Speaker Biographies

Plenary Speakers and Panellists

Professor John Barrow

John Barrow is Professor of Mathematical Sciences at Cambridge University and Director of the Millennium Mathematics Project, a programme which aims to improve the teaching, learning and appreciation of mathematics and it applications (www.mmp.maths.org). He is a Fellow of Clare Hall, Cambridge and the current Gresham Professor of Geometry at Gresham College in London.

He has written more than 440 scientific papers in astrophysics and cosmology, and 20 books, translated into 28 languages, which explore the ramifications of developments in astronomy, physics, and mathematics. The most recent are Cosmic Imagery: key images in the history of science and 100 Essential Things You Didn’t Know You Didn’t Know. His play, Infinities, directed by Luca Ronconi won the Premi Ubu for best play in the Italian theatre in 2002. He received 2003 Italgas Prize, the 2006 Templeton Prize, and the Royal Society’s Faraday Prize for science communication in 2008.

Jon Coles

Jon Coles is Director General for Schools, in the Department of Children, Schools and Families having previously been Director for 14-19 Reform. In his role as Director for 14-19 Reform, he was responsible for the reform of curriculum and qualifications, and more recently for raising the participation age and the implementation of the new 16-19 funding system. Before that, he was responsible for the London Challenge Programme, focused on improving the performance of schools in London. His work for the Department of Children, Schools and Families has included responsibility for a range of Bills, White Papers, Green Papers and the implementation of the infant class size pledge.

Michael Gove MP

Michael Gove was born in Edinburgh in 1967 and educated at Robert Gordon’s College, Aberdeen, and Oxford University. He enjoyed a fifteen year career in journalism, mainly at The Times newspaper, where he was Assistant Editor. Michael was elected to Parliament for Surrey Heath in 2005 and joined the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families in 2007. He is married to Sarah, a journalist at The Times, and they have two children.

Adam Hart-Davis

Adam Hart-Davis is a freelance photographer, writer, and broadcaster – presenter on television of Local Heroes, Tomorrow’s World, What the Romans, Victorians, Tudors & Stuarts, Greeks, Egyptians, and others did for us, Science Shack, Come to your Senses, Stardate, Just Another Day, and The cosmos – a beginner’s guide.  Before presenting, Adam spent 5 years in publishing and 17 years at Yorkshire Television, first as researcher, and then as producer of such series as Scientific Eye and Arthur C Clarke’s World of Strange Powers.

He has read several books, and written about 25, including World’s weirdest ‘true’ ghost stories and Thunder, flush, & Thomas Crapper (an encycLOOpedia). He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society, the Royal Society of Chemistry, the Society of Dyers and Colourists, and Merton College Oxford, and patron of a dozen charitable organizations.

Professor Dame Julia Higgins DBE

Julia Higgins is Emeritus Professor of Polymer Science in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Imperial College, London.  Her research career has focussed on the application of scattering techniques, notably neutron scattering, to the understanding of polymer behaviour. She has explored the way that molecular organisation and motion controls material behaviour, most recently in polymer blends and mixtures. From 2006 to 2007 she was the Principal of the Faculty of Engineering at Imperial College, and President of the Association for Science Education. Currently she chairs ACME (Advisory Commiittee for Mathematics Education). is a Trustee of the National Gallery, Fellow of the Royal Society and of the Royal Academy of Engineering and a foreign member of the National Academy of Engineering of the USA.  She was made a Dame of the British Empire in 2002 and a Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur in 2003.

Prof John Holman

After studying Natural Sciences at Cambridge, John Holman became a teacher of chemistry. He taught in a number of secondary schools, and between 1984 and 1994 he also worked as a writer and curriculum development specialist.

John Holman has played a leading role in most of the major UK science curriculum developments of the last 20 years, including the development of the National Curriculum and the Nuffield and Salters curricula. He is author of over 15 textbooks from key stage 3 to undergraduate level, with several overseas adaptations, and has been an invited speaker and expert across six continents.

In 1994 John Holman became Headteacher of Watford Grammar School for Boys, an all ability, multi-ethnic science specialist school, where he continued to teach chemistry. In 2000 he left Watford to become Salters Professor of Chemical Education and Director of the Science Curriculum Centre at the University of York, where he teaches chemistry at undergraduate level and has a specialist interest in the teaching of chemical thermodynamics.

Lord Wilson of Dinton

Lord (Richard) Wilson was born in Glamorgan and educated at Radley (1956-60) and Clare College Cambridge (1961-65). He was called to the Bar but, rather than practice, entered the Civil Service as an assistant principal in the Board of Trade in 1966.

