist Lomond Campbell and University of Glasgow nuclear physicist David Mahon. It was a captivating journey that celebrates the science and sounds of the muon.

The John Brown Memorial Lectures are named in honour of Professor John Brown, the former Astronomer Royal for Scotland, Regius Professor of Astronomy at the University of Glasgow, and former leader of the A&A group, who passed away in 2019. As Astronomer Royal for Scotland, he was a keen advocate for science communication, with a strong interest in the interface between the arts and science, often incorporating magic tricks into his public lectures. The memorial lectures continue this tradition focusing on the influence of science on art.