The Imperial College Press Office cordially invites you to attend a special Centenary event:

”A marriage made in heaven or hell? Do scientists and the media make good bedfellows?”

Imperial academics and alumni working in the media come together to debate whether the media help or hinder science and scientists

In the Chair: Pallab Ghosh, Science Correspondent, BBC News

On the Panel:
> David Cohen, New Scientist
> Alok Jha, The Guardian
> Michelle Martin, BBC Science Radio
> Professor Richard Templer, Department of Chemistry
> Professor Steve Bloom, Division of Investigative Science

About the event

Do the media perpetuate unhelpful ‘mad scientist’ stereotypes? Are scientific findings over-hyped? Are important discoveries being overlooked in a quest for ‘sexy’ or controversial science?

These and other issues will be explored by our panel, made up of senior Imperial academics who have first-hand experience of working with the media and alumni working for print, radio and television outlets.

About the panel

• Pallab Ghosh has been the Science Correspondent for BBC News since 1997. Before that, he was Science Correspondent for BBC East and Senior Producer for the Today programme on Radio 4, as well as Science News Editor for New Scientist. Pallab graduated from Imperial with a BSc in physics and during his time at the College he was editor of the student newspaper, Felix.

• David Cohen joined New Scientist as Features Editor in 2003 after four years of freelance work for that magazine and other publications including The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian and The Sunday Times. David graduated from Imperial with a BSc in computing and whilst at the College he was the station manager for IC Radio and wrote articles for Felix.

• Alok Jha has been the Science Correspondent at The Guardian since 2003, before which he was a reporter for Research Fortnight. Alok graduated from Imperial with a BSc in physics and an MSc in science communication and he was a regular contributor to Felix.

• Michelle Martin has been a producer in the BBC Science Radio Unit since 2003, after three years working first in the BBC’s Science TV Unit and then at BBC Science Online. Before joining the BBC, Michelle freelanced as a TV researcher and also worked at the Science Museum.
  Michelle has a BSc in maths and astronomy from the University of Sheffield and she is a graduate of the MSc in Science Communication at Imperial. Michelle worked on IC Radio during her time at the College.

• Professor Steve Bloom has worked at the Hammersmith Hospital since 1974 and wasHead of Imperial’s Division of Investigative Science from its inception in 1997 until August 2007. One of the world’s leading obesity experts, Steve is frequently called upon by the media to talk about obesity and the mechanisms of hunger. In January 2007, his research made headlines again after it was announced that his team was developing a drug to tackle obesity using a hormone found in the gut, known as pancreatic polypeptide.

• Professor Richard Templer holds the Hofmann Chair in Chemistry and was Head of the Department of Chemistry from 2002 until August 2007, having joined the College in 1990. In September 2007 Richard became the Director of the Porter Institute, a new Imperial organisation which aims to develop the science and technology behind the conversion of plant biomass and plant waste into chemicals, liquid fuels, materials and energy. He has been called upon by the media to talk about a variety of issues concerning biofuels and sustainability.

Registration required:

Yes

Free:

Yes