Abstract

Cambridge University Chemical Society, in association with the Royal Society of Chemistry, is delighted to present a forum on Interdisciplinarity in Science.

Featuring a diverse panel of leading researchers and government advisors, we will debate how the increasingly interdisciplinary nature of certain areas of science impacts on the potential career paths of young scientists.

Discussion topics will include issues that will be relevant from a careers perspective, such as funding opportunities, and research impact, as well as problems of knowledge management and balance between breadth and depth. We will also examine how interdisciplinarity can shape a scientific education, preparing students for research in areas that draw upon many different fields.

Chairing the debate will be Quentin Cooper, presenter of BBC Radio 4’s weekly science programme, The Material World.

Panelists:

• Prof. John McCarthy – Director of the Manchester Interdisciplinary Biocentre
• Prof. Georgina Born – Professor of Sociology, Anthropology and Music in Cambridge, whose recent paper Logics of Interdisciplinarity highlighted results of an 18-month empirical study of interdisciplinary research across different areas of science and engineering.
• Dr. John Canning – founder of the Interdisciplinary Teaching and Learning Group at the Higher Education Academy
• Dr. Ian Gibson, MP – member of the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills Committee, and regular contributor to Science and Public Affairs, a monthly journal for the British Association for the Advancement of Science
• Prof. Alan Hughes – Director of the Centre for Business Research, and member of the Council for Science and Technology, the UK government’s top-level independent advisory body on science and technology policy issues.
• Duncan Connors – General Secretary of the National Postgraduate Committee

For more information, and to register, please visit: http://www.chemsoc.ch.cam.ac.uk/interdisciplinarity