DIRDI Hosts its first london Dinner at the In & Out Club, London
In 2024, DIRDI has begun implementing the vision of establishing a national “brains trust” across elite UK Universities. To welcome some of our new Fellows from universities in London, Oxford, and Cambridge we have expanded our events accordingly to new geographic locations. On the 12th November 2024, DIRDI’s first event in London was held at the In & Out Club, where we welcomed 20 esteemed academics from a variety of institutions including the Universities of Durham, Oxford, Cambridge, UCL, Imperial College London, and the Worshipful Company of Scientific Instrument Makers.
Highlights of the evening included short addresses from some of our Fellows:
- Professor Richard Templer OBE FDIRDI gave a “provocation” on climate change, exhorting the exceptionally talented group of attendees to consider how their work can be mobilised to help mitigate the effects of climate change and better position the UK and the world to use science and technology to pursue climate-focused goals.
- Professor Philip Thomas FDIRDI, past master of the Worshipful Company of Scientific Instrument Makers, gave an overview of his work, including in particular his research on risk assessment in the wake of the Fukushima disaster in Japan and on the Measurement of the Monument Initiative.
- Professor Alexandra Olaya-Castro FDIRDI gave an introduction to her work in quantum physics and biomolecular processes and the national challenges it presents. She highlighted the need for investment in scientific research to focus on the most ambitious and fundamental lines of inquiry and not just those which can generate more applied returns over shorter time spans.
The very interdisciplinary profile of the attendees generated many fascinating discussions, and the exhortations from those who spoke further encouraged an atmosphere conducive to the exchange of ideas. Our Director-General, Professor Carl Stephen Patrick Hunter OBE, also gave a short address on DIRDI’s vision, mission, and the outlook for the 2024/2025 academic year. He highlighted the recent appointment of several Visiting Fellows at King’s College London and new postgraduate and postdoctoral funding initiatives as some of the most exciting new developments for the Institute.
DIRDI was delighted to see the level of enthusiastic engagement from all those who came, and that the appetite for DIRDI events outside Durham is very high with our Fellows across many universities. We remain committed to continue hosting the majority of our events in Durham however, and we are pleased to announce that our Impact and Invention Conference will be held in Durham on the 27th of March 2025.
We wish to thank all those who took the time to travel to and attend the Dinner and especially those Fellows who gave such insightful talks which stimulated so much of the evening’s conversation. Thank you also to the In & Out Club, which provided such a wonderful setting in the Astor Room, pictures of which are shown below.Â