He subsequently served in a number of departments including 12 years in the Department of Energy where his responsibilities included nuclear power policy, the privatisation of Britoil, personnel and finance. He headed the Economic Secretariat in the Cabinet Office under Mrs Thatcher from 1987-90 and after two years in the Treasury was appointed Permanent Secretary of the Department of the Environment in 1992. He became Permanent Under Secretary of the Home Office in 1994 and Secretary of the Cabinet and Head of the Home Civil Service in January 1998. Since his retirement in September 2002 he has been Master of Emmanuel College, Cambridge and has been President of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development from 2004 – 2006.  

Mathematics Speakers

Prof Chris Budd

Chris Budd is Professor of Maths at the University of Bath where he works on finding ways of applying maths to the real world.  This includes studying the workings of the weather, microwave cookers, aircraft wings and folk dancing.  He is a passionate popularisor of mathematics and gives talks to schools all over the world on the importance and relevance of maths to all of our lives.

Dr Lisa DeLong

Lisa DeLong is an artist and designer with a deep love for geometry.  She has been researching ancient, medieval, and Islamic geometry for the past 13 years.  Lisa explores the proportional systems of these traditional geometries in her own paintings and commercial designs, using them as a matrix for creating harmonious compositions.

After receiving a BFA in Fine Arts and an MA in Art History at Brigham Young University, Lisa moved to London to study at The Prince’s School of Traditional Arts, receiving her PhD in 2007. She is now a Project Manager at The Prince’s School, teaching art and craft workshops to students of all ages and backgrounds. These workshops guide participants through a geometry-based design process rooted in the observation and contemplation of the order of nature. In these classes, the artistic processes allow participants to engage in a qualitative exploration of mathematics. Lisa has taught in experienced craftsmen in Egypt, students at a women's college in Saudi Arabia, museum professionals in Syria, and members of the community in Malaysia. She is also involved with an on-going project in Burnley teaching cross-curricular art activities at the secondary school level.

Charlie Gilderdale (Maths Millennium Project)

Charlie Gilderdale was educated in Argentina and at the University of Cambridge before becoming a Mathematics teacher and a Head of Mathematics at a Cambridgeshire secondary school.

During the last 18 years he has been working at the University of Cambridge, initially in the Faculty of Education working with trainee teachers, and more recently as a member of the Millennium Mathematics Project contributing to the NRICH website. His recent work has focussed on problem solving and on creating opportunities for learning mathematics through exploration and discussion.

Dr Julia Gog

Julia Gog completed her BA honours in Mathematics at Trinity College, Cambridge in 1997, and then after Part III mathematics, moved to the Department of Zoology to study the application of mathematics to infectious disease dynamics. She completed her PhD in 2002, and became a Royal Society University Research Fellow in 2004. Julia returned to the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics (DAMTP) with her research group in 2006, where she now holds a lectureship. Her current research interests include influenza dynamics, particularly antigenic drift, and the small-scale interactions of bacteria and cells.

Julia is also a Fellow of Queens’ College, and their Director of Studies in Mathematics. She is involved with teaching of undergraduates and postgraduates in the university. Her research group together with the Millennium Mathematics Project, with the support of the Wellcome Trust, have recently been working with secondary schools to explore epidemic dynamics, and to conduct a research project investigating social networks in primary schools.

Professor Celia Hoyles OBE

Celia Hoyles has been Professor of Mathematics Education at the Institute of Education, University of London since 1984, following teaching in London secondary schools. She co-presented a popular TV mathematics quiz show, Fun and Games, shown at prime time on Yorkshire TV 1987-90.  Professor Hoyles was awarded an OBE in the New Year’s Honours list 2004 for services to mathematics education and was chosen as the first recipient of the Hans Freudenthal medal, in recognition of her cumulative programme of research. In December 2004 she took up the position of the U.K. Government’s Chief Adviser for Mathematics (75% of her time), a position she held until November 2007.  In June 2007, Celia was appointed as Director of the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics.

Dr Tom Körner

Tom Korner is professor of Fourier Analysis at the University of Cambridge and one of the two Directors of studies in mathematics at Trinity Hall College. He is the author of two popular mathematics books, The Pleasures of Counting and Naive Decision Making. 

Prof David Speiglehalter OBE

David Spiegelhalter is Winton Professor of the Public Understanding of Risk at the University of Cambridge, which he combines with being a Senior Scientist in the MRC Biostatistics Unit.  His background is in medical statistics, particularly the use of Bayesian methods in clinical trials, health technology assessment and drug safety.  He led the statistical team in the Bristol Royal Infirmary Inquiry and also gave evidence to the Shipman Inquiry.  He has been a consultant to a number of public and private organizations including pharmaceutical companies.  In his new post he leads a small team which is attempting to improve the way in which the quantitative aspects of risk and uncertainty are discussed in society.  He was elected FRS in 2005 and awarded an OBE in 2006 for services to medical statistics.

Science Speakers

Dr Paul Barker

Paul Barker studied for his first degree at Imperial College and followed this with a PhD in Oxford working on the electrochemistry of metalloproteins.   In 1998 he was awarded a BBSRC Advanced Fellowship and moved into the Chemistry Department, University of Cambridge becoming a Lecturer in 2003 and Fellow of Downing College in 2004.  His research is still based around protein engineering of metalloproteins, for both the understanding of metals in biology as well as engineering new electronic devices using proteins.  He teaches chemistry and biochemistry as well as bionanotechnology, to both undergraduates and graduate students and has been an organiser of the Chemistry Department Open Day for 5 years, which as part of the Cambridge Science Festival, has been one of the most successful public activities delivered by the University.

Dr Julian Griffin

Jules Griffin is a University Lecturer at Cambridge. He is also an affiliated member of the Cambridge Systems Biology Centre and of the Institute of Metabolic Sciences at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge.  A chemist by first degree, he gained his D. Phil in Biochemistry in the laboratory of Prof. Sir George Radda studying brain metabolism using 13C NMR spectroscopy.  He is developing NMR and mass spectrometry based metabolomic tools for identifying metabolic biomarkers associated with genetic modification, drug toxicity and understanding the control of metabolic pathways. His scientific career has resulted in a number of publications in high profile journals including the Lancet, Science and Nature Medicine.

Dr Lisa Jardine-Wright

Dr Lisa Jardine-Wright is currently educational outreach officer at the Cavendish Laboratory, the Physics department of the University of Cambridge.  Lisa did her undergraduate degree in experimental and theoretical physics at Trinity College in Cambridge and then went on to do a PhD in theoretical cosmology at the Institute of Astronomy in Cambridge.

Dr Jardine-Wright's research focussed on the formation and evolution of spiral galaxies, from the Big Bang to the present day.  During her time as a PhD student she also began her science communication career. From 2004 to 2007 Lisa was the astronomy consultant for the recently opened astronomy galleries at the Royal Observatory Museum in Greenwich.  In 2004 Lisa was awarded a BA Media Fellowship which placed her as a science writer for the Financial Times writing international news and feature articles.  Her media experience also includes a number of appearances on radio and television including live appearances on the Children's BBC channel.

Dr Bill O’Neill

Bill O’Neill is a Reader in Laser Engineering, and head of the Centre for Industrial Photonics. He has wide ranging research interests in manufacturing and has developed laser based materials processing technologies for the past 20 years. He is an active industrial consultant in the UK, US, EU, China, and Japan, is an elected Director of the Laser Institute of America, a board member of the National Laser Centre in South Africa, a director of Advanced Laser Solutions Ltd and a member of the EPSRC peer review College.

Jonathon Porritt CBE

Jonathon Porritt is Founder Director of Forum for the Future and Chairman of the UK Sustainable Development Commission and an eminent writer, broadcaster and commentator on sustainable development .  He was appointed by the Prime Minister as Chairman of the UK Sustainable Development Commission in July 2000.  This is the Government's principal source of independent advice across the whole sustainable development agenda. In addition, he has been a member of the Board of the South West Regional Development Agency since December 1999, and is Co-Director of The Prince of Wales's Business and Environment Programme.

He was formerly Director of Friends of the Earth (1984-90); co-chair of the Green Party (1980-83) of which he is still a member; chairman of UNED-UK (1993-96); chairman of Sustainability South West, the South West Round Table for Sustainable Development (1999-2001); a Trustee of WWF UK (1991-2005).  

Mr Francis C Wells

Frank Wells is a Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon at Papworth Hospital, Cambridge.  His medical training was conducted at Charing Cross Hospital and Brompton Hospital in London and Cambridge for surgical training under Professor Roy Calne, where he gained the final fellowship. He spent a year as a senior research fellow at the University of Alabama which resulted in a master of surgery and Hunterian professorship at the Royal College of Surgeons.

Since being appointed as a Consultant at Papworth Hospital in Cardiothoracic Surgery and Associate Lecturer at the University of Cambridge in 1985, Mr Wells’ specialist areas of interests have been the development of the lung cancer service, thoracic oncology in general, and reconstructive cardiac valve surgery. and an accomplished artist.  He has studied in detail Leonardo da Vinci’s drawings of the heart and his observations of the way the heart valves open and close. He has been consultant to several recent BBC and Channel 4 programmes, including BBC2’s The Secret of Drawing and became the first surgeon to perform open-heart surgery live on television in 2007.