All are welcome to the Good Science Project’s second conference, ‘Prism of Research’. The title reflects the multi-faceted nature of the Imperial research effort, its many perspectives, and its illuminating qualities.
Our topics are diverse: the role of academic journals in promoting the good research life; the impact of AI on traditional ideas of ‘bench’ science; the importance of friendship and collegiality in scientific advancement; how artistic practice and scientific research show convergent qualities. What are the downsides to contemporary research culture, impeding our progress as scientists? How do we, as individuals and as a group, judge success in science? And what does Imperial do well, when it comes to our research environment?
Join us for a ‘prismatic’ and colourful day. Speakers include Dr Magdalena Skipper, editor-in-chief of Nature magazine; Professor Dame Clare Gerada, past-President of the Royal College of General Practitioners; Professor Mary Ryan, Vice-Provost (Research and Enterprise); Dr Mark Kennedy, director of Imperial’s Data Science Institute; and Chris Riley, science documentarist and film maker.
Schedule:
10:30 Registration and Coffee – Huxley, LT341/342
11:00 Introduction to the conference – Huxley, LT340
With: Dr Stephen Webster, leader of the Good Science Project
11:10 ‘Research Publishing: communities and directions’ – Huxley, LT340
The scene will be set for a day of broad discussion. What are the challenges of the contemporary research life and why is research culture rising up the agenda? What is the role of academic journals in shaping our working environment, and in building research communities? And with so much political uncertainty in play, how should researchers see the future? With
- Chair: Professor Mary Ryan, Vice-Provost (Research and Enterprise), Imperial
- Dr Dan O’Connor, Vice-Chair and Director of Social and Human Sciences at the UK National Commission for UNESCO
- Dr Magdalena Skipper, Editor in Chief of Nature
- Professor Melanie Smallman, Professor of Science and Technology Studies, UCL
12:25 Laboratory lights – Huxley, LT340
A group of Imperial research students and staff give their personal perspectives on research culture, their various experiences, and their views of the future.
Chaired by Dr Caroline Hargreaves (Early Career Research Institute, Imperial) and Dr Stephen Webster (Good Science Project, Imperial). With Dr Marta Archanco (leader of the Research Impact Management Office, Imperial); Professor Vahid Shahrezaei (co-director of the Early Career Research Institute, Imperial); Dr Andrea Fantuzzi (Advance Research Fellow, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial); Dr Jess Wade (Lecturer in Functional Materials, Department of Materials, Imperial); and Annie Clarke, Nana-Marie Lemm and Maria Portela (Imperial PhD students).
13:15 Lunch – Huxley LT341/342
14:30 Science refractions: four parallel sessions
• ‘Research, friendship, collaboration’. With Professor Peter Openshaw CBE, professor in experimental medicine, Imperial College and College Proconsul; Professor Dame Clare Gerada, past President and Chair, Royal College of General Practitioners; Professor Jonathan Mestel, Professor of Applied Mathematics and Senior Consul and Dr Daniella Watson, Research Associate in Climate Change and Mental Health, Institute of Global Health Innovation. Chair: Dr Stephen Webster, Leader of the Good Science Project. (Huxley, LT340)
• ‘Memory, art, documentary: a prism of research’. With Professor Ken Arnold, Director of the Medical Museion, Copenhagen; Chris Riley, film maker: and Ella Miodownik, Special Projects Coordinator, London Interdisciplinary School and artist-in-residence for The Good Science Project. Chair: Dr Leigh J Wilson, Public Engagement Manager, KCL. (Huxley, LT145)
• ‘The bench, the bee and the blooming bytes: what will machine learning do to science?’ With Dr Sam Cooper, Reader in Artificial Intelligence for Materials Design, Imperial; Dr Anthea Lacchia, Geologist and nature writer; and Professor Richard Wingate, professor of developmental neurobiology, KCL. Chair: Gemma Ralton, Researcher at the Data Science Institute, Imperial. (Huxley, LT130)
• ‘American blues: science, politics and funding’. With Emeritus Professor Stephen Curry, Emeritus Professor of Structural Biology at Imperial College London; Ehsan Masood, Bureau Chief: Editorials, Africa and the Middle East, Nature Magazine; and Professor Melanie Smallman, Professor of Science and Technology Studies, UCL. Chair: Claudia Cannon, Communications and Marketing Officer, Undaunted, Imperial. (Huxley, LT139)
15:45 Refreshments – Huxley, LT341/342
16:15 Plenary Session: ‘Rays of Light, Pools of Shade’ – Huxley, LT340
Our final plenary hears from the ‘Science Refraction’ sessions, debates the points raised, and considers ideas for the future.
- Chair: Dr Felicity Mellor, Director of the Science Communication Unit, Imperial
- Professor Mary Ryan, Vice-Provost (Research and Enterprise), Imperial
- Dr Catriona Firth, Associate Director for People, Culture and Environment, Research England
- Emeritus Professor Stephen Curry, Professor of Structural Biology, Imperial
17:30 Reception and optional visit to The Tapestry of Science, currently on display at the Abdus Salam Library.
19:00 End