EXPeditions - The living library of knowlegde

Lisa Appignanesi, Visiting Professor at King’s College London and Chair of the Royal Society of Literature, gives a brief history of extreme emotions. About Lisa Appignanesi "I’m a Visiting Professor in Medical Humanities at King’s College London. I’ve written books on anger, on love and trials of passions, and on women. I’m fascinated by the subject of emotions: extreme emotions, madness, Freud,...

Barry Smith, Director of the Institute of Philosophy at the School of Advanced Study, explores the nature of explanation and human consciousness. About Barry Smith "I'm a professor of philosophy and Director of the Institute of Philosophy at the University of London School of Advanced Study. I'm a philosopher of mind and language, and I'm interested in how these systems help put us in touch with t...

Tamsin Edwards, Reader in Climate Change at King’s College London, explains the risks of polarised thinking in climate change. About Tamsin Edwards "I’m a climate scientist and Reader in Climate Change at King’s College London. My work involves quantifying the uncertainties in climate model predictions, and particularly the changes that we’ll see for the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets’ contrib...

Mark Burgman, Director of the Centre for Environmental Policy, discusses the work dynamic between scientists and policymakers. About Mark Burgman "I'm the Director of the Centre for Environmental Policy, and Chair in Risk Analysis and Environmental Policy at Imperial College London. My work deals with the techniques for conservation biology and, more generally, with the tools for risk analysis tha...

Keith Moffat, Emeritus Professor of Mathematical Physics at the University of Cambridge, talks about fluid mechanics. About Keith Moffat "I’m Emeritus Professor of Mathematical Physics at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. My research field is fluid mechanics in all its aspects, ranging from the micro scale, applicable to biological fluid mechanics in particula...

There's a famous saying by Francis Bacon that knowledge is power. As president of the Royal Society, Joseph Banks persuaded the British government to invest in science. About Patricia Fara "I’m an Emeritus Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge. I've got a degree in physics, but my real passion is the history of science, and I love writing books because I want to show everybody that the history of sci...

There aren’t many women in the history of science. I think it's crucial to explore the past and examine how those prejudices and obstacles that women faced in the past are still affecting women today. About Patricia Fara "I’m an Emeritus Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge. I've got a degree in physics, but my real passion is the history of science, and I love writing books because I want to show e...

What has been learnt about the universe in the last 50 years will be one of the real high points, along with discoveries like the double helix and genetics, and Darwin and evolution. About Martin Rees "I'm the UK's Astronomer Royal and Emeritus Professor of Cosmology and Astrophysics at the University of Cambridge. My research is mainly on trying to understand our universe around us. Aside from as...

Bruce Stillman, Oliver R. Grace Professor and CEO of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, discusses the highs and lows of life as a scientist. About Bruce Stillman "I’m a biologist and biochemist, and President of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York. I’m a scientist who works on the inheritance of genetic information, the inheritance of DNA and how the biochemistry of that process works, to unders...

Fiona Watt, director of the Centre for Stem Cells & Regenerative Medicine at King’s College London, talks about excellence in science. About Fiona Watt "I'am EMBO Director (European Molecular Biology Organization), a group leader at EMBL Heidelberg and Professor at King’s College London. My passion is understanding the stem cells of the human body and how they can be used to improve human heal...

Geneviève Almouzni, Director of Research at CNRS and Head of a team at the Institut Curie, discusses why it is vital to share a passion for science. About Geneviève Almouzni "I am a Director of Research from The National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) at the Curie Institute, France where I lead the Chromatin Dynamics team. I am a laureate of the 2024 L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Inte...

Buzz Baum, Cell Biologist at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, discusses what it really means to be a scientist. About Buzz Baum "I’m a Cell Biologist at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge. I am fascinated by the process by which one cell becomes two. I research how this process led to the origins of life on Earth, how it can go wrong to cause diseases like ca...

We need a radical transformation of environmental education in schools that can match the passion that children are increasingly feeling for the subject.   Key Points • Sustainable development brought together the three pillars that we need to consider when thinking about our behaviour in relation to the environment: environmental protection and enhancement, social progress and economic developmen...

A teacher’s role is shifting away from providing educational content to orchestrating students’ learning and nurturing their confidence.   Key Points Scientific insights are helping educators develop evidence-based improvements in teaching and learning. A teacher’s role is shifting away from providing educational content to orchestrating students’ learning and nurturing their confidence. The state...

With varying degrees of success, cutting-edge technologies have been introduced into schools throughout history.   Key Points With varying degrees of success, cutting-edge technologies have been introduced into schools throughout history. While online learning originally seemed disappointing, massive open online courses (MOOCs) are helping universities support students outside the classroom. Human...

Many of us today are asking: how can we take what people learn in a classroom, especially in the humanities and interpretive social sciences, and apply that outside the classroom? About Michael Roth "I'm the President and a professor at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. My work is on how people make sense of the past. I have spent many years thinking about the philosophy of history t...

Freedom of speech is about freedom of expression. I want to be able to express myself, in dance, or in painting or in speech, because I should be able to tell you what I think. About Michael Roth "I'm the President and a professor at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. My work is on how people make sense of the past. I have spent many years thinking about the philosophy of history thro...

The pandemic has reminded us that higher education is a public good. About Caitlin Zaloom "I am a cultural anthropologist and professor of social and cultural analysis at New York University. I’ve written books about finance and its relationship to technology, class, family and higher education." Key Points • The cost of a college education has spiralled since the 1990s, forcing middle-class famil...

Free tuition is essential. Democracy is improved when young people from different backgrounds come together and learn how to work through their differences. About Caitlin Zaloom "I am a cultural anthropologist and professor of social and cultural analysis at New York University. I’ve written books about finance and its relationship to technology, class, family and higher education." Key Points • T...

Education should aim to assist children in becoming happy, confident, flexible and trainable. About Peter Mandler "I am Professor of Modern Cultural History at the University of Cambridge. I’m a historian of modern Britain and of the modern world. Over the last 20 years, I’ve aligned my work representing historians as academics and teachers with my research in education: I’ve become immersed in th...

Inequality operates throughout an individual’s life, not just through one’s education. Equal education can help address inequality but cannot solve it. About Peter Mandler "I am Professor of Modern Cultural History at the University of Cambridge. I’m a historian of modern Britain and of the modern world. Over the last 20 years, I’ve aligned my work representing historians as academics and teachers...

Greater social equality and civil rights lead to a greater demand for education, as individuals seek to leverage their improved standing in society. About Peter Mandler "I am Professor of Modern Cultural History at the University of Cambridge. I’m a historian of modern Britain and of the modern world. Over the last 20 years, I’ve aligned my work representing historians as academics and teachers wi...

Assessment and formative feedback so that the child knows what they're doing wrong and learns from their mistakes are vital for improving academic achievement. About Anna Vignoles  "Formerly Professor of Education at the University of Cambridge, I am the Director of the Leverhulme Trust and an economist of education. I’m an economist of education, which means I apply economic principles to the stu...

Education systems are unequal in most societies around the world in that we see big gaps in achievement levels. About Anna Vignoles  "Formerly Professor of Education at the University of Cambridge, I am the Director of the Leverhulme Trust and an economist of education. I’m an economist of education, which means I apply economic principles to the study of education. I do lots of work on trying to...

We think of education as an investment because when you invest in more education, you gain skills that are valuable in the labour market. About Anna Vignoles  "Formerly Professor of Education at the University of Cambridge, I am the Director of the Leverhulme Trust and an economist of education. I’m an economist of education, which means I apply economic principles to the study of education. I do...