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Professor Sue Hartley delivered her Royal Institution Christmas Lectures to an audience of young people at the RI's historic buildings in central London

Ecologist Professor Sue Hartley has been getting rave reviews for her Royal Institution Christmas Lectures, which she delivered to an audience of young people at the RI's historic buildings in central London this month. 

The five lectures deal with the epic 300-million-year war between plants and animals, and how that conflict has shaped us and the world we live in. 

Science writer Ed Yong described the reaction of the junior audience to the first lecture on his blog, 'Not Exactly Rocket Science': "So well-judged is Hartley's talk that they lap up every word with rapt attention. When she asks for volunteers, the kids go mental ... The talk was beautifully delivered, wonderfully interactive and incredibly informative." 

And fellow blogger Susanna Scott (aka 'A Modern Mother') seemed equally impressed: "Wow. I can tell the Royal Institution's Christmas Lectures made a lasting impression on my nearly eight-year-old daughter ... My daughter's exact words after seeing the engaging Professor Hartley were "It was way better than I thought it was going to be" and when explaining it to her four-year-old sister: "You don't know how fun it was." 

The lectures are demonstration-packed, fun-filled events that bring to life a fascinating area of scientific knowledge. Sue is only the fourth woman to present the lectures since they began in 1825 and is following in the footsteps of eminent scientists such as David Attenborough and Richard Dawkins. 

She says: "Doing the lectures is lot of fun. It's great to see the kids so excited by cutting-edge science." 

The Director of the Royal Institution, Baroness Susan Greenfield, was the first woman to give the lectures. She says: "I am happy that we have such a charismatic and engaging lecturer delivering on a topic of immediate interest to so many people." 

Sue is a world-leading authority on how plants and herbivores interact. She has served as vice-president of the British Ecological Society (2004-07) and has advised the government and European Union on environmental issues. 

She has also worked extensively with schools and young people in promoting the public understanding of science, and was one of four University of Sussex lecturers who took part in an Art of Science event for this year's Adur Arts Festival in June. 

The Christmas Lectures will be broadcast over five days from 21 to 25 December, at 7pm on More 4.