Professor Peter Barham is a Professorial Teaching Fellow in Physics at the University of Bristol, UK and visiting Professor of Molecular Gastronomy at the Royal Veterinary University in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Peter Barham's research at the University of Bristol is concerned with polymer physics and he has found great ways to connect his research with his love of penguins, including the creation of silicon-based flipper bands which can be used for monitoring penguin populations. The silicone bands are designed to minimize the potential impact of carrying an external marking device and are currently in use on African penguins (Spheniscus demersus) at Bristol Zoo, UK and in the wild in South Africa. More recently, together with colleagues in the Computer Science Department at the University of Bristol, he has developed a computer vision system for the automatic recognition of African penguins. This system is currently undergoing trials in South Africa.[1]
Prof. Barham has contributed to the development of the new science of molecular gastronomy and has authored the book The Science of Cooking (ISBN 3-540-67466-7). He has collaborated with a number of chefs including Heston Blumenthal, the chef/owner of The Fat Duck and also a proponent of molecular gastronomy. He is Editor-in-Chief of a new journal, Flavour, which covers the science of molecular gastronomy.
Peter Barham contributes to the public understanding of science by giving public lectures on molecular gastronomy and penguin conservation biology. He has addressed audiences in both the UK and further afield. Titles of previous public lectures include "Ice cream delights", "Why do we like some foods and hate others?", "Kitchen disasters and how to fix them" and "A passion for penguins". He has also written articles for several national newspapers, makes frequent television and radio appearances, and was scientific advisor to the Discovery Channel series 'Kitchen Chemistry'. Most recently he appeared on an episode of the BBC2 programme "Heston Blumenthal: In Search of Perfection" which aired in the UK on 27 November 2007.
He has written a book entitled "The Science of Cooking" 4th Oct. 2000. Amazon describes the book in the following terms: "A kitchen is no different from most science laboratories and cookery may properly be regarded as an experimental science. Food preparation and cookery involve many processes which are well described by the physical sciences. Understanding the chemistry and physics of cooking should lead to improvements in performance in the kitchen. For those of us who wish to know why certain recipes work and perhaps more importantly why others fail, appreciating the underlying physical processes will inevitably help in unraveling the mysteries of the "art" of good cooking."