Regrettably, I have to inform you of the sudden death of the project's founder and principal organiser, Professor Bill Mullarkey. Bill has been a tireless campaigner, raising the awareness of issues concerning the public understanding of science through his project, The Excitement of Science, which I believe has been his proudest achievement in that respect.

Bill had been suffering with cancer for the past two years but he appeared to be coping exceptionally well with his illness. His sudden death has come as a shock to us all and our thoughts are with his family at this sad time.

Regrettably, this has had a significant effect on the arrangements for this year's Excitement of Science project and following discussions with colleagues at The Royal Institution and the scientists involved, we have had to take the unfortunate decision to cancel this year's event.

I appreciate that this will come as a great disappointment but because of Bill's fundamental role in the planning and organisation, it leaves us with no alternative. Certainly, one of the things that The Royal Institution and Rotary International are unwilling to compromise on, is the quality and standard of the project. Going ahead at this late stage would undermine the integrity of Excitement of Science.

It is with a heavy heart that we have taken this decision but we would like to reassure all Excitement of Science enthusiasts, that we intend to return next year to deliver Excitement of Science 2012 and I will be in touch with you all as soon as possible, to secure your interest and registration for next year, as we continue our journey into the Excitement of Science.

Once again, sincere apologies for the cancellation of this year's project. I am sure you will all appreciate that this is the only course of action under the circumstances.

If you have any queries, by all means get in touch by using the Contact Us page of the web site.

Mike Shaw

EoS Co-ordinator